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On an early morning bird-stroll at Five Rivers this week I was hoping for flocks of warblers. I didn’t get any. I did, however, see many Gray Catbirds, Song Sparrows, and House Wrens. The highlight of the morning was an American Bittern that flushed from a pond and flew off far too [...]

Though Cedar Waxwings are known for their preference for eating fruit, they are actually also accomplished flycatchers. Daisy and I had the great pleasure of watching a flock of them showcasing their aerial abilities the other day at Five Rivers. Of course, I took a ton of pictures.
But as is often the case [...]

A Green Heron at Five Rivers in Delmar, NY, was my trigger bird, so I was pleased the last time I was there to see one land on a nearby branch.

I had never managed to get so close to a Green Heron in decent light before. I was actually at Five Rivers looking for [...]

In the same walk that netted me these deer photos I also apparently wandered into the breeding territory of a male Red-winged Blackbird. Unfortunately for the bird and its offspring it had chosen rather marginal turf to try to breed in, in little tiny patches of cattails along a path. Needless to say, [...]

A short stroll this evening at Five Rivers was rewarded with some nice encounters with White-tailed Deer. The shots below were with a particularly cooperative doe that allowed me to close within fifteen feet of her.

This one was not cooperative at all, but I still like the result:

Have a great weekend…I’ll be back next [...]

It seems like everyone I know has gone back to school. Tom, the birder who has shown me more life birds than any other, is home from surveying school for his spring break and we went out looking for birds this morning before I had to go to work.
Birding with Tom is a pleasure. [...]

So Will and I had spoken on Sunday and agreed to go owling on Tuesday night. We had both failed at checking off Eastern Screech-Owl or Great Horned Owl on our New York lists this year so we figured we’d take a shot at tracking down either silent nocturnal killer.
Before Will picked me up [...]

Sunday afternoon was great. Doing my favorite activity (birding) at my favorite location (Five Rivers Environmental Education Center) with my favorite person (my other half, Daisy, up from law school for the weekend) is my idea of a good time. Five Rivers is a large preserve run by the state of New York’s [...]