A Great Blue Heron flies over downtown Holyoke on June 6, 2013. (c) Greg Saulmon 2013

When I started The Birds Downtown as a blog in the fall of 2011, it was an experiment, and a challenge to myself. Could I really find enough birds in a post-industrial New England landscape to keep posting month after month?

The sheer variation in birds I’ve found in Holyoke’s urban and industrial core has been enough affirmation to keep me going. But, even more importantly: people care about birds, and they care about birds in cities. The response to the message here — that anyone, regardless of age or wealth or race can enjoy birding — has been overwhelming.

And so, I’m re-launching the project with a new site.

You can find all of my previous posts, from October 2011 through June 6, 2013, at the old blog, birdsdowntown.worpress.com. I’ll keep that link in the main menu bar until I get around to migrating the archives to this site.