Category Archives: Uncategorized

Birding Southern Africa

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Bob

We just returned from our most ambitious vacation ever, an eleven week birding tour of South Africa and the neighboring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe. We called this a birding tour, and our primary goal was certainly birds, but … Continue reading →

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Postcard from South Africa

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Bob

As has happened to many writers, from Hemingway to Theroux, an unusual magnetism arises from the continent of Africa as one reaches life’s last quartile. Except for a three-week scuba diving trip to Egypt in the 90s, sub-Saharan Africa had … Continue reading →

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Return to the Big Island

Posted on January 15, 2022 by Bob

Suffering the quarantine blues a year ago, I wrote an article remembering the last time we birded Hawaii’s Big Island, five years earlier.  With the pandemic ebbing a bit this year, we decided to return to the Big Island for … Continue reading →

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The Monarchs of Mexico

Posted on August 8, 2021 by Bob

Many birders have a strong secondary interest in butterflies. This is understandable, considering that butterflies are found in the company of birds, are equally colorful and are often mistaken as birds. There are roughly the same number of species of … Continue reading →

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Summertime Tanagers

Posted on July 4, 2021 by Bob

Summertime in SaddleBrooke is a secret we don’t share with snowbirds.  Sure, we joke with them about the dry heat, tell them our summer monsoon should be renamed the summer ‘nonsoon’ and encourage them to leave before our first hundred-degree … Continue reading →

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The Howdy Birds

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Bob

As a family of birds, owls are unique and fascinating.  They are nocturnal predators with large night-vision eyes, stealth-silent wings and sharp beaks and talons.  No wonder they have fostered myths and folklore. Owls range in size from 5.5 inches … Continue reading →

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The Christmas Bird Count

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Bob

This year will mark the 121st consecutive year that the annual ‘Christmas’ Bird Count takes place.  As you might imagine, the count has changed a lot in 121 years.  Although the first count happened on Christmas Day in 1900, and … Continue reading →

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The Eared Quetzal

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Bob

Although I’ve always loved birds, I didn’t get seriously into birding until January, 2008, when we took a multi-month road trip into Mexico.  One of many highlights on that trip was a two-night campout in Reserva Monte Mojino, a private … Continue reading →

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Birding the Big Island

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Bob

Being mostly quarantined for months, I catch myself thinking about exotic places we’ve traveled, like Australia, Colombia, Cuba and Hawaii.  I’ve written about many of these places but never about Hawaii.  We’ve spent many days on most of Hawaii’s islands, … Continue reading →

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Caring for our Birds in Winter

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Bob

Not that long ago it was thought that putting hummingbird feeders out in the winter would encourage birds to hang around past the time they might normally migrate south.  This concern has been proven false for quite some time, but … Continue reading →

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