A good acquaintance, Florence McBride, has two created two books to celebrate the Birds of Connecticut exhibit at Yale's Peabody Museum of Natural History -- an exhibit cut short by Covid-19. The exhibit featured the brilliant taxidermic work of David... Continue reading

Wikimedia Commons A Science Times section in The New York Times earlier this year featured an article about a Solenodon, an incredible creature native to the West Indies. As Veronica Greenwood wrote: "About the size of a guinea pig, it has a long, hairless snout, sharp little teeth and, to top it all off, venom-laced saliva. " The question is, what does this creature -- related to hedgehogs, moles and shrews -- have to do with the real James Bond? Stay tuned till tomorrow. Continue reading

My wife and I saw a House Wren house-hunting today. It even inspected a birdhouse that sat on our deck, but it did not put in a bid. I put the wren house in a mulberry tree. Think it'll move... Continue reading

It was a nice surprise to see my reading of "Duck Enough to Fly" featured on the Lee Memorial Library's Storytime on Friday. A big thank you to Emily for her entertaining program! Continue reading

I know this is a gruesome mystery, so my apologies. I saw this dead mammal on the shoulder of Franklin Tpke near the CF. It looked big for a mouse or even a chipmunk. Anybody know that it is? Was? Continue reading

As a result of my keynote presentation for NJ Audubon's Cape May Spring Festival today, a lot of folks have asked how they can order my book. (Before I give that information, I'd just like to thank NJ Audubon for holding this incredible virtual festival.) You can order a signed copy of "The Real James Bond" here. Proceeds go to NJ Audubon and The Nature Conservancy's Caribbean initiative (in Bond's honor). You can order a "Real James Bond" eBook for Kindle here. It's also available from some libraries via the Libby app. You can read The Wall Street Journal review... Continue reading

In the course of the research for my book, I discovered that (gasp), the real James Bond was a closet bird-watcher (or he slept with one). On one of Mary Wickham Bond's notepads for the summer of 1956, I found the list on the left. They were living on Davidson Road in Chestnut Hill, Pa., at the time. I found it most interesting in light of quotes from James Bond in newspaper interviews which he insisted he was not a bird-watcher (see below). I also loved some of the vernacular for for various birds back then, including "chewink" (Eastern Towhee)... Continue reading

On Monday I asked: What kind of bird is this, and what was it doing in this place in Piermont, N.Y., recently? The answer: It is a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, as several readers correctly replied. According to Charley West, who is... Continue reading

A big shout-out to Joanne and Erin Hart for displaying all the American flags on the lawn of Allendale's historic John Fell House for Memorial Day Weekend. The flags in the Field of Flags were donated in memory of loved... Continue reading

In advance of my talk this Saturday at the virtual Cape May Spring Festival, I am re-posting one of my favorite posts each day this week, plus a couple of new posts -- like this one. A great acquaintance recently directed me to some pretty cool James Bond collector groups on Facebook. One of my favorites is James Bond Collectable Books Worldwide, which has a wonderful array of collectors -- some with extraordinary collections of 007 books. I am now trying to see how many folks (besides me) collect the various incarnations of "Birds of the West Indies." Below is... Continue reading

Returning to the car after a recent visit to High Mountain, I noticed an American Robin jumping up and down on a neighboring car's side-view mirror. I figured I knew what was happening, smiled and inspected the car's door beneath... Continue reading

What kind of bird is this, and what was it doing in this place in Piermont, N.Y., recently? Continue reading

In advance of my talk this Saturday at the virtual Cape May Spring Festival, I am re-posting one of my favorite posts each day this week. Earlier this year, Great Britain's Bird Watching magazine ran a beautiful six-page spread of m y article, "The Birds of 007." It's packed with fascinating info for 007 fans and bird-lovers alike. My original post about the article is here. You can download the article here: Download James Bond article Bird Watching magazine (1) Tomorrow: The Bahama (Abaco) Parrot. Wednesday: The Bahama Nuthatch. Thursday: Collecting the books of the real James Bond. Friday: When... Continue reading

I am speaking at the virtual Cape May Spring Weekend this Saturday at 12:30 p.m. You can read more about the festival and my talk (about "The Real James Bond") here. You can order a signed copy here. Proceeds go to NJ Audubon and The Nature Conservancy's Caribbean initiative (in Bond's honor.) You can order a "Real James Bond" eBook for Kindle here. It's also available from some libraries via the Libby app. You can read The Wall Street Journal review here. In advance of my talk, I'll be posting the following: Monday: The Birds of 007. Tuesday: The Bahama... Continue reading

PHOTO BY PHIL WITT This year, for the first time, the Cape May Spring Festival is going virtual. That means many folks -- who've always wanted to participate but couldn't -- will now be able to see this top birding destination for themselves. My new column for The Record tells all. (Full disclosure: I'm doing a talk on the real James Bond on the first day of the festival, Saturday, May 23.) You can download the column here: Download JWRIGHT BIRD WATCHER TheRecord_20200514_LF03_0 Continue reading

PHOTO BY PHIL WITT This year, for the first time, the Cape May Spring Festival is going virtual. That means many folks -- who've always wanted to participate but couldn't -- will now be able to see this top birding... Continue reading

Independent bookstores are really taking a hit these days. I just found out a great way to support them: Order your books through bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The link is here.... Continue reading

Independent bookstores are really taking a hit these days. I just found out a great way to support them: Order your books through bookshop.org, an online bookstore with a mission to financially support local, independent bookstores. The link is here. Last I checked, you can even get "The Real James Bond" there. Continue reading

Last week, I did a radio show called "Warriors for Peace," discussing the real James Bond, Ian Fleming, Mary Bond, the West Indies, and the ornithologists who served as spies during World War II. To hear my interview with host Donna Seebo, click here, scroll all the way to near the bottom. My discussion of spies begins about 22 minutes in. Click the check-box to the right of "#2484-2 May 6 2020 Wed-Jim Wright-Warriors for Peace" (do not highlight the program text otherwise an error message will pop up.) Scroll down to bottom of the program-listing column after making your... Continue reading

Saw these guys at the N.J. Botanical Garden in Ringwood today. (I think the Bergen County Audubon is to blame for these wonderful nest boxes...) Continue reading

Here's more information about "The Best of The Bird Watcher," a collection of 50 of my favorite columns in The Record and Herald News over the past decade. The e-book offers columns on memorable birds -- from American Woodcock to... Continue reading

My publisher created this YouTube trailer for my book -- intriguing but relaxing. Just in time for my talk at NJ Audubon's virtual Cape May Spring Birding Festival. (Read more about the festival and my talk here.) (Thanks, Schiffer Publishing!) Continue reading

On NJ Spotlight, Jon Hurdle writes about how birding's biggest day adapted to the pandemic. Here's the beginning: "The World Series of Birding has not been destroyed or diminished by the coronavirus — it has instead morphed into a bigger,... Continue reading

Where is the chickadee nest? Continue reading