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New Haven area - Roughie, Harley, Barrow's Goldeneye & hybrid, and Iceland Gulls

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Winter birding can feel a bit static at times, especially in late January when birds have settled into their wintering grounds and spring migration has yet to begin. A big storm or drastic weather change can spice things up, though. I always enjoy birding after deep freezes or major snow events, as birds can be forced to move around, even if only locally. But even a minor change in position due to weather could reveal an interesting bird that was previously undiscovered. A rare goose or duck that was along a private stretch of river might be forced to more visible water. Or a vagrant sparrow that was wintering on the wrong side of a farm field could be pushed to a patch of dirt exposed by a snow plow. Last weekend's nor'easter dumped 1-2 feet of snow throughout southern New England and beyond. This was followed by the coldest air of the season, and that's saying something this year! We've enjoyed an "old school" winter for the first time in a while. So, given ...
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Senegal - Feb-Mar 2024 - Richard Toll to Podor

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The northernmost, and final, segment of the trip brought us to areas of desert, dry scrub, and acacia woodland, where a variety of Sahel specialties and regionally scarce species occur. These include Golden Nightjar (candidate for Bird of the Trip), Horus Swift, Little Gray Woodpecker, Sennar Penduline-Tit, Cricket Longtail, and Atlas Wheatear. behold, the Golden Nightjar Cricket Longtail Temminck's Courser Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse Long-tailed Nightjar Common Hoopoe Little Gray Woodpecker Atlas Wheatear Sennar Penduline-Tit Horus Swift That's all she wrote! - NB
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Senegal - Feb-Mar 2024 - Djoudj National Park

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There's birdy, and then there's Djoudj. Positioned in the northwest corner of the country at the Senegal River delta, Djoudj National Park is a 16,000-hectare wetland sanctuary that holds more wintering birds than you've ever seen. And that's not really an exaggeration. Some species, such as Bank Swallow, Garganey, White-faced Whistling-Duck, Northern Pintail, Greater Flamingo, and Red-billed Quelea are counted in the tens to hundreds of thousands . In addition to the masses of common species, you might see Arabian Bustard, Allen's Gallinule, Black Crowned-Crane, Collared Pratincole, Yellow-billed Stork, Pink-backed Pelican, African Spoonbill, and River Prinia, among many others. The most sought-after mammal here is African Golden Wolf, which can be expected if you make more than just a quick visit into the reserve. African Golden Wolf Black Crowned-Crane Black Crowned-Crane African Golden Wolf Black Crake Common Warthog Woodchat Shrike Greater Painted-Snipe Squacco...
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