The American people own in common a lot of very cool places. Among our vast wildspace wealth is the National Forest system, public lands in national forests and grasslands with magical names like Monongahela, Chattahoochee, Tongass, and Wallowa-Whitman. You know that old aphorism about atrophy, right? Use it or lose it. Have you been indulging […]

I haven’t had any major birding expeditions over the last week and a half but I have had several small ones.  Now that fall migration has picked up a bit I am hitting Forest Park often again, savoring every last warbler, vireo, and flycatcher that I can spot, knowing that each time I see a […]

I was flicking through Sibley (not as painful as it may sound, by the way) in a recent idle moment and came upon the description of Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus which concludes with the paragraph, “Nearly all North American records are of the paler mantled Britain/Iceland population [graellsii]. A few records apparently refer to […]

We’re in the home stretch as far as August 2008 is concerned. This news might alarm the legions of students who are less than enthusiastic about returning to school but birders in the Northern Hemisphere are relieved that summer doldrums are at an end. Shorebird season is upon us and early migrants have already taken […]

I’ve been very lucky (especially for a Brit birder) to have had the opportunity to look closely at a good number of Nearctic shorebirds in the last few years, and I thought it may be useful to look at one species that I’ve seen particularly well - the world’s smallest shorebird, the Least Sandpiper Calidris […]

On the 21st of January of this year I began keeping track of all of my bird sightings on eBird, the online checklist program that was launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.  Why did I decide to use eBird?  Well, since you’ve asked, there are several reasons.  […]

While the autumnal equinox is still more that a month away, for most of us, summer is almost over. Have you accomplished what you meant to this summer? I have, but now I’m too exhausted to do anything else! How about you?  Where are you going this weekend and will you be watching birds? Comment […]

The photo we posted in this week’s SkyWatch of a flying American White Pelican has gone down very well, and as the photo was actually one of a series of four I took I thought I would post the others as well (and hopefully not over-egg the pudding in the process).

I took these […]

Summer can turn on a dime, don’t you think? One week you’re slaving away for the man (or woman) while the next finds you maxing and relaxing in the vacation habitat of your choice. If you’re lucky, your turn might still be coming up! Where are you watching birds this weekend? Comment below on the […]

Debra Ross is the publisher of KidsOutAndAbout.com, a web site for parents based in western New York State. She’s also the proud winner of one of our exciting book (and iPod) giveaways! She recently wrote about the acquisition of a new field guide has affected her and her two daughters, aged 7 and 8, for […]

After the fun-filled factory tour and roundtable discussion at Swarovski headquarters the whole bird-blogging bunch of us headed out to Beavertail State Park for some light birding.  Some of us, including me, tried our hand at digiscoping with equipment provided by Swarovski.  While it was rather easy to get images, getting good images is a […]

After getting my golden ticket I was on cloud nine.  A free trip to Swarovski Optiks American Headquarters with a bunch of other bird bloggers, along with a all-day birding excursion to South Beach on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is, well, a pretty exciting way to spend a couple of days.  It beats the heck […]

Can you believe August is now upon us?  Just as summer is flying by, so are amazing birds, some of whom are already pondering the journey back to their wintering grounds. Keep your head up and eyes open… you never know what you’ll spot. So where are you watching birds this weekend? Comment below on […]

I don’t know about you but after a long week of work and rain, I’m ready to get out into the world for a little nature immersion therapy. The imminent end of July reminds us that summer itself shall not last forever. Thus, it behooves us all to live it to the hilt. So where […]

We’re almost a month into summer around here and I’m ready to relax. Too bad there’s so much to do in July! Where are you watching birds this weekend? Comment below on the excitement you have planned!
I and a small army of friends and family will, as is our tradition in the third weekend of […]

It’s hot out there, at least on my side of the Earth. Don’t let high temperatures keep you indoors! If you can brave the heat, you’re bound to see something beautiful. So where are you going birding this weekend? Comment below on the excitement you have planned!
I’ll be ogling avifauna at Ocean City, Maryland. This […]

I’ve always been an enormous fan of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I love everything they’ve done, but of their movies, I’m most enamored of Monty Python and The Holy Grail. What other comedy manages to lever its jokes off as proud and noble a straight-man as King Arthur himself (played by the late, great […]

Most of us in the good old U.S. of A. are looking at a long, lovely weekend in celebration of our nation’s independence from British tyranny. All around the world, students and teachers alike are celebrating freedom from tyranny of a different sort. So where are you going birding this weekend? Comment below on the […]

A great question was sent into the 10,000 Birds Clinic today that has triggered off a train of thoughts and that led inevitably to this post. The questioner, Kathy, sent in three photos of a rather scruffy bird she’d found by her Toronto home which she thought she could identify but wasn’t 100% sure. Somewhat […]

The jammy finger has made a mess of my laptop screen for the final time (I hope) and the winner of the fully-loaded iPod in the ten-letter anagram “what bird does this make?” part of our “Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America” GREAT give-away is….(drum roll)…

Debra Ross (and family). Congratulations, enjoy your […]