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Friends, birders, countrymen (and women)– lend me your ears. I come not to praise winter, but to bury it. Those of us occupying the boreal half of the planet can give Old Man Winter an exuberant sendoff this weekend, while you on the austral side can say so long to summer. How will you be observing the [...]

Change is in the air, isn’t it? All around the world, satisfaction subsides as an inevitable restlessness sets in on a cellular level. If you’re able to resist the lure of migration, you can at least pull up a seat and watch the endless waves pursue their predestined bliss. Or join in… Corey’s Best Bird [...]

To twitch or not to twitch… that is the question facing many listers in the northeastern United States this weekend. The directionally-challenged Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch that Corey documented so lovingly continues to abide where rosy-finches never do.  As long as it persists, this Western species will prompt every birder within 400 miles to consider, however briefly, taking [...]

Some weekends are sublime and others mundane. Obviously, we cannot survive one transcendent weekend after another, but this stretch of late winter seems to require more than the usual routine. I found little inspiration in the usual birds, so I turned to the great Herman Melville for some grand avian allegory: And there is a Catskill [...]

Feel the damp scent of spring (or the spicy tang of autumn for those of you on the austral side of the Earth) in the air? Don’t get ahead of yourself! Yes, the first feelers of migration will soon infiltrate your budding trees and bushes, but winter may still have plans for us. Living in [...]

We’re in the rough part of winter now, the part that seems to keep spring just a fingertip’s length out of reach. I’m not saying winter has been rough, since the season has actually been rather clement. But even one extra day of February keeps us that much farther from our long awaited vernal visitors. [...]

If you were ever looking for a reason to pay careful attention to the common birds around you, this weekend offered the perfect opportunity. Have you been participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count? Honestly, I did not embrace the GBBC with all my heart. This weekend was dedicated to enjoying the company of my visiting [...]

Beware the Ides of February! Schools across the United States are closing for Mid-Winter Break, which means the nation will be abuzz with energetic kids fighting boredom. Some families will travel, while others might prefer to hunker down and hibernate. How about you? What will you be doing this weekend and will you be birding? [...]

Last weekend, millions of people devoted their full attention to football and the accouterments of Super Bowl festivities. This weekend, the annual Grammy awards along with the unscheduled and untimely demise of a pop icon ensured that music dominated wide interest. Do you think that any event in our lifetimes will ever focus so much positive attention [...]

Many of us are in the midst of a winter that never was heading towards a Valentine’s Day that may never be. If you have romantic plans this weekend, make reservations in advance. If love isn’t in the air in your immediate vicinity, why not birding? I’ll be headed up to the lakefront this weekend; [...]

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 [...]