Ah, it’s that time of year, the time when geese congregate in fields hoping a birder will come pick through them. Looking at geese can be overwhelming and may not seem appealing to most, but to me, goosing is my go-to, or jam if you will, this time of year. If you want to find uncommon geese, here are four … Read More
Weekend Digiscoping Spotlight 26
The Weekend Digiscoping Spotlight will highlight some of the fun shots we’ve gotten recently with a camera paired with a spotting scope or binoculars. We welcome submissions of your favorite digiscoped shots to be featured in future spotlights, just use the contact form in the menu above. As the cold temperatures set in here in Delaware, I often find myself … Read More
Sharp-tailed Lifer
[dc]T[/dc]his morning I read of a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that was found at Irondequoit Bay near Rochester NY. After a well-timed text from Tom Johnson who told me it was probably legit, I hit the road in hopes of seeing a lifer. It’s been a long time since I was on a true chase, usually too far away from any … Read More
More Montezuma shorebirds
On Wednesday I met Steve Brenner for a couple hours of scanning the shorebird flocks at Knox-Marcellus Marsh in the Montezuma NWR. We met pretty early in the morning and passerines were moving around as we drove out Towpath Rd. The Bobolinks constantly flying overhead provided a nice audio background with their ever-present bink calls. We found a couple of warblers including … Read More
Chat heaven
This morning I decided to run down to Rock Springs Nature Preserve, a wonderfully interesting area of scrubby habitat in southern Lancaster County. I had no more than opened my car door than I heard the harsh chatter of a distant Yellow-breasted Chat. When I walked out about 100 yards into the preserve I realized that there were at least … Read More
Red-spotted newts
Recently, Justine and I spent a weekend at our cabin in northern Pennsylvania and had some time to explore the nearby forest. In addition to the fantastic breeding birds such as Blue-winged Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, we noticed that there were red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) everywhere along the trails. Luckily, they are so bright that it … Read More
Grasshopper Sparrow Migration!
It’s the time of year when we are all thinking warbler migration. But before warblers are peaking sparrows are migrating through. Often more secretive, and not as brightly colored as the much anticipated warblers, some get overlooked… OK, not by everyone :). Over the last several days in Somerset County, PA large numbers of Grasshopper Sparrows have been moving through. … Read More
Warbler banding and more
[dc]T[/dc]oday was a fantastic morning to be out, and the banding station at the Arboretum at Penn State was no exception. Looking at the mornings radar had indicated that we saw a moderate to heavy influx of birds, and this really panned out in the field. Just walking around to set up the nets it was obvious that there had … Read More
Yellow-throated Warbler – iPhone digiscoping test
Since I was in the area, I decided to look for some early Yellow-throated Warblers at Safe Harbor and Conestoga Creek Parks near Conestoga, PA. To be fair, they had been reported a few days previously, so I was pretty sure I had a good chance of seeing them. With the help of another birder, I was able to quickly … Read More
Bullock’s Oriole video
Digiscoping video with my phone is proving to be a great way to document rarities. I think that seeing a bird in natural motion takes some of the trickiness out of identification because it is not just a frozen moment in time. With still photography we don’t know whether the feathers are laying naturally, or if the sun’s angle is … Read More
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