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5 days ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
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1 week ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
Even on its breeding grounds, Swainson's Warbler is one of the hardest warblers to locate during the breeding season, though not difficult to find with its loud and unusual song. Southern Appalachia is surely appropriate habitat, and its organized loud song with rapid downward notes gives it away, but do not confuse it with the sound of the Louisiana Waterthrush, which ends in weak and short chaotic chip notes.
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2 weeks ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
One of the most valid questions to ask someone that birds to get to really know what is within their hearts, is to pose the question that differentiates the birder from the ornithologist. I believe many of us ask ourselves that question throughout our birding lives. It is a very valid and pertinent question. We follow our own road through the birding world.
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3 weeks ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
It would have been nice to bring you all to Costa Rica to see what I was privy to, but the plane was full. Every carrier was. March is a fabulous month for birding the Caribbean side with Costa Rican endemics including rarities, endangered birds, and winter birds. There were even old friends like US pre-arrival migrant warblers, Broad-winged Hawks, Costa Rica's own Red-tailed Hawk (costaricensis), waterfowl, and more. It would have made one's head spin and did.
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1 month ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
This tough northerly shorebird has been noted as rock snipe or winter snipe. It is a winter resident of generally eastern rocky shores, though it has been known to come to Missouri and Oklahoma occasionally. It doesn't breed as far north as some, but it migrates less of a distance and winters father north than other waders. It is found nearly exclusively on wave-washed rocks in small flocks with other sandpipers.
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1 month ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
YouTubers Sara and Stu finished their final bird count for 2024 by stopping at Superior Entry with reports of Snowy Owl perched on the breakwall with numerous Bald Eagles in the Lake Superior area. No snowy found, though there was a Bald Eagle coming in among Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. kAmrC@DD65 :?E@ sF=FE9[ |:??6D@E2[ 7@C $2I\+:> q@8[ H96C6 D?@H 3642>6 962G:6C] %CJ:?8 7@C $92CA\E2:=65 vC@FD6 :? p:E<:?[ |:??6D@E2] }@ 8C@FD6 :? E96:C 7:6=5] ~3D6CG65 }@CE96C?
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2 months ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
Last week “Habitats of Africa: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists” by Ken Behrens, Keith Barnes, and Iain Campbell was published. This compact, easy to use guide provides a one-of-a-kind treatment of the continent’s diverse habitat regions. As an up-to-date and inclusive guide covers the unique features of every habitat from geology and climate to hydrology and soil that requires no scientific background.
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2 months ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
With intentions for Chicago area, Stu and Sara were on I-94W taking them to Lake Michigan before veering south, exiting toward St. Joseph, where a residential cobbled road brought us to the lake. On Dec. 6, they stopped at Tiscornia Park in Benton Harbor, filming in the car, looking bleak and windy. There was a lookout over Lake Michigan where Red-throated Loons were reported, as was Snowy Owl. Carefully edged to end of pier where abutments were ice covered, nearly like Swords of Damocles.
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2 months ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
In the heart of northern Minnesota, one hour from Duluth, Sax-Zim Bog holds a place in our hearts with 300 square miles of boreal forest. In the midst of winter, it is no place for the faint of heart. This area is one of the trickiest places for northern birds with its open bogs and frozen wetlands. There are feeders and boardwalks to visit and several roads within one of the prime birding venues, along with several roads between Highways 133 and 53.
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2 months ago | 
muskogeephoenix.com | Deb Hirt
For those of you that wish to get more out of your birding, you’re going to want to carry “Habitats of North America: A Field Guide for Birders, Naturalists, and Ecologists” by Phil Chaon and Iain Campbell. This book can go next to your usual field guide if you’re just getting started in birding travel, and will easily fit in a backpack. It will be a must to take along with your camera and binoculars, as it will assist greatly in your field experience, no matter how experienced you are.
