Floreana Mockingbird – the rarest of the 4 Galapagos mockingbirds!
I’m slowly trying to catch up on photo editing from the past year or so, and I just finished the photos from our visit to Isla Floreana in the Galapagos from a Wildside Nature Tours trip last October. In the morning we explored the beaches, lagoon, and desert scrub on Floreana itself where the highlight…
Tropical Kingbird in Maine!
There’s nothing better to pull a birder out of the mid-summer doldrums than hearing about a major vagrant that’s popped up nearby! Yesterday morning that happened to me when word went out across the Maine rare bird text alert about a Tropical Kingbird discovered in York County, southern Maine! I launched out of bed and…
A Year of Birding with Gabriel Lugo!
My name is Gabriel Lugo, and for nearly 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of guiding birding tours across the enchanting landscapes of the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico. My journey as a Senior Birding Guide with Wildside Nature Tours has taken me from the heart of these Caribbean gems…
SPRING 2024 BIRDING TRIP REPORTS
Our birding tours have been running at full speed this spring! Catch up with some of our latest trip reports here! OH/MI: Magee Marsh & Kirtland’s Warbler, May 2024 OHIO MIGRATION: Magee Marsh & more with OAS, May 2024 South Florida & Dry Tortugas in Spring, Apr/May 2024 DRY TORTUGAS April 24-27, 2024 TX: Golden-cheeked…
Tropical Kingbird in Cape May!
Tropical Kingbird has an infamous aversion to New Jersey, but finally Cape May pulled it off! Howard Weinberg was the first to find it from the Coral deck, and over 60 birders were able to see it throughout the afternoon today! This sighting nicely lines up with a slew of records in the mid-Atlantic over…
ZIMBABWE PHOTO SAFARI
If you’ve ever dreamed of photographing big cats, elephants, and birds on iconic plains of Africa, check-out this wonderful opportunity! Wildside Nature Tours’ photo instructor extraordinaire Lee Hoy and senior safari guide Adrian Binns team-up to guide an outstanding Zimbabwe-Zambia photo safari in January 2023. There are 3 spaces remaining for an unforgettable, immersive experience among…
Aerial Display
Leaping from the top of a tall column. Soaring straight up into the sky on outstretched wings. Descending in a head-first dive before stopping at the last minute. These amazing aerial displays reflect the bold spirit of a Northern Mockingbird trying his best to attract a mate. He lives in the cemetery blocks from my…
Backyard Bounty
June brings a bustle of avian activity to my suburban Philadelphia backyard. Birds are busy building nests, incubating eggs, and feeding their offspring. Blue Jays raised three chicks in the canopy of our magnolia tree – the first time this species has nested in the yard. The young jays were surprisingly quiet while waiting for…
Ocean City Summer Spectacle
Ocean City New Jersey is a favorite summer destination for surf, sand, and sunshine. For birders, Ocean City brings extra-special summer fun, hosting a large rookery of wading birds that is highly accessible and fascinating. At the Ocean City Welcome Center, situated off the busy causeway that spans the bay, hundreds of herons, egrets and…
“Kamchatka” Common Gull in Connecticut!
Patrick Dugan discovered a stunning adult “Kamchatka” Common Gull on February 10th along the Stamford, Connecticut coastline. Lauren and I were driving from NH to PA on the 12th to visit my family, so it was a very quick detour off 95 to see this rarity which was a lifer for Lauren and lifer subspecies…
Pale Eurasian Collared-Doves
Out of the dozens of bird species introduced to the Americas, none has been so instantly successful or has spread so rapidly than the Eurasian Collared-Dove. These large doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the mid-1970’s, quickly spreading to Florida, and then their population exploded to the point where they have been recorded in…