We had a great time Saturday. The truck stuffed was with kids and grownups...a tight fit, but fun just the same (of course since they let me ride shotgun in front I probably had a better time than back seat folks.) It rained almost all day and what with riding with the window down I got pretty wet, but I can't say as I cared. We saw blue birds, more cedar waxwings than I think we have ever counted and a solid batch of the usual common birds.
There are nearly always turkeys in this field and across the road from it. This year was no disappointment as we counted a small flock in the latter.
This group of ducks actually number a definite 145 and possibly more as they kept taking flight and returning making a perfect count a challenge.Our little section of the circle is mostly rapidly developing farm land, full grown housing developments, old land fills and suburbia with a few city streets thrown in.
Still if you know where to look you can find the wild places and after a couple decades of our family counting this area we know where a good many of them are.
This little pool has netted us a couple of kingfishersand some ducks over the years but this year it was barren.
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9 comments:
50 species of birds is amazing - I would have been psyched to see your 20 species :) I've never seen a cedar waxwing here - you certainly have an abundance of wildlife in your area for sure. Glad you all had such a nice day - sounds like fun :)
Fred,We had a wonderfull time.I'm shocked that the hawk was the first.
Dentist today then cutting lumber.
Love ya
Matt
I love cold misty drippy weather so your pictures are extra appealing today. Good to hear about the waxwings as they have not stopped by and eaten my holly berries for several years in a row and I miss them.
Just need to know they are out there somewhere.
I had lots of cedar waxwings on our Count on 12/21 in Rapid City, SD. We didn't have rain, but it was -7 when I started out at 7:30. Sorel boots, down jacket and sheepskin mitts costume of the day! My Adirondack/Lake Champlain childhood gets you ready for those -0s.
I walked about 1.5 miles and drove the rest. Yours is and amazingly similar photo to one I took on a snowy bend in Rapid Creek with mallards. I had 30 species, including a varied thrush, I had never seen one before, they are casual visitors this far east.
Caroline in the Black Hills
This was great! I love taking a "trip" around the areas' my blog friends live. I also enjoy just getting to know everyone.
Thanks for opening up your world to us.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com/
Great pics, I wish I had been there with my telephoto lend.. :-)
Love love love the collage. Is it okay for me to use it as a background for my computer?
Also- I was at my Grandma's house on Friday and got to read Farm Side from the real-live Recorder instead of online. That was fun.
XOXO
Joce
I gotta tell ya, I'm jealous, 3C. I have never in my whole life seen a real bluebird. And I never get cedar waxwings at my feeder, even though my mother keeps asking me why not. :)
Do you ever see morning grosbeaks? My mother used to feed dozens of them, but I never see them, either.
And thanks for sharing all this. I can't go traipsing around much anymore, so this was a hike I could take. :)
Deb, we are really lucky to have so many interesting critters around. On the bird count part of our luck comes from having had the same territory for so long. We kind of know where to look for the good birds. Sorry you have missed out on cedar waxwings. They are really pretty. We were lucky enough to see 71 of them!
Matt, we did too. Love you
FC, there are an amazing lot of them around this winter. Some years there are...sometimes not. The biggest flock we saw was just sitting in someone's yard in a maple tree. Don't know what was up with that.
caroline 30! Wow! I just counted and we only got 24. A lot of interesting birds just weren't there. We often get a king fisher and a Great Blue heron or two, but despite plenty of open water we saw nary a one. No one even got any Canada geese and there are hundred of them around. We just didn't see any.
Linda, thank you for visiting! I love sharing the interesting and sometimes not so interesting stuff that happens around here...take care
Ed, thanks and same here. You would have had plenty of interesting opportunities!
Rebz, please feel free to use it. I am flattered that you want to!
akagaga, I am so sorry that you have missed out on blue birds. They are so amazingly beautiful...it was such a treat to see them. We only find them in our part of the counting circle maybe once in five years or so, so it is always a delight when we do!
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