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The Summer Doldrums

10,000 Birds

Nothing is quite as much of a downer to a birder than the summer doldrums. Uncomfortable weather and a lack of birds make birders grumpy. What can a bird blogger do but try to write his way out of the summer doldrums? How can you bird for a day in the summer? What other birds can you find in summer’s dog days?

Downers 165
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Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus

10,000 Birds

Any day of birding in New York State that includes a sighting of a Vesper Sparrow is a better-then-average day. Grassland birds have been hit the hardest across the northeast and Vesper Sparrows like closely cropped landscapes and eschew taller grasses, so they have been hit particularly hard. What has caused the decline?

Sparrows 165