Monthly Archives: November 2012
Christmas Bird Count Coming in Two Weeks
With this winter’s influx of winter finches and other northern visitors, birders throughout the Northeast have been saying, “I hope that bird stays around for the Christmas Bird Count!” You never know what you are going to find in late … Continue reading
Posted in Birding Records, Vermont Birding
Tagged CBC, Christmas Bird Count
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Common Redpolls
Here is a wonderful article by Sue McGrath of the Newburyport (MA) Birders: When I see Common Redpolls, I immediately think of the low-Arctic tundra, the land with short, dwarf-like shrubs that includes willow, alder, birch all of which support the Common … Continue reading
Superbowl of Birding X
The Joppa Flats Education Center is hosting the Superbowl of Birding X on Saturday, January 26, 2013 – 5am to 5pm (Snow date: Sunday, January 27). Teams will consist of 4-7 individuals and must remain together for the entire contest. No splitting of teams … Continue reading
Posted in Youth Birding
Tagged Joppa Flats, North Branch Nature Center, Superbowl of Birding, youth_birding
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Passing birding knowledge on
People who have been birdwatching for many years store an enormous amount of information in their heads – the kind of experiences and emotions you can’t learn from a book or website. To foster an appreciation for nature in new … Continue reading
Posted in Youth Birding
Tagged biography, mentoring, youth birding
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Binocular Stabilization
A while back, I took a wonderful walk with an old friend to look for birds along the Rhode Island coast. It was a glorious fall day and we walked along the canal way, watching the tide stream back in. … Continue reading
Posted in Accessible_Birding
Tagged accessible_birding, adaptive_gear, binoculars, equipment, tripods
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Another Pine Grosbeak Encounter
As I wrote last week, we are experiencing an irruption of winter finches here in central Vermont and I saw my first Pine Grosbeaks, finally. Here’s a recent eBird map showing sightings near here: Pine Grosbeaks seem to be a … Continue reading
Posted in Local Birding, Vermont Birding
Tagged Pine Grosbeak
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Birding With Mac
Being a grandfather who got into birding late in life, it’s a treat to see at least two of my grandchildren become fledgling birders. Our oldest, Mac, was up from Massachusetts with his mom for Thanksgiving. He caught the birding … Continue reading
Posted in Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Youth Birding
Tagged American Black Duck, digiscoping, Hooded Mergansers, youth_birding
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Birding Once Again
I’ve been laid up after last Thursday’s surgery and while I have enjoyed watching birds coming to our feeders, it was nice to get out in the woods early this frosty morning for my first outdoor outing in nearly a … Continue reading
Posted in Backyard birds, Local Birding, Vermont Birding, Yard birds
Tagged Backyard birds, Common Redpoll
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A Big Year for 2013?
Since we are not traveling to the Southwest this winter, I’ve been giving some thought to doing a low key birding big year. I have no interest in a national effort but at first was thinking about a Vermont big … Continue reading
Alpha Codes are easier than I thought
Last month, I wrote a blog post about using BirdLog to track my sightings in the field and enter them right into eBird. I love it and use it often. However, it really helps to use Bird Codes to identify … Continue reading