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It is not every day that a Great Blue Heron tolerates one’s presence from just across a small pond.  But then, it is not every Monday afternoon that one finds oneself in a position to test the tolerance of Ardea herodias, no matter how unintentionally.  But, on my vacation day from work and an off [...]

The Oceanside Marine Nature Study Area in Hempstead, NY, a marvelous saltmarsh preserve on the south side of Lond Island, is well known for its nesting Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows, to say nothing of the video camera-monitored Osprey nest and breeding Clapper Rails (which this year also had a camera on the nest which allowed [...]

Last month, an interesting Clinic question came in about a bird “about the size of a small duck, much bigger than a jay… a crest similar to a jay or a roadrunner and it has a remarkably long neck.” The inquirer included many other details about location, coloration, and what not but once I heard [...]

When I saw the post on the New York State listserv that a Cattle Egret, and sometimes two Cattle Egrets, had been seen in Drake Park in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx I knew I had to make a stop there on my way back upstate. Not only so I could [...]

Since last Sunday a rare-for-North America Western Reef Heron has been alternately frustrating and rewarding birders from the Empire State and beyond as it appears and disappears from an unassuming stretch of waterfront property in the borough of Brooklyn, New York City. It was back again today and I was in the neighboring borough [...]

Last year a Western Reef Heron was spotted in Maine and New Hampshire, last week one was spotted in New Jersey, and today one showed up in Brooklyn! The New Jersey and New York birds are almost undoubtedly the same individual, but could it have overwintered?

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 [...]

Eerie. Sinister. Unnaturally still. These are apt descriptions for those wondrous waders, the night herons. These stout birds of the genera Nycticorax and Gorsachius (Family Ardeidae) resemble feathered footballs tastefully appointed in gray and white. However, their hunched posture and nocturnal habits lend night herons a baleful mien.

Black-crowned Night Heron by Mike Bergin
Adding to the [...]

There is no single reason why I enjoy finding, identifying, photographing and now blogging about birds. Having grown up in Saugerties, NY, at the base of the Catskill Mountains, without cable television, I was kind of forced into an appreciation of the outdoors. Hiking in the mountains, exploring green-shaded woodlands, and swimming in [...]