Author Archives: George C. Wood

We were in SF for a fun-filled Parish Family/Palace Hotel wedding extravaganza this weekend and I had no intention of birding. My Nina had lived in SF for 20 years and we had three packed days of celebrating the newlyweds … Continue reading →

On paper, a Thick-billed Vireo description reads a little like a “LBJ” (little brown job). “Medium sized (5-6 inches), olive-green upperparts, brown iris, pale yellow underparts. Most often heard, not seen. Frequents dense undergrowth and thickets”. Oh….and it’s a Code … Continue reading →

Last week the birding world was rocked by the news of a code 4 female Old World flycatcher (Red-flanked Bluetail) inhabiting an enclosed library courtyard at UCLA. Lucky me, I was already booked on a Sunday flight to Los Angeles … Continue reading →

OF COURSE, I had to try again to see and photograph the first-ever-documented-in-USA, South American resident, GREAT BLACK HAWK, currently in Portland, Maine. Two weeks ago I was skunked. Today was different. With the aid of my wife’s frequent flier … Continue reading →

The Great Black Hawk had NEVER been spotted in the USA until 2018! Its normal range is South America to Mexico. The fact that one was being seen periodically in Maine this Fall was simply astounding. Since Thanksgiving I had … Continue reading →

In May, 2014 I wrote about hearing but NOT SEEING the elusive Black Rail….it would have been #700. https://birdtalesblog.wordpress.com/2014/05/ Well, E-Bird was reporting several of these shrew-sized birds reliably calling during the day (normally a pm activity) in the Alviso … Continue reading →

“Hi, Laura…Ohio”. “David, Minnesota”. “Leslie, San Antonio”. “Barbara, Lauderdale”. “George, Philly”. These were the brief but polite exchanges as we greeted the young PhD student from Corpus Christie. None of us wanted to engage in actual conversation for fear of … Continue reading →

You didn’t think I’d trek to SE Arizona in pursuit of only one rarity, did you? Nah. There were TWO birds on my hit list. Only 80 miles from the Slate-throated Redstart, in Ramsey Canyon, a Flame-colored Tanager (code 3) … Continue reading →

Adrenaline pumping, I quickly traversed down the steep and narrow trail back to my rental car. After patrolling the “stake-out” area for three hours, I was certain I had just captured an image of the distant target bird. As I … Continue reading →

My heart jumped when I read the NJ Rare Bird Alert text on Sunday morning April 29th. The Swainson’s Warbler had eluded me in Florida, two Carolinas…and now it was hundreds of miles north of where it was supposed to … Continue reading →