The staff of Bird Watcher’s Digest is sad to learn of the passing of long-time contributor Hank Weber on Wednesday, December 8, 2021. BWD editor Dawn Hewitt reflects on her memories of Hank: “I am so sad and sorry to hear of Hank’s passing. He has been incredibly supportive of Bird Watcher’s Digest for many… Read more »
Bird Watcher’s Digest hosted the American Birding Expo from 2015 to 2018, and for four years in a row, we successfully gathered the world of birding in one place. Now we’re ready to do it again! We’ve joined forces with Re•Think Travel Marketing—a marketing agency for the new world of travel. The Re•Think Team members… Read more »
Review by Peter Gent Full Chase Mode: Big Year of Birding in North America, by John Vanderpoel, 2021, Buteo Books, 499 pages, paperback, $24.95 It is now 10 years since well-known Colorado birder John Vanderpoel was doing his Big Year. The quest was to see as many species as possible in the mainland USA and… Read more »
Banding Coalition of the Americas: A new generation continues the Bob and Martha Sargent legacy by Angela Minor “In the fall of 2007, my father purchased tickets for a birding field trip to Fort Morgan Peninsula [on the Gulf Coast of Alabama],” said Emma Rhodes, co-founder of Banding Coalition of the Americas (BCA). “As part… Read more »
What mighty force could possibly bring a myriad of agencies (US Fish and WIldlife Service, Ohio State Parks, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the US Department of Agriculture’s APHIS division, specifically) to collaborate? A single, solitary piping plover nest. True story: This past summer, a pair of breeding piping plovers successfully hatched four chicks… Read more »
I love birds, and I also love the NBA. Even better, I love when the NBA and birding give me an excuse to write a blog post. What does the NBA have to do with birding? a person might wonder. (Well, besides the bird mascots—and I forgive any birder who, when they hear Toronto Raptors, envisions… Read more »
Since late May, in some areas of the East and Midwest, reports of dead and dying birds—either with crusty, diseased eyes, or with apparent neurological problems—skyrocketed. Blue jays, northern cardinals, common grackles, European starlings, American robins, and house sparrows were species hardest hit, especially fledglings. Reports came from Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky,… Read more »
For those of us who work in birding travel, the storm clouds are clearing, and we’re getting a glimpse of sunshine again! The entire ecotourism industry is breathing a huge sigh of relief as we carefully reinstitute birding travel once again after a long hiatus. COVID-19 brought travel in the US and abroad to a… Read more »
by Julie Zickefoose, Guest Contributor and Bird Watcher’s Digest Columnist A recent Washington Post article discusses fledgling blue jays and grackles being stricken with a “new disease” in Northern Virginia. Birds exhibit blindness, closed eyes, lethargy, and ataxia. I’m going to throw in my unresearched, common-sense opinion as a licensed bird rehabilitator for the past… Read more »
Just shy of six years ago, some of the staff of Bird Watchers Digest and a couple dozen of our friends enjoyed the Red Knot Reader Rendezvous along the Delaware Bay, perfectly timed to witness northbound red knot migration. Our hosts for the event were members of the leadership of the American Birding Association, including… Read more »
