In just a few weeks we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day and in the words of the classic Joni Mitchell song we seemed to not know what we had till it was gone, or in this case at least denied access. As Covid-19 devastated our communities and their usual destinations […]
As old birders like to tell newcomers, no season is ever the same as the last, and as we are now all very much aware that could not be more true when it comes to all humankind this spring. But if there is any positive at all for birders and nature lovers to be spending […]
No matter where you live you can open your door and hear the Robins, Cardinals and Song Sparrows singing their spring song as they have done for eons past. Take a closer look and you will see the new, tiny, yellow flowers of the Spicebush and buds on the Serviceberry preparing for the reemergence and […]
It seems that the only time I hear comments concerning the Common Grackle is when the evening news portrays them as swarming hordes of creatures bent on pecking your eyes out like from an old Alfred Hitchcock movie, or when I get calls from homeowners that are feeding the birds and want to know how […]
I have been blessed over the past 11 years to be able to introduce countless people to the wonders of our New Jersey Meadowlands and to the incredible diversity of bird species that flourish there. To the disbelief of most people that visit our Meadowlands for the very first time many of the bird species […]
The latest report on the comeback of the Bald Eagle to the Garden State has been nothing short of miraculous. From a single nest in 1980 in Cumberland County which had failed six times to where we are today, with 211 nest sites statewide with 249 young being brought into the world in 2019 alone, […]
One of the questions I get asked the most from new birders is, “What is the best field guide?” That is a pretty tough question to answer, sort of like asking which one of your children is your favorite. It’s an impossible question to answer because, like field guides, there is something special about all […]
By now we are all well aware of the sad news about declining bird populations. A recent study says that we have lost 3 billion birds since 1970- https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/vanishing-1-in-4-birds-gone/?__hstc=161696355.e61e69055bd54162f371a4ae6ab97ff1.1576695100379.1576695100379.1579463581305.2&__hssc=161696355.1.1579463581305&__hsfp=645916085#_ga=2.25959294.2119829697.1579463579-1431456943.1576695097 . That is one out of every four birds that no longer exist in our State, communities and backyards. And make no mistake; these are not […]
Although I have always thought New Year’s Day to be a sort of silly holiday where the only thing that is celebrated is the changing of a number on a calendar, I honestly can’t help reflect on the year past and most of all anticipate what wonders of nature wait for me around the next […]
As I wandered a brilliant, freezing, cold wintery open field through the Meadowlands many years ago I was startled by a tiny little bird that was barely clinging to the tip of a windswept phragmite. I was immediately captivated by this tiny but very energetic little bird’s rusty colored cap, gray face, two-toned bill and […]