I was stomping about in the woods today and when I came back, I noticed a bird fluttering about in the leaves near the treeline. I stopped and watched for a moment and was rewarded with the sight of a thrush! :D I was sure it was either a Hermit or a Wood Thrush, but wasn't certain which one. A quick check in the Big Orange Book back at home proved it was a Hermit Thrush. That's a lifer! ^___^
Right next to the thrush was my first warbler of the year - a male Yellow-Rumped! c:
And I saw a towhee in the woods right behind our house yesterday. That's a new closest-to-home record for towhees! c:
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
The Very Overdue Bird-Count Post
A while ago - when I made my last post - I promised to reveal all of the details of my Fall Bird Count back on 11 September. Well, here they are now. :D This was my first ever bird count, and I think it went well! There was no trace of the disaster that usually occurs when I attempt to do regular things.
I got up at six in the morning. Yes, six. I don't usually get up until about three hours after that, but it wasn't so bad. I was going to see BIRDS. I could have been dragged out of bed at three in the morning and fed cold gruel and forced to walk to the nature park and I wouldn't have cared.
We got there at about seven, which was the time we were supposed to start. So that was good. :D At least I was on time. We went into the nature centre to gather and get our Mission Briefing - Mum had to leave right away, as two of my younger siblings had soccer games to be at. So she left me my dad's cell phone, which I luckily turned out not to need (apart from keeping in contact with the family, of course).
There were only about seven other people there apart from the guides, so I got a privately guided tour! We took a nice long trail that I've only been on once or twice before. Right away we were swarmed by chickadees who wanted to know if we had any FOOD FOOD FOOD for them. (Unfortunately, we didn't, but they followed us through most of the park anyway.)
We saw TONS of robins. They were flocking up and swarming about and making their funny 'clark-clark kent' calls. (That's what it sounds like to me, anyway.) I learned right off that we weren't supposed to write numbers on the paper while we were still counting! We would tally up and estimate how many birds we'd seen at lunch - after the walk. I'd had no idea how to do this, so it was good to learn. :D
I have my tally sheet somewhere; I've left it hidden somewhere so safe I can't find it. I shall attempt to dig it out, because I can't remember everything we saw.
Oops, it's been about three days since I started this post. I still haven't found my list, but as soon as I do I shall post the numbers!
Anyway, I had a LOT of fun. I saw several lifers! I think we saw three kinds of vireos, at least two of which I'd never seen before. I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow, too! I really want to see more kinds of sparrows and that was very cool. The fine streaking on the breast is so beautiful - like lines made with a very sharp pencil! (Perhaps I ought to draw some, eh?)
And then there were the warblers. This was no Magee Marsh trip, but we still saw good numbers! I spotted four Black-and-Whites - my first four, incidentally - which surprised my guide. (Proudness! ^___^) I also spotted a Black-Throated Blue - also a lifer, though I didn't realise it until afterwards! You see, I've spent so much time paging through field guides and trying to memorise ALL THE WARBLERS that I couldn't remember if I'd ever seen a Black-Throated Blue before! A quick peek at my list back home confirmed that this was a new bird for me.
Oh, the cuckoo! I hadn't realised we even had cuckoos here until a few weeks before the trip. But I got lucky - right at the end, we were watching a few goldfinches and some warblers when a big something flew through my field of vision. The shape was immediately familiar to me, and I think I actually might have shouted about it. (I did get the species wrong, though; my first impression told me Black-Billed and it turned out to be a Yellow-Billed.) I love the harlequin patterns of their tails. :D
We saw about seven geese (flying overhead - we weren't near any ponds or lakes) and one starling. And two blackbirds, I think. What a difference from the boisterous flocks of just a few weeks earlier! Their numbers have dwindled now as they migrate south - although I'm still catching sight of a few immature male blackbirds at our feeders.
I think that's just about it for the Exciting Birding Report. I may discover my list soon; when I do I'll check out the numbers and species to see if I missed anything.
Oh, the juncos have showed up! They turned up about two days after I said 'right, they should be here any day now!' Ah, I'm good. :D These Slate-Coloureds are looking more and more like other subspecies every year, I swear! I may just have to lie in wait and photograph them - perhaps my nature centre can tell me if the subspecies are interbreeding or migrating to new grounds now. Because they're really, really brown for Slate-Coloureds. And it's not just the females.
Next up: Pictures of tiny little birds that I've made from clay and painted! :D Excitement!
I got up at six in the morning. Yes, six. I don't usually get up until about three hours after that, but it wasn't so bad. I was going to see BIRDS. I could have been dragged out of bed at three in the morning and fed cold gruel and forced to walk to the nature park and I wouldn't have cared.
We got there at about seven, which was the time we were supposed to start. So that was good. :D At least I was on time. We went into the nature centre to gather and get our Mission Briefing - Mum had to leave right away, as two of my younger siblings had soccer games to be at. So she left me my dad's cell phone, which I luckily turned out not to need (apart from keeping in contact with the family, of course).
There were only about seven other people there apart from the guides, so I got a privately guided tour! We took a nice long trail that I've only been on once or twice before. Right away we were swarmed by chickadees who wanted to know if we had any FOOD FOOD FOOD for them. (Unfortunately, we didn't, but they followed us through most of the park anyway.)
We saw TONS of robins. They were flocking up and swarming about and making their funny 'clark-clark kent' calls. (That's what it sounds like to me, anyway.) I learned right off that we weren't supposed to write numbers on the paper while we were still counting! We would tally up and estimate how many birds we'd seen at lunch - after the walk. I'd had no idea how to do this, so it was good to learn. :D
I have my tally sheet somewhere; I've left it hidden somewhere so safe I can't find it. I shall attempt to dig it out, because I can't remember everything we saw.
Oops, it's been about three days since I started this post. I still haven't found my list, but as soon as I do I shall post the numbers!
Anyway, I had a LOT of fun. I saw several lifers! I think we saw three kinds of vireos, at least two of which I'd never seen before. I saw a Lincoln's Sparrow, too! I really want to see more kinds of sparrows and that was very cool. The fine streaking on the breast is so beautiful - like lines made with a very sharp pencil! (Perhaps I ought to draw some, eh?)
And then there were the warblers. This was no Magee Marsh trip, but we still saw good numbers! I spotted four Black-and-Whites - my first four, incidentally - which surprised my guide. (Proudness! ^___^) I also spotted a Black-Throated Blue - also a lifer, though I didn't realise it until afterwards! You see, I've spent so much time paging through field guides and trying to memorise ALL THE WARBLERS that I couldn't remember if I'd ever seen a Black-Throated Blue before! A quick peek at my list back home confirmed that this was a new bird for me.
Oh, the cuckoo! I hadn't realised we even had cuckoos here until a few weeks before the trip. But I got lucky - right at the end, we were watching a few goldfinches and some warblers when a big something flew through my field of vision. The shape was immediately familiar to me, and I think I actually might have shouted about it. (I did get the species wrong, though; my first impression told me Black-Billed and it turned out to be a Yellow-Billed.) I love the harlequin patterns of their tails. :D
We saw about seven geese (flying overhead - we weren't near any ponds or lakes) and one starling. And two blackbirds, I think. What a difference from the boisterous flocks of just a few weeks earlier! Their numbers have dwindled now as they migrate south - although I'm still catching sight of a few immature male blackbirds at our feeders.
I think that's just about it for the Exciting Birding Report. I may discover my list soon; when I do I'll check out the numbers and species to see if I missed anything.
Oh, the juncos have showed up! They turned up about two days after I said 'right, they should be here any day now!' Ah, I'm good. :D These Slate-Coloureds are looking more and more like other subspecies every year, I swear! I may just have to lie in wait and photograph them - perhaps my nature centre can tell me if the subspecies are interbreeding or migrating to new grounds now. Because they're really, really brown for Slate-Coloureds. And it's not just the females.
Next up: Pictures of tiny little birds that I've made from clay and painted! :D Excitement!
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Raptors
It's been a long, long while since I've reported anything here, so I've got a bit to catch up on! There wasn't really a lot happening from June to August, so there just wasn't that much to post about. But starting at the beginning of September, things got exciting again!
We went to the Renaissance Faire two weekends ago (I think) and it was SO MUCH FUN. There was so much to see! We didn't even look through half the shops, if my estimation is correct, and it was just HUGE.
The highlight of the day - for me, at least - was when we happened to catch a live raptor demonstration. I was wandering about and trying to find something to quench my thirst when I saw a Harris' Hawk fly overhead.
Something wasn't right there. I stared for a while. I think my mouth was open. Then it clicked: we were right by the 'arena' they used for jousting shows and the like. So there was a raptor demonstration, I decided. Forgetting my need for something to drink, I wandered to one of the benches and sat down.
I was so caught up in watching the pretty pretty bird that I didn't fully realise what was going on. The next thing I knew, Mum had prodded me to stand up, had seized one of my arms, and was now waving it about. Was I volunteering for something? Apparently. The woman doing the demonstration waved me over to come down and stand by her.
"Take this lure," she said, and I nodded enthusiastically.
"You have to be a rabbit," she said.
Okay. I can be a rabbit. That'll be fun. :D
"When I say GO, you have to GO, because the hawk knows what I'm saying."
All righty then. Outrun the hawk. That'll be difficult at best.
Then she said GO and I started running. I suddenly realised how hard it was to run on sand. I knew the hawk was right behind me, and I turned; her talons just missed the lure I was jerking about. The falconer called back her hawk, and then we went for Round Two.
It went quickly. I managed to evade the hawk once again, but then I began to tire. Round Three was almost a success, but I slowed and the hawk finally caught the lure.
Then my throat was dry and I was dizzy and confused from all the running-through-sand and making sharp turns. I was thanked for my assistance and went back to one of the benches after a round of applause (hee hee!) to watch the Saker falcons do their part.
After the show, I went back down to the fenced-in area so our friend could take some pictures of me with the hawk (we'd left our camera at home). The falconer told me she'd be doing another show about two hours later and she'd have a Eurasian Eagle-Owl. So two hours later, I ended up back at the arena.
I was confused for a while: there wasn't anyone in sight. Then something in the corner of my eye flapped its wings - huge-normous wings - and I realised she was over near a cluster of food stands.
So I hurried down there. She had an eagle-owl, all right, and there were people gathered around her, watching, talking.
Then she saw me and called me over, and it occurred to me that there were people petting the owl. After confirming with her that this was okay, I reached out a hand to touch the silky-soft wing feathers.
The owl didn't care.
This is the sort of thing I normally only dream about. I was enchanted: I touched her wings and back, admired the talons and fluffy feet (but didn't touch those!) and then I tentatively reached up to touch her head.
The owl still didn't care. She just kept staring into my soul with her eyes like twin harvest moons. Silent, patient, and seemingly all-knowing.
I stroked her head, fondled those beautiful ear tufts - bliss. She just looked around.
We did a lot of other stuff at the Ren Faire, but that right there was the highlight of my day.
Next up: My First Bird Count Ever. :D
We went to the Renaissance Faire two weekends ago (I think) and it was SO MUCH FUN. There was so much to see! We didn't even look through half the shops, if my estimation is correct, and it was just HUGE.
The highlight of the day - for me, at least - was when we happened to catch a live raptor demonstration. I was wandering about and trying to find something to quench my thirst when I saw a Harris' Hawk fly overhead.
Something wasn't right there. I stared for a while. I think my mouth was open. Then it clicked: we were right by the 'arena' they used for jousting shows and the like. So there was a raptor demonstration, I decided. Forgetting my need for something to drink, I wandered to one of the benches and sat down.
I was so caught up in watching the pretty pretty bird that I didn't fully realise what was going on. The next thing I knew, Mum had prodded me to stand up, had seized one of my arms, and was now waving it about. Was I volunteering for something? Apparently. The woman doing the demonstration waved me over to come down and stand by her.
"Take this lure," she said, and I nodded enthusiastically.
"You have to be a rabbit," she said.
Okay. I can be a rabbit. That'll be fun. :D
"When I say GO, you have to GO, because the hawk knows what I'm saying."
All righty then. Outrun the hawk. That'll be difficult at best.
Then she said GO and I started running. I suddenly realised how hard it was to run on sand. I knew the hawk was right behind me, and I turned; her talons just missed the lure I was jerking about. The falconer called back her hawk, and then we went for Round Two.
It went quickly. I managed to evade the hawk once again, but then I began to tire. Round Three was almost a success, but I slowed and the hawk finally caught the lure.
Then my throat was dry and I was dizzy and confused from all the running-through-sand and making sharp turns. I was thanked for my assistance and went back to one of the benches after a round of applause (hee hee!) to watch the Saker falcons do their part.
After the show, I went back down to the fenced-in area so our friend could take some pictures of me with the hawk (we'd left our camera at home). The falconer told me she'd be doing another show about two hours later and she'd have a Eurasian Eagle-Owl. So two hours later, I ended up back at the arena.
I was confused for a while: there wasn't anyone in sight. Then something in the corner of my eye flapped its wings - huge-normous wings - and I realised she was over near a cluster of food stands.
So I hurried down there. She had an eagle-owl, all right, and there were people gathered around her, watching, talking.
Then she saw me and called me over, and it occurred to me that there were people petting the owl. After confirming with her that this was okay, I reached out a hand to touch the silky-soft wing feathers.
The owl didn't care.
This is the sort of thing I normally only dream about. I was enchanted: I touched her wings and back, admired the talons and fluffy feet (but didn't touch those!) and then I tentatively reached up to touch her head.
The owl still didn't care. She just kept staring into my soul with her eyes like twin harvest moons. Silent, patient, and seemingly all-knowing.
I stroked her head, fondled those beautiful ear tufts - bliss. She just looked around.
We did a lot of other stuff at the Ren Faire, but that right there was the highlight of my day.
Next up: My First Bird Count Ever. :D
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
New Lifers!
More lovely birding today. 8D I tried (and failed) to track down the Mysterious Buzzing Bird, saw lots of hummingbirds (actually, probably just the same one over and over again), got eaten by mosquitoes and deerflies, and listened to catbirds doing their spectacular impressions.
Then I decided to wander through some tall grass to the base of a tree surrounded by bushes. This was a good idea, because I ended up seeing a pair of Yellow Warblers and a pair of Common Yellowthroats. :D They were not getting along so well.
As I was watching one of the fearsome battles between Mr Yellow and Mr Yellowthroat, a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER hove into view.
It was just like that, too. It was out of nowhere. BOOM. Blue-Winged Warbler. :D That was super-happy. This one was like a model bird, too. He could have been the photograph from any field guide. ^___^ I got a very good look at him before he disappeared.
I also saw a Field Sparrow! This one stayed around just long enough for me to gather some field marks to refer to later. But it was certainly a Field Sparrow. :3
Then I got distracted. The next few moments went something like this:
(bird in background) drink your TEEEEA!
(me) Hmm...nice birdy noises. :D -watching Yellowthroats intently-
(bird in background) drink your TEEEEA!
(me) Pretty sounds! -watches birds-
(bird in background) drink your-
(me) HMGSH TOWHEE ~ -scrambles quietly to path-
-Green Heron flies over-
(me) -gaping up at sky while trying to shoo away deerflies- Hurh?
-deerflies conspire against me and heron escapes-
(me) Where's that towhee? :o -can't find it-
Now that I'm listening to towhee noises on my computer, I realise I was hearing one right at the start of my trip today. xD I knew it sounded familiar...it was a towhee going 'vreet!' and I thought it was a flycatcher or something.
Actually, I did see flycatchers. They were tiny and all Empidonax-like. >:O So hard to identify. I will have to listen closely to them~
Forgot to post this earlier, but I also saw a Yellow-Throated Vireo at the nature park a few weeks ago. :3
Then I decided to wander through some tall grass to the base of a tree surrounded by bushes. This was a good idea, because I ended up seeing a pair of Yellow Warblers and a pair of Common Yellowthroats. :D They were not getting along so well.
As I was watching one of the fearsome battles between Mr Yellow and Mr Yellowthroat, a BLUE-WINGED WARBLER hove into view.
It was just like that, too. It was out of nowhere. BOOM. Blue-Winged Warbler. :D That was super-happy. This one was like a model bird, too. He could have been the photograph from any field guide. ^___^ I got a very good look at him before he disappeared.
I also saw a Field Sparrow! This one stayed around just long enough for me to gather some field marks to refer to later. But it was certainly a Field Sparrow. :3
Then I got distracted. The next few moments went something like this:
(bird in background) drink your TEEEEA!
(me) Hmm...nice birdy noises. :D -watching Yellowthroats intently-
(bird in background) drink your TEEEEA!
(me) Pretty sounds! -watches birds-
(bird in background) drink your-
(me) HMGSH TOWHEE ~ -scrambles quietly to path-
-Green Heron flies over-
(me) -gaping up at sky while trying to shoo away deerflies- Hurh?
-deerflies conspire against me and heron escapes-
(me) Where's that towhee? :o -can't find it-
Now that I'm listening to towhee noises on my computer, I realise I was hearing one right at the start of my trip today. xD I knew it sounded familiar...it was a towhee going 'vreet!' and I thought it was a flycatcher or something.
Actually, I did see flycatchers. They were tiny and all Empidonax-like. >:O So hard to identify. I will have to listen closely to them~
Forgot to post this earlier, but I also saw a Yellow-Throated Vireo at the nature park a few weeks ago. :3
Thursday, 10 June 2010
Four Nests & Banding Day
We went back to the nature park a few days ago. We had a lovely time and were lucky enough to see no fewer than four different birds' nests! In order of sighing:
-Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher - my second sighting of these pretty little things. They're EXTREMELY little. The nest was on a top branch of a tall, dead-looking tamarack or some sort of evergreen. If we used the binoculars, we could see two fuzzy little baby heads poking out the top! We watched both the parents feed the babies for a while, then continued down the path.
-Yellow Warbler - Only a few moments later, a warbler's sweet sweet song caught my attention. After a few seconds of confusion and poking about, we found a male Yellow Warbler. He had a little caterpillar in his beak! We watched him for a while and then he flew off with the caterpillar. The warbler came back a few seconds later and flew down into some long grassy reeds. He poked the caterpillar into a tiny little nest caught between three or four reeds! His mate showed up a bit later, and they took turns feeding bugs and things to the babies. I couldn't see into this nest because I didn't want to frighten the parents - but at the right angle, looking through binoculars (at the nest a foot in front of me) I could tell that at least one of the eggs was unhatched. It was super tiny. :D Maybe we can go back soon and get pictures!
-American Robin - I've known about this nest for a while now, and today when we looked inside we saw some snuggled-up featherless babies! I couldn't even tell how many there were - they were so crammed together it was impossible to count them. There were five eggs, though, before they hatched, so there can't be more than five babies...right? xD
-Eastern Phoebe - This one is too high up to see into, but it's been there for a while, too. It's actually very close to the robin's nest. If you get too close, the mother will fly to a nearby branch and sit there and stare at you until you go away!
Now I'm watching the banding - LIVE - at the Rochester Falconcam! Excitement! :D
-Blue-Grey Gnatcatcher - my second sighting of these pretty little things. They're EXTREMELY little. The nest was on a top branch of a tall, dead-looking tamarack or some sort of evergreen. If we used the binoculars, we could see two fuzzy little baby heads poking out the top! We watched both the parents feed the babies for a while, then continued down the path.
-Yellow Warbler - Only a few moments later, a warbler's sweet sweet song caught my attention. After a few seconds of confusion and poking about, we found a male Yellow Warbler. He had a little caterpillar in his beak! We watched him for a while and then he flew off with the caterpillar. The warbler came back a few seconds later and flew down into some long grassy reeds. He poked the caterpillar into a tiny little nest caught between three or four reeds! His mate showed up a bit later, and they took turns feeding bugs and things to the babies. I couldn't see into this nest because I didn't want to frighten the parents - but at the right angle, looking through binoculars (at the nest a foot in front of me) I could tell that at least one of the eggs was unhatched. It was super tiny. :D Maybe we can go back soon and get pictures!
-American Robin - I've known about this nest for a while now, and today when we looked inside we saw some snuggled-up featherless babies! I couldn't even tell how many there were - they were so crammed together it was impossible to count them. There were five eggs, though, before they hatched, so there can't be more than five babies...right? xD
-Eastern Phoebe - This one is too high up to see into, but it's been there for a while, too. It's actually very close to the robin's nest. If you get too close, the mother will fly to a nearby branch and sit there and stare at you until you go away!
Now I'm watching the banding - LIVE - at the Rochester Falconcam! Excitement! :D
Friday, 28 May 2010
Birds All Gone
Conditions (weather or otherwise) have not been favourable for heading back to Toledo, and somehow I've managed not to get back there since I first went. I've been checking the sightings updates on their Twitter feed (which stopped five days ago - my last connection was gone) and sometimes popping onto their updates and predictions blog.
Today's post was titled something to the effect of "Warblers All Gone. There Are Some Cuckoos Left But Ashira Can't Even See Those Because Even Though She Doesn't Live Far Away She Doesn't Have A Horse With Which To Get Here."
My spectacular warbler species total for my visit was 8. Oh well. It's more than I'd ever seen together at one time, that's for sure! Happy.
It's also probably more than the number that live here during the summer. .__. Not so happy.
I wonder if they'll pile up by Magee Marsh again during the fall migration?
Maybe not.
Maybe next May. Maybe my goal until then should be learning to identify female warblers. Ha.
:D?
Grr. Argh.
Today's post was titled something to the effect of "Warblers All Gone. There Are Some Cuckoos Left But Ashira Can't Even See Those Because Even Though She Doesn't Live Far Away She Doesn't Have A Horse With Which To Get Here."
My spectacular warbler species total for my visit was 8. Oh well. It's more than I'd ever seen together at one time, that's for sure! Happy.
It's also probably more than the number that live here during the summer. .__. Not so happy.
I wonder if they'll pile up by Magee Marsh again during the fall migration?
Maybe not.
Maybe next May. Maybe my goal until then should be learning to identify female warblers. Ha.
:D?
Grr. Argh.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
More Lifers!
I did some more stomping around in the woods today and found:
An oriole (making a mysterious noise that I just HAD to identify)
Stinging nettles! D:
-here I went back to get baking soda and my sister's galoshes-
Lots of noises: Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats were singing everywhere, but I didn't see a single one. xD Figures.
A WILSON'S WARBLER! 8D Actually, there were two or three of them.
A robin sitting very still in a tree that had her nest in it. :D
-here I tried to go home but got distracted by bunting noises-
Lots of water.
A FLOCK OF INDIGO BUNTINGS! 8D
-here I went inside and ate half of a sandwich, then went to the softball/birding park-
I heard more mysterious noises. :o
More Indigo Buntings.
I followed a noise and finally found its source: a Solitary Vireo! ^___^
I also heard a sound I couldn't identify - as soon as I got closer, the bird flew away. xD It was small and had yellow on it, and it was going 'dee dee dee dee BZZZZZZZ! dee dee dee dee BZZZZZZZ!' with the BZZ parts sounding just like a cricket. I'm determined to find out what it was later on.
So - two more lifers. :D Wilson's Warblers and Solitary Vireo.
An oriole (making a mysterious noise that I just HAD to identify)
Stinging nettles! D:
-here I went back to get baking soda and my sister's galoshes-
Lots of noises: Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats were singing everywhere, but I didn't see a single one. xD Figures.
A WILSON'S WARBLER! 8D Actually, there were two or three of them.
A robin sitting very still in a tree that had her nest in it. :D
-here I tried to go home but got distracted by bunting noises-
Lots of water.
A FLOCK OF INDIGO BUNTINGS! 8D
-here I went inside and ate half of a sandwich, then went to the softball/birding park-
I heard more mysterious noises. :o
More Indigo Buntings.
I followed a noise and finally found its source: a Solitary Vireo! ^___^
I also heard a sound I couldn't identify - as soon as I got closer, the bird flew away. xD It was small and had yellow on it, and it was going 'dee dee dee dee BZZZZZZZ! dee dee dee dee BZZZZZZZ!' with the BZZ parts sounding just like a cricket. I'm determined to find out what it was later on.
So - two more lifers. :D Wilson's Warblers and Solitary Vireo.
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