04/28/2013 - A Tower to Remember :: Comments (1)
You are forgiven if you can’t guess the purpose of the odd building in this photograph from 90 years ago. You are forgiven, as well, if the name of Althea R. Sherman does not ring an ornithological bell. She is the woman at the center of the picture, who conceived... READ MORE »
Blogger: PAUL HESS
Location: Natrona Heights, Pennsylvania
Paul Hess, the Birding "News and Notes" Department Editor, started watching birds at age 7 in Los Angeles. Now a retired newspaper editor in Pennsylvania, he formerly chaired the Pennsylvania Ornithological Records Committee, has contributed many articles to the journal Pennsylvania Birds, writes an ornithological news column for the Pennsylvania Society for Ornithology newsletter, edits the Three Rivers Birding Club newsletter in Pittsburgh, and has coauthored several National Geographic books on birds. Paul has received prominent awards for outstanding contributions to Pennsylvania ornithology and for bird conservation efforts in the state.
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07/21/2012 - New AOU Check-list Changes :: Comments (14)
The 53rd Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds was published this week, with an extensive array of taxonomic changes including a split of the Xantus’s Murrelet and dramatic rearrangements of falcons and parrots to new positions on the list. READ MORE »
The 53rd Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds was published this week, with an extensive array of taxonomic changes including a split of the Xantus’s Murrelet and dramatic rearrangements of falcons and parrots to new positions on the list. READ MORE »
03/15/2012 - Breaking Up the Hawks :: Comments (6)
Nine years since we were surprised to see loons and grebes moved down past waterfowl, grouse, and quail on our checklists, we might soon see an even more dramatic revision. Falcons could be uprooted from their traditional place just after other “hawks” and moved far down the list almost to... READ MORE »
Nine years since we were surprised to see loons and grebes moved down past waterfowl, grouse, and quail on our checklists, we might soon see an even more dramatic revision. Falcons could be uprooted from their traditional place just after other “hawks” and moved far down the list almost to... READ MORE »
03/01/2012 - Fighting a Threat to Birds :: Comments (6)
To some people, a Burmese python is repulsive. To others, it is a good example of adaptive evolution. To still others, it is a welcome pet—until it grows too large and an owner releases it into the wild. To Florida’s avifauna, it is a deadly scourge. More than two dozen... READ MORE »
To some people, a Burmese python is repulsive. To others, it is a good example of adaptive evolution. To still others, it is a welcome pet—until it grows too large and an owner releases it into the wild. To Florida’s avifauna, it is a deadly scourge. More than two dozen... READ MORE »
02/11/2012 - A Shearwater's Survival :: Comments (2)
We don’t often see an exclamation point in an ornithological paper’s title, but the one in a scientific report this week is excitingly appropriate: “Bryan’s Shearwaters have survived in the Bonin Islands, Northwestern Pacific!” Bryan’s Shearwater was formally described as a new species just last year, based on an old... READ MORE »
We don’t often see an exclamation point in an ornithological paper’s title, but the one in a scientific report this week is excitingly appropriate: “Bryan’s Shearwaters have survived in the Bonin Islands, Northwestern Pacific!” Bryan’s Shearwater was formally described as a new species just last year, based on an old... READ MORE »
01/05/2012 - AOU Check-list Proposals :: Comments (0)
As we begin a new birding year, let’s look ahead to proposals that are awaiting action by the American Ornithologists’ Union “Check-list Committee.” Many of these involve ABA Area birds, most notably a split of the Gray Hawk into two species (only one of them found in the ABA Area).... READ MORE »
As we begin a new birding year, let’s look ahead to proposals that are awaiting action by the American Ornithologists’ Union “Check-list Committee.” Many of these involve ABA Area birds, most notably a split of the Gray Hawk into two species (only one of them found in the ABA Area).... READ MORE »
11/10/2011 - A Woodpecker's Safety Lesson :: Comments (2)
In my July 2011 News and Notes column in Birding, I pointed to the encouraging prospect that “a woodpecker’s skull might save your life someday.” The topic was an engineering team’s analysis of how a woodpecker’s brain is protected from tremendous shock when the bill rams into hard wood. The... READ MORE »
In my July 2011 News and Notes column in Birding, I pointed to the encouraging prospect that “a woodpecker’s skull might save your life someday.” The topic was an engineering team’s analysis of how a woodpecker’s brain is protected from tremendous shock when the bill rams into hard wood. The... READ MORE »
09/07/2011 - L-o-n-g-Distance Nester :: Comments (2)
Most of us didn’t hear about it, but a female Burrowing Owl nested twice and successfully fledged seven young within the same breeding season—approximately 1,100 miles apart, first in Arizona and then in Saskatchewan. This remarkable occurrence was documented by Geoffrey Holroyd and Helen Trefry of Environment Canada and Courtney... READ MORE »
Most of us didn’t hear about it, but a female Burrowing Owl nested twice and successfully fledged seven young within the same breeding season—approximately 1,100 miles apart, first in Arizona and then in Saskatchewan. This remarkable occurrence was documented by Geoffrey Holroyd and Helen Trefry of Environment Canada and Courtney... READ MORE »
08/20/2011 - Big Year for Kirtland's Warbler :: Comments (0)
This is a record-setting year for Kirtland’s Warbler. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon announce officially that the 2011 census of singing males tallied 1,828 birds: 1,805 in Michigan, 21 in Wisconsin, and 2 in Ontario. This total edges past the previous record of 1,826 in 2009. “We’ve... READ MORE »
This is a record-setting year for Kirtland’s Warbler. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will soon announce officially that the 2011 census of singing males tallied 1,828 birds: 1,805 in Michigan, 21 in Wisconsin, and 2 in Ontario. This total edges past the previous record of 1,826 in 2009. “We’ve... READ MORE »
05/29/2011 - Bulletin: New Splits :: Comments (11)
The American Ornithologists’ Union “Check-list Committee” has published an online preview of its decisions on dozens of taxonomic and nomenclatorial proposals that will take effect this year if there are no last-minute revisions. The report includes splits of four species involving ABA-area birds, but none of them adds a species... READ MORE »
The American Ornithologists’ Union “Check-list Committee” has published an online preview of its decisions on dozens of taxonomic and nomenclatorial proposals that will take effect this year if there are no last-minute revisions. The report includes splits of four species involving ABA-area birds, but none of them adds a species... READ MORE »
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Birders know well that the healthiest, most dynamic choruses contain many different voices. The birding community encompasses a wide variety of interests, talents, and convictions. All are welcome. If you like birding, we want to hear from you.
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Recent Posts
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- Open Mic: Introducing Wader Quest by ABA
- Rare Bird Alert: May 17, 2013 by Nate Swick
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