Amazingly, we’re already well into the second half of April, which probably means a lot more to the rest of you North American birders than … Read More
Field Life is for the Birds (and the termites, and the frogs…)
Living afield in the Amazon is a bit like journeying back in time. Yes, we have electricity, at least when the camp generator is running … Read More
Expectations vs. Reality: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Most of us probably have some preconceived notions about what fieldwork in the Amazon rainforest entails. I certainly did. Who knows where these ideas originate … Read More
The Bird with…*Spots*
Fieldwork in a new locale necessarily brings with it a steep learning curve. Everything is foreign from the lay of the land to the host … Read More
Among Amazonian Royalty
As a sluggish day of bird-banding drew wearily to a close, Osmaildo (one of my Brazilian mateiros) approached the station with a trio of once-white … Read More
The dawn of my own Amazon Trails
My first trip into the Amazon Rainforest could be broken down like this. Day 2: Discover snake in camp toilet. Day 3: Spot first venomous … Read More
eBird: Agreeing to agree
eBird has done countless things to revolutionize birding, not the least of which includes elevating birding to a scientific pursuit, where a once recreational activity … Read More
Farallones: A Landbird Life Raft
My first full day (9/8) on Southeast Farallon Island (30 miles west of San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean), I saw a total of eight individual … Read More
The Farallones: Far-out and Far-flung
Spelunking and birding aren’t two hobbies that usually have much in common, unless, perhaps, one is searching for rockfowl in West Africa. I never thought … Read More
An Avian Coastal Evacuation
October 29: Tom Johnson and Doug Gochfeld were still navigating to my parents’ home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, when Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Their arrival … Read More