We were off to another adventure, this time to our 50th state, Hawaii. It is always nip and tuck getting off the Vineyard in the winter months and our departure was no different. Luckily Cape Air...

The 114th annual Christmas Bird Count will take place Jan. 4 between dawn and dusk. Teams are already being formed and strategies discussed. The one question the compiler Rob Culbert and I are very...

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a Christmas carol sung in one version or another around the world. Recently someone asked me to identify the birds in three verses of the carol. What are turtle doves...

This last weekend Flip Harrington and I headed to Boston’s Logan Airport lugging binoculars, spotting scopes, cameras, foul weather gear and boots, plus clothing for warm and chilly weather. We...

David Smith and his father Steve Smith, who was visiting from Cape Elizabeth, Me., emailed a note which stated that they had seen and photographed a snowy owl next to the Aquinnah Shop in Gay Head on...

There have been three very interesting sightings this past week. One is of snowy owls that were seen and photographed in two locations. Two others are difficult as they are either extremely rare and...

It is hard to believe that the turkey that graces our tables at Thanksgiving came to us in a very convoluted fashion. Wild turkeys are originally from Mexico, Belize and Honduras, with populations...

What do clay-colored, vesper, fox, tree, white-crowned and white-throated have in common? They are all types of sparrows that visit the Vineyard in the fall and winter. Now, if we add chipping, song...

In the middle of October, Luanne Johnson and I watched a single snow goose fly into Sengekontacket Pond from offshore. It is odd to spot a single snow goose. They usually migrate in large flocks and...

The news that many a Vineyard and off-Island birder has been waiting for: the Martha’s Vineyard Christmas Bird Count will be held on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014. If you are interested in joining a...