May 11 2010
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 [...]
Apr 12 2010
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 [...]
Sep 24 2009
I’m just back from the 2009 Midwest Birding Symposium, which was without doubt one of the best organized and coordinated events of its kind, ever. I kept pretty busy, giving a presentation on the uses of digital technology in birding, successfully chasing a Kirtland’s Warbler that turned up nearby, burning the midnight karaoke oil, and [...]
Jun 17 2009
Atlantic Puffins at (Machias) Seal Island You don’t need a fancy camera to take a puffin photo like this one–you just need to be in the right spot. I took the above shot with a compact, point & shoot stye camera. And you can, too, if you want. Or you can just enjoy one of [...]
Jun 16 2009
Male Wilson’s Warbler, San Mateo County, CA Here’s a shot I would describe as a likable miss. It’s not very sharp (light was incredibly low, requiring slow shutter speeds) and there’s too much obstructing vegetation. But that vegetation, especially the way its pink and green colors complement the yellow and black warbler, is also what [...]
Jun 14 2009
Hello out there! I’m checking in, as it has been 2+ weeks since my last post. In the meantime, I’ve been madly working away on a photography project that has taken me to four states, including Oregon–a lifer for me and the 49th U.S. state in which I have set foot. On top of that, [...]
May 04 2009
I’m just back from the New River Birding and Nature Festival, held each year near Fayetteville, West Virginia. It has become one of my favorite annual birding events, so much so that I was really bummed out when it appeared that scheduling conflicts were going to keep me from going this year. Fortunately, that issue [...]
Apr 28 2009
I spent much of the last several days leading trips and hanging out at various events associated with the Delmarva Birding Weekend. Though I had a great time, I took virtually no pictures. When you’re leading a big group of people it’s darned near impossible, in my experience, to take any time out even for scenic [...]
Apr 23 2009
Ornate Flycatcher, Milpe, Ecuador How often do you find the words cute and unmistakable in the same sentence with flycatcher? Bob Ridgeley combined them to capture much of what makes this bird special. My photo, unfortunately, only shows the ventral side of the bird. Add in the glowing yellow rump and rusty-based tail and you’ve got [...]
Apr 21 2009
I think it was Bill of the Birds who first introduced me to the concept of “proofreading the world,” the uncontrollable tendency some of us have to sift our environment for errors, typographic and otherwise. I realize nearly everyone does this at some level, but for some of us, it’s a compulsion. We can’t stop. [...]
