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John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, AKA Tinicum, is an outstanding urban oasis in southern Philadelphia, less than one mile from Philadelphia’s airport.  Being a New Yorker, I had never birded the refuge before.  After all, why would I drive over two hours to bird in habitat that is very similar to much closer locations?  But [...]

It is not every day that a Yellow-billed Cuckoo decides to cooperate and sit out in the open for pictures.  In fact, the vast majority of birding days go by without Coccyzus americanus making any kind of appearance at all.  So you can imagine my pleasure, then, when I spotted one skulking in some thick brush [...]

On October 15-16th, 2011 Nikon Birding teamed up with Hawk Mountain and Cabela’s to host a blow-out weekend focusing on raptors. This weekend was meant to draw kids into the Hamburg, PA Cabela’s to experience birds in a up-close and personal kind of way. Those of you who have read my posts in the past [...]

If you have never been to Hawk Mountain, Pennsylvania during fall migration I would strongly recommend a visit. We have just returned from hosting this past weekend’s inaugural Extreme Raptor Weekend and Hawk Mountain was one of our chosen partner venues. Besides the presence of several noted birding personalities, interesting seminars and phenomenal prize give-aways, [...]

For 13 years now, friends and family have been gathering in an undisclosed corner of Potter County, Pennsylvania during the third weekend of July to create a glorious giant chicken of wood, straw, and gunpowder only to burn it. See why we keep the location undisclosed? The Chicken Inferno is always one of the highlights [...]

One would think that, after twelve years, the process of meticulously crafting an enormous wooded chicken statue only to stuff it with fireworks and ritually incinerate it would get old. Believe it or not, a Chicken Inferno always feels fresh! Yes, this third weekend of July brought friends and family from around the Northeast to [...]

Sometimes it feels like my reports from my frequent Potter County, PA trips begin to take on the tone of Garrison Keillor’s News from Lake Wobegon (where all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.) Let’s see what early Spetember holds in that untouched, unspoiled, [...]

It may not feel like summer during this chilly Northeast June but the birds know what time it is. Avians everywhere are doing it, and by “it” I mean breeding, nesting, raising young, and generally living large. Potter County, Pennsylvania — the rural corner of the Keystone State where my in-laws live — is never [...]

I believe I’ve mentioned that Sara planned a surprise getaway for the two of us in honor of my 40th birthday last month. She even promised to go birding with me, a pretty rare event these days. Well, we just got away and the surprise destination was Presque Isle, Pennsylvania. Cool! For those of you [...]

The three days I recently spent at my mother-in-law’s farm in Potter County, PA were magical for photography. Shot after shot of feeder birds were inexplicably exceptional despite the fact that I was shooting through a smudgy glass pane. I considered cleaning my children’s grubby handprints off the window but decided not to mess with [...]

The family is spending a few days down on the farm, specifically the retired dairy farm my mother-in-law calls home. Ann and her husband Bill have a gorgeous spread in Potter County, Pennsylvania which I’ve been writing about since I started blogging. Yet, I can attest with pleasure that this slice of pastoral heaven still [...]