10/17/2012 - Certainty, Experts, and Confirmation :: Comments (13)
A couple of friends and I were birding around Jamaica Bay in New York a few years ago. We came upon a couple of people, a man and a woman, looking out over the water and discussing a bird perched in plain view, but a bit distantly, out in the... READ MORE »
Blogger: BLAKE MATHYS
Location: Williamstown, New Jersey
Website: blakemathys.com
Blake Mathys completed his Ph.D. at Rutgers in 2010, studying evolution of birds introduced to islands. His field work was in Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Trinidad, and was complemented by museum research. Prior to graduate school, he worked with Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows in Everglades National Park, as a hawk counter in Washington State, on the Farallon Islands studying Northern Elephant Seals for PRBO Conservation Science, and sampling fish for the Ohio EPA. Blake and his wife Dimitria recently moved to Ohio, where he is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus. Aside from birds, he maintains a fascination with salamanders, mammals, and anything else with a backbone.
POSTS TO THE ABA BLOG
04/29/2012 - Why Is Sound So Hard? :: Comments (11)
One of the skills most birders use is the ability to recognize birds by the sounds they make. In most bird groups (seabirds being an obvious exception), each species (and sometimes subspecies or regional variations or even individuals) can be recognized by the sounds that it makes. If you've spent... READ MORE »
One of the skills most birders use is the ability to recognize birds by the sounds they make. In most bird groups (seabirds being an obvious exception), each species (and sometimes subspecies or regional variations or even individuals) can be recognized by the sounds that it makes. If you've spent... READ MORE »
11/23/2011 - I Don't Know :: Comments (4)
As birders, our goal is to find and identify birds. That is what we do when we are out in the field, driving, doing yard work, or just glancing out the window. Our overriding urge is to see and then identify birds. Fortunately for us, birds are everywhere. No matter... READ MORE »
As birders, our goal is to find and identify birds. That is what we do when we are out in the field, driving, doing yard work, or just glancing out the window. Our overriding urge is to see and then identify birds. Fortunately for us, birds are everywhere. No matter... READ MORE »
10/04/2011 - Believing in the Impossible :: Comments (2)
Imagine heading out to Hawk Mountain for a day of watching hawk migration. If you've ever been to this well-known migration spot, it will be easy to envision the hike through the trees and the anticipation of what avian wonders might pass by over the course of a day's vigil.... READ MORE »
Imagine heading out to Hawk Mountain for a day of watching hawk migration. If you've ever been to this well-known migration spot, it will be easy to envision the hike through the trees and the anticipation of what avian wonders might pass by over the course of a day's vigil.... READ MORE »
07/05/2011 - I've got it narrowed down to two... :: Comments (3)
"I can't decide; I saw it well enough, but I'm not sure which one it was!" This is a common identification challenge for various pairs of common birds. It is easy to narrow it down to two species, but taking that last step becomes much more difficult. In eastern North... READ MORE »
"I can't decide; I saw it well enough, but I'm not sure which one it was!" This is a common identification challenge for various pairs of common birds. It is easy to narrow it down to two species, but taking that last step becomes much more difficult. In eastern North... READ MORE »
04/14/2011 - Overcoming Expectation :: Comments (16)
About a year after I began birding, when I was still very much in the beginner phase, a Red-necked Grebe was reported on a reservoir not far from my undergraduate school. We don't get a lot of Red-necked Grebes in Ohio, and I had never seen one. My friend Tom... READ MORE »
About a year after I began birding, when I was still very much in the beginner phase, a Red-necked Grebe was reported on a reservoir not far from my undergraduate school. We don't get a lot of Red-necked Grebes in Ohio, and I had never seen one. My friend Tom... READ MORE »
04/04/2011 - How do we identify birds? :: Comments (9)
Editor's note: The ABA blog welcomes New Jersey birder Blake Mathys as one of a group of regular contributors on the subject of Bird ID and field skills. Blake is presently a professor at Stockton College in New Jersey, and is also a part-time lecturer, teaching Ornithology, at Rutgers University.... READ MORE »
Editor's note: The ABA blog welcomes New Jersey birder Blake Mathys as one of a group of regular contributors on the subject of Bird ID and field skills. Blake is presently a professor at Stockton College in New Jersey, and is also a part-time lecturer, teaching Ornithology, at Rutgers University.... READ MORE »
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