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
Listing Priorities
The week began with a Barred Owl. Just minutes after midnight, my tired brain registered a series of emphatic hoots somewhere in the woods beyond the campground loop. I smiled as I continued preparing for bed. It had been 14 months since I last encountered the species, which is essentially unheard of on Long Island. These birds are quite common … Read More
Digiscoping at the Indian River Inlet – a Phone Skope Big Year 2014 Update
This past Sunday, Alan Kneidel, Taj Schottland, Matt Boone, and I ventured to the Indian River Inlet (eBird Checklist) in Sussex County, Delaware. After a necessary pre-trip Wawa stop, we left Newark shortly after 6 and arrived at the north parking lot at 7:45. The air was chilly and the sun was bright as we started the short hike out … Read More
NC PSO Hatteras Pelagic Trip, part 2
On August 9-13 the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology had an out-of-state field trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. A total of 35 participants ventured down to NC for several days of land birding followed by two days of pelagic trips out of Hatteras, NC. Part 1 of this trip report series covered some of the land birding, this … Read More
Herald Petrels in the Gulf Stream
Last week the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology charted two back-to-back pelagics to the Gulf Stream with Brian Patteson, aboard the Stormy Petrel II. Both days were full of seabirds and we had some great photo opportunities. Mike Lanzone and I have been pretty busy with other things, but are hoping to get some more detailed posts (and photos!) up soon. … Read More
Delaware Big Day – January 2013
One of the main reasons for our New Year, New Birds trip was to do a January 1st Big Day in Delaware with Tim Schreckengost from Thermal Birding. Tim lives and works down in Delaware right now, and has been a friends of ours for a few years now. The following story was co-written by Alex and Tim and is … Read More
Cape Gannets along the Wild Coast
In South Africa, the Eastern Cape’s coastline is known as the ‘Wild Coast’ due to its habit of smashing ships against its rocky shoreline during the winter months, when storms toss and turn the ocean. This beautiful coastline with its vast expanses of farmland, dune jungle, wetlands, and dark forests that I was able to call home for 10 weeks in 2011 … Read More