You are browsing the archives of 2006 September.

“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” These were the immortal words of Benjamin Franklin, a man as brilliant as they come. Yet this keen observer of the natural world ignored the certainties all around him. The rising of the sun in the east and its setting in [...]

Club George: Diary of a Central Park Bird-watcher is based on an engaging premise, something of a twist on the classic romance structure. The author, Bob Levy encounters a charismatic Red-winged Blackbird named George in New York City’s Central Park. Mr. Levy becomes enthralled by George’s charismatic antics and confiding ways and through his acquaintance [...]

Few American birds have the publicity problems of the titmouse. Even though they are numerous, if not downright gregarious throughout most of their range, despite the fact that the Tufted Titmouse is consistently one of the top ten most frequently reported species in the Great Backyard Bird Count, titmice lack the popularity of other common [...]

Harris’ Hawk Yesterday, the Core Team met up with our friend, Frank and his own growing posse for some hawkwatch excitement. We convened at the Quaker Ridge Hawk Watch at the Audubon Center in Greenwich, Connecticut. The Audubon Center in Greenwich is sensational, a wild space as well managed (and richly endowed) as one could [...]

An almanac is an annual publication presenting a calendar for the coming year, one concerned less with Hallmark holidays and alternate side of the street parking regulations than with the cyclical occurrence of natural phenomena. Almanacs track tide tables, moon phases, sunrises and sunsets, and meteorological and astronomical activity of every kind. Studying the influence [...]

The Outdoor Industry Foundation 2006 Outdoor Recreation Participation Study was released in August, but I didn’t know about this study until Mike McDowell blogged about it. This is a very interesting, though disturbing report, especially where it describes U.S. participation in bird watching. The OIF’s main determination is that participation in bird watching is on [...]

American Redstart What goes up must come down. That’s the promise September in New York always keeps. I’ve been knocked out for the past few days by a particularly malevolent cold which really put a cramp in my birding style. But there is no rest for the weary when one is a parent. In my [...]

Willet (Eastern) Business brought me down to central New Jersey yesterday, so I thought I’d cap off the day by dropping in at storied Sandy Hook, part of the magnificent Gateway National Recreation Area. Gateway NRA is the same parks complex that includes Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, so you know that if the name is [...]