Digital Planetoids of the Birdosphere

This young Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has no idea that the Birdosphere even exists...are you in the same boat? Visit some of the crucial linkage below. Bahia Honda State Park, FL.

Shocking admission: I've spent the past several days hundreds of miles away from my binoculars, spotting scope, camera and bird books...you see, a bachelor's party requires none of these things, just a liver that has come in good shape, and a special kind of stamina. But I'll be back on the island in the very near future, so this tremendous streak of going (gasp) five days in a row without birding will be short-lived.

Just wanted to throw out a few other blogs worth looking at. I come across bird blogs I like relatively infrequently, so just wanted to get the word out on some of the places I check out on the reg. If you have a blog (yours or otherwise) that you think BB&B should know about, feel free to leave a link in the comments.

Right. Birding For Humans is a newish blog steered by Josh Chapman, a SoCal birder. Josh not only comes across as a feverish nerd, but is one of the few members of the Birdosphere who can write about birding at length and with wit. Check it out if you haven't already, I think it will be going places.

Wings Above The World is mastered by Nora Olema, a fellow Santa Cruz Islander who is doing work with Island Scrub-Jays. If you want to get a different (and arguably superior) take on Santa Cruz, I recommend you give it a look.

If you have any interest in birding Costa Rica whatsoever, you must check in on Pat O'Donnell's Costa Rica Living and Birding. Pat is a part-time guide and full-time hardcore birder who lives in the country, and has a wealth of knowledge on birding in the country...I cannot not overstate what an excellent resource this is for someone planning their first (or fifteenth) Costa Rica trip.

Bruce Mactavish's blog on birding Newfoundland is fun to read, and he provides frequent droolworthy photos of a number of birds many of us just don't get to see very often, from a part of the continent coveted by birders but rarely visited by outsiders. Oh, and if you think you're a hot shit birder, try taking his insidious gull quiz.

Snowy Plover. I am at a loss to explain why this photo appears in the context of this post, but there it is and here we are. Tijuana River Mouth, Imperial Beach, CA.

There is no shortage of photocentric bird blogs, this we know. Keep an eye out for BIRDCRUSHER, the much-hyped blog from Dipper Dan, which will be taking this a step further. You might remember this frequently-harassed birder from the TPAD days. Birdcrusher is in construction as we speak.

Mia MacPherson's On The Wing Photography is a well-established, standout site. Aside from constant, unbelievable crushes, Mia also is one of the few outspoken proponents of ethical bird photography. She offers lots of coverage from Utah, Montana and Florida. Oh, and she's a Nikon user, so that will always get props from me.

I've posted the link before, but Vermphoto seems to be the bird photographer/blogger (photoblogger?) out there who turns out both epic photos and some damn funny writing. Check it!

Skilled camera trappers frequently get better Bobcat photos than I ever do. Photographed at Pt. Reyes, CA.

In the extremely unlikely event that you are into wildlife other than birds (wha?), there are blogs out there that can suit your needs too. Camera Trap Codger gave me my first exposure to the fascinating world of camera trapping, and RandomTruth's Nature of a Man is one of the leading blogs in the Traposhpere, although to be fair he delves into other spheres as well. Check out his last post, featuring a kingsnake vs. racer battle.

That will do it for now, hopefully I'll be back with another unforgettable, indelible post in the near future. Until then...bird constantly my friends.