In response to the BIRD: The Definitive Visual Guide giveaway, three great birding bloggers have recommended three great birding sites. If you’re looking for ideas for your next U.S. birding excursion, here are some inspired possibilities…
Liza Lee Miller of The Egret’s Nest loves Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing, California:
My favorite birding place is an [...]

…Tokyo. Or more exactly an hour’s drive to the north of Tokyo in Narita, the city where the hotels (and airline crews) that service Japan’s main international airport are located. Yes, my new roster was posted online yesterday, and the question you’ve all been asking - where will Charlie be starting his Old friends…World Tour [...]

“Charlie,” said Mike and Corey, “we know you’ve had a little trouble lately what with being flu-ridden, your 30D breaking down - twice, and now your long lens in at the repair shop, so why not go to Hong Kong on us, stroll around, take a few photos with that new 40D, and stick them [...]

Do any birders out on the internets have $800,000 to spare? Because what is possibly the best home for a birder to live in in New York State is on the market right now! I can pretty much guarantee that if you buy this house you will not have to leave your back [...]

A good friend of mine, who I’ll call Carmine Sandiego because I never know where in the world he is, has no interest whatsoever in birds. Nonetheless, he respects my own obvious enthusiasm to the extent that he tries to get me good avian photos from his travels. A batch from a recent trip to [...]

Ah, California. Oranges, the Beach Boys, surfing dudes, wetlands, mountains, and deserts, great birds and great birding of course - and, what was that other thing I keep forgetting about? Oh, yes, FOG! Huge great sky-darkening, end-of-the-world-resembling, camera-messing banks of never-ending FOG. Take a look at the two photos below: both were taken from my [...]

Paul Milne (Helm/A&C Black, 2006)
So, what do we have here? Hmm, according to the Introduction, a book for the travelling professional with a pair of binoculars tucked away in his or her carry-on luggage who may have enough time between meetings to hop in a cab and get down to the nearest park or wetland [...]

My good friend Eran just returned from a visit to Israel. Eran belongs to that surprisingly large segment of the population that looks on birding with bemusement rather than interest, but he is a generous soul. Since I couldn’t be with him to appreciate the birds of Israel, he brought some back to me in [...]

Starved Rock State Park, Illinois, 15 March 2006

After sheltering from the rain in Newark a few days ago, I woke up in Chicago on a beautiful, cloudless day - glorious! The night before I’d met up with my second US blogger in three days, the extremely sharp-witted and well-informed Ken of Birding is not a [...]

Langata Nature Centre (Giraffe Centre), Karen, Nairobi
24 April 2005

 
One day’s birding in Kenya - one WHOLE day in a country with a list of about 800, unforgettable birding highlights, a huge range of habitats and scenery…it was always going to be a little frustrating…

However, I’m not someone who dwells on what they’re NOT going to [...]

Kuwait is a relatively small State (17,818 square kilometers (6,880 square miles), including the Kuwaiti share of the Neutral Zone (2,590 sq km)) at the top of the Arabian Gulf, and is almost entirely flat desert.

Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a UN coalition [...]

Rio de Janeiro Botanical Gardens, Brazil. 16 February 2005.

A short shuttle flight from Sao Paulo up to Rio and back again today, giving me about four hours birding time! Four hours in Rio is a frustratingly short time, but thanks to a mate of mine - Peter Lewis-Jones, who lives with his wife and kids [...]

 
Kuwait is a relatively small State (17,818 square kilometers (6,880 square miles), including the Kuwaiti share of the Neutral Zone (2,590 sq km)) at the top of the Arabian Gulf, and is almost entirely flat desert.

Kuwait was attacked and overrun by Iraq on 2 August 1990. Following several weeks of aerial bombardment, a UN coalition [...]

 
‘Wimpey Pits’, Dubai, UAE16 January 2005.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a constitutional federation of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The federation was formally established on 2 December 1971.

The UAE occupies an area of 83,000 sq km along the south-eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatar [...]