I’ve often said that people who are more actively observant of the natural world around them are more acutely aware of the seasonal cycle. When you spend most of your free time watching the comings and goings of animals, you can’t help but notice the gradual, steady changes each day brings on our yearly journey around the Sun. This is … Read More
Adirondack Adventures
New York is home to an impressively diverse array of natural habitats. The Empire State’s various ecoregions run the gamut from the beaches and marshes of Long Island to the grasslands and high peaks near the Canadian border. The Adirondack Mountains are perhaps the wildest, most distinct region of the state, representing the southern edge of the boreal forest biome … Read More
Weekend Digiscoping Spotlight 15
The Weekend Digiscoping Spotlight will highlight some of the fun shots we’ve gotten recently with a camera paired with a spotting scope. We welcome submissions of your favorite digiscoped shots to be featured in future spotlights, just use the contact form in the menu above. –~~=-=~~–  Digiscoped with a Leica APO-Televid 65 with Phone Skope adapter for iPhone 5s. I was down … Read More
Tricky Geothlypis Warbler – Harrisburg, PA
Check out these photos taken by Sue Hannon of a Geothlypis warbler found today in Highspire Park near Harrisburg, PA. The bird is absolutely a Mourning OR MacGillivray’s Warbler, but which one? The eyering is thicker on the top of the eye and below the eye, but there is a narrow line connecting them behind the eye. The white-ish throat, blue … 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
A Quick Tour of the Allegheny National Forest
Last Friday, I met up with my friend Josh Lefever at his field house near Irvine, PA in Warren County and we spent a few hours that afternoon birding spots around the Allegheny National Forest (ANF). Click on links throughout this post for our eBird checklist of that location. Saturday we spent all day in Crawford and Erie County’s and … Read More
A phenomenal day of banding
This morning was the last scheduled morning of banding for the Avian Outreach class. Despite some low expectations with the weather and lack of recent migration, the variety and numbers were quite incredible. We ended the day with 77 birds of 18 species. The first really exciting bird for most of us was a first fall female Mourning Warbler. The … Read More