Shorebirder

The weather on Long Island Sound was looking good yesterday, save for some PM thunderstorms that were likely to pop up. A friend of mine had been eager to get on the Sound for some fishing, so we took advantage of the opportunity to get out there. We traveled eastward about 20 miles from New Haven to the best local Black Sea Bass grounds, and sure enough the fishing was hot. We boated five species (Black Sea Bass, Porgy, Northern Sea Robin, Striped Sea Robin, and Smooth Dogfish), saving some for a future dinner. Mid-morning we received word that there might be a TEREK SANDPIPER at Napatree Point in Rhode Island, right near the CT state line. Napatree Point is a long sand spit that separates Little Narragansett Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. While waiting for confirmation, we weighed our options. My fishing pal was keen on chasing down such a mega rare shorebird. We were only about 35 miles from Napatree, so rather than boating back west to New Haven and then driving east to Rhode Is...

Spring warbler migration in the northeast can be so hit or miss, depending largely on weather patterns. Last year? Big hit. This year? Not so much. Still, I did take advantage of those few good days and luck out with some photo ops. Here are the best of the season so far. Blackburnian Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Cape May Warbler Blue-winged Warbler  - NB

The World Series of Birding, organized by New Jersey Audubon, has been a staple of the birding world for years. I have never participated, though my CT Big Day teammates are veterans of the annual May competition that is held throughout the entire state of New Jersey. This year's COVID pandemic has disrupted many Big Day plans, so NJ Audubon decided to open up the World Series to the entire Atlantic Flyway. "Teams" could consist of birders from Maine to Florida to Ohio, all birding their local patches to contribute to their team's total. I was really pleased to be a part of the Springwatch Swifts, based out of Cape May. Our goal is to raise funds vital for the continuation of spring migration monitoring at one of North America's most important bird study laboratories: Cape May, NJ. If you can find some extra change to spare during these difficult financial times, please consider donating to The Springwatch Swifts ! Here are some photo highlights from today. T...

[Disclosure: Princeton University Press provided a free review copy of Sasol] For anyone about to make their first trip to Southern Africa, you will have your choice of field guides to the region. There are some that treat the entire area, and some specific to a single country. The region is defined as the area south of the Kunene (Cunene), Okavango (Kavango), and Zambezi Rivers. This includes the countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (only that part south of the Zambezi River, which excludes the northern half of the country), South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. I'm going to briefly compare the two most popular guides to the region: [Sasol] Birds of Southern Africa (4th ed; 2011) by Sinclair, Hockey, Tarboton, and Ryan Roberts Bird Guide (2nd ed; 2016) by Chittenden, Davies, and Weiersbye Sasol or Roberts? That's the debate you'll hear among birders in Southern Africa. With differing styles, strengths, and weaknesses between the two field guide...

Well that's not a blog title I thought I'd ever write! COVID-19 has abruptly changed everyday life across the entire planet, altering the way we interact with others, at least for the time being. We are currently in the disease’s exponential growth phase here in Connecticut. I am a Physician Assistant who has practiced in Orthopedic Surgery for the entirety of my ten years as a PA; I work in a hospital. At this point I have not yet been called to the front lines of this battle. I expect that to change at some point late next week or the week after that, as we approach All-Hands-On-Deck mode in the Waterbury area. Since my own chance of infection will likely increase soon, I am trying to take advantage of safe outdoor activities while I can. COVID-19 infection would mean strict self-quarantine for [at least] 14 days. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, stocking up on some fresh air instead of toilet paper would do quite a bit for my sanity! The local birding ...

I am recently back from co-leading a wonderful two week "Birding Safari" to southern Africa with the Connecticut Audubon Society, in tandem with Nature Travel Namibia. I'll follow with a trip report sometime soon. After the group departed I spent two days on my own in Walvis Bay, Namibia, which is without a doubt one of the top coastal birding locations I have ever seen. ============================================= When you think of the desert, chances are that jaegers are not the first birds that come to mind. Nor would you expect thousands of shorebirds, terns, or flamingoes. How about fur seals and range-restricted dolphins? The iconic Namib Desert is the oldest in the world. Its dramatically tall sand dunes stretch as far as the eye can see. It may come as a surprise that much of this desert is coastline, spanning the entire coast of Namibia (and a bit into Angola and South Africa), where it meets the South Atlantic Ocean. I am fascinated by the obvious contras...