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| Disheveled and downright soggy, this poor Red-tailed Hawk was being mobbed by Blue Jays as well as getting wet. Did I mention it was raining? |
Several state breeding bird atlases are having a late June event to get folks out and counting during a very busy time for baby birds.
One of the goals is to get birds discovered and coded in blocks that are not well birded. The block we live in, a priority block, is complete. Somebody who birds like it was their job just happens to be based there....I won't name names, but if you click the link....
Anyhow, the boss was kind enough to take me birding this morning in this block, quite local, also a priority block, and only having two species confirmed.
It was fun. I used to keep my first-ever, long ago, horse, Magnum, at a farm within the block, so I know the roads by heart after riding them so many times. Things have changed since those Stone Age days though...new houses, new woodlands, no more Red-headed Woodpeckers, which used to be common there.
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| Savannah Sparrow, a fairly common grassland bird. |
We found two more Common Raven nests on silo platforms, making five that we have observed in Montgomery County now. Also a good showing of grassland birds in the farm fields, a nice group of Veerys, all singing like mad, and assorted other summer visitors.
I am pretty sure we will not, however, even attempt to complete the block. Most places we bird we are a familiar sight and no one pays any attention to us. (Although someone did shoot at us last month!!!) In this new area, we will probably be viewed with suspicion, especially if we try night birding. I don't want to hear the sound of someone racking a round while I'm recording with Merlin. Also there aren't many good places to pull off the road and there is a lot more traffic than in the Magnum days.
I did discover that the area where we bird Lyker's Pond is also a priority block, but then again, that's where I heard a rifle nearby and saw the projectile kick up water about thirty feet from me....
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| Another Common Raven nest on a silo platform |
AWESOME!!! Oh how I wish I were your neighbor!! Good job! And that "projectile" falling close to you! :(
ReplyDeleteCathy, wouldn't it be awesome to spend a day birding together! We'd have a lot of fun! I think the projectile story involves someone who is mentally ill. We have a several year history at the spot, which is a very, very good one, but the people who live nearby seem to have some....shall we say...problems? One time we encounter them they are cheerful and friendly. Next time....not so much. It is unfortunate, as we are on public property, just near their place. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteI clicked on your birding links and WOW!!! Impressive and committed would be two words (of many) I would use to describe your birding list. The whole block thing is news to me.
ReplyDeleteI got tired of recording my birding sights. I find ebird complex and confusing. Not a fan of starting lists over each year. Altho I realize annual timing is part of educational tracking etc. Can't recall what my deal was with the Lifer list option. I haven't given up on recording, it's a great way to learn.
Anywho, your birding is inspirational!! Sorry about the craZy people. Stay safe while you are out and about birding.
We are seeing less of the more common birds here also. Too much growth in the area. Sigh
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of birds, a few years ago I started seeing a couple of little birds that , at first looked like fledgling house finches , turns out they are Scaly-breasted munia. Escaped from a pet store several years ago. I have about 100 of them now. Auburn even sent people down to tag a bunch. They along with the regular birds go through 40lbs of food a week.
ReplyDeleteAurora, thanks for your kind words. I can't lie...I am obsessed. lol I hear you on the starting over with lists each year. It kinda makes me nervous, but it does keep me trying. The block deal is for breeding bird atlases. NY and several other states have them going on right now. I think NY is in year 3 of 5. I enjoy atlasing because it gives me goals when all the common birds have been seen and the hunt gets stale.
ReplyDeleteLInda, I don't know what's up around here. I am assuming habitat loss and the bird flu virus. Water fowl are in very short supply. We barely even bother to bird the river right now, because we don't even see Mallards. Of course with summer there are a lot of people in the parks where we can easily get to the river and they probably go elsewhere.
Birdchaser, Wow! I had heard that there were populations of Scaly-breasted Munia in some states such as California, but I have sure never seen one. Can't imagine feeding 100. lol Where are you located, if you don't mind my asking?
People are SHOOTING at you? Yikes! Whoever would have thought that birding was a dangerous activity? I mean, aside from Warbler Neck or such ailments and accidents, like stepping on a Yellow Jacket nest while your binocs were trained on a bird.
ReplyDeleteJacqueline, I was astounded! We have been birding the spot for several years. The guy on the hill above seems a little irrational, and chased us out a couple of years ago...the place we park is a little access road the state uses to keep a culvert open where beavers like to close it, but he figured since it was near his house he owned it. We respected his screamed and shouted wishes and never went back. A couple of months later he tracked us down at another pond a couple of miles away, apologized, and said we were welcome any time. We went back to birding there without incident for a couple of years. Then one day I was standing on the little access road...a driveway really...and someone started shooting nearby with a rifle. I didn't think too much of it until a bullet zinged into the water about thirty feet from me. Could have been a stray shot. Could have been someone else, but it was WAY too close for comfort and we have never gone back. Sad, because it is one of the best spots for shorebirds in the county. Oh well..
ReplyDelete