Over an hour of flying and not a break in the forest. Pristine, high canopy rainforest spread beyond the horizon in all directions. Then the plane tilted and those on the left side of the plane saw it first… the “largest,” single-drop waterfall in the world. The captain circled around so those on the right…

“Bond. James Bond”, three words that have a storied history in cinematic circles. James Bond is more popular today than ever, if we are to believe the box office success of the latest release, “Quantum of Solace” and its predecessor, “Casino Royale.” Why am I talking about James Bond on a bird blog? I’ll start…

Every moment outside is precious. When I am not traveling, however, I often get “stuck” behind my computer answering emails, working on web sites, designing brochures, handling the accounting… you get the idea.  A couple of days this week I was doing school programs in south Jersey. The programs were in the morning, which left me a…

While not leading trips out of the country, I enjoy visiting the local winter hotspots for birding and photography on sunny days. The jetty at Barnegat Light on the Atlantic coast in New Jersey north of Atlantic City remains one of the easiest locations to see exquisite Harlequin Ducks in winter. This fascinating uncommon (in…

I offer a lot of presentations to birding clubs, camera clubs and schools. Throughout my programs I accept questions from my audience. Adults typically ask the “expected” questions. “What time of year is best for birding there? How many species do you see? Etc.” However, kids often have great, inquisitive statements for which I am…

In the 1960’s our national bird, the Bald Eagle, was in peril mainly due to the consequences of DDT. Less than 400 pairs were breeding in the lower 48 states and their fate was uncertain. The Bald Eagle became the ‘poster bird’ for federally Endangered Species. Now, four decades later, the species has made a…

This Red-shouldered Macaw was a life bird. This was but one of many images of these tiny macaws I made while visiting the Botanical Gardens (and National Zoo) in Georgetown. I have been to “city parks” to bird in many different places in North America as well as Central and South America. Through the years I have considered…

Guyana was hot and oppressively humid… and worth every single bead of sweat! When I was asked to join a birding tourism assessment team planning to visit Guyana in November 2008, I was nothing less than exuberant! In 1996, while editor of The Communicator (newsletter for the Environmental Conservation Tourism Association – ECTA), we published…

Greetings Friends! Wildside is happy to have our new blog up and running and hope that you will take full advantage of it! We would like to offer helpful information on birding, photography and travel along with stories and trip reports. We appreciate all your comments, questions and suggestions!