I’ve often said that people who are more actively observant of the natural world around them are more acutely aware of the seasonal cycle. When you spend most of your free time watching the comings and goings of animals, you can’t help but notice the gradual, steady changes each day brings on our yearly journey around the Sun. This is … Read More
2019 Top 10 Birding Highlights
Like many nature-based bloggers, I enjoy closing each year with a retrospective highlight reel. Ever since 2016, this personal countdown has taken the form of a Top 10 Lifers post, detailing the best new species I tallied during the preceding months. 2019, however, has been the undisputed biggest year of my life thus far. A pair of long-awaited dream trips … Read More
Little Creek: Delaware’s Shorebird Hotspot for 2014
Alan Kneidel received a B.A. in Biology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 2008. He has since contributed to a variety of research projects, spanning from the Arctic to tropical South America. He is currently a Master’s student at Delaware State University, focusing on the spring stopover ecology of trans-Gulf songbird migrants on St. George Island, Florida. While … Read More
Birds, Bears, Lions – Idaho for the Summer
This summer I am back in Idaho, working for the Intermountain Bird Observatory! I can’t wait to explore a new region of the state, mainly north of McCall to the Canada border while doing daily point count transects for breeding birds. My friend Ian Gardner and I drove over from Pennsylvania, winding around to a few of our friend’s houses and … Read More
Birding Delaware: Indian River Inlet to Bombay Hook
Two Sundays ago, Alex and I, along with Chad Kaufman, Taj Schottland, Steve Brenner, and Mel Torres tore it up in southern Delaware. We didn’t plan on doing a Big Day but instead were planning on a full day of casual, relaxed birding. After a late night of birding and hanging out at Dogfish Head, we started the morning searching … Read More
Spring Shore-birding in Idaho
Spring and fall shore-birding is one of my favorite activities; you never know what might show up in a flock of shorebirds on a mudflat! This spring I am in Idaho and so I had a bunch of new shorebird spots to check out. By far the best spot that I went to on a regular basis for shorebirds was … Read More
Answer to Mystery Bird Quiz: Wilson’s Phalarope!
Thanks to everyone that participated in the Mystery Bird Quiz I posted last week. I received many guesses via comments on the post, personal emails, and through personal conversations. Most people that provided a guess suggested that the bird was a Willet because of the gray color and long black legs. Others suggested Sanderling, Wilson’s Phalarope, and Hudsonian Godwit. The correct … Read More