Friday, December 27, 2019

Birders Could Learn A Few Things From Golfers


I had a close encounter with a Great Blue Heron at a local golf course. 

It was standing near a tiny pondlet that had a bit of trickling water coming out of a drain pipe.
Golfers seem to pick prime locations to make their golf courses. They have golf carts to drive them around and restaurant/bars on site when they feel like taking break.
If they have a hard to reach spot they build a bridge to it and have caddies to carry around their golf bags if so desired. I wouldn't mind having someone to cart around my spotting scope!

Maybe birders should think more like golfers. It would be nice if birding areas could be enhanced with some comfort features.

 How about bird blinds that are set up in very birdy areas at an angle that has perfect lighting for taking photos? Maybe a silent solar-powered tramway that would slowly move you along the edge habitat elevated to a level for ideal viewing? 

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Deer Have Been Our Neighbors This Year

We don't live in a heavily wooded area but there seems to be enough to satisfy deer and turkey. It's nice to see them wander through now and then.

Monday, December 16, 2019

The Christmas Counts Are Here Again

I was out and about for our local annual Christmas Bird Count This weekend. We don't have a very birdy territory but were able to reach 40 species which is a new high for our section of the bird count which included a couple of Winter Wrens and both Ruby-crowned and Golden Crowned Kinglets. We had a great look at this Northern Mockingbird.
 We saw several Bald Eagles during the day. They have gone from nearly extinct to very common in our state which is a great thing to see.
  We had a couple of new guys to help us with our territory. It makes it more interesting when someone new joins the count and also puts more eyes on the birds which helps out a lot. This scene was at our last stop as the sun was going down.

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

What About The New Sparrow On The Block?

 I searched the edge area along a stream at Frederick White Farm in Durham last weekend.
There was a few sparrows around including the newly arriving tree sparrows which seem to sort of take the place of the Chipping Sparrows.

I wonder if the other sparrows that have been here all year notice when a different species shows up? Do they interact differently to the new arrival than they do to their own?

Too often I get in the routine of identifying a bird and then moving on. I'm going to try to observe the interaction between different species a little more than I have in the past. 

Sunday, December 1, 2019

No Creeper But I've Never Been Skunked

 I went to an area that I've always been able to find a Brown Creeper.They love viney half-dead trees like this. I have not seen a creeper all year which is unusual for me.
 I was able to get a nice view of American Goldfinches in their winter plumage.
There were also a number of Red-winged Blackbirds around.

One thing I love about birding is that I've never gone out birding without seeing a bird. It may not be the one I'm looking for but I always see something. When I used to go fishing there was many times when I caught nothing.We used to call it getting skunked. I've never been skunked birding.