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 »
Two things have carried me during this difficult past year: my people and birds. And not much makes my heart happier than when I get to share birds with my people. So you can imagine my delight when a couple of my closest childhood girlfriends who are newer to birding wanted to plan a getaway… Read more »
I had my first-ever visit to a landfill recently. Waste Management’s Northwestern Landfill outside Parkersburg, West Virginia, offers a quick and easy option for depositing several years’ detritus scavenged from storage units and warehouses, as my friend with a box truck full of trash demonstrated early on a Saturday morning. As we entered the facility,… Read more »
February 12–14 was a big weekend for Bird Watcher’s Digest as we headed to south-central Indiana to lead our first Reader Rendezvous event in a year! We had a full schedule of birding trips booked in 2020, all canceled from March onward, and we were more than ready to travel again—with several adjustments made, of course, to… Read more »
I’ve been looking forward to curling up with my laptop and watching Monty and Rose—a short film starring the first pair of piping plovers to nest in Chicago in 64 years—ever since I listened to BWD‘s recent BirdSense podcast interview with filmmaker Bob Dolgan. I finally sat down one snowy afternoon and was immediately whisked away… Read more »
When I was growing up in landlocked Tennessee, our family spent summers in Florida. Our annual pilgrimage to the Sunshine State involved loading up the Country Squire “Woody” Station Wagon to the hilt with beach towels, bathing suits, pots and pans, cooking spices, and groceries. I felt a “Lewis & Clark” kind of pioneering adventure… Read more »
Audubon’s long-standing tradition of Christmas Bird Counts are conducted each year between December 14 and January 5, and this season marked the 121st annual CBC! BWD editors Dawn Hewitt and Jessica Melfi participated in different counts on January 2, and here they share their very different—but equally memorable—experiences. The Thrills of Christmas Bird Counts by Dawn Hewitt Oh,… Read more »
With nearly all in-person birding festivals canceled and some of my favorite hotspots closed due to the pandemic, 2020 was a challenging year to find birds to photograph. Since March, I have been working from home. As a result, I’ve spent many lunch breaks and more early evening hours than normal in my backyard, and… Read more »
Are you suffering from the “birding travel blues”? If you’re like me, you’re at home today daydreaming about distant lands and glorious life birds! Although our ability to travel this year has been hampered by COVID-19, birding and wildlife tours are gaining traction in the year ahead with birders who are eager to “get back out there.” While… Read more »
We asked, and you all answered—thank you to everyone who responded to our call to celebrate a Green Friday the day after Thanksgiving! You will see in the gallery below some of the marvelous pictures our Facebook fans shared with us. Look at all those happy faces enjoying fresh air and nature, everywhere from their… Read more »
