Nature Note: A Naturalist's Travels Through Nature

199. We usually see this number (more often in decimal form) when browsing store shelves for groceries or cheap stationary, but as of this evening, this number represents an achievement. I am one bird away from reaching my goal to observe 200 species of birds in 2016! This week has been one of the most productive for birding I've had in a long time. Ten species have boosted my year birding total from 189 to one step away from a hard won goal. Here is the story of how this attempt was made! "Where are those butter-noses?" On Monday, my girlfriend and I had a chance to visit Gooseberry Neck in Westport, MA to try for scoters and other winter waterfowl. Despite our youthful energy, the weather at this time of year is hellbent on making you regret leaving any heated space. The Massachusetts coast is known for two things during the winter months: bone-chilling cold and blustery gales and it certainly delivered both on that day. As I scanned the western horizon for bi...

So as the first day of this new year begins to wane, I'm sitting down and thinking about some of my favorite birds I saw from this year, as well as from years past. After spending some time going through my eBird lists and looking up what birds (including lifers) I'd seen, I began the process of figuring out which was the best bird I had seen overall for each year from 2010 onwards. For each year leading up to this past year, I'll list the single "bird of the year" and then elaborate when talking about birds from 2014. The birds I will mention from 2014 will be three honorable mentions, the last year bird species I saw, and my favorite life bird. So here goes. 2010: Swallow-tailed Kite ( Elanoides forficatus ) Photo by Brian E. Small 2011: Snow Bunting ( Plectrophenax nivalis ) Photo by Pat Watts 2012: Long-tailed Duck ( Clangula hyemalis ) Long-tailed Duck in Norwalk Harbor. Photo taken myself. 2013: Snowy Owl ( Bubo scandiacus ) Imm...

It will be two more weeks until my time in Pennsylvania ends, but before that arrives, I've been actively trying to add more species to my year list in an attempt to beat my year birding record from last year (223 spp.) With the addition of two American Coots ( Fulica americana ) this afternoon during a visit to Peace Valley Park in Doylestown, I now have 211 species on the list thus far. While I'm confident I can beat my record from last year, the nail biting finish is fast approaching and I can only hope that the sea ducks, LBJs, and auks I need, manifest themselves before December ends. Still it's been an amazing year and I've been clicking away whenever I get the chance (both in terms of photography and blogging). I decided to walk around Lake Galena (the main attraction in Peace Valley Park) today for two reasons. This past week I've been using a pedometer app to track how far I walk during the day at work and for the most part, I get about 10,000 steps a day...

I've had a whirl of a day. Despite having a cold that started after minicamp this past week, I whisked myself off in pursuit of a Greater White-fronted Goose ( Anser albifrons ) that had been spotted recently among throngs of Canada Geese ( Branta canadensis ) at Peace Valley Park in Doylestown, PA. Reports of Lesser Black-backed Gulls ( Larus fuscus ) and a Red-headed Woodpecker ( Melanerpes erythrocephalus ) were nice treats to look for as well. As I arrived, I looked to my right and surveyed the mass of geese. I knew, or at least suspected, that it was somewhere in that group. So I set off down the path noting the calls of chickadees and sparrows as I went, while a vociferous Northern Mockingbird ( Mimus polyglottos ) sang a garbled remix of wren and sparrow song that made its way through the briars and broken trees near the water's edge. I walked onto a dock that from the looks of it floated in the summer, but due to the drop in water level, was now resting on the reservo...