Don’t miss the rare moment of fame for birds and birders tonight at 9pm as HBO premiers Jeffrey Kimball’s new documentary, “Birders: The Central Park Effect”, an exploration of the birds of Manhatten, the birders (aka bird nerds, dweebs or dorks), and the reasons behind the addictive nature of birding.  Read this article to find out more.

Also, as a follow up to our last blog post, “Purple Martin Majesty”,  here is our very own documentary about Purple Martin Banding by Adrian Binns, Senior Tour Leader for Wildside Nature Tours. We band Purple Martins to contribute to population and migration data, which ultimately helps conserve this special, human-dependent species.  Of course, none of the birds were harmed in the making of this documentary, and the small lightweight bands do not decrease the survival of the chicks.  Please visit a previous blog post, “Bird Banding Proven to be Safe for the Birds”, for more information about banding safety.

And last but not least, if you have not checked out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Heron Cam, you MUST!  It’s a beautifully edited video that delicately and intimately documents the secret family lives of Great Blue Herons, focusing on a successful family from this spring in Sapsucker Woods.

Enjoy the birds!

~Blake