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
Boreal Bird Blitz
No one likes to let vacation time go to waste. As my schedule began to fill up with responsibilities and obligations, it became apparent that I wouldn’t be able to orchestrate a grand international adventure for my February break this year. Nevertheless, I still had a few days to spare and didn’t want to spend them just sitting around. I … Read More
New Year Birding
Year listing is one of the most popular traditions in the world of birding. The annual cycle of seasons is felt especially strongly by those of us who immerse ourselves in the world of birds, and each new year brings a new set of chances to enjoy unforgettable experiences. On behalf of the whole Nemesis Bird team, I’d like to … Read More
Finch Flight Frenzy
“Mr. Healy, I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you.” My coworker approached me as I was stowing my binoculars after a brief pre-work survey of the schoolyard. “I’ve been at my place in northern Jersey for years now, but this year I’ve noticed something different. There are these birds, I can only describe them as…finches?” I smiled, … Read More
There will be games
Friend of NemesisBird, Matt Sabatine, provides another great guest article – this one about his recent trip to Utah, Wyoming, and Arizona where he met up with Alex Lamoreaux for a little birding near Salt Lake City and the Grand Tetons…. Actor John Cusack was once visiting the domicile of the great Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, and surprised by the … Read More
iPhone Digiscoping Pro Tip: Video Grabs
iPhones have dramatically expanded the number of people that are digiscoping, and successfully getting great photos while they are out birding, without having to lug a big SLR + lens around. With digiscoping adapter cases that fit most scopes, the barrier to digiscoping has been greatly lowered. Lots of birders are getting great images with less effort than they would … Read More
Headed for Canada, but not without a Tufted Duck
This past weekend, I joined the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology (PSO) on a four day birding trip through Ontario. This would be the second time I had ever been to Canada, and the first time I had been there for birding! I had been dreaming about this trip for months and it was finally happening – I had a chance … Read More
Rochester finches
On Sunday Ramsay called itching to take a trip to see some winter finches. A couple spots around Rochester have been reliably reporting good flocks of crossbills and redpolls at the Holy Sepulchre cemetery and Pine Grosbeaks at campground area of Webster Park along Lake Ontario. We had great luck immediately when we arrived at #21 in the Riverside/Holy Sepulchre … Read More