Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

I've made a goal for myself. A birding goal of course. I've made it my business for the last few months to reach 300 bird species on my life list. What I've learned so far is that: 1. Birding by how many you've seen and how many you've yet to see can be maddening, time-consuming, and yet extraordinarily good fun. 2. Rare birds are often more trouble than they're worth. And 3. While the pursuit of the goal is often the main driver, just the shear enjoyment of the task makes it all worthwhile. This isn't one of those projects started in the new year as a resolution and slowly forgotten over the ensuing months. This was a journey born from the books I brought on vacation to Florida this March. One was based on the musings of an English teacher from Chapel Hill, North Carolina entitled "The Verb "To Bird"" I'm not sure where I got this book, but I go back to it from time to time to read a certain section (the anecdote about the Turkey V...

There is nothing quite as exciting (for a birder at least) as getting a rare bird alert. For the most part, the "rare" birds that appear on my eBird page are generally birds that are an unusual siting for that particular area. Just today, I have alerts for a Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula ) at Great Meadows, Yellow-crowned Night Heron ( Nyctanassa violacea ) near Duxbury Bay, and a Northern Shoveler ( Anas clypeata )at Coachlace Pond in Clinton. While I've seen all of these birds before, their presence in these areas is deemed to be unusual or strange for that particular area. However, none of these sightings could compare the joy I felt when (finally!) after a month of visiting I was rewarded with the sight of a Black-bellied Whistling Duck ( Dendrocygna autumnalis ) that had been present at Great Meadows for much of the summer. The two pictures to the side are the best ones I took and illustrate the unique look that the bird possesses. While most of the pictures...