Today in southeast Pennsylvania the high temperature was 22° Fahrenheit. Definitely not butterfly weather! However, as I worked on the WildsideNatureTours.com web site, specifically the Mexico Monarch Butterfly Tour photo gallery, I pondered the life-cycles of other butterflies, like the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails pictured here, too.The Monarchs’ migration, and its trials, are well documented and…

Winter has arrived! It was our coldest day in many years and what a difference a few hours can make. Driving through the Pine Barrens shortly after sunrise it was an astonishing minus 14F! We are talking only a few meters above sea level and less than 20 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. But, at…

With Guyana’s wide variety of pristine habitat, a wide variety of raptors would also be expected. I was not disappointed. From the more common Roadside Hawk to the  “holy grail” of raptors, the Harpy Eagle, I was able to photograph a plethora! Roadside Hawks can be found from just south of the Texas border (which…

The polarizing filter is one of the least discussed tools every photographer should learn to use properly. Many of the new photographers I have in my workshops have never heard of this wonderful gadget. They often know polarized sunglasses can be used to see fish in a stream, but never thought about having that option…

This morning I went looking for a flock of White-winged Crossbills that was reported yesterday along the Crum Creek in Delaware County. I did not manage to find them, but did come across a large group of American Robins feeding on Multi-flora Rose hips. This is a species that was introduced to this country from…

For most of us Northern Mockingbirds are a species that we associate with suburbia as well as rural hedgerows. Mockingbirds have two territories. One they fiercely defend during the springtime around their nest site and another in fall and winter around favorite fruiting shrubs. We even encounter them in the backyard especially if it is…

Binos. Tripod. Scope. Camera. Backpack. Water. Snack bar. All birding essentials. Gloves. Hat. Bike. Bike? Yes bike! It is 30 degrees out and sunny – a gorgeous day for a bike ride. But in the middle of winter? I pumped up the tires, put on the backpack and made the six mile journey to the…

As I allude to in an earlier blog, Philadelphia was the center of North American ornithology in the late 18th and 19th century and indeed it is still relevant today. A number of people played an important role and have been acknowledged with species named after them. Though most of these people are recognized in…

Charles Lucien Bonapatre was Napoleon’s nephew. He was a French naturalist who lived in Philadelphia for only a short time, but made a huge impact. He is considered to be the “father of systematic ornithology” and is commemorated with the Bonaparte’s Gull. Interestingly his wife, Zenaide, has a dove and its genus named after her.…

It has been 14 years since a Green-tailed Towhee has shown up in the Delaware Valley. This morning I headed across the Delaware River into Collingswood, New Jersey where one has been visiting the McDevit’s backyard for the last 5 days. This is a western species that occasionally strays eastwards in winter. It breeds in…

The Northern Hawk Owl is the only species in its genera, Surnia. Though its scientific name comes from the Greek for ill omen, it is its common name that alludes to the fact that it has hawk like characteristics. Indeed it is different from other owls. With its long tail, pointed wings and direct raptor-like…

Birding when the thermometer reads a frigid zero degrees may seem a little extreme, but on a brilliant sunny day in Algonquin Provincial Park it is the norm! This wonderful wilderness with it towering spruce and pines, outlining large expanses of flat snow covered lakes, makes this one of winter’s most beautiful birding locations. There…