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There were three of us that made the trip to the famed Black Dirt region of Orange County, New York yesterday.  We had as our goals spotting the reported Cattle Egret and Blue Grosbeaks and as many shorebirds as could be found in the flooded environs.  You see, the Black Dirt region, an agricultural area [...]

On the same day that I tracked down and digiscoped Cerulean Warblers at Doodletown Road I had the genius plan of also getting over to Sterling Forest State Park and digiscoping some of the Golden-winged Warblers that breed there.*  Now those who bird in New York State regularly are probably shaking their heads right now [...]

When I was in sixth grade I went on a field trip to Storm King Art Center, a huge (500+ acres) outdoor museum loaded with cool sculptures that were very fun to climb on and swing from until we got yelled at and threatened with all kinds of dire consequences if we didn’t behave ourselves [...]

As I have already mentioned in my post about finding and identifying a California Gnatcatcher I spent quite a bit of time wandering what little open spaces are left in the small portion of Yorba Linda I could reach on foot from where we were staying over the holidays.  I did this both because I [...]

One great aspect of visiting southern California in winter is that birds are everywhere that there is even marginal habitat.  On my trip we stayed in Yorba Linda in northern Orange County, which, you will be unsurprised to learn, is pretty much the archetype of sprawl.*  Despite the developed nature of the landscape there were [...]

As I have probably already mentioned, I was in southern California over the holidays.  Before I headed out there from my home in New York I was monitoring the local listservs in California for birds I had never seen in the hopes of adding some birds to my life list during my time in the [...]

There was something missing in all of the birding that I did in southern California over the holidays.  Sea birds!  And I am not a huge fan of seawatching unless it is done from a boat, in which case it becomes the much more enjoyable pelagic birding.  Being in a boat looking for birds is [...]

After leaving San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary behind I made my way back out to Jamboree Road and headed downhill, west, towards the coast.  Before actually reaching the ocean I cut right onto Back Bay Drive and started making my way along Upper Newport Bay.  The tide was just past high, the sun was shining, and [...]

When it is the first day of a new year and you are a birder and you have nothing you have to do all morning long you better believe you are out birding.  My biggest problem when this situation was presented to me on 1 January 2011 was figuring out which of Orange County’s marvelous [...]

With 2010 receding in the rear view mirror I had a great morning out birding on the first day of 2011.  The undisputed highlight of the morning’s outing, which netted eighty-something species of bird, was the one lifer I tracked down almost as an afterthought.  A Vermilion Flycatcher had been reported from El Modena Park [...]

The Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge actually spans two states, New York and New Jersey, and has a host of species that call it home.  When Seth, Stella, and I visited on Sunday, flush from finding the birds we had been seeking, the sun had finally come out and it was late in the day [...]

After our successful search for Upland Sandpiper and a quick visit to the Shawangunk Grasslands for Eastern Meadowlarks, we three birders, Seth, Stella, and I, were off to Orange County, New York, to see about some recently reported rarities.  More specifically, we were off to the “black dirt” section of Orange County, an area known [...]

Sterling Forest State Park in Orange County, NY, is well-known for its breeding population of Golden-winged Warblers, to say nothing of the yearly Renaissance Faire.  But the diverse habitat of Sterling Forest State Park supports far more than Vermivora chrysoptera, lusty wenches and mead-drinking fools; everything from bears to dragonflies find what they need to [...]

I spent a great day on Saturday, 29 May, visiting a variety of parks in Orange County and Rockland County in downstate New York with a fellow Queens birder, Seth, and a Rockland County birder, Gene.  Though, really, to call either of them “birder” doesn’t give a complete picture of what they are about considering [...]

I spent a great day on Saturday, 29 May, visiting a variety of parks in Orange County and Rockland County in downstate New York with a fellow Queens birder, Seth, and a Rockland County birder, Gene.  Though, really, to call either of them “birder” doesn’t give a complete picture of what they are about considering [...]

I spent a great day yesterday (Saturday, 29 May) visiting a variety of parks in Orange County and Rockland County in downstate New York with a fellow Queens birder, Seth, and a Rockland County birder, Gene.  Though, really, to call either of them “birder” doesn’t give a complete picture of what they are about considering [...]

It’s been eight days since my trip on Friday, 3 July, to upstate New York to see the Mississippi Kite and I still haven’t told the full tale of the trip.  That will now be rectified with apologies for the two of you who have been sitting on the edge of your seat constantly hitting [...]

Business brought me out to Orange County, CA for a week in mid-October. Despite the length of my stay, I had precious few available moments for birding. My dear pal Amy brought me for some Upper Newport Bay birding not once but twice. The first attempt was undermined by the severity of Santa Ana winds [...]

Upper Newport Bay has a sterling reputation as a locus for some of the best coastal Orange County birding around. This is a big deal, considering both the outstanding avifauna this part of California can deliver as well as the other superlative sites along this stretch of the Pacific. Unfortunately, my first taste of the [...]

Business has brought me once again to a shiny section of the Golden State. It is the height, indeed the very definition, of privilege to rise up after breakfast over a variegated expanse of autumn hues to arrive for lunch in a portion of the Pacific coast where one is far more likely to spot [...]