I pulled into Harrisonburg VA from Strasburg on Sunday. Before I hit the road, I scouted the region for promising locations to find birds. There were three places that seemed worth visiting. Without settling in anywhere first, I worked my way southeast of town to Shenandoah Lake. Having just arrived and much of my energy … Read more
I left the Trucker’s Rest Area south of Strasburg Friday morning. I had plotted a course for breakfast a few miles away. Later, I had a campsite in my sights called Elizabeth Furnace Campground in Fort Valley. But because of a technical problem with my GPS guidance system, I overshot my planned exit by about … Read more
After breakfast Wednesday, and a few errands, I drove a few miles from Wernersville PA, to a reserve called Blue Marsh. I didn’t have much background information about the place, so I was not sure what to expect. Using Google to navigate, it led me to a parking lot and a trailhead. While reading the … Read more
I spent Wednesday at Tiny Marsh. It was my ‘last hurrah’ in the region, and Thursday morning I began my exodus. I met several enthusiastic birders during my tour. A report of a Blackpoll Warbler drew them in. Nobody I spoke with had seen the bird, and neither did I. But my agenda is not … Read more
Friday after breakfast, I drove twenty minutes east from Tiny Township to Midland Ontario. There, on the southern edge of town, lies a wetland called Wye Marsh. A 3000 acre ecologically critical location, it was once a major battlefield to save the once endangered Trumpeter Swan from pending extinction. Even now, one third of Canadian … Read more
Friday, after my morning visits with the birds at Sheepshead and later at the SPI Convention Centre, I took a break from the worst of the midday heat, and retired to my campsite across the road from the SPICC, where I found shelter under the air conditioner in my RV, and I could work on … Read more
After breakfast Sunday, I stopped at Sheepshead, where I met a Northern Parula and a more typical female Blackburnian Warbler than the bird I met on Saturday at the SPI Convention Centre. When I left Sheepshead, I headed north to the SPI Convention Centre. There were few visitors of the two-legged variety, but a fair … Read more
My friend Mary caught up with me while I was exploring the Sheepshead Bird Sanctuary Friday morning. She told me she found both a Prairie and a Prothonotary Warbler there Thursday afternoon. By the time she arrived this Friday morning, I’d already enjoyed the company of the bright yellow Prothonotary Warbler male. The Prothonotary Warbler … Read more
Monday, I drove to Estero Llano Grande, one of the premiere birding destinations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. I rode my bike over several miles of trails there, but I couldn’t find any birds that inspired me to break out my camera gear. Not to be deterred, I drove from my Brownsville camp at … Read more
Rain caught up with me on my drive away from Slave Lake, and I found an out-of-the-way place to park in Lac La Biche, further east in Alberta. There were times through the night when the storm’s intensity became ferocious, with thunder and lightning firing like bombs overhead. The next morning I found a downtown … Read more
