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 Prospect Park Progne: a Mega Martin Mystery
As the doldrums of March draw to a close, spring migration begins to heat up a bit more rapidly. The excitement of the May peak is still a ways out, but the rising anticipation in both birds and birders is palpable. This year, April kicked off with a bang of legendary proportions! The morning of the 1st brought clouds and … Read More
A Dash of Florida Birding
Like most of the world, I’ve been keeping pretty close to home for the past year or so. I spent over a month confined almost exclusively to my apartment last spring, and several months beyond that entirely within the borders of New York State. Later short-range outings still never took me more than a few states away. Now that I’m … 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
2021 – The First 100
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
2020 Top 10 Birds
Every year offers a different set of experiences. In 2019, I saw so many lifers that I couldn’t imagine narrowing them down to a Top 10. 2020 stands in stark contrast to last year’s international adventures, and though I managed to make the most of this challenging reality I did not crack into the double digits for new birds observed. … Read More
A Tale of Two Cuckoos
The cosmopolitan family Cuculidae contains some of the world’s weirdest and most wonderful species of birds. I am not shy about my fondness for cuckoos, and over the years I have enjoyed a number of incredible encounters with this tribe during my travels around the globe. Fantastic creatures like Greater Roadrunner, Squirrel Cuckoo, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Pheasant Cuckoo, Little Bronze-Cuckoo, … 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
Apartment Birding and Fire Escapism
When I first moved into my Astoria apartment in early December, I immediately began keeping a “yard list” of birds seen around my new home. My expectations for the potential of this urbanized neighborhood weren’t particularly high, but I reasoned that watching for birds of note outside my window would be a fun way to pass the time between proper … Read More