You are browsing the archives of February.

Now that the Great Backyard Bird Count has ended, reports are rolling in from the Rio Grande Valley to Nunavut (thanks, Clare!) I’m wondering about how participation in an extreme or prolonged bird watching event affects interest in further birding. This question isn’t just apropos to North American birders but really to anyone who engages [...]

Beware the Ides of February! Schools across the United States are closing for Mid-Winter Break, which means the nation will be abuzz with energetic kids fighting boredom. Some families will travel, while others might prefer to hunker down and hibernate. How about you? What will you be doing this weekend and will you be birding? [...]

Many of us are in the midst of a winter that never was heading towards a Valentine’s Day that may never be. If you have romantic plans this weekend, make reservations in advance. If love isn’t in the air in your immediate vicinity, why not birding? I’ll be headed up to the lakefront this weekend; [...]

The first weekend of February holds a special place in the hearts of sports fans and advertising aficionados across North America and beyond.  Super Bowl Sunday is among my favorite holidays, and this one means more than most as my favorite team is gunning for the NFL Championship. Let’s hear your predictions, people: Who will win [...]

Whether you’re an optimist or pessimist, you have to admit that our glasses are filling nicely, if not a bit slowly. This season of extreme cold (or heat) is on the wane, leading to a more moderate and eventually migratory season. Plus, if your kids have been home all week like mine have, they’ll be [...]

What could be better/worse than a winter that won’t quit? How about a week during that winter when your kids are not in school? How awesome/less than awesome. Where I live, schools are closed next week for winter break, which seems an awfully long time to celebrate President’s Day. Whether you’re excited or ambivalent about [...]

Believe it or not, friends, we are closer to spring than we are to fall. The next avian migration we experience north of the Equator will carry passerines in bright breeding plumage full of song and vinegar, bursting to beget the next generation of birds. Until then, look at waterfowl, hawks, and gulls! What will [...]

The shortest month of the year is coming to a close and I feel like, for me, February will vanish without a trace. Too much of the mundane has been separating me from the sublime. Don’t make my mistakes! Get out there and enjoy nature. Where will you be enjoying nature this weekend and will [...]

How are you feeling these days? If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, a long winter may finally be getting to you. Even folks as far south as Florida have been dealing with lower temperatures than they’re accustomed to. Winter is wearing me down but, like everyone else, I’m pressing on. Getting out definitely helps! So [...]

Many students, teachers, and school staff in the United States, or at least my section of the country, are about to embark on a week without school with all the attendant excitement and aggravation that portends. Then again, most people in the northeast have already been dealing with the excitement and aggravation that only 12-24 [...]

February is the shortest month of the year. Consequently, you can’t waste a second if you want to fit a full month of activity in. Start now! What will you be doing this weekend and what birds are involved? Please share your plans in the comments below. The 10,000 Birds team will take this weekend [...]

And so February comes to an end. How was yours? More important, how will you be spending the weekend that merges February with March? Will you be looking at birds? Share your plans in the comments below. I’ll be recovering from an insane week in Guatemala. I can’t wait to recount the adventures we’ve had! Corey [...]

All across North America, parents, students, and most of all teachers are grappling with the wane of Winter Recess. The rest of us are just trying to get by. A weekend is a weekend… make the most of it! What are you doing this weekend and will you be birding? Share your plans in the [...]

Listen up, all you North American bird watchers… this weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. , our annual four-day backyard birding, citizen science extravaganza. Coincidentally (or not) today kicks off the observance of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday. Since nature lovers around the world owe much to Darwin’s discoveries, this seems a [...]

If you’re like me, January exceeded your expectations in more ways than one. Certainly, none of us on my particular latitude can believe quite how cold and snowy the last month has been. Yet at the same time, I’m astonished at how eager I’ve been to get out and explore the incongruous abundance of winter [...]