Each of the four seasons has something special to offer the birding world. I will always cherish the lively color and music of spring when birds return after months of absence. Winter brings the festive joy of Christmas Bird Counts and new year lists, while summer offers breeding bird surveys and plenty of free time for adventures. Even so, I … Read More
Apartment Birding and Fire Escapism
When I first moved into my Astoria apartment in early December, I immediately began keeping a “yard list” of birds seen around my new home. My expectations for the potential of this urbanized neighborhood weren’t particularly high, but I reasoned that watching for birds of note outside my window would be a fun way to pass the time between proper … Read More
October Big Day 2019
Who doesn’t love a Big Day? Any excuse to get out and count birds in the name of science is a worthwhile cause in my book. eBird has been orchestrating Global Big Day events each May since 2015, an international effort to record as many of the world’s species as possible within a 24 hour period. Last fall, the Cornell-based … Read More
Birds We’ve Met Before
Knowingly seeing an individual bird that has been previously encountered is a special treat in the world of birding. Most birders would probably agree that the fascinating life cycles of these wild creatures are among the greatest draws that keep people invested in the hobby. It is a truly remarkable privilege to witness multiple chapters in the stories of specific … Read More
Finch Flight Frenzy
“Mr. Healy, I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you.” My coworker approached me as I was stowing my binoculars after a brief pre-work survey of the schoolyard. “I’ve been at my place in northern Jersey for years now, but this year I’ve noticed something different. There are these birds, I can only describe them as…finches?” I smiled, … Read More
Mourning Warbler – PSU Fall Banding
We had another great morning of bird banding in the PSU Arboretum today, with 4 warbler species captured including a stunning juvenile female Mourning Warbler. Other species captured this morning were 1 Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, 1 Ovenbird, 1 Common Yellowthroat, 1 Magnolia Warbler, 2 Blue Jays, 2 Wood Thrushes, 12 Gray Catbirds, 1 Brown Thrasher, 4 Eastern Towhees, and 1 House … Read More
Rainy Day Birding
Drew, Josh, and I birded a few places this morning and saw a handful of new spring migrants. Despite the rain, our morning was very productive and fun! Click on the links below to see our eBird checklist for that location. We stopped at Julian Wetlands first thing this morning and had 32 species there. A Bank Swallow was perched … Read More
Bird Banding Highlights – March and early April 2012
So far this season, we have had six days of bird banding in the PSU Arboretum’s Big Hollow property. Nick Kerlin is our official bird bander as well as the State College Bird Club president. The biggest change this season from previous seasons is that we have a new banding area – instead of sitting on the ground surrounded by … Read More
Spring Bird Banding at PSU’s Big Hollow
This past Monday was the opening day of bird banding for the spring season, in an area of the PSU Arboretum that we call Big Hollow. Â High winds speeds on Monday meant that we could only open a few of the nets and we only managed to capture one bird – a Tufted Titmouse. Today we had much better luck. … Read More
Scotia Barrens – 8/26/11
This morning five of us birded the Scotia Barrens, hoping to see some nice migrant flocks of warblers. We started off the morning at Scotia Pond, and as it warmed up made our way farther down the road towards the guard station, where we finally ran in to some numbers of warblers. There weren’t many individuals, but it was still … Read More