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
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
Morning on the Mountaintop: Bicknell’s Thrush Quest
2019 was easily the fullest, most dramatic year of my life for birding. In contrast, 2020 has by necessity been a much more subdued affair. Birding close to home has nevertheless been unexpectedly rewarding, with no shortage of unexpected surprises spotted from my fire escape and at nearby Astoria Park. As the end of the school year drew nearer, the … 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
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