When news spread that Jim Stasz had found a Virginia’s Warbler near Easton, MD I knew I wanted to try and chase the bird, especially since it would be a first state record for Maryland as well as only a handful of records for the east coast. I have already seen Virginia’s Warbler in Arizona, but I love seeing birds in … Read More
Wilson’s Warbler – Newnan’s Lake, FL
Most eastern warblers pass through Florida during migration, some even overwinter throughout the state. Some, like the Blackburnian Warbler are much more abundant throughout the state during fall migration compared to spring migration. Others, like Mourning Warbler and Wilson’s Warbler seem to ignore Florida altogether and pass west of the state and follow a route through Texas and/or over the … Read More
My Top 25 Most Wanted Centre County Species for 2012
2012 is my third calendar year birding in Centre County, PA. So far I have only birded in the county during the fall semester of 2010 and the fall semester of 2011. I have never birded in Centre County during the spring or summer. During the two fall semesters that I have been in the county for, I have managed … Read More
Townsend’s Warbler in PA!
A few days ago, Dr. Andy Green reported an adult female Townsend’s Warbler visiting his backyard along with a Pine Warbler. Once accepted, this Townsend’s Warbler will be PA’s 4th State Record. Today was the first day my friends and I were free to make the drive down to see this beautiful western warbler and we were rewarded with great … Read More
Paynes Prairie SP – Sweetwater Dike
On January 5th I met up with Gainesville Birder Rex Rowan, to go birding along the Sweetwater Dike area of Paynes Prairie State Park. The Sweetwater Dike Trail is an offshoot of the well-known La Chua Trail. Rex and I met at 11:10am and began our hike. There had been an Ash-throated Flycatcher reported along the trail recently, so that … Read More
Birding Around Gainesville – Day 1
Now that Anna and I have finally made it to Gainesville, and Anna will be living and working here till July, we wanted to go out birding around the city today and try and familiarize ourselves with a few of the local birding hotspots as well as try and pick up some more new year birds. Our first stop of the day … Read More
Starting off 2012 the Florida way….
I managed to end my 2011 year list with 439 species, just a few short of my 2010 total. I added 20 species in the last week of the year alone, travelling from Pennsylvania through New Jersey, and down the Atlantic coast to Jacksonville, Florida. Alex and I made a quick stop to see the Snowy Owl at Merrill Creek … Read More
Birding in Late Fall and Early Winter
As the fall winds down and migration slows, the remaining migrants and resident birds start to change their habits as cold weather encroaches leading into the winter months. As sad as it is to be past the peak fall migration, this time of year can also be an exciting one in Pennsylvania with lingering migrants to be found, waterfowl numbers … Read More
Cape May Trip – Part 6
This is the sixth and final part of a series of posts about my recent birding trip to Cape May, which began with Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. On our last morning in Cape May, we decided to bird for a little while around Cape May Point State Park and then begin heading back towards PA. The … Read More
Shrike Out
This morning a Northern Shrike was reported at Old Crow Wetlands in Huntingdon County. A few of us decided to make the quick drive over there to try and find it later in the afternoon. Unfortunately, we ‘shriked out’ (Copyright: Steve Brenner). Luckily, we were able to get great looks at an Orange-crowned Warbler as well as a juvenile Cooper’s … Read More