Big Day, and Blogging hiatus

Upcoming events: I’ll be out on a fossil-fuel-free big day this coming weekend, bicycling around Concord, Massachusetts (hoping for 100 species) and I’ll try to post a report about that next week. You can sponsor me through Bird Studies Canada, or through Malkolm Boothroyd’s Bird Day Challenge. —————–========—————– The Blog: When I started this blog […]

Big Day, and Blogging hiatus Read More »

Border Fence puts Texas birds and birding at risk

Revised 8 Apr 2008 – Do something: Write or call Congress. See the No Texas Border Wall campaign and their suggestions for action with several petitions to sign and instructions for contacting government officials. Defenders of Wildlife has a handy form here for writing to your representative. ————————— The proposed border wall (1) from Texas

Border Fence puts Texas birds and birding at risk Read More »

Audubon’s mysteries: Carbonated Swamp-Warbler

One of the enduring mysteries of North American ornithology involves several species which were painted by Audubon in the early 1800s but never seen again. The most striking and appealing of these birds is the Carbonated Swamp-Warbler, and since the painting was published ornithologists have debated whether this could be a rare and now-extinct species,

Audubon’s mysteries: Carbonated Swamp-Warbler Read More »

A reprieve for Red Knots

Great news: New Jersey’s governor Corzine yesterday signed into law a moratorium on the harvest of Horseshoe Crabs in that state (press release here). This is great news for Red Knots – politicians have finally recognized the dire situation and put the needs of a species ahead of the seasonal income of a few fishermen.

A reprieve for Red Knots Read More »

Greater Redpoll photos

Maybe I should change the name of this blog to “All about Redpolls”, but I’ve received a few photos that I wanted to pass along, making the point that “Greater” Common Redpoll is not just an eastern specialty. The AOU checklist and the BNA account report that this subspecies winters regularly from Labrador west to

Greater Redpoll photos Read More »

Redpoll investigation widens to include “Greater”

Maybe we are just more aware and looking harder for “Greater” Common Redpolls (Carduelis flammea rostrata) this winter in Massachusetts, or maybe it’s really an exceptional winter, but there is no doubt that they have come south in significant numbers. I have seen them on a couple of visits to Dan Berard’s feeders in Millbury,

Redpoll investigation widens to include “Greater” Read More »