I’ve always appreciated the seasonality of birding. When you’re paying close attention to the goings-on in the world outside your windows, the annual cycle of nature is conspicuous and easy to track. This visible, reliable schedule has been a major boon throughout the pandemic, which has caused weeks and months to blur together and warp all perception of time. The … Read More
Too many rarities and *barely* enough time
Chasing Florida State Vagrants in January 2020 Birding has many facets, as many of us know. It gets us outside, exploring new and fascinating places we wouldn’t normally visit. It connects us with people we may never interact with otherwise. But one part of the hobby that really drew me in nearly 11 years ago and continues to do so … 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
New York Townsend’s Solitaire Plus More
This past Wednesday, Garrett MacDonald, Andrew Dreelin, and I birded in Madison County, New York. Specifically, we decided to chase some Evening Grosbeaks tending to a feeder near the town of Sheds, as well as a continuing Townsend’s Solitaire in Erieville. My classes didn’t start until 12:20 PM on Wednesday, so we were able to have enough time to try and get … Read More
Finding a Little Gull in Illinois
Three days ago, March 26th, I had only about six hours to go birding. I talked with my friend Andy Sigler to see what would be possible, and we outlined the possibilities. We could go to the Kankakee River (Kankakee County) for White-winged Scoters, go to Dresden Lock and Dam (Grundy County) for White-winged and possibly a Surf Scoter, hit … Read More
PA Fall Migration Predictions – End of Oct: Part 1
October is a very special time of the year in Pennsylvania. The first week of the month there are still a ton of neotropical migrants around, but then their numbers start to drop off drastically. Coming to the rescue are the sparrows and raptors, which really excel during the second half of the month. Waterfowl also begin to trickle through … Read More
4 Day Birding Tour of Idaho
I have managed to turn many of my friends back home into crazy birders. My friend Mark Markiewicz is no exception; a few years ago Mark’s brother Chris and I began going out kayaking along the Swatara Creek, that runs through Hershey, PA, often and I would always point out any bird species we saw. It wasnt long till Mark … Read More