I’ll never forget the first conversation Bill Thompson, III, and I had about Reader Rendezvous. We had spent a week at the British Birdfair followed by some holiday time in England with good friends. As we were nestling down in our seats for the seven-hour return flight ahead, he said, “Hey, Wen, what do you… Read more »
In case you missed it, last weekend, October 17–18, was the first Global Bird Weekend, “a new venture that aims to inspire birdwatchers to come together as a global community and celebrate birds, by participating in birdwatching, birdwatching events, citizen science and conservation.” The agenda for the weekend obviously included birding on Saturday, known as… Read more »
I was explaining how I’m a terrible birder, in that it takes me forever to get on a bird when a fellow participant in the hobby points one out to me. And how those kind souls trying to help me probably get frustrated when I so often give up after a few minutes of trying…. Read more »
Every story has a beginning. Bird Watcher’s Digest’s story begins with a woman named Pat Murphy. Pat was an experienced birder and a nature columnist for the Marietta Times newspaper. She eventually served as Bird Watcher’s Digest’s associate editor and as a columnist, and she was the leader of the local women’s birding club, the Betsey Birders. The… Read more »
I didn’t look up right away when I heard the familiar squeaky seal barks off to my right. I was busy muddling my compost bin’s contents and knew that I’d see a red-bellied woodpecker when I managed to tear my eyes away from the earthy mess. Once I finally straightened from my swamp hag stance… Read more »
August is one of the quietest months of the year for birders. I have a handful of regular visitors to the yard—mainly jays, robins, cardinals, song sparrows, and downies, plus an eastern wood pewee somewhere out there calling day in and day out. Always a welcome sight (and sound), but not super exciting. Things will… Read more »
By Jerry Uhlman What a strange and surreal time we’re living through—and it may be far from over. Yet, in nature’s realm life goes on, seemingly with little awareness of the angst that we humans experience in our daily lives. While illness has been an overarching concern, the ripple effect of the pandemic’s disruption seeped… Read more »
One of the many (many, many…) side effects of becoming a birder is that once you start noticing birds, you start noticing other things with wings. For a growing number of birders, one of those things to catch our fancy is moths. And one of the great things about watching moths is that they become… Read more »
I agonized over the best course of action for the downed owl in the ravine stream. Within minutes of messaging me back, Chris arrived and carefully lifted the injured barred owl out of the stream, making a point to photograph it for educational and identification purposes. The bird offered no fight; in fact, it simply… Read more »
As a writer, editor, and all-around language lover, I am always delighted to come across new words—which happens a lot as I delve deeper into the birding world. Upon receiving a copy of Dr. Michael Kinsey’s Dreams of Zugunruhe, I was eager to jump in and find out what this big word in the title… Read more »
