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
The Snowy Owl’s Supper, a Pellet Mini-Mystery
My fondness for Snowy Owls is well-documented. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to live in a corner of the continent where sightings of these nomadic raptors are an annual occurrence. I’ve spent many a winter’s day trudging about on the barrier beaches of Long Island in search of Snowies. It was through such scouting efforts that I honed my field … Read More
Tern It Up
Long Island has no shortage of beaches. Depending on what coastal activities you prefer, there’s a debate to be had about which beach is best. My own opinions on the matter operate off different metrics than most swimmers and sunbathers. Even though Jones is the typical go-to for most of my beachy needs, my top pick varies largely based on … Read More
Fun Challenges and Cautionary Tales from Fall Banding
Fall migration out east is a conflicting time for birders: the rarity machine is usually churning out goodies after goodies. Also, fall warblers dressed in brand-new plumage are pulsing through the woodlots of every town. These days most birders have come to appreciate the subtle nuances of fall warblers. The ID challenge is fun and rewarding, and in a way … Read More
Belize Raptor Spotlight: Black-collared Hawk
Last year at this time, I spent two months in Belize helping to count raptors at the Cattle Landing Hawk Watch site in Punta Gorda, Belize, for Belize Raptor Research Institute. This hawk watch site has seen incredible numbers of Hook-billed Kites, and is the only place in the world where you can see such numbers migrating south. The fall … Read More
Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrows in PA
After having a great opportunity to study an adult Gambel’s White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii) at Arlene Koch’s property last weekend near Easton, while also enjoying the immature Harris’s Sparrow there, I was interested to learn more about this western subspecies’ history in Pennsylvania and the mid-Atlantic. Gambel’s White-crowneds are essentially the western-Canadian counterpart of our more familiar Eastern birds … Read More
Barnacle Geese – Weir Lake, Monroe County, PA
It’s not often that Barnacle Geese show up in Pennsylvania, in fact there have been less than 20 instances of this beautiful goose in the state, but they are on the increase throughout the northeast and every winter more and more are discovered among flocks of Canada Geese as more birders get out there looking. Typically a sighting here in … Read More
Rufous Hummingbird – Kent County, Delaware
Just as the last Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are beginning to make their way south for the winter, Rufous Hummingbirds and other rare western hummingbirds are beginning to show up at lucky homeowner’s feeders and well-planted backyards. With many scattered reports around the northeast so far this fall, Delaware birders like myself were anxiously awaiting a rare hummingbird to turn up in our small … Read More
Hawk Migration Up-Close and Awesome
This fall, I’m stationed atop Capilla Peak in the Manzano Mountains, about 25 miles southeast of Albuquerque. My purpose: count, identify, and band as many migrating raptors as possible. Myself and three others are working for Hawkwatch International, an organization devoted to the conservation of North American raptors. There is nothing quite like a complete immersion into the miracle of … Read More
‘Puget Sound’ White-crowned Sparrows
Many species of sparrows vary considerably in appearance and vocalizations across their ranges in North America. In particular Dark-eyed Juncos, Song Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and White-crowned Sparrows show the most distinct populations. The White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), one of our largest and classiest-looking sparrow, can be separated into five subspecies: Eastern (Z. l. leucophrys), Gambel’s (Z. l. gambelii), Mountain (Z. l. … Read More