Category Archives: Uncategorized

Well, it may be elementary to Sherlock Holmes, but the identification of this Point Holmes gull has me baffled. This bird was photographed on the afternoon of 29 December 2016 at Point Holmes, Comox, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. My initial … Continue reading →

 Story (Skip this section for tips that may aid in relocating the bluetail) The Christmas Bird Count has done it again. It has turned up an amazing rarity in an otherwise unproductive stretch of habitat that might not have been … Continue reading →

OK, it’s not an exact translation, but “Towers of Pain” is perhaps a more fitting moniker than the actual name: Torres del Paine.  Torres del Paine, Chile’s most visited national park, is accessed from the touristy, yet quaint, town of Puerto … Continue reading →

Is it just me (or the marketing departments of Disney/Lucasfilm) or does the shape of a Redwing head when seen head-on look remarkably like Darth Vader’s mask?   Here’s the full photo. If this bird has been lured to the … Continue reading →

*This entry has 2 parts. Part 1 has the background story, Part 2 has directions and photos. You can skip Part 1 if you’re in a hurry or just don’t care.* Part 1 In March 2014 I received devastating news. It … Continue reading →

Hello birders, Since mid-November a Citrine Wagtail has been reliably located in Courtenay, BC. For the most part it has been predictably located along the same stretch of road that it was originally located. Directions to that location, and a … Continue reading →

I suppose 3 months is long enough to leave everybody in suspense, so here is the rest of the crane story… Two days after arriving in Saskatchewan I was beginning to vibrate with nail-biting anxiety. I had come all this … Continue reading →

Hi all. Sorry for the lack of recent postings to the blog. I’m currently in the thick of the 4th Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group conference at Simon Fraser University. Yesterday I gave a presentation on over-ocean flocking behaviour of Pacific … Continue reading →