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
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
Migrants and Mysticetes
Weather and fall pelagic trips often don’t mix well. The September two-day trip out of Hyannis, Massachusetts that I hoped to attend with the Brookline Birding Club was regrettably called off due to interference from the remnants of Hurricane Florence. The cancellation was a bit of a letdown, but I told myself that I was satisfied with the offshore action … Read More
East Shore Park, CT – Late warblers and other goodies!
If you were following the live feed of my birding trip through New England last week, than you probably know that my friends and I spent our last full day of birding (November 20th) in Connecticut. Some of our main targets for the day were near New Haven at East Shore Park. East Shore Park is a fairly large city park bordering … Read More
This winter’s irruptives
[dc]O[/dc]ne of the exciting things about winter birding is the prospect of large movements of winter finches and other more northern species. Already we are seeing signs that this winter may be good for Red Crossbills and Red-breasted Nuthatches, and it’s not even fall yet. Irruptions are fun because they give many of us a rare chance to see a species … Read More
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