The recent weather here in the UK has reminded us Brits that we in fact live on a fairly small rock on one edge of the Atlantic Ocean. When the wind blows somewhere over that great body of volatile water it invariably ends up crashing into the British Isles, spraying the entire country with cold [...]

Preparing for a birding excursion can be tremendous fun if one actually enjoys studying field guides, trip reports, and various and sundry other resources. I personally love the process. Not only does the preliminary research heighten anticipation of an already exciting trip, but the payoff in the field when I have no problem recognizing a [...]

I just had to post an email which dropped into my inbox earlier today: the latest variation on the well-known Advance Fee Fraud or ‘Nigerian’ 419 scam email - you know, the one where someone offers to share or send you 20million dollars in return for a small deposit, a small fee, and all your [...]

I spent the afternoon of Wednesday 25th at Slimbridge, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s (WWT) HQ, in the company of Dr Baz Hughes, WWT’s energetic and enthusiastic Head of Species Conservation. I’ve known Baz on and off for a number of years, though I hasten to add he moves in far more rarefied circles than [...]

This weekend Daisy and I held our baby shower at our home and a good time was had by all.  The food, the games, and friends and family made it what a baby shower should be: a joyful occasion (the competition to see who could empty a baby bottle of beer fastest didn’t hurt either).  [...]

Back in mid-September I reviewed Anthony McGeehan’s “Birding From the Hip“, the third book published by the innovative and highly talented ‘Sound Approach’ team in as many years (the first was 2006’s superb and highly-recommended “Sound Approach to Birding“). At the end of the review (which was positive throughout but not for reasons that the [...]

…thanks very much to everyone who contributed to our Appeal which is raising funds to support a survey in Myanmar of Spoon-billed Sandpiper wintering sites by Christoph Zöckler, Chair of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team. With just 300 pairs (maximum) of this Critically Endangered shorebird left on the planet they clearly need any help that’s [...]

The Queens County Bird Club field trip this past Sunday to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn was relatively well-attended, with eleven people present, and loaded with some of the more common species that one would expect in November.  Great Blue Heron, Green-winged Teal, Cedar Waxwing, Dark-eyed Junco, Common Loon, American Kestrel, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Belted Kingfisher, [...]