When a Gray Catbird isn’t Gray
A friend notified me that he had seen an odd looking bird in our neighborhood. I quickly drove the short distance to the location and soon found a partially leucistic, or more correctly pied (gray and white) Gray Catbird hanging about with a regular looking catbird – all gray with rusty undertail. It was certainly…
The Strange Shoebill
Rare and elusive, the inconceivable Shoebill is a bird to behold. The only member of it’s family, and found only in a handful of African wetlands, this giant-sized wader looks prehistoric. On our recent tour in Uganda, we found this odd-looking target bird with a humongous bill shaped like a clog, at Mabamba Swamp –…
Tracking Mountain Gorillas in Uganda
Tracking Mountains Gorillas in the mountains of southwest Uganda, in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest at Buhoma, was a major highlight of our recent tour. It was not an easy trek bushwacking through undergrowth in hilly terrain to reach the gorilla family, but spending time watching a silverback sitting down to eat leaves, then walking past within…
IN THE BACKYARD : Philadelphia – May
May is migration month in the Philadelphia area, and it was a pleasure to host a variety of warblers and other passerines in the backyard during their migratory journey. The month started with Black-and-white, Yellow-rumped, Black-throated Blue, Yellow, Blackpoll, and Black-throated Green Warblers, Northern Parula, Common Yellowthroat, and Ovenbird. On May 7th, I found 12…
eBird Tips & Tricks: Have checklists shared automatically!
Our birding tours are thoroughly documented through eBird checklists by our guides. It is our preference that guides share the official tour checklists with our guests, and eBird makes it super easy for checklists to be automatically added to your personal account by following the instructions below! Go to your My eBird page: https://ebird.org/myebird Find…
Red Knots on the Delaware Bayshore
May is a month when millions of shorebirds undertake a tremendous migratory journey, flying thousands of miles to breeding grounds in the Canadian tundra. Species like Semipalmated Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Short-billed Dowitcher, Dunlin, and Red Knot overwinter in South America, and wing their way north, stopping infrequently to rest and refuel along the Atlantic…
Marsh Magic at Dixon Meadow Preserve
Build it and they will come. This rings true at Dixon Meadow Preserve, Montgomery county PA, where 14 acres of lush fields and marshland habitat hosts a great variety of birds year-round. An elevated boardwalk loops through reeds, waterways and native-plant vegetation, providing interesting views all day long. On April 27, I received word of…
IN THE BACKYARD : Philadelphia late-April
The last two weeks of April highlight how spring has sprung in Philadelphia! Birds are on the move, with daily changes in occurrence and distribution. Winter migrants are moving out, while spring ones arrive, and breeders stake-out nesting spots. April 18 was our last sighting of Dark-eyed Junco in the backyard, though White-throated Sparrows linger,…
A First and Second in Pennsylvania
The weekend of April 10-11 was an exciting one for Pennsylvania birders, especially those who track records and lists! On Saturday morning, April 10, word spread that a Scott’s Oriole was visiting a feeder at an Amish homestead in Lancaster County. The oriole had apparently been present since January 5th but only recently became known…
IN THE BACKYARD : Philadelphia early-April
April started off cold and windy around Philadelphia. It didn’t feel much like spring, but birds migrate regardless of weather, following their age-old instinct to reach their breeding grounds, to hatch and raise the next generation. Our backyard was greening-up fast, and a handful of early migrants dropped in for sustenance. In the first days…
Early breeding warblers
As spring migration marches steadily up the Atlantic flyway, three of our locally-breeding warblers are among the earliest to arrive in the Philadelphia region – Pine Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush. Between mid-March and early April they appear in my local green spaces, and by the first week of April, are establishing territories and…
*Apparent* Gray-breasted Martin in NYC!
On April 1st Doug Gochfeld discovered an immature female Progne martin species flying around Prospect Lake in Brooklyn, New York City. In short, the small size and overall appearance suggests a Gray-breasted Martin over the expected Purple Martin. Cuban or Caribbean Martin are also options, however plumage and size details lean toward Gray-breasted. This would…