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Yee-haw! The New York Football Giants have won the Super Bowl for the second time in 4 years. Not too shabby! Not only does my football team end up on top, but now I get my Sundays back! This weekend, however, I didn’t see any special birds, unless you count the bird M.I.A. flipped during [...]

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 [...]

Do you get out birding much? If you’re checking in here on a Monday morning, chances are you have a bird tale to tell. Then again, maybe like me you simply enjoy hearing about the avian observations of others even when you can’t make time for your own bird chases. Speaking of Birdchasers, Rob Fergus [...]

This may read like something of a non sequitur, but have you ever seen a Rainbow Eucalyptus? Eucalyptus deglupta is a psychedelic beauty, with stunning, striated bark that spans nearly every color of the rainbow. Take a moment to check out how trippy this tree is. When you’re done, come back and we’ll talk birds. [...]

Are we going to talk birds here or discuss how awesome it is that the NY Giants are going to the Super Bowl? Oh, birds? I should have guessed that. Big Blue fans can leave proud comments and hyperbolic predictions in the comments! My Best Bird of the Weekend™  was a Blue Jay celebrating a rare Rochester [...]

So here we are in the latter half of the first month of the year, and I’ve run out of things to talk about. Not really, but I’m trying to avoid talking about the weather. Are you really into small talk anyway? What’s your sign? Enough chit chat! Regarding the critical topic of birding and [...]

What a splendid weekend! With superb American playoff football all weekend long, I hardly noticed the bitter arrival of authentic winter weather or the apparent absence of non-corvid avifauna in my immediate vicinity. But who cares, right? As a Giant fan, I enjoyed my fill of meaningless entertainment this weekend. Oh, you’d rather talk about [...]

Three weekends into this new year, I still can’t make sense of it. If you live in the northeastern United States, you may be wondering if you’ll ever see winter again. If you live along the coast of Alaska’s Prince William Sound, on the other hand, you may wonder if you’ll make it to spring! [...]

Just two weekends into 2012, I already love this year. No doubt the weather has something to do with it; Rochester, NY may historically be one of the United States’ snowiest metropolitan areas, but we’ve been basking in almost vernal weather. Plus my New York Football Giants just advanced in the first round of the NFL playoffs. [...]

Coming into the second weekend of this new year, we’ve all added a few birds — possibly very few birds — to our year lists. Don’t feel obliged to start a formal list if listing isn’t your style. I gave up year listing a couple of annums back even though I’ve rung up some banner [...]

Happy New Year! I’m feeling pretty good about 2012 so far. Not only am I suffused with the pleasant warmth that comes with watching one’s favorite sports team clinch the playoffs, but I also managed to shake off a scant night’s sleep to chase some birds this morning. How about you? My best bird of [...]

The first day of January offers some of the most exciting birding of the year; for just a moment, every bird is new and ready to be plucked for the year list. Too bad New Year’s Day has to directly follow New Year’s Eve… many a promising year of birding has to be postponed a [...]

How are the holidays treating you? One hopes that the wheel of karma turns in your favor during this time of festivity and giving. One also hopes you’re seeing excellent birds! Everyone who lives in Rochester, NY knows about the million crows roosting within the city limits. The skies over every neighborhood stream with murder [...]

Like it or not, the holiday season is here. Merry happy whatever it is you celebrate! And lest you overlook avifauna in the midst of your caroling and carousing, remember that the Christmas season and birds go together like latkes and sour cream (at least in my household!) Not only do we have the birds [...]

If you’re reading this, you’ve survived what may have been a very busy weekend of shopping, prepping, and partying. Hopefully you didn’t overextend yourself… the holiday season is just now beginning! I can’t recall a less birdy weekend than the one I just had. My only avian observation of note is how much easier the [...]

‘Tis, as the say, the season to be jolly. So why am I so harried and anxious? Must be because I haven’t finished my holiday shopping… it may be fair to say I haven’t even started it yet! Luckily for those of us who love birds, ’tis also the season for Christmas Bird Counts. Here’s [...]

Is it better, to paraphrase that ragged old aphorism, to have birded and dipped than never to have birded at all? What if you just don’t see anything special? I didn’t go after any particular bird this weekend, which is good since I hardly saw any. The woods were quiet, so we focused on geocaching [...]

December owns an outsize reputation among months due to its status as the Northern Hemisphere’s gateway to winter, though hosting Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Saturnalia, and sundry other holidays doesn’t hurt either! Ironically, as climates change and seasons shift, this month just doesn’t seem as cold as it used to be. Nonetheless, those old December poems [...]

Don’t you just love sharing your best bird of the weekend with people that actually appreciate exciting sightings? Precious few are fortunate enough to work in an office where avian observations are swapped around the water cooler. For those of us who are not in that chosen .0001% (Occupy ABA, anyone?), here’s the place to [...]

Now that American Thanksgiving has passed, we in the States can join the rest of the world in turning our full attention to the upcoming Yule celebration. The impending season of giving can trigger intense anxiety punctuated by bouts of conspicuous consumerism, but you don’t need to succumb to rampant materialism. Why don’t you take [...]