The excitement of a rarity chase is one of my favorite aspects of birding, but it’s nothing compared to the thrill of finding something unusual yourself. For me, the feeling of accomplishment that comes with turning up even a minor regional oddity often rivals the triumphant joy of a successful twitch or long-distance trip. That finder’s high is a hell … Read More
Pale Western Willet at Chincoteague NWR, Virginia
Ed note: Tom Johnson helpfully pointed out that this bird is not leucistic, but rather has dilute plumage. Leucism would leave the bird with white patches of feathers rather than the fading this bird shows. Article has been updated to reflect this. On August 6th, I covered the Chincoteague NWR’s biweekly shorebird survey for Clyde Morris and Joelle Buffa since … Read More
Cape May Trip – Part 2
This post is part of a series of posts about my recent birding trip to Cape May, which began at this link. As the tide began to rise, we knew it was time to head over to the southern point of Brigantine Island to see the shorebird flock that we heard had been roosting there recently. We arrived around 2:40pm … Read More