Bryan's Posts About Birdwatching
The Headless Shorebird Challenge
IF YOU’VE READ Solving Shorebirds, perhaps you’re ready for my Shorebird Challenge. Actually, if you’re new to plovers and sandpipers, this challenge may be difficult. That’s because bills aren’t in play in each of these six quiz photos. The challenge starts…
Orchids and Ornithology
Ruth watches a Nashville Warbler in the good company of Yellow Lady’s Slippers in Wolcott, Vermont.
Birding Vermont’s Moose Bog
Adapted from Birdwatching in Vermont by Ted Murin and Bryan Pfeiffer University Press of New England ISBN 978-1-58465-188-8 AT DAWN ON MOOSE BOG, Gray Jays float like ghosts through a dense forest of spruce and fir. Boreal Chickadees betray their hiding spots…
The Forecast Calls for Birds
By Bryan on May 22, 2013 (Revised May 7, 2014) Songbirds pouring from the skies at dawn. Thousands of hawks gliding past a mountain summit. Rare oceanic birds blown in to shore. Birdwatching like this doesn’t necessarily begin when you…
Flight Happens
May 18, 2013: A breakout day for flying things. It began on one of my guided bird walks to Berlin Pond: Virginia Rail at our feet. Yellow Warblers glowing above. Scarlet Tanager, in a naked white ash, fully framed in…
When It Rains Birds
AH, THE VERNAL DESIRE, the explosion of insects, the bustle of wings, the struggle for existence, the great rush north of migrating birds. In few places is it more dramatic than here along the shores of Lake Erie. Yeah, Lake…
Berlin Pond Birding Bonanza
An Osprey smacks the water and emerges with a bass struggling in its talons. Common Loons linger at a nest nearby. And warblers turn the trees into sparkling palettes. Another May morning at Berlin Pond. This year we’ll visit during…
Mob Mentality
The Black-capped Chickadee may be the perfect songbird. It is vocal and approachable, inquisitive and dependable. Even the casual birdwatcher finds in the chickadee a neighbor, a friend, an entertainer, a mobster. A mobster? Well, not exactly Al Capone. But…
April Fireworks
Most of the time, a male Ruby-crowned Kinglet is a fraud with feathers. When he appears, neither ruby nor kingly, you may wonder how he got his name. Just keep watching …
The Vermont Independence Birding Map
There is virtue in slowing down, staying put. Birders with limited physical mobility know this well. Here’s a map for them. These are Vermont birding sites with access for folks who might use a cane, walker or wheelchair.
Mid-Priced Spotting Scopes
IT MUST BE TOUGH BEING AN INVESTMENT BANKER or hedge fund manager. So many pricey spotting scopes; so little time. Swarovski, Leica or Kowa? How does the one percent decide? Life is so unfair for them. But if you’re among the…
Buying Binoculars
It is a monumental decision in the life of any birdwatcher. At stake is nothing less than the pleasure you get in the company of birds. So here is some wisdom on buying and using binoculars. Magnification and Light First…
