Still Alive!

Hi friends! Lots been happening here, just not a lot of it for this ol 2002-lookin-ass blog. (I should probably overhaul this, right? It's been years. I know people don't really do blogs even anymore but I don't want to get rid of it, but don't really know what would look better. Suggestions welcome.)

I had some plans this spring for some original blog content (!) but just couldn't get it together in time. Maybe next spring.

I had a baby in March! That's going great, but taking up a lot of time, as you can probably imagine. He came birding with me a bunch of times in May, which was a blast. Here's a pic of him peacefully hanging out with me at Theodore Roosevelt Island during a super-heavy migration morning.

And here we are at Constitution Gardens on the Mall getting up close with some Canada Geese.

I've still been writing, too, just not as frequently as I once was. It's hard with a little baby and a busy day job! Here are a few links.

I've written a couple more pieces for National Parks Magazine, one about Sooty Terns at Dry Tortugas National Park (one of my all-time favorite places), and the other about birding on Civil War battlefield parks.

Secrets of the Seabirds - Winter 2018

Birds on the Battlefield - Spring 2018

And a couple of new articles on Audubon.org:

Ten of the Best Podcasts for Birders

Four Quick Tips for Identifying Hybrid Birds

Birds Rule #59: Learn to Identify Warblers from Below

I've also been birding, but not as much as in previous years. A baby will do that to you. No new ABA birds yet this year, but four new District of Columbia birds: a Golden-winged Warbler (what a stunner!) in Rock Creek Park, a good look at a Virginia Warbler at Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens and an overdue Alder Flycatcher at the same spot, and then a trio of Least Terns just today on the Potomac. The city was enthralled for a week or so by a strangely confiding Northern Bobwhite in a yard up above Georgetown until it came out a week later that the bird had been raised from an egg by some neighbors. Fun to get a good look, of course!

Enjoy! Will hopefully get some good stuff up here soon.