Archive for the 'Birding' Category

Oct 04 2010

A Huge Honor: I Am Joining the Team at ABA!

Published by jeff under Birding,News about me

This morning, I’m sharing some of the biggest, most exciting news of my entire life: starting November 1, I will be the new President of the American Birding Association! Kenn Kaufman broke the news here on his estimable blog. Here, too, is a pdf of a letter from ABA Board Chair Dick Ashford announcing the good [...]

39 responses so far

Aug 25 2010

Are Birders Really Buying 92% of Duck Stamps Sold?

Let me start by answering my own question posed in the title of this post: are birders really buying 92% of duck stamps sold? Almost assuredly not. I hate it when people manipulate factoids to advance an agenda and I don’t want to sink to that level. But I’m willing to take a little heat [...]

24 responses so far

Aug 14 2010

It’s Almost Hawk Watch Season!

From left: Sue Gruver, Forrest Rowland, Ruth Draper, Sharon Lynn, Brecon, me on the first day the Cape Henlopen Hawk Watch counted over 1,000 raptors: 29 Sep 2008 Summer. It goes so fast. I find myself taking every opportunity to eat the fresh tomatoes, corn and watermelon that are at their best now. Well, nearly [...]

No responses yet

Jul 21 2010

Brown Booby update: some cute photos + more precise coordinates

I have bit of news and some eye candy to add to the story of Delaware’s first Brown Booby, which came aboard the Thelma Dale IV on Monday, 19 July 2010 and rode the boat back into the harbor at Lewes, whereupon it was taken to Tri-State Bird Rescue. First, some eye candy. Here’s a [...]

9 responses so far

Jul 20 2010

Brown Booby in Delaware Bay

Published by jeff under Birding,Delmarva,Slower Delaware

Whenever the display on my cell phone reads, “Frank Rohrbacher,” I have a very predictable Pavlovian response. I feel the adrenaline start to flow and I instantly throttle up to the birder equivalent of DEFCON 2. Of course, Frank will call about ordinary matters from time to time, but variable-schedule reinforcement is the most potent [...]

5 responses so far

Jun 08 2010

Horseshoe Crab Spawning with Host Our Coast & Yours Truly

NB: For the best video experience, I highly recommend hitting “play,” then clicking on the 360p button that appears in the lower right of the video player and choosing 480p instead. Also click the adjacent box with the four outward pointing arrows to go full screen. At the end, just hit the same box, which [...]

6 responses so far

May 11 2010

Swainson’s Warbler: King of the Rhodos

One of the highlights of my year is guiding at the New River Birding & Nature Festival near Fayetteville in southern West Virgina. I love the mountains there, the forests, the birds, the wildflowers, the camaraderie, the opportunities for learning and discovery. The people who organize it, those who work it, and those who attend [...]

18 responses so far

Apr 12 2010

Where to find (and friend) me these days

I’ve joked that Facebook has eaten both my blog and my Twitter stream and you know, it’s hardly a joke. In contrast to this dear old blog, which I’ve really enjoyed, but also wrestled with, I find that I post regularly and often on Facebook. Of course, the posts tend to be shorter and often [...]

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Mar 11 2010

Pictures for Peterson 4: Purple Sandpiper

Published by jeff under Birding

Try to conjure up an image of your favorite seaside locale. Many will think of sand and sun and summer, long stretches of lounging punctuated by a refreshing dip in a tranquil, blue ocean. Very few, I would wager, will imagine a cold day in February, clambering over jagged, seaweed-slicked boulders while crashing surf sprays all [...]

2 responses so far

Mar 09 2010

Pictures for Peterson 3: Prairie Warbler

No big backstory here…just a beautiful little bird, singing his heart out, an image that seems appropriate for the gorgeous early spring weather we are having today, though it will still be another month before Prairie Warblers return to our area. The buzzy, ascending song of Prairie Warbler is the first “fancy” song I remember [...]

2 responses so far

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