Today was the last day our Texas Rio Grande Valley tour. And it was our 11th of 11 trips with Wildside Nature Tours this year. This morning we drove all the way out to Falcon Dam State Park. The drier habitat there got us five new species for the tour but no new species…

Day 5 in the Rio Grande Valley started with, well, more rain. And our first birding stop was <…drumroll…> south of the Border Fence. A conversation like this may have occurred: Person A: Is that the Fence everyone is talking about? Person B: Yes. Person A: But we just crossed through it. Are we in…

  We began our day at what is probably now my favorite place to bird in the Lower Rio Grande Valley–Estero Llano Grande State Park near Weslaco, TX. If I had only one South Texas site to visit, this would be it. It is really a remarkable place to visit! Always a crowd favorite is…

  Never a trip goes by without having to face a few obstacles. We woke up to pouring rain this morning dampening our plans to go to Estero Llano Grande. So we checked radar and decided we would try to catch a short dry spot in Cameron County–the county just east of us. As soon…

  We loaded our vehicles this morning at 5:00am and headed up river. Our first stop was the tiny river town of Salineño, TX. We got to watch the sun decorate the landscape in front of us as it rose in the sky. The first light of morning here is always magical. The day started…

  Today was a busy day with me at the Wildside Nature Tours booth at the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival in Harlingen and my two co-leaders Chris Brown & Gabriel Lugo picking up folks from the airport in McAllen. With waning daylight Gabriel found a few Green Parakeets across the road from our motel…

  We got an early start this morning. Our first item on the itinerary was taking the Cape May, NJ-to-Lewes, DE ferry departing at 7:00am. We had all 3 scoter species from the ferry today: Surf, White-winged, and Black Scoters. We landed in Delaware and drove immediately to Cape Henlopen State Park. We easily found…

  We spent all of day 5 of the Mid Atlantic Tour in Cape May County, New Jersey. We started at Higbee Beach. It was mild with winds out of the Southeast. Southeast can be tough at Cape May. Today was no different. It was remarkably slow. But, we were outside and it wasn’t raining.…

  Day 4 went by swiftly. There was spotty frost on the ground this morning. We had a chilly north wind for most of the day. We started the day at the beach at Stone Harbor, NJ. Things looked pretty typical for the season and nothing much was happening. And just when we were lulled…

  Day 3 of the Mid Atlantic Big Year Tour (the 10th of 11 one-week tours I am doing with Wildside Nature Tours) is complete. Four species have been added since the tour began: Northern Saw-whet Owl, Long-tailed Duck, Great Cormorant, and Purple Sandpiper. The Year total stands at 524 species. Today we drove from…

  Well. Well. What a day! We birded Peace River Valley first this morning then drove to Hawk Mountain west of Allentown, PA. It was a gorgeous day! And the hawks were flying. Highlights included 3 Northern Goshawks and 2 Golden Eagles!   We ate an early dinner and drove to a banding station west…