Greetings,
Today while taking care of business in Columbia County, I decided to stop by Miller Rd in Churchtown with my girlfriend in search of some waterfowl, shorebirds, and other early spring migrants. Upon pulling onto the road, not only did we find the small flooded field on the left dotted with ducks, but we also […]

Greetings,
This afternoon on the way into town from my girlfriends house, the two of us were driving on Spring Rd. in Livingston when a bird startled from my car flew up onto a nearby branch, where it immediately proceeded to bob its tail. “EASTERN PHOEBE!” were the first words out of my mouth as the […]

Greetings,
After several tries, my girlfriend Betsi and I were finally successful in finding American Woodcocks for the first time this spring. Unexpectedly, the place that we finally detected them was in her yard! We had actually tried there several nights ago for I was suspicious that her property housed American Woodcocks, unfortunately we were either […]

Greetings,
Tonight after work, my girlfriend Betsi and I decided to take a quick listen for any nocturnal birds that might be in the neighborhood of her house. Despite the open fields and dense woods mixed together with many low-lying wet spots we were unsuccessful in detecting any nocturnal species, in particular owls and American Woodcock. […]

Greetings,
While the birding was not extensive, I had the fortune of spotting a few nice feathered finds today with my girlfriend Betsi. Today while driving up to Valatie in Columbia County, I had a male AMERICAN KESTREL on a wire near the Columbia County Airport on route 9H, and a second on Church Road near […]

Greetings,
After several sightings of Fox Sparrows in the region by other observers, I was finally able to find a few in my yard visiting my feeder today. For me this was a nice treat since I have only observed Fox Sparrows in my yard once before. It is of course also a nice segue into […]

Greetings,
While it may still officially be about a week away, spring is certainly in the air here in Columbia Co., NY.  Today I had the great feeling for the first time this year of waking up to birds in full song. As usual the singing suspects were mostly Song Sparrows, but there were a few […]

Greetings,
On February 27, my girlfriend and I had the extreme fortune of getting away to Vermont for a few spectacular, mid-winter days. While the trip was originally planned as a visit to the University of Vermont so I could look into their graduate programs, it also allowed me to meet up with Ryan and his […]

Greetings,
Today while going about my normal business, I came across a single TURKEY VULTURE soaring on rocking wings over rte 23b in Columbia County, NY. While the time I observed the bird was less than 3 seconds, it has put a smile on my face that has lasted all day. It is surely a sign […]