You are browsing the archives of 2009 March.

On the second day of the Mesoamerican Bird Festival we had a treat in the evening, an exhibition of hummingbird art by Honduran artist Rebecca Mendoza.  Each piece of art was of one species of hummingbird and Rebecca strategically used glitter to represent the hummingbirds’ amazing plumage.  Granted, glitter in hummingbird art isn’t for everyone but I [...]

Mesoamerican Month at 10,000 Birds has been better for all of us thanks to the photos of my friend from Guatemala, Renato Fernández Ravelo. Renato, a distinguished naturalist, photographer, and author of Birds: Guatemala’s Feathers, has already contributed stellar shots of a Steller’s Jay and Resplendent Quetzal. When I recently received a brief but poignant [...]

Believe it or not, I’m a bit of a font fanatic. If you’re crazy for both typography and ornithology yourself, you’ll probably love this new typeface made out of bird drawings by Scottish artist, Gabrielle Reith. You’ve got less than a week to download it for free!

After the excitement of seeing an Emerald Toucanet and checking out how coffee is grown at Finca El Paraiso we were all ready to get back on the bus.  Some were dawdling, hoping to see one last bird and I was taking a couple shots of the free-range chickens that were scratching in the dirt [...]

Monk Parakeets appear to be winning the war declared on them in West Haven several years ago by United Illuminating, which seeks to stop the birds nesting on utility poles.  The company no longer catches the birds to euthanize them, but is finding it impossible to discourage the birds (they like the warmth of electrical [...]

The Los Andes Private Nature Reserve is a lovely, lovely place but it’s a bit off the beaten path. One does not accidentally stumble into paradise but rather pursues it purposefully. Our group certainly did; our purpose resided high on a peak overlooking mist-shrouded fields of tea and quinine. Two times in two days we [...]

An opinion piece from The Guardian from back in January, written by Eric Milton, makes the case that they (we?) are.  What do you think?  Hat tip to Angus, whose Facebook feed I got the link from.

Though it is a myth, of course, that American Robins are not around in winter, I still enjoyed my first robins of spring yesterday in Flushing Meadows Park and Kissena Park in Queens.  They were around in numbers, feeding on invertebrates found in both grassy and disturbed areas.  Their tut-tut-tuts when disturbed were music to [...]

Pardon this post’s provocative title but now that I’ve got your attention, let’s talk about woodcocks. That strangest of shorebirds, Scolopax minor has long been a nemesis of mine. Every spring, I’ve endeavored to enjoy its daffy dusk ritual or hear its plaintive peent but every spring I’ve failed. 2008 seemed like the year that [...]

As I have already related in my post about birding a shade-grown coffee plantation there was an Emerald Toucanet (Aulacorhynchus prasinus) that was kind enough to stay in one spot long enough for me to digiscope it.  The green bird, which could amazingly almost disappear in the foliage, was feeding on fruit (figs? Nope, manteco, [...]