You are browsing the archives of 2006 June.

Our little Ivy is one month old today. Isn’t she cute? You don’t have to answer that…I know how really, really cute she is. Our sweet Ivy Bean

So the proposed constitutional amendment that would have enabled Congress to ban desecration of the American flag   failed by one (only one?!?) vote. Fortunately, all is not lost for those lawmakers willing to tamper with the Bill of Rights to prove their all-consuming patriotism. Senator Mel Martinez (R, Florida) said any desecration of the flag [...]

John of A DC Birding Blog, originator of the 10 Most Beautiful Birds meme, has made good on his promise to instigate a   10 Favorite Bird Songs list. Students of the blogosphere may note that a list is less infectious and has less sociological sway than a meme. I’m sure that many who succumbed to [...]

Most residents of New York state, particularly those who can muster a glance at the treetops now and again, are familiar with the writhing, webby nests of the Eastern Tent Caterpillar (Malacosoma americanum), though few have a solid idea what they’re observing. I’m embarrassed to say that until recently, as in just a couple of [...]

From the outside looking in, birding and science seem to be two very different pursuits. Even enthusiasts themselves sometimes fail to relate the patient, inquisitive observation of avifauna conducted for recreational purposes to the same deliberate scrutiny administered under the auspices of professional ornithology. Many birders perpetrate citizen science without even knowing it when participating [...]

One beautiful thing about the bird blogging game is that new blood is always welcome. The alleged A-listers may have the glamorous and, dare I say it, lucrative corners of the blogosphere locked up, but the natural history niche is wide open. The last year has seen a boom in brilliant bird blogs, as the [...]

This has been a banner year for me as far as vireos are concerned. Though I’m always on the alert for new birds, I unintentionally backed into a new personal milestone. I was so fixated on warblers during May’s migratory festivities that I didn’t realize until June that I’d spotted every species of vireo expected [...]

I should have been home, either tending to my delightful new daughter or at least getting some sleep. Instead, I found myself driving to Queens in search of a duck that shouldn’t have been there. Actually, it was three ducks, an enticing trio of Fulvous Whistling-Ducks that had been hanging around Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge [...]