In southern New York, it often seems like winter ends long before spring begins. I am personally a big fan of birding and spending time outdoors during the colder months, and everyone appreciates the energy and excitement of peak migration, but that quiet period in between can be a bit of an awkward transition. Even by the subdued standards of the season, the gradual onset of spring has felt especially protracted and drawn out this year. With much of the month plagued by lingering chill, unfavorable winds, and delayed rains, I knew I would need to put in some substantial effort to get my nature fix in March 2025. Nevertheless, I was determined not to let these challenging conditions stand in the way of checking off items on my preseason to-do list.
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Late winter can be a challenging time for birding, as well as life in general, for that matter. Some of the new year’s novelty has begun to wear off, and the weather often reaches its bleakest depths during this season. For many, the temptation to stay safe indoors while waiting for the arrival of warmer, livelier days at the onset of spring is nigh irresistible. Nevertheless, there are plenty of treasures to be found for those who are willing to brave the dreary conditions, including some of our region’s most exceptional visitors and remarkable residents. I have personally long harbored a bit of a soft spot for February, and this year I was especially determined to make the most of the shortest month by spending as much time as possible exploring the outdoors.
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The start of each new year represents a fresh slate of unknown opportunities, a whole new seasonal cycle to be celebrated and explored. There is undoubtedly an equal measure of hope and dread that comes with the anticipation of life’s next chapter, and at times that uncertainty can feel overwhelming. Personally, I find that centering myself on intentional appreciation of the natural world helps me to temper the fears and amplify the joys of day-to-day life. While environmental awareness is by no means a cure-all, and certainly comes with its own set of issues, I am nevertheless grateful for the lifestyle I live as a birder and an educator. If nothing else, the prospect of starting each January with my self-imposed challenge to find 100 species as quickly as possible gives me something to look forward to during the coldest, bleakest days of the year.
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Here we stand, once again, at the end of another year, and what a year it has been! In keeping with established tradition, the last days of December are a time to reflect on the successes and surprises of the past 12 months worth of adventures. Without a hint of exaggeration, 2024 handily ranks as perhaps the single greatest year of my entire life to date. In addition to my first international trip in over 5 years, as well as a handful of shorter domestic trips, there were a number of thrilling experiences for Jacqi and me to enjoy closer to home, not least of all our long-awaited wedding! An impressive total of 230 avian lifers joined my cumulative career tally over the course of 2024, supplemented by 42 all-new mammals and 17 species of herps.
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November is a season for rarities. This time of year is celebrated as The Weird Month, when wayward vagrants wander to distant lands where they delight and bewilder expectant birders. Rare birds have been at the forefront of my mind more than usual this year as a result of my newfound duties on the New York State Avian Records Committee. In the process of crafting a special NYSARC report on recent additions to the official state checklist, I pored over innumerable reports of spectacular sightings from the past few years. The exercise got me thinking about vagrancy in a broader scope, from the complex suite of driving forces behind the phenomenon itself to the dramatic sagas of far-flung rarities that capture the collective imaginations of the birders around the world.
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In the northeastern United States, October typically features some the greatest diversity and most impressive numbers of the entire fall migration season. This is a wonderful time of year to get out and explore the natural world, provided one can find the time to do so. A densely packed calendar of celebrations and social events kept me plenty busy over the course of this month, but I still managed to collect an impressive grab bag of autumnal goodies in recent weeks. Indeed, some of those scheduled obligations turned out to provide their own unexpected viewing opportunities for wildlife or natural phenomena. From my own backyard to the opposite corner of the country, from the forest floor to the skies above, there was no shortage of surprises to be enjoyed this October.
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With the recent arrival of the autumnal equinox, one of the most memorable summers of my life has finally come to a close. My own observance of the fall season, however, unofficially kicked off several weeks prior. By the time the schoolyear began anew in the first days of September, I was already deep in my revelry over the excitement of postbreeding migratory activity. For my money, this is consistently the most wonderful time of the birding year. In keeping with the established standards of 2024 thus far, early autumn has already managed to exceed my lofty expectations. There is no sense in beating around the bush here: since my last update on this site, I have made the single most spectacular personal birding discovery of my entire career to date.
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Emotions were running high as Jacqi and I boarded our plane to depart from the Laikipia Plateau. The first half of our trip had been a marvelous success that exceeded even our wildest expectations, and although we were sorry to leave Ol Lentille behind we were excited to see what the Maasai Mara had in store for us. My wife managed to catch some much needed rest during the flight across the country, but I found myself periodically glancing out the windows with restless anticipation. At one point, I noticed that the view on both sides of the aircraft was dominated by large lakes sprawling out across the landscape. My heart skipped a beat. I knew of only one place in Kenya where multiple bodies of water of this size occurred in close proximity, but I was not expecting to find myself anywhere near it.
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On the heels of our unforgettably magical wedding last month, Jacqi and I had just two short weeks to pack our bags for our first vacation together as a married couple. Most newlyweds choose to spend their honeymoon relaxing on an idyllic beach at some tropical island getaway or exploring the romantic and historic streets of a celebrated European city. True to form, the two of us had a more unorthodox destination in mind. When we first started dating back in 2020, in the early days of pandemic-induced lockdowns, we spent a lot of time discussing the various places we hoped to one day visit. Kenya quickly emerged as a shared frontrunner on our wish lists.
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A birder’s life is tethered especially tightly to the annual cycle of the seasons. As a result, each turn of a calendar page feels like a special event in its own right. Every month presents a thrilling new opportunity, a roughly 30-day microcosm of the world’s limitless potential, to be filled with surprises and memories. The truly remarkable months astonish you with how much they manage to pack into such a brief period of time, and I have experienced my fair share of unforgettable months over the years! The peak college escapades of January 2013, the Australian adventures of July 2019, and even the impressive suite of natural phenomena from April of this year all stand out as particularly noteworthy examples.
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