Posts tagged as:

rare birds

Revisiting The Kirtland’s Warbler

September 22, 2009

The hour of 3 am and I are becoming intimate bedfellows. That being the case, I may as well prop up my eyelids with toothpicks, wince from the glare of my screen in this darkened room, and report on my trip to the Midwest Birding Symposium.
I went into the symposium believing that I was here [...]

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My Life Kirtland’s Warbler (i.e., Life Is Good At MBS)

September 18, 2009

My $75 registration fee was just returned in spades. During one of the early morning talks at MBS today, my cell phone vibrated with a very curious message: “Kirtland’s Warbler at East Harbor State Park, Meadow Trail.”
At that point, I had to bail on the fine and illustrious speaker, Jim McCormac, because I knew he’d [...]

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25 Newly Described Neotropical Bird Species

July 14, 2009

More than 25 new birds species have been described in the neotropics since the year 2000

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Roseate Spoonbill – Delaware’s First Record

July 2, 2009

Here’s a reason to use Twitter: it can put you onto a rare bird faster than a New York minute!

The first Roseate Spoonbill ever to grace Delaware’s shores was observed the Sunday before my trip to Maryland. The bird—believed to be a first-year juvenile —was first observed in Fenwick Island (Assawoman Bay) in the extreme southeast corner of the state, close enough to the MD line to make MD listers green with envy (and hoping for a strong north wind).

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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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