Summer’s here and the birding is easy. Actually, easy birding isn’t always good when it stems from a low diversity of local breeding birds. The birding calendar has its dips and swells and depending where you live, you may feel as if you’re caught in the doldrums. Enjoy the break! As we speak, tons of birds are massing for another big push. So use this time wisely; pay attention to interesting invertebrates, brush up on your shorebirds, raptors, and fall passerines, and immerse yourself in the newest I and the Bird, brought to us by the ebullient Liza Lee of The Egret’s Nest. You can tell that Liza Lee is a teacher as she gleefully grades each assignment to write about birds with great relish, which makes for a fun I and the Bird #54.

How are you whiling away the lazy days of summer? If birds are part of your pastime plan and you’re also fitting in some blogging about said birds, then you should definitely add submitting your writing to I and the Bird to the itinerary. Where else are you going to find an audience as appreciative of avifaunal anecdotes? The next edition of I and the Bird will be hosted by Birdfreak, who leads the blogging team over at, you guessed it, Birdfreak. Send a link and summary to your best current blog post about birding or wild birds to me or Birdfreak (birdfreak AT birdfreak DOT com) by Tuesday, August 7 for the 8/9 edition.