August 20, 2006

Swims - yes swims - like an eagle! What started as a very casual, "let's get out of the house" expedition, turned into the most memorable birding event of our lives.
Posted by Greg Stone at 07:10 PM
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March 06, 2006

Camouflage - it's all the rage - for some ;-) Had another one of those wonderful bird walks in Westport this morning with people who can hear and know what they're hearing. I can't do either. Then again, these folks (Mike Sylvia, Mike Boucher, Walt and Mary Bender) are all...
Posted by Greg Stone at 05:53 PM
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July 26, 2005

Blue-winged warbler In my back yard, yesterday - maybe they're there every year., but I've never seen one before ;-)...
Posted by Greg Stone at 12:26 PM
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August 12, 2004

Rare falcon on Martha's Vineyard Science > Red-Footed Falcon Makes Its Western Hemisphere Debut" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/12/science/12bird.html?hp">The New York Times > Science > Red-Footed Falcon Makes Its Western Hemisphere Debut No he didn't bring a date with him! The shot above is NOT the Martha's Vineyard...
Posted by Greg Stone at 02:40 AM
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May 21, 2004

Hi honey, I'm home! (Swallow style) Yes, this is really two birds - no darkroom tricks. The near one is just leaving the nest box, the other just arriving. (Click picture for larger image of this and any picture on this page.) We've had several...
Posted by Greg Stone at 05:01 PM
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May 15, 2004

Hi honey - I'm home! Or 35 minutes at Adamsville Landing Henry David Thoreau wrote: "You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns." (As usual, click on any image below to get a larger...
Posted by Greg Stone at 06:16 AM
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May 12, 2004

Breakfast at Horseneck First rule - find a friendly crab and convince him to join you. (Oh - and as usual, click on any image to enlarge.) Second rule - provide an airlift! Whoooops! Third rule - fasten seat belts before takeoff!...
Posted by Greg Stone at 03:42 PM
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May 10, 2004

Don't think - look! (Click on image for larger version.) The camera is teaching me a lot about bird identification. I was working in the yard this afternoon when this guy flew over quickly from north to south. I grabbed the camera and...
Posted by Greg Stone at 07:53 PM
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May 02, 2004

Guess whose coming to dinner! Click on any of the five images to see a larger version. (If you don't see five images above, widen your screen a tad and reload.) Or why I didn't see any warblers at Swan Point! Swan Point Cemetery...
Posted by Greg Stone at 03:13 AM
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April 13, 2004

ADHD warblers! Click this image to see a larger version of the picture. Well, warblers have always presented a special challenge for me and I find that this holds true for photographing these cute little guys. The problem? They move like...
Posted by Greg Stone at 04:59 AM
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April 08, 2004

Stony Brook in April Click image for larger version. Stony Brook Wilidlife Sanctuary is a wonderful, family-oriented center with wide, easy trails and an excellent variety of habitats for birds and other creatures. It's about an hours drive from here and I've been...
Posted by Greg Stone at 08:14 PM
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March 30, 2004

Of Harriers and butterflies Click on image of Harrier for larger view Ruecker Wildlife Refuge in Tiverton, RI, seems to be one of those slightly out-of-the-way places that doesn't get the attention it deservesand late winter may not be its best season, but...
Posted by Greg Stone at 12:46 AM
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March 22, 2004

Maybe a quiz, maybe just a gallery (Click to see larger image in new window.) Treat this as you like, of course, but I started to put up a gallery of the best birds shots of the past week and it metamorphed into something of a...
Posted by Greg Stone at 01:10 PM
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March 11, 2004

Sachuest slideshow surprise We went to Sachuest, Don Douglas and I, in search of Harlequin ducks, those wonderfully colorful little surfers who love to hang around the rocks in breaking seas. They're here only in the winter and "here" - in this area...
Posted by Greg Stone at 08:26 AM
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March 01, 2004

A tale of two low flying raptors Or maybe I should say "tail," for that's the key. David Sibley calls the short-eared owl "our most aerial owl" and warns it "can be confused" with the Northern Harrier. Perhaps. They both hunt in the same regions -...
Posted by Greg Stone at 08:00 PM
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December 13, 2003

And these are . . . ? I observed two blackbirds on the ground beneath my feeder Monday (12.08.03). I got a good look at them, though by the time I got the video camera out one had left and the other was in the tree and...
Posted by Greg Stone at 04:23 PM
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October 19, 2003

The birds of spring - in Australia Ah spring! Isn't it wonderful? Ok, I know it's fall, and in many ways I like fall best of all - but Dom and Daphne are experiencing spring right now in Australia and they have been applying their photo skills...
Posted by Greg Stone at 10:31 AM
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September 15, 2003

Hawks and hurricanes Wednesday looks to me like it could be a real good hawk day, so I'll be heading for Wachusetts. This weekend may also prove good, depending on exactly what Hurricane Isabel does. But hey - that's later in the week....
Posted by Greg Stone at 07:28 PM
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September 12, 2003

A natural low Hawks are truly remarkable creatures, but I'm pretty sure they can't make long-range weather forecast and I have a sneaking suspicion that Hurricane Isabel might screw up their travel plans. As explained before, hawks pick their weather carefully to...
Posted by Greg Stone at 11:06 AM
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September 09, 2003

Looking for lift in all the right places Hey - my favorite time of year, fall! And one of my favorite activities - hawk watching. If you have never looked for broad-winged hawks on their fall migration, then you won't appreciate the excitement this can build. I...
Posted by Greg Stone at 03:47 PM
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July 11, 2003

The incredible hawk - and more We watched a film clip today of a goshawk hunting from a branch and reacting as a pheasant took off below him. The hawk gave chase. The pheasant seemed to be making his getaway. But then the goshawk closed the...
Posted by Greg Stone at 06:50 AM
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June 24, 2003

Nobody here but us cows! "Shhhh... we're bird listening." "Gesssh... you're right Belle, not too smart. . . You mean bird watching, don't you buddy?"
Posted by Greg Stone at 12:05 AM
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June 05, 2003

Beach swallows and going beyond paper For a long time I have wanted to try to do something that took more advantage of this medium - or, I should say, this multimedium. Today I took my first small step, combining my experiences at the beach with...
Posted by Greg Stone at 07:13 AM
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May 26, 2003

Think of it as "playing by ear" Ah, there it is - that wonderful feeling of being 12 again and coming home with your dungarees soaked through to the knees because you have been roaming through wet woods and wet fields and wet marsh and yes,...
Posted by Greg Stone at 01:29 PM
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May 19, 2003

Brenda Appleseed and the Cedar Waxwings About 25-30 years ago Bren ate an apple. On a whim, she placed the seeds in the refrigerator and kept them all winter, then planted them in the spring. The result is we now have three fully grown apple trees...
Posted by Greg Stone at 08:05 PM
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They're small, they're flitty, they're frustrating. . . . . . but you can see warblers and with luck you'll get a good enough view for a few seconds to identify them. And it's fun doing so, especially when you're in a nice location. We went on our...
Posted by Greg Stone at 02:26 PM
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May 18, 2003

A story told in pictures "Perfect" is not defined as "warm." We define it as sweat shirt and wind-breaker weather, with clear skies - the sort only spring and fall can bring. In such a day, everything is fresh and wonderful. And so it...
Posted by Greg Stone at 05:47 AM
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May 15, 2003

Big orange meets big orange! Hey, it actually works! Cut up some oranges, spike them on a tree branch, and the Baltimore orioles love 'em. I had read this several times, the most recent in a local newspaper column by Fred Thurber. He said...
Posted by Greg Stone at 01:01 PM
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May 12, 2003

New visitor to feeder Just spotted a sparrow-like bird on the feeder, only it seemed too large. I got a good look at its markings - pale bill, streaked breast, and a white line above the eye going to the back of the...
Posted by Greg Stone at 11:23 AM
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May 08, 2003

A close encounter Bren came into the office yesterday afternoon, her eyes glowing and a big smile on her face, having just had a close encounter of the hummingbird kind. Seems she was talking on the telephone and standing in front of the...
Posted by Greg Stone at 02:26 PM
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May 03, 2003

OK, so maybe everyone else knows about these? This comment came in January, 2007 - it updates and earlier comment posted four years ago - and certainly updates this whole post. Thanks Jim. (BTW - comments are now disabled.) Hi Greg, Thanx for the reply. I just wanted...
Posted by Greg Stone at 04:44 PM
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April 29, 2003

Oil spill and a white ibis The white ibis is in the center and the two insets. All are stills taken from video taken at Allens Pond April 29, 2003. I thought the white heron made an interesting size comparison, as did the two gulls....
Posted by Greg Stone at 06:31 PM
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April 28, 2003

Owl time at Horseneck Beach Don Douglas and I were standing near the northern most spot on Cherry and Webb Point, Horseneck Beach, looking in the general direction of Tripp’s Boat Yard when a raptor came into view that was new to both of us....
Posted by Greg Stone at 10:36 PM
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April 25, 2003

Breakfast at Horseneck Gorgeous morning for our beach walk - temperature just above freezing, but no wind and as Bren notes, that makes all the difference. The bright sunshine helped. I mentioned the spider crab and the gull the other day. At this...
Posted by Greg Stone at 04:08 PM
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April 23, 2003

Brant, spider crabs, and sand Walking Horseneck today we saw a dozen or more brant. At first glance these guys look like Canada geese, but they're smaller and their heads and necks and are mostly black. We saw a large flock - about 150 -...
Posted by Greg Stone at 09:07 AM
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April 17, 2003

What's happening in the fence post? I'm not sure. The post has been there about 30 years. It's made of locust so it will never rot. Some lilac has grown up around it and in the hole meant for the top rail I have seen two...
Posted by Greg Stone at 09:05 PM
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April 15, 2003

Allen's Neck meandering Don and Allen's Neck meandering Don and I took a hike out to the Vernal pool at Allen's Neck but saw no sign of activity there. We did get good look at a marsh hawk and field sparrow and were able to...
Posted by Greg Stone at 07:23 PM
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