Between the insanely high numbers of mosquitoes and the all-day rain even we had yesterday, I didn't get out to do any birding on the property. I did take some time to pull up a chair and watch through the back door as much as I could.
I finally had a pair of cardinals at my feeders again! It has been at least a couple of months since I have seen cardinals out there. My other feeder birds included Carolina Chickadee, Eurasian Collared-Dove, White-winged Dove and Blue Jay. An Eastern Phoebe came to check out my bird bath and got a drink out of it. I'm not sure why he chose my bird bath over all the water on the ground! I still have one Ruby-throated Hummingbird hanging around my feeder. It's a female or juvenile. I am glad to see my feeders becoming more active since it's just three more weeks until Project FeederWatch begins. It would be embarrassing to send in reports of no birds at my feeders! One of the more interesting sightings from yesterday was the hundreds of Northern Rough-winged Swallows that were passing through. They were all moving from northeast to southwest.
It's been nice to see the American Crow population rebounding. When West Nile Virus hit several years ago, it really took a toll on the crow population around here. There were years when I didn't record a crow on the property list (2004 and 2005.) Now I see or hear them almost daily.
I got kind of excited yesterday when I realized it is just about three months until the Purple Martins return! I'm looking forward to seeing the pair that nested with me this past year return. The male should be in his adult plumage and looking great! I'm hoping they attract lots of their friends!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Birding On A Cool Fall Morning
Even with the cooler temperatures, there are still at least three hummingbirds hanging around my feeder. I took all but one feeder down for the winter. I'll keep a feeder going throughout the winter with the hope that a Rufous Hummingbird or other western hummingbird will find me.
I went walking in the woods for a little bit this morning. The mosquitoes weren't nearly as bad today. That was a welcome relief! I did find four FOS birds today. A Chipping Sparrow was in my backyard. I haven't seen him down at the feeder yet, but he'll be there at some point. Down in the woods, we found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A Sharp-shinned Hawk was in a tree in the pasture. He flew right above us giving us some great looks at him. A Belted Kingfisher alerted us to his presence with his rattle call and we watched him fly overhead. As far as neotropical migrants, they were non-existent down there. This is the worst year for fall migration that I can remember since we've been here.
Birds Seen 10/19/09 (23 species): Cattle Egret, Sharp-shinned Hawk (FOS), Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher (FOS), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (FOS), Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Chipping Sparrow (FOS), Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow
I went walking in the woods for a little bit this morning. The mosquitoes weren't nearly as bad today. That was a welcome relief! I did find four FOS birds today. A Chipping Sparrow was in my backyard. I haven't seen him down at the feeder yet, but he'll be there at some point. Down in the woods, we found a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A Sharp-shinned Hawk was in a tree in the pasture. He flew right above us giving us some great looks at him. A Belted Kingfisher alerted us to his presence with his rattle call and we watched him fly overhead. As far as neotropical migrants, they were non-existent down there. This is the worst year for fall migration that I can remember since we've been here.
Birds Seen 10/19/09 (23 species): Cattle Egret, Sharp-shinned Hawk (FOS), Killdeer, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher (FOS), Red-bellied Woodpecker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (FOS), Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Blue Jay, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Carolina Chickadee, Carolina Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Eastern Bluebird, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Chipping Sparrow (FOS), Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, House Sparrow
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Nighttime Birding with Cooler Temps
Last night, the kids and I decided to enjoy the cooler temperatures and went outside. We got a fire going in the chiminea and just sat around it visiting. It was amazing to me how many Indigo Buntings I heard flying overhead. After hearing probably 20 of them, I started keeping count of how many calls I heard. It was well over 50 in about two hours. There was also a strange call that I heard that I couldn't identify. It sounded closest to a Whooping Crane, but not exactly. I'm not ready to write that down on my list from the call. It was definitely something I've never heard before. I also heard a Killdeer (which isn't that uncommon at night around here) and what sounded like a Green Heron.
Yesterday was the first day after the cool front came through, and I still had two hummingbirds at the feeders. I'll be interested to see how many stick around. On Monday, I'm going to work at building up my brush pile a little bit to provide some cover for the wintering sparrows while they're here. I'm also going to get some plywood for a ground feeder for them.
I signed the kids and me up for Project Feederwatch. It's sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Basically you pick two consecutive days of the week to watch the birds in your backyard from November through April. If the bird is attracted by something you've done for them - coming to a feeder, coming to water you've provided for them, coming to berry-producing plants you have planted - then you count those birds. There are some special rules about how to count the birds that you have to follow. It will be a fun project for us to be involved in. I'm thinking of doing an Excel spreadsheet for our own records to see what the winter bird population does from year to year at our feeders. It's a fun project for the whole family that allows regular people to contribute scientific information to help those at Cornell.
Yesterday was the first day after the cool front came through, and I still had two hummingbirds at the feeders. I'll be interested to see how many stick around. On Monday, I'm going to work at building up my brush pile a little bit to provide some cover for the wintering sparrows while they're here. I'm also going to get some plywood for a ground feeder for them.
I signed the kids and me up for Project Feederwatch. It's sponsored by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Basically you pick two consecutive days of the week to watch the birds in your backyard from November through April. If the bird is attracted by something you've done for them - coming to a feeder, coming to water you've provided for them, coming to berry-producing plants you have planted - then you count those birds. There are some special rules about how to count the birds that you have to follow. It will be a fun project for us to be involved in. I'm thinking of doing an Excel spreadsheet for our own records to see what the winter bird population does from year to year at our feeders. It's a fun project for the whole family that allows regular people to contribute scientific information to help those at Cornell.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Slow Fall Migration
So far the fall migration here has been slow. The kids and I went out in the woods on Monday as a part of their science. They have expressed an interest in learning about birds and birdwatching. So we went out and weren't impressed! We would walk 50 feet, stop and scan the trees and understory for movement, not see anything and move another 50 feet. Nothing was moving. Not even the resident birds. I think in the whole time we were down there we saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker, caught a fleeting glimpse of a Barred Owl as it flew away from us and heard a few others. I'm ready for the winter residents to come in so I'll have something to see when I'm down there!
The hummingbirds are still holding about 20 at the feeders. It will be interesting to see if the front this weekend takes them all away. It's getting to be that time where they go away until spring.
Nothing is eating from my feeders except for one Mourning Dove and a couple of Eurasian Collared Doves. I've had several customers in the store ask me where the birds are. It's a slow time at feeders in October and November in this area. The plants produce their seeds and the birds eat them. No matter how fresh the seed in the feeder is, it's not going to be as nutritious and fresh as what's recently been produced on the plant. So, the birds eat the wild seeds to fatten up for winter. I know at some point after much of the wild seed has been eaten or knocked to the ground, they'll be back and the blackbirds will flock to my feeders and eat all the oil sunflower within a day. Maybe I should invest in some safflower!
The hummingbirds are still holding about 20 at the feeders. It will be interesting to see if the front this weekend takes them all away. It's getting to be that time where they go away until spring.
Nothing is eating from my feeders except for one Mourning Dove and a couple of Eurasian Collared Doves. I've had several customers in the store ask me where the birds are. It's a slow time at feeders in October and November in this area. The plants produce their seeds and the birds eat them. No matter how fresh the seed in the feeder is, it's not going to be as nutritious and fresh as what's recently been produced on the plant. So, the birds eat the wild seeds to fatten up for winter. I know at some point after much of the wild seed has been eaten or knocked to the ground, they'll be back and the blackbirds will flock to my feeders and eat all the oil sunflower within a day. Maybe I should invest in some safflower!
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