A migrant’s hello from Ecuador

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)
near Santa Lucia Bosque Nublado, Ecuador

My favorite time of year in New York was always the first two weeks of May. Early mornings before work, afternoons after work, and pretty much every minute of the weekends were spent combing Central Park for migratory birds that were passing through on their way to their breeding grounds.

Chicken dinner...

Usually it's the chicken being eaten...

Chickens are the most abundant bird on Earth. Obviously this number would fluctuate any time dinner was being prepared, but in 2010, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates there were 19.4 billion chickens on the planet. Thanks to the ease of production, the taste of fried chicken, and the flexibility of any-way-you-like-it eggs, there are more chickens than any other type of bird.

The joy of a new bird

Sometimes a seemingly boring little bird can be the highlight of your day.

Diary of a birding princess

April 22, 2011: Magamba Forest, Tanzania

Dear Diary,

It´s 2 pm. I´ve been hiking in a drizzle all morning. It’s cold, it's muddy and I ran out of Pepto-Bismol hours ago. All I want is a hot shower and a clean, dry set of clothes.