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
The Season So Far: Fall 2020 Highlights
Each of the four seasons has something special to offer the birding world. I will always cherish the lively color and music of spring when birds return after months of absence. Winter brings the festive joy of Christmas Bird Counts and new year lists, while summer offers breeding bird surveys and plenty of free time for adventures. Even so, I … 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
PA Fall Migration Predictions – End of Oct: Part 2
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
Evening Grosbeak! – Centre County, PA
Due to low conifer and hardwood tree seed supplies in eastern Canada, it has been predicted that this year could be a good one for Evening Grosbeaks to visit Pennsylvania. Evening Grosbeak is a species I have been missing on my PA list. They are also the ABA Bird of the Year so I knew that as soon as a chaseable report came … Read More
Answer to the Tricky Angles photo quiz
The answers to the Tricky Angles photo quiz were mostly correct for the first and last bird in the quiz, but the middle bird had lots of different answers. If you haven’t looked at the quiz, check out the images below before looking at the answers. The Quiz Photos
Idaho Mountain Birds!
About 25 miles through the Boise foothills past where Anna and I live, the scenery changes from steppe-scrub to Lodgepole Pine forests. Anna and I took a drive up to Idaho City this morning and at that elevation, winter was still very much alive and kicking. Our destination was Jennifer Alban’s beautiful ranch house nestled into the side of a forested hill with … Read More