PEEPS joins the ABA Blog

There are some changes coming to the ABA's blog lineup.  With the departure of PEEPs editor Bill Maynard (and thanks for all your great work, Bill) we've decided to consolidate some of our offerings to make it easier for readers to get the information they're looking for from the ABA's social media initiatives.

Heading up the PEEPs beat, operating here on the ABA Blog under the #abarare tag, comes new contributor John Puschock.  Fresh off a year of feeding Big Year birder John Vanderpoel hot tips on the latest rare birds across the continent, John will now turn his attention to the broader birding community, sharing up to the minute reports on the most exciting vagrants in the US and Canada on the ABA Blog.  John describes himself thusly:

Factoids about John: -- John began birding after a run-in with an eighth grade science class bird project. -- He followed the typical career path of a young birder, earning a few degrees in wildlife biology and moving around the country for temporary field work (and lifers). -- He is often unsure whether to write biographical information in the first- or third-person. -- John switched careers from biologist to tour guide, first (and still) leading tours for Bird Treks and then starting his own company, Zugunruhe Birding Tours. -- He hates to promote himself, but he would absolutely love it if you looked at his company’s website (www.zbirdtours.com). -- John has had driver licenses from seven states. In other words, he’s moved around a lot. -- Keep in mind he hates to promote himself, but he would like you to know that Attu isn’t “closed”, his company led a tour there in 2010, and there’s space on tours there in 2012. -- John is a mammal. 

Look for his posts whenever rare birds are discovered.  Welcome, John!