It’s finally May, and May means migration! There is no single month that can top the action and excitement of peak spring birding here in New York. This mad dash to the breeding grounds is the most intense time of the year for many species. As much as I adore fall migration, the southbound movement of birds is a more … Read More
The Final LeConte-down: Eking out a Victory over a Nemesis
When Drew first established this blog so many years ago, he christened the new site with a title based on one of the most evocatively named phenomena in birding. The concept of a nemesis bird is something most birders are familiar with, though the exact definition may vary from person to person. It could be that incredible vagrant you “just … Read More
Lincoln’s Sparrow vs. Song Sparrow – PSU Fall Banding
Overcast skies and a nice breeze made for a more relaxed morning of bird banding, but the flocks of White-throated Sparrows moving through kept us busy. In total we banded 2 Eastern Phoebes, 1 Blue-headed Vireo, 3 Gray Catbirds, 1 Eastern Towhee, 2 Song Sparrows, 1 Lincoln’s Sparrow, 38 White-throated Sparrows, 5 Northern Cardinals. We also had a number of … Read More
Nelson’s Sparrows – PSU Fall Banding
Mid-October offers Pennsylvania birders an opportunity to try and find a rather rare migrant though our state, the Nelson’s Sparrow. This fall it seems weather conditions and increased birder effort has created a bit of a Nelson’s Sparrow infux, with over 20 individual birds reported around the state at this point. Tim Becker found the first of the fall on … 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
Sparrow Shindig!
Regular readers of this website have probably heard about how Alex’s Canon 400mm lens went through a pretty nasty rainstorm, which resulted in the lens having to be sent back and repaired. Today, he finally got the lens back from the shop, and it is working great! We were both pretty excited to get out and take some pictures of … Read More
Circleville Park, Centre County, PA
While driving to Scotia Barrens to look for warblers this September, I repeatedly drove by Circleville Park thinking, “I should really stop there.” The park is between Circleville Road and Valley Vista Drive, and accessed from either road. It park has various sports fields and a playground, and in the warmer months it always seemed to be full of people. … Read More