You are browsing the archives of 2003 November.

Sara and I, collectively known as the Core Team, enjoyed some great New York City birding in November 2003. We spotted our first Hermit Thrushes in Central Park, our first Ruby-crowned Kinglets at Jamaica Bay WR, our first Sharp-shinned Hawk in Pelham Bay Park, and our first American Pipits and Tundra Swans in Croton [...]

There is a great article in Wired magazine about the technological innovations being tested through an ornithological research project. The bird in question is the Leach’s Storm-petrel.  The habitat is Great Duck Island, a 220-acre arc of land off the coast of Maine. The challenge is the utter remoteness of Great Duck, compounded by the [...]

One lesson any observer of the natural world learns quickly is to take nothing for granted.  Nature loves to defy all expectations. Nobody expects snow in April or earthquakes in New York, but who can really be shocked if these things arise? We cannot predict the movements of the natural world with certainty, but we [...]

Bird watchers have come to expect nearly endless variations of a small number of familiar forms throughout the world’s 10,000 species. For example, there are over 400 species of warblers worldwide, even though the differences between some of these species seem superficial at best. Still, the prolific diversity of avian archetypes spoils us sometimes. There’s [...]

We’ve been writing about holiday gifts for birders all week, but at the end of the day, what bird watchers really want is to be able to watch birds. Today, the Core Team joined members of the Hudson River Audubon Society for a fantastic bird walk at Croton Point Park in northern Westchester County. Thanks [...]

One of the inviolable truths of birding is that you cannot force the bird. Just because you’re looking for it doesn’t mean that it has to make an appearance, no matter how earnest your desire. However, if you observe the birds you do find, you may be pleasantly surprised. Today’s birding expedition was a perfect [...]

Socotra Cormorant Phalacrocorax nigrogularis
Dubai Creek/Arabian Gulf 2003
 
The Socotra Cormorant is listed as Vulnerable by Birdlife International “because it has a small and declining range. In addition, its population is suspected to have undergone a rapid decline of 30% or more over the past 33 years (the estimate for three generations), due mainly to infrastructural development [...]

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology reported yesterday that last winter, in West Nile virus-afflicted parts of the United States, American Crow counts dropped to a 15-year low. Other species, including Black-capped and Carolina Chickadees, were also scarce, while still others appeared in record-high numbers.
The Midwest, which by far showed the most dramatic drop in American [...]

While waxing eloquent about the Red-bellied Woodpecker, I described the male of the species as red from his nape to his lores. His lores? I’m sure that many readers wondered where exactly these lores are. Well, I’m glad that you asked. Remember, we’re all learning together here.  Let this be our first lesson in ornithological [...]

While driving today, I found myself amidst a playful flock of Dark-eyed Junco. I also spotted a European Starling with an amazing throat pouch singing atop a telephone pole, which really took me by surprise. Since when do starlings have throat pouches? But the bird of the day for me is the Red-bellied Woodpecker. I [...]