Tag: A Birding Quest
The Art of Listing: A Big Year Quest in NY
What does a birder do when he (or she) has graduated from little brown jobs to peeps and age-classing juvenile gulls? In New York, he sets about a big year where he attempts to see 300 species.
Good Reading: Quest for the Capercaillie
Victoria James’ description of her quest to see the elusive Capercaillie, a very large, rare grouse found only in the ancient Caledonian pine forest of the Scottish Highlands, begins simple enough: Right now, in pubs across the country, you will hear earnest knots of men – and maybe a few women – discussing lifers. They’re not [...]
Chasing a Black-headed Needle In a Haystack (part 3)
This story continues from (part 1), (part 2) *** We stood on the banks of the Niagara River staring at a ginormous flock of seagulls. Thankfully, Brad is a patient and knowledgeable birder. Cross that with an obsessive desire to finally nail his NY nemesis, he needed all the eyes he could train on this flock. He [...]
Chasing a Black-headed Needle In a Haystack (part 2)
This story continues from Part 1 *** So you see, I had no choice but to leave my desk and travel on a very short bird chase to Niagara Falls from Rochester, NY. We’ll be back by 1 pm, he promised. We’ll just do a quick check of the river. It sounded fishy. But when ignorance works in [...]
Chasing A Black-headed Needle In A Haystack (part 1)
I’m always amazed by what lengths extreme birders will go to spot a rare or unusual bird; how much effort, time, gas, and money they expend, and how many responsibilities they’ll drop faster than a hot potato. The funniest part is what IMPROBABLE ODDS they’re willing to scale to spot a single rare bird, particularly [...]
Tale of Two Headless White Pelicans
As luck would have it, my visit to Jamestown, NY coincided with the unexpected visit of two American White Pelicans.
