Pardon the grammar borrowed from an old advertising jingle: Nobody doesn’t like hummingbirds! Two small towns on the Gulf Coast of Texas—a launchpad for the tiny birds—celebrate their migration every September. I was privileged to serve as a bird guide and presenter at the 33rd annual Rockport-Fulton HummerBird Celebration recently, and what a treat it… Read more »
What a pleasure and thrill it was last month to resume my long break in international birding travel. This was my third trip to Colombia, the country with more bird species than any other. This time, the destination was the jungle of Guainia, in eastern Colombia. What a trip! Sponsored by ProColombia (the country’s tourism… 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 »
If I have any regrets in life, it is that I didn’t become a birder sooner. I suppose birding took its place in my life right when and how it was meant to, but when I think about all the birdy opportunities missed in my earlier years… well, there’s a twinge of sadness there. I… Read more »
Last month, members of the Bird Watcher’s Digest staff led our fourth Reader Rendezvous birding tour of the year, and our second “birdtography” tour featuring our production director and award-winning professional photographer, Bruce Wunderlich. Here is a summary of the group’s adventures with birds, bears, and Bruce! The morning before the event officially began, several… Read more »
I recently led a Bird Watcher’s Digest Birdtography Reader Rendezvous in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I arrived a few days ahead of the tour to scout out locations and spend a little time by myself with the birds and bears of the eastern Tennessee, especially in my favorite location, Cades Cove. The Cove’s 11-mile,… 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 »
It was a first for Bird Watcher’s Digest: a Reader Rendezvous (birding tour) focusing on bird photography. The leader of this event was our own production director, Bruce Wunderlich, who is also a professional photographer, specializing in our charming hometown, Marietta, Ohio—and in birds. In each issue of BWD, you’ll find spectacular bird photos from… Read more »
It’s the most wonderful time of the year if you’re a birder! And the staff here at Bird Watcher’s Digest is spending every minute we can in between our work responsibilities trying to soak up all the migrants passing through our yards and patches and whatever birdy spots we find ourselves this spring. We thought… Read more »
Let’s be real: There’s no substitute for the thrill of being out in the field to witness neotropical migrants and the requisite sensory overload. Just recently I’ve enjoyed the early offerings my local Columbus, Ohio, ravine provides come late March: eastern phoebes, brown creepers, chipping sparrows, to name a few. Now that I work… Read more »
