On the Wing

On a cold January day a few years ago, my wife, Pat, and I spent a wonderful morning at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge near Cambridge… Read Story

Out on the lake, a male mallard drifted by in the early autumn sunshine. Farther out, a small duck bobbed its head slightly in the still waters. Read Story

Like many others, I have been caught up in the genealogy craze. Digital databases of population records and user-friendly software have made r… Read Story

The big trash truck’s engine rumbled as a single worker methodically emptied the apartment building’s bins. He attached the receptacles to the… Read Story

The flock of blackbirds raced in a tight mass above the marsh, then swirled in an impossibly tight ball, effortlessly changing directions in a… Read Story

Binoculars in hand, I was on alert as my scooter slowly rolled around the corner. I wasn’t disappointed. The object of my search was easily sp… Read Story

Initial reports started to come in during the final days of April. By the first week of May, the eBird sightings turned into an avalanche. Bir… Read Story

Wood warblers are the joy of North American birders. These birds are small, colorful, and as their name suggests, wonderful songsters. Read Story

It was April 2015. Somewhere on the eastern slope of the northern Andes, a tiny wood warbler was feasting on insects and spiders rich in prote… Read Story

March is a funny month. Sometimes spring seems here to stay. Then, a cold blast barrels through, and mud puddles turn icy and warm coats are needed. Read Story

Identifying gulls has flummoxed many a birder, including me. Gulls take several years to reach their adult feathers. Getting there involves a … Read Story

Bright sunshine made the cold almost pleasant. Brilliant blue skies threw the barren trees into high relief. The gentlest of breezes played wi… Read Story

The battlefield was silent. The split-rail fence rose peacefully atop the grassy hillside. The sky, once filled with smoke and the smell of gu… Read Story

Well before sunrise in early May it started: a loud chattering, burbling, cascading torrent of notes. From just outside our bedroom window, th… Read Story

The sun was finally low enough that the heat of the day was starting to ease. We were just about to head home after a pleasant afternoon at th… Read Story

The bald eagles were everywhere we looked, soaring through the summer sky and perching on top of a half-dozen loblolly pines. There were matur… Read Story

We were driving slowly west along Powder Mill Road when my wife, Pat, spotted a blue bird perched on a post. I pulled over and carefully backe… Read Story

I stood on the boardwalk and turned to the early morning sun. I felt the warmth on my face and closed my eyes. The dawn chorus of birds enveloped me. Read Story

It was April 28, 1988, and I was aboard Amtrak, heading to Washington, DC, to see the Pennsylvania congressman whose re-election campaign I wo… Read Story

Dropping out of the opalescent sky with its neck neatly tucked back, the heron floated into view. Swinging its long legs forward at the last s… Read Story

Sandy Point State Park sits at the northwestern foot of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It was nearly deserted on a clear, cold morning last Januar… Read Story

Chesapeake marshes in the winter have a special charm. An extraordinary range of warm brown, ocher and russet tones lend the grasses a hypnoti… Read Story

Action at the bird feeders was continuous. Red-winged blackbirds had arrived, scattered across the backyard, eating spilled seeds and fighting… Read Story

Brilliant flashes of steel blue and white swirled and danced, careened and darted, twisted and dipped in a masterful display of aerial skills.… Read Story

Apparently, it all started on June 17 when Mikey Lutmerding spotted the unlikely pink visitor flying off into some nearby trees. It was pretty… Read Story

A light rain was falling as dawn struggled to life. The sun didn’t so much rise as reluctantly brighten the landscape. Read Story

Lake Artemesia is an incredibly popular natural oasis just east of the University of Maryland’s College Park campus. On summer weekends, biker… Read Story

I could hear it, but for the life of me, I couldn’t see it. The bird was right in front of me and singing incessantly. Prr-reet, prr-reet, prr… Read Story

The trees were coming into full leaf. The air was clear and warm without the oppressive humidity that could come with summer. And best of all,… Read Story

We had traveled to Cambridge, MD, to look for late winter waterfowl on the Choptank River, but instead I found myself looking at one of the tr… Read Story

We had just finished a wonderful three hours enjoying the avian bounty of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, just south of Cambridge, MD… Read Story

We arrived at the refuge at daybreak and had already spent an hour watching huge flocks of waterfowl in the coves at Eastern Neck National Wil… Read Story

Pewter clouds hung heavy over the inlet, a cold reflection of the sudden onset of winter weather. On the dark waters, scores of waterfowl were… Read Story

Earlier, we had seen a northern harrier, gliding low over the tawny marsh grasses, cruising for prey. This bird was different. It was fast, wi… Read Story

“I still don’t see it.” Read Story

Old Bradley Road in Wicomico County, MD, is like hundreds of other rural roads in the Chesapeake watershed. It’s just a few miles long, runs b… Read Story

Creamy yellow blossoms sat atop the water lilies. Lotus flowers of wedding white with a central blush of pink filled the ornamental ponds. Pic… Read Story

Keeping the backyard bird feeders full is a relatively easy but endless task. Today’s ravenous flock of big black birds was making sure that t… Read Story

My hometown, Cheverly, MD, is typical of many older Washington, DC, suburbs. There are plenty of mature trees, with small houses on modest-siz… Read Story

With all of the allure of a sodden newspaper, the day was cold, gray and damp, leaving me indoors and ill-tempered. It had felt like 4 p.m. al… Read Story

The sky was that blue unique to winter: endlessly deep and crystalline clear, like staring into a sapphire. We were standing on a small boardw… Read Story

Opalescent skies brightened under the rising sun. A soft wind ruffled the waves lapping the cove, which was alive with countless waterfowl. Th… Read Story

“Hey, Mike, look at this.” My friend was peering out her window overlooking the river. “It looks like something out of Hitchcock,” she added. Read Story

An impressionist’s palette of endless shades of gold, brown, red, yellow and green lay before me. The late afternoon light had set the marsh g… Read Story

Pink and white lotuses and yellow water lilies filled the ponds that dot the verdant landscape. The serene landscape had drawn us back to this… Read Story

I stood off to the side, leaning against the car, while Pat chatted at the wash station after picking up our weekly share of vegetables. She w… Read Story

We pulled off congested, six-lane Connecticut Avenue and less than two minutes later found ourselves in an unexpected oasis. The National Zoo … Read Story

The oak canopy had nearly closed in with new foliage, leaving dappled sunlight on the forest floor. Birdsong surrounded us and tiny clouds of … Read Story

“Warbler!” The call was excited, but not so loud as to scare away the bird. I turned my attention briefly toward my friend’s voice and then pi… Read Story

Dusk was overtaking the field, but the action was just heating up. “Peent!” The sound pierced the evening sky. “Peent!” There again was the in… Read Story