Year Property Bird #140

When I got home from work, several sparrows were hopping around my ground feeder where I have millet out for them. I grabbed my binoculars and found a Dark-eyed Junco (year property bird #140) among the Chipping Sparrows and House Sparrows. I remember growing up and seeing Dark-eyed Juncos at my feeder regularly, and sometimes abundantly. I just don't see that many of them now. Maybe it's a result of warmer temperatures. Maybe they just don't have to come down as far south any longer. I'll enjoy the few I get when I see them.

When I started out the year, I wanted to beat my 2004 number of species seen on my property. That was 129. I didn't think I could beat it by eleven. I figured it would be late December and I'd be scouring the woods to get #130! There is still a month left to add to my total. What's really cool is that I've seen all but 48 species this year that I've seen in the five years we've lived here! It's been a good year for birding.

Property Bird #188!!!

On Monday, November 17, all of us were outside working in the yard a little at the house. I took my last days of vacation this week. I heard a really strange bird call, which sounded like it was coming from the pasture. The call was familiar, but I couldn't place it. I was looking intently out there trying to find what was making that call. I heard it again and realized it was coming from above. There were 20-25 birds flying in a V-formation. I ran inside to get my binoculars thinking they were some sort of weird sounding geese. As soon as I stepped inside, it hit me what they were based on the sound - Sandhill Cranes! I ran back out with my binoculars and got some great looks at them. I looked and looked for a big white crane to be flying with them, but no luck there! Over the next 30 minutes, three more flocks about the same size flew over. I came inside and entered the sighting into my Birder's Diary and Petey the Parrot did his little celebration and said, "Rawk! This is the first sighting of a Sandhill Crane in property list for Paul!" When Petey does that little celebration, I know I've got a new property bird. I was very excited about it. Sandhill Crane will be #188 on my list now. Just 12 more and I can get to 200. That's going to be tough to do. I'll have to see some rarities to get to that number. Either that or have several gulls, terns or sandpipers to find my new pond.

Other than that, not much new has been going on around the property. I have pretty much the same birds at my feeders. I'm not seeing many Chipping Sparrows yet. Hopefully they'll show up next month. I am excited to have a pair of Carolina Wrens coming regularly to my suet log. I see Downy Woodpeckers and Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the yard pretty regularly, but they haven't found the suet yet. I keep hoping to look out and see them on the feeder. Cardinals have pretty much been non-existent at the feeders recently (although there are a male and female on the on the feeder now.) They must be finding enough food in the wild to satisfy them. But, the Eurasian Collared-Doves, Carolina Chickadees, Blue Jays, House Sparrows and Carolina Wrens are usually present at the feeders at most times during the day. I'm seeing more Eastern Phoebes this year than I remember in years past. Seems like they are everywhere! The Yellow-rumped Warblers love my birdbath with the drip. They are on it quite a bit. So, it's fun to see what's around this time of year.

Year Property Bird #138

On Sunday I was outside for most of the afternoon and saw my first flock of geese fly over. Most of them were Snow Geese, but I got my binoculars out and found a few Ross' Geese flying with the flock as well. The Ross' Goose made 138 property birds for the year. The Yellow-rumped Warblers are thick in the hackberry tree behind the house. I've also seen several Eastern Phoebes around. A Northern Flicker is in the trees to the west of our house quite a bit. I haven't had much of an opportunity to get out birding on the property. I'll be out quite a bit in the coming weeks, but unfortunately I'll have a chainsaw and be working to clear the fence line of the trees and limbs that were blown down on it during the hurricane. Maybe I'll get a chance to do a little birding while I take a break from work.

I'll be in Bandera this weekend hopefully seeing some western birds I haven't seen this year. I probably won't see many that I haven't seen since I was in Leakey earlier in the summer. But, maybe I'll get some winter sparrows that I didn't see then.