My recent move from Nassau to Queens was one of the final big events in a very eventful 2019. A few months out, I’d consider myself comfortably settled in, and the pros certainly outnumber the cons so far. Somewhere in between “notably shorter, easier commute” and “return to reliance on laundromats” on the Cool-to-Lame Scale lie the changes to my … Read More
2019 Top 10 Birding Highlights
Like many nature-based bloggers, I enjoy closing each year with a retrospective highlight reel. Ever since 2016, this personal countdown has taken the form of a Top 10 Lifers post, detailing the best new species I tallied during the preceding months. 2019, however, has been the undisputed biggest year of my life thus far. A pair of long-awaited dream trips … Read More
Snowy Owl and Purple Sandpipers in Florida – January 7th
I wrote up a post roughly a week ago about birding in Duval and Nassau counties, which can be read here. A few days ago, on January 7th, Dan Irizarry came up once again to try to get the Snowy Owl. The bird had been refound the day after we had tried, and has been seen consistently ever since. Due to … Read More
Neotropic Cormorant – Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida
Among the urban sprawl of southeastern Florida, Wakodahatchee Wetlands is a 50 acre safe haven for literally thousands of wetland birds of 171 species. These wetlands act as a natural filter for two million gallons of treated water on a daily basis, while also providing an incredible opportunity for locals and tourists to see wildlife up-close as well as learn the … Read More
My Top 25 Most Wanted Centre County Species for 2012
2012 is my third calendar year birding in Centre County, PA. So far I have only birded in the county during the fall semester of 2010 and the fall semester of 2011. I have never birded in Centre County during the spring or summer. During the two fall semesters that I have been in the county for, I have managed … Read More
Paynes Prairie SP – Sweetwater Dike
On January 5th I met up with Gainesville Birder Rex Rowan, to go birding along the Sweetwater Dike area of Paynes Prairie State Park. The Sweetwater Dike Trail is an offshoot of the well-known La Chua Trail. Rex and I met at 11:10am and began our hike. There had been an Ash-throated Flycatcher reported along the trail recently, so that … Read More
Goodbye Moorhen, Hello Gallinule
Sometimes I am okay with changes, other times I am a little hesitant to accept things, and sometimes I just downright cannot stand certain changes. This is especially true when it comes to birds. For instance, last years split of the Whip-poor-will into the ‘Eastern Whip-poor-will’ and the ‘Mexican Whip-poor-will’; this was a great split and made perfect sense given … Read More