To Twitch or Not to Twitch?
To twitch or not to twitch? That is always the question. One of the numerous birding groups I follow on social media is called “Ohio Chase Birds.” As the name suggests, the posts are about birds that are worth chasing, or twitching, after. I prefer “twitch” over the more ominous-sounding “chase,” since my brain literally…
In Tribute: Hank Weber (1939–2021)
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…
2021 Birding Festival Circuit Roundup
One of the great privileges of my position as advertising sales director is traveling to events to represent Bird Watcher’s Digest. Not only do I get to reconnect with friends and meet industry partners, I’m also able to meet our wonderful subscribers and longtime fans of the magazine. I will never tire of hearing folks…
Luck Be a Lady Beetle
Last weekend, my guy and I took a drive down to southeastern Ohio to hike the trails in one of my favorite spots, Conkles Hollow State Nature Preserve. Cloudless blue skies, near-peak fall foliage, 60-degree temps… we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect November day. I brought my binoculars, of course, in hopes of…
Bruce’s Birdtography: The One-Tree Challenge
On a recent Saturday morning, I decided to visit Middle Island, near St. Marys, West Virginia, one of 22 islands making up the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Middle Island is the only island in the refuge with a bridge, making it one of the most popular destinations in the refuge, which stretches from…
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Dinner at 6 or 7? A Time-change Tale
One of the few good things to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic was the renewed activity in simple, less commercial pastimes. Bread making was rediscovered. Interest surged in baking cookies, knitting, gardening, and all kinds of handcrafts as people re-experienced ways to reduce anxiety and stress levels. And, of course, bird watching and, in particular,…
The Yardinal
I have a stalker. Over the past few summers, since becoming a Person More Cognizant of Birds, I’ve noticed male cardinals noticing me when I walk through my yard. One year, a red fellow would run back and forth along tree branches as I strode underneath them to and from my mailbox. Another summer, one…
Bruce’s Top 10 Scary Birds
For Halloween, I thought it would be fun to make a list of my top 10 scary birds. Remember the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock classic The Birds? The plot centers on a series of violent bird attacks on the people of Bodega Bay, California. Most of the birds used in the film were real crows, ravens,…
Bruce’s Birdtography: October Big Day 2021
On Saturday, October 9, 2021, more than 33,000 birders worldwide participated in October Big Day, using eBird to record the birds they found during the event, which was part of the Global Bird Weekend. I was asked to head up a Bird Watcher’s Digest team and happily accepted the task. My first duty as team…
Rendezvous Review: Cape A-MAY-zing
Birding Bonanza by Kelly Ball, BWD Advertising Director If I could prescribe a cure for general malaise, it might just be a guided birding tour during fall migration in Cape May, New Jersey, with Mark Garland on his very own stomping grounds, augmented with the expertise of Holly Merker, another birding phenom, not to mention…
Bruce’s Birdtography: Birding the Serpent Mound
My wife and I recently traveled to Maysville, Kentucky, to attend a family wedding. After the wedding, we spent the night on the family farm in Brown County, Ohio. When I woke up the next morning, I could hear birds singing outside the bedroom window. I grabbed my phone, opened Merlin, and started recording the…
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Staying Safe While Birding
Whether you live in a rural area, in the suburbs, or in a major metropolitan city, most of us have put safety measures in place in our everyday lives. Many of these measures and behaviors are second nature to us, and we implement them to protect ourselves, our property, and to provide peace of mind.…
Celebrating Hummingbirds
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…
Bald Is Beautiful
Ever since I read Julie Zickefoose’s latest book, Saving Jemima: Life and Love with a Hard-Luck Jay, I have had a soft spot for blue jays, a bird some folks find hard to love due to their noisy and aggressive nature. In the book, which recounts the summer she spent rehabilitating Jemima (while at the same…
Bruce’s Birdtography: The Joys of Fall Migration
The title I originally planned for this article was “The Woes of Fall Migration,” but I decided instead to focus on the positive. True, fall bird migration can be result in some of the most frustrating birdtography of the year, but along with the challenges can come some rewarding results. Here are four ways migration…
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Colombia in the Time of COVID*
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…
The Swarovski NL Pure 8×32: An Unboxing
If any of you out there spend any significant time with young children, you are probably familiar with the YouTube phenomenon of “unboxing.” For some reason, it is a trend right now to post videos of a child or a pair of disembodied adult hands unwrapping elaborately packaged toys in which layers and layers of…
The Small Miracle of Nesting Piping Plovers
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…
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