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
Cape Henlopen Hawkwatch – September Highlights!
Ah…fall migration, my favorite time of the year! Warblers streaming through the trees, thrushes calling from the understory, and raptors filling the skies – all while the leaves slowly change color, and with each cold front we move closer and closer to winter. I am living and working down in Delaware for the season, and have been trying to make … Read More
October 12 Hawk Watching at Jo Hays Vista
On Friday, I joined Chuck Widman, Josh Lefever, and Alex Lamoreaux for a day of hawk watching at Jo Hays Vista. Winds were gusty out of the northwest, which brought in a high number of migrant Red-tailed hawks (96 for the day!). At one point we had five in the sky at the same time! Â Sharp-shinned hawks were also … Read More
Spring Migration Predictions – First Half of April
Finally, it’s April. March was nice, but very few spring migrants returned to PA compared to what’s in store for us birders during April and May. During April, migration really picks up, and we should see most spring migrants back in the state by the end of this month. I went through the eBird bar charts for the PA and … Read More
Photo Study: Double-crested Cormorants
The Double-crested Cormorant is a well-known and common species throughout much of the United States. Because of how common they are, I feel like they get ignored often by birders. In fact, I do it myself all the time when I am out birding – scanning out over a lake, I focus on trying to pick out the interesting waterfowl … Read More
Cape May Trip – Part 3
This is the third part of a series of posts about my recent birding trip to Cape May, which began with Part 1 and Part 2. After our amazing time with the roosting shorebird flock, we began to head south towards Cape May. Our plan was to camp down on Cape May Island, but before it got dark, we wanted … Read More
Northern Wheatear – Fox Point State Park, Delaware
On December 22nd, Colin Campbell was biking around Fox Point State Park near Wilmington, Delaware and discovered a Northern Wheatear. This is a very rare species to North America and only the 2nd record ever for Delaware. The first record was in 1957. I carpooled down this morning to see the bird. Kyle Aldinger, Ian Gardner, and I arrived at … Read More