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
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
Sparrow Survey: Assessing Environmentally Friendly Land Use
It’s been some years since I worked full-time for any kind of field research project. My current job as a biology teacher doesn’t offer quite as many opportunities to “do science” outside the classroom, but I still find ways to get my fix. Ecology-focused field trips and school projects allow me to share the importance of the natural world with … Read More
What’s left of the Prairie State…
After a very busy May, which included (winning!) the Birding Cup in central PA and then guiding at the Biggest Week in American Birding, I ventured out to central Illinois to help with some bird surveys on two proposed wind facilities. Other than spending a few half-days birding Illinois during cross-country trips, I have never really spent much time in … Read More
Upstate Dickcissel
I’ve got a favorite sparrow patch in Syracuse that I like to visit frequently. It’s right by the Inner Harbor, and is an overgrown weedy field that is probably going to turn into some development project in a few years. It’s a new spot, as last year it was mostly gravel and bare dirt, but now it is gloriously overgrown … Read More
Centre County Dickcissels!
Dickcissels are rare visitors to Centre County, PA and have been found every month of the year, although there are only 8 records since 1984. During the past few years, there have only been a few records. My friends and I were lucky to have one fly over us, calling while we were watching shorebirds on September 9th, 2011 but … Read More
Dickcissel invasion reaches central PA
Or did it? Read on… Today, after some intensive searching, it was very gratifying to come across a Dickcissel in Centre County. The western counties in the state are experiencing a small incursion of Dickcissels, possibly linked to drought conditions in the central part of the country. It would be relatively simple to just say that this Dickcissel is part … Read More
Photo Study: Dickcissels in Mercer County, PA
Drew recently posted about this summer’s influx of Dickcissel sightings throughout Pennsylvania. This past Saturday, I was finally able to get in on the action and visit a site in Mercer County where quite a few Dickcissels have been seen over the past two weeks. After a few minutes of trying to find the exact spot, my friend Josh Lefever … Read More
Dickcissel Summer
[dc]T[/dc]his year, Pennsylvania is experiencing an increase in Dickcissel sightings, particularly in the western counties. Whether this is more coverage by birders or actual increases is hard to tell. Yesterday, Bob Mulvihill shared a great article he wrote in Pennsylvania Birds on the Dickcissel invasion in 1988 which linked that influx to the droughts in the central part of the US. … Read More
King Eider and Dickcissel – Cape May County, NJ
One December 28th, Anna and I made a slight detour on our roadtrip down to Florida, in order to swing through Cape May County and try to see a beautiful adult male King Eider that has been hanging out at the Avalon Seawatch. We started the morning off with a quick stop at Barnegat Light to pick up a few … Read More