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I thought waking up in the dark on a Sunday morning and getting on the subway at 6 AM to join Charlie for some birding was a heck of a task, that is, until I found out that Charlie had just flown in from London yesterday, which he had arrived at from Chicago the day [...]

Seeing as Mike has already stolen the thunder of our best birds of the day (well, he did get better pictures) I figured I would mention a couple of the other species that were around after Mike departed Central Park to be a good father. There were a couple in particular that I wanted to [...]

Corey and I visited Central Park this morning for some early spring birding. At this point in the season, a good day might be 8 species of warbler, rather than 20. We topped 8 just barely, but made up in quality what we lacked in quantity. The undisputed star of the show was a bird [...]

On my hours-long birding excursion in Central Park yesterday one of the highlights was seeing many Palm Warblers all over the grassy areas wherever people weren’t. The bright yellow of the eastern form, which was all I saw today, was a sight for sore eyes after far too long without the presence of the little [...]

I have never in my life been more glad not to be a bug.

I really should have titled this post “I Love New York!” Why? Because where else can one be at their desk in their office near the end of the work day, get an email about a vagrant western bird in a city park, and be looking at it fifteen minutes after leaving said office? Nowhere [...]

After my trip to Van Cortlandt Park early Sunday morning I decided to hit up Central Park on my way home in the hopes of checking a couple more birds off of my Anti-Global Warming Big Year list. I was successful in doing so, spotting both a Fox Sparrow and a small flock of Cedar [...]

When I woke up Saturday morning I didn’t see my shadow, a good sign on Groundhog’s Day. Even better was the fact that I was on my way to Union Square Park to see the Scott’s Oriole again and this time, because I had taken the train from Albany and not stepped foot in a [...]

Spring migration is sublime, like the fragrance of exotic blossoms, like the promise of health to one who has ailed for a long time. Yet sometimes even this blessing can feel like a burden. The birds are finally here, which means that the only reasonable response, no matter what else is happening, is to get [...]

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 [...]

Friday morning found me in Central Park again. I had hoped to meet up with someone for a bit of birding before business hours. Though those plans never materialized, I did manage to squeeze in almost two hours of birding and still get home by 8:30 AM. My eyes, I should point out, didn’t start [...]

Spring migration has hit NYC hard, like a horde of bloodthirsty barbarians rampaging across the boroughs, except that the barbarians are actually exquisite songbirds that are thirsty for insects and seeds rather than blood. Yes, that metaphor is extremely awkward but my original one, a bird bomb exploding in Manhattan, seemed in poor taste. Suffice [...]