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A Birding Quest

The Art of Listing: A Big Year Quest in NY

September 10, 2009

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.

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Good Reading: Quest for the Capercaillie

June 12, 2009

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 off-duty [...]

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Chasing a Black-headed Needle In a Haystack (part 3)

April 18, 2009

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 explained the gulls’ mojo and [...]

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Chasing a Black-headed Needle In a Haystack (part 2)

April 17, 2009

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 obsession’s favor, you [...]

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Chasing A Black-headed Needle In A Haystack (part 1)

April 16, 2009

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 an [...]

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Tale of Two Headless White Pelicans

April 2, 2009

As luck would have it, my visit to Jamestown, NY coincided with the unexpected visit of two American White Pelicans.

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