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 [...]
Mar 09 2010
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Dec 18 2008
I’ve got a thing for yellowthroats. I always thought they were cute and had lots of personality–everyone thinks that. Otherwise, they weren’t especially on my radar. But traveling into Mexico at the dawn of the 1990′s really turned my head around. Of course, there was the opportunity to see Gray-crowned Yellowthroat (click that link for [...]
Sep 18 2008
Just about every birder has heard the phrase, “confusing fall warblers.” It’s fallen out of fashion with the birding cognoscenti, who maintain that it’s inaccurate–fall warblers, in their view, are not confusing and saying they are just discourages people. Indeed, the new Peterson guide replaces “confusing,” with “selected.” I’m not entirely sure it’s an improvement, [...]
Sep 15 2008
Last Thursday, September 11, I visited the hawk watch at nearby Cape Henlopen State Park. During the two or so hours I was there, it was nearly hawk-free. This sort of thing happens all the time when birding–the hoped-for species or phenomenon simply fails to materialize, or if it does, the birder fails to perceive [...]
