Setting the year in motion: Birding resolutions for 2022

As I headed into 2021, I was intent on improving my ability to recognize birds by their calls and songs. I’m happy to report that I improved that skill considerably, and I’ll continue my education there. I also realize that I am woefully weak on spotting and identifying waterbirds. In the new year, my topContinue reading “Setting the year in motion: Birding resolutions for 2022”

The ultimate American bird: The bald eagle

As with many things in my Cleveland upbringing, bald eagles were just another creature in decline during the 1960s and ’70s. As a teenager, I experienced a couple of ghastly fish kills while heading for a day at the beach on the shore of Lake Erie. Every time I’d look at the embarrassingly polluted CuyahogaContinue reading “The ultimate American bird: The bald eagle”

A close encounter with Brood X

This afternoon I set out into the 90-degree heat to look for birds in the Institute Woods, whose paths Albert Einstein walked during his Princeton years. The woods, named for the adjacent Institute for Advanced Study, are ordinarily a place for a quiet, contemplative ramble on the trails through the trees, with birds chirping andContinue reading “A close encounter with Brood X”