Birders are a strange bunch of critters. I can say that because I’m one of them. We tend to carry around enough optical equipment to make the guys that were hunting Osama bin Laden jealous. We think eating breakfast at 3 a.m. in the summer is perfectly normal. We tend to travel…a lot

For nearly six years now we've provided you with a daily dose of life in the national parks and offered a platform for discussing the National Park System and how it's being managed. Your ongoing support will allow us to continue encouraging exploration, enjoyment, and understanding of the park system.

Just what sort of president was Abraham Lincoln, and how did he rely on the U.S. Constitution in developing his strategies for handling the Civil War? Those are tough questions, and there are no easy answers, but a new exhibit at Gettysburg National Military Park is expected to spur more than a little debate over those questions.