Countdown to 100 Birds!! 10 More to Go!

Allow me the opportunity to introduce you to the 90th bird I have seen this year. My 90th bird is the humble yet lovable Gray Catbird. These birds have been living around my house since I got here due to all of the wild berries I have in my yard. I will never forget hearing them for the first time one evening when I first moved into my house. It was dark out and I could hear a shrill call of something that sounded like an injured cat. I put on my shoes and ventured out with a flash light looking for the critter to see what was wrong with it. As I got closer the noise stopped and I went back to my house even more confused. This happened every night for a month and I finally figured out it wasn't a cat, but a bird of some type. Now I know what it is obviously.

Anyhow, I have 10 more birds to go to get to 100 which was my year plan for 2009. I am upping the anti a little and am going to get to 100 by the end of next weekend!! Is is ambitious??? Perhaps but I am a gal willing to take that risk. HA!! Wish me luck all and feel free to follow me to the final countdown.

Peace and happy birding!

The Yardbirds

With all of my birding adventures, I have not paid much attention on what has been going on in my own back yard. Oh sure, I keep up with the feeding stations, making sure they are filled and clean, but once I have done my daily chore, I am off and running looking for the daily migrants. I wave goodbye as I go and leave them on their own to eat in peace. I still love these birds, but forget to appreciate them from time to time because they are a daily part of my life. I guess it's kind of like your family, you see them everyday as they are the daily fabric of your life, but you sometimes neglect to appreciate it until something happens to snap you back to reality.

Here is my lovely male cardinal. This little guy here is my alarm clock. I wake up and can hear him singing his heart out while the sound of brewing coffee competes for my first morning sound. My senses are awakened by the sound of his beautiful voice and the smell of coffee filling the air. My mood has gone from groggy to invigorated in just 30 seconds.

The beloved male Mockingbird who has taken over my yard. I watch him as he stands on his perch making sure no other birds dare to step foot on his territory. He is there every morning waiting for me to put out raisins and fill up the bird bath. I whislte a little tune for him while I am doing this and he stares at me in complete silence. We make eye contact for a brief moment and I smile at his wonderous face that is full of curiousity and micheif.

The comedian in my yard the Tufted Titmouse. He is a little puff of adrenelyn that only sits still for a moment to grab a peanut or a seed before he dissapears to eat it in peace. Sometimes all is not well in the bird world and he is the first to notify me something is amiss by his high pitched call that makes my indoor cats fight for the window to catch a glimpse of offender who woke them from their nap.

The House Finches who dissapeared for the winter but are back in full force now taking advantage of the squirrel who has raised the top to the feeder. Here they perch while searching for their favorite seeds to sample and share.

Sometimes the male will perch on a branch and sing his beloved a tune. The air is filled with joyous song that fills my yard with promises of spring and nestlings.

And finally one of my numerous Juncos. I love these birds but wince a little when I see them in my yard every morning. I watch them eat and want to ask them when they are heading up North. I want to let them know that it can't be oficially sping until they are gone but decide not to as I watch them eating their breakfast with vigor. They must have a full stomach for the journey I think to myself and decide to keep the feeders up until the end of May.

Yes these are the birds that share my yard with me. They are there to greet me each morning and bid me a goodnight just before dusk. These are the birds that first introduced me to the joys of birding last summer and it is something I could never payback even with birdseed and fresh water. I tell myself that I have to stop feeding soon as the squirrels are becoming a pain. I have 6 of them in my yard every morning and they are eating me out of house and home. The House Sparrows are back too, and while they are behaving like boy scouts right now, I know its only a matter of time before they take over my yard and scare the others away. Hmmmm. Maybe I will keep the thistle filled up this summer for the finches I think to myself. A handful of raisins for the mocker won't hurt I add. Maybe some safflower for the Candinals I think......After all, they are kind of like my family even if they are wild birds. I watch the cardinals fly away knowing they will wake me in the morning and I smile.

Photos They Dont Want you to See!!!

Have you ever seen those magazines at the grocery store at the checkout line? You know the ones I am talking about, the National Enquirer, Star, etc. Every once in a while they will have glamorous stars on the cover of their mags without their makeup on or doing something totally unglamorous like woofing down a cheeseburger with ketchup running down their face.

Allow me to offer some of this to my birding friends. I have a ton of goofy pictures of birds that I normally wouldn't post, but think they are too odd to not share. The first one is Stubby in my brush pile cleaning himself. He had no idea I had the camera pointed at him from my kitchen window.

This Common Grackle flying by at Institute Park today. I LOL'd when I looked at it on my computer. His eyes are crazy!!

Canada Geese and a Mallard bathing at Institute Park

And last but not least, the Tufted Titmouse. What the heck is it doing??? This bird is without a doubt the one bird who kept me entertained the entire winter. Just when I thought I figured this species out, it would do something to throw me off. The wrens are comical in their own right, but the Tufted Titmouse has provided me hours of entertainment this long, never ending winter. I am hoping they will continue with their antics this spring!

Cathing Up

It has been one of those weeks. A week of conference calls, tight deadlines, car trouble and exhaustion. As a result I did very little birding, photography or blogging. I was able to get a decent shot of the hairy woodpecker?? though. My bird feeding station has been very quiet the past week which I am happy about because I had that sick bird. The weather is starting to get nicer and the birds are out and about instead of in my yard. I hear them when I wake up in the morning and their song is much different than last week. I hear the spring time songs and my heart soars. I even hear the robins who nested in my neighbors yard last year so I am very happy about that.

The red winged blackbirds are more visible as well. I have been trying to get decent photos of them before they start their nesting which is when I will leave them alone. I remember last year if I went over there during nesting time they would attempt to dive bomb me so have learned my lesson well. ;o)

You may be asking what would cause me to take a photo of pigeons. I have an answer!! You see, I was in a 4 hour conference call yesterday and was stir crazy alone in my office. The pigeons kept flying past my office window which gave me an idea. Hmmmmmm. I wonder how birds in flight would look at this angle. I put the call on mute and then click, click, click, click. Here is my answer.

The Peregrine Falcon's have been around all week too. The female has been spending most of her time at the nesting site and the male wonders about. I went up to the spot where they sometimes perch to see if I could get some closeups, but they wouldn't cooperate with me this week.

Anyhow, I will post more this weekend. Time to go back to work now.

Good Day Sunshine & other Musings

The first two pictures are to show you the glorious sunshine I get in my back yard every morning between 7-7:30am. I use this time to look out the window with my camera as my son gets ready for school. The glorious light guarantees a sharp picture which is a welcome contrast to last month when most of my backyard stayed somewhat cloudy all day. I am savoring while I can because we will be setting the clock an hour ahead this weekend and when the sunshine hits my yard this perfectly each morning, I will be at work. Sigh, I guess I will have to wait another month or so for the days to continue to get longer to take advantage of it.

The picture below was at about 6:00pm this evening. I was in the Target parking lot when suddenly I could see a lot of bird activity up in the trees. I watched them for a while and decided they had to be starlings given the size of the flock. I got out of my car to enter the store when suddenly I could hear the sound of robins coming from the sky. I looked up and watched them join the flock. I went over to the trees as much as I could and found out they were all robins!!! This is only one tree that you see. There were two other trees as packed as this. My guess is there were approx. 200 robins in the Target parking lot! Perhaps they are some of the migrants moving north? I go to this Target store every Wednesday and have never seen them before. It was very interesting.

I saw a glimpse of one of the falcons today which was a huge relief. I had not seen them since last Thursday and I was getting very concerned given the last snow fall we had. Every time I went outside I would go to all of their favorite places and not see them. I would pass by the security guards, the parking lot attendants, etc and they would all nod their heads no and hunch their shoulders when I looked at them with inquisitive eyes. They too were concerned because I was concerned. :oP. I know one should never get too attached to wild life but I can't help it with this pair. They are so special to me that I think of them often and hope they are doing okay. What I think may be going on is they are in the middle of building their nest and are not around as much. I am hoping I can get some photos tomorrow as the maintenance man told me I could go on the floor where they perch for some up close photos.

Finally, I have an admission to make........I am addicted to my camera. I love the sound it makes when I turn it on the the slight buzzing noise I hear when I zoom and unzoom my lens. I have not had much of an opportunity for photo taking the past couple of days and it has made me cranky. Birding is my addiction, but the camera is my method of delivery. Kind of like a shot of scotch for the drinker and a cigarette for the smoker. I can be totally stressed out and all I have to do is find something to photograph and all of the stress melts away as I place all of my focus on the perfect picture. I get a slight spiritual buzz from it that is hard to explain. I will be quitting smoking on April 1st so am anticipating I will be substituting that addiction to my camera addiction even more. Woo Hoo for migrating birds and flowers that should start appearing around that time. More things for me to photograph! ;o)

Downy Woodpecker in the Spot Light

I love to photograph the downy woodpecker who comes into my yard. Yesterday as I was filling up my thistle feeder, the downy flew right next to me and didn't notice my presence at first. I stood there still as a mouse and watched him. He finally saw me, gave out a chip in surprise and flew off.
Such a good looking birds who are perfect for photo taking because they are not as fast as some of the smaller songbirds. The vibrant red on its crown makes for some nice photos.
Love the photo where it is staring at me. I was hanging out of my bathroom window when I took this shot and he looked at me in surprise. This was the first time he has ever seen me like this and I am sure he was confused by what I was doing!

March.....Comes in like a.......

Don't you just love this picture of the squirrel!!! It looks as if he is clenching his fists and his teeth over the recent dump of snow that was bestowed upon New England last night into this morning. Normally the squirrels don't venture outside during the snow, but I am guessing they are a little more daring now that it is March.

The goldfinches are always brave and were grateful for the refill of thistle I put out for them this morning. Going to the feeders today totally depressed me. I have had the luxury of walking around my yard and feeling the soft earth against my boots, not anymore.

The hardiest of my winter birds the junco had quite the challenge today eating from the coconut feeder. He got himself in there as much as possible to lesson some of the severe effects of the wind which were roaring around my yard this morning. As you can see his feathers are blowing all over the place and even he looks sick of the snow.

The blue jay eats cracked corn as it waits for the peanuts I put out normally. I saw the coopers first thing this morning and decided to wait a bit to put peanuts on the tree stump as I didn't want the blue jay to become a casualty if I could avoid it. This gorgeous bird looks as if this last storm has knocked the soul out of him. I am convinced the birds are as weary of winter as I am.

The mockingbird looked at me this morning with pleading eyes. I think he was asking me when winter would be over with. I wish I had an answer for him but don't.

My Backyard Today

My backyard was very busy today. The blue jay above uses this tree to perch upon to search for peanuts.

The goldfinch shows off a little more yellow this week as he eats thistle.

The house finch takes a moment to pose for a picture.

The mockingbird sits on top of my brush pile and surveys the scene.

A lone crow lands on my neighbors branch.

Squiggy comes for breakfast and never leaves.

Morning has broken like.......

Way back in late October, I was complaining about how dark it was outside before I had to venture off to work. I missed the days I could look at the bird feeder activity in my yard before hitting the road. Now it just starts getting light here about 6am and by 7am the sunlight hits the feeding section to my yard perfectly. I always wish I could go to work a little late to take advantage of this sun that only stays in this position for about an hour.

The goldfinches and the juncos are always the first to get to my feeders every morning. I love taking photos of goldfinches. Their color and slow demeanor is just screaming to me for a photo.

And of course the many squirrels I get in my yard who all fight over the coconut feeder. I am convinced they come to my yard right at this time because they know they will be bathed in sunlight as they eat their breakfast.

Spring is indeed on the way, despite what the temperature says.

Bird Fight, Flight & Feathers

FYI: Very cool story alert that I got from Yahoo News on my sidebard. A NYT story on people helping Whooping Cranes migrate. AWESOME STORY! Cool Bird Story


Today was the day that old man winter decided to come back and remind me spring is still a little while away. The wind blew fiercely as I went about filling up the feeders. I knew it was going to be one of those days when I looked over at my neighbors tree and saw about 50 starlings on it and eye balling my feeders. With no will to fight them, I went back indoors and decided to watch

The starlings came and the feathers flew. They love my suet and will fight to the death to get a piece of it. The picture above is a good example of the type of war fare the starlings are capable of in my peaceful back yard. The others perch upon the green fencing directly behind the suet feeder. I put that up as a deterrent to neighborhood cats getting to the birds. I have the regular fencing up there too and wanted to get rid of the green wiring but it is frozen solid into the ground!! It looks like I am stuck with the convenient perching spot for the starlings for the time being.

While this goes on the other birds watch along with me. I often wonder what they think of the fighting and the starlings in general. Do the starlings annoy them just as much as they do me? I am guessing the answer is yes.

Finally this little goldfinch is brave enough to fly to the Nyjer feeder for a little breakfast. I have to laugh seeing all of the finches on the tube feeder. They will take a little nibble of their meal and then turn their heads to watch the fighting. The gold finches make me smile every time I see them. They are such optimistic birds with their subdued mannerisms and cheerful call.

The junco watches too and is a little hesitant to go join the others in his flock who are directly below the starlings. The juncos know with all of that fighting, that suet crumbs will fall to the ground for a convenient meal.

The mockingbird on the other hand could care less what the starlings are doing. It goes about its business and has recently discovered my bird bath. If the starlings do decide to give this bird an attitude, he is a force to be reckoned with and will fight right back. He didn't want any part of that today though and spent most of the afternoon with his lady friend on my privet tree.

The woodpecker watches and is obviously annoyed that the starlings have decided to hijack her favorite suet feeder. She waits patiently for her turn and nibbles on peanuts in the coconut feeder instead.

Tomorrow will be worse. The starlings are at their most obnoxious right before a snow storm. They remind me of the folks you see at the grocery store stocking up on bread, eggs and milk before the first flake falls. We are expecting snow this weekend and the starlings will know this and take over my yard. This is why I will be birding elsewhere. Time to make more suet I guess.

Does anyone know when starling flocks start thinning out some? Right now a flock of 10 of these birds would be like heaven to me. I cannot handle the amount I am getting right about now. Spring cannot come soon enough for me.

The Mid Life Birder

NOTE: For those of you following the peregrine falcons' the post is directly below this one.

If anyone would have told me a year ago today that I would be spending the majority of my weekends trudging through woods, rivers and cemeteries in search for birds, I would have told them they were sadly mistaken. Sure I liked birds, just as we all do, but I was far too busy in my day to day life to pay much attention to them.

That all changed May of last year with the help of my neighbors and nature walks I started taking to get away from it all. I was really getting concerned about the environment at this time and wanted to do my part to make my small acre of land a little greener. My neighbors have this fantastic garden that I would go to in search of ideas. Not only do they have fantastic flora, but fauna as well. I saw my first hummingbird at their feeder and was in awe. Who'd have known there was a bird this tiny and magnificent. I remember watching him and feeling a little saddened to realize that there was a creature on this earth as lovely as that and I had never even seen it.


Wanting a little piece of that heaven in my own yard, I went out and bought a few feeders and there began my journey into birding. At first, everyday was a new adventure and a new bird. I will never forget the first bird to discover my suet feeder. I was ecstatic and had to share my glory with my neighbor. She asked me what the bird looked like and I explained it was black with jewel like tones, a yellow beak and a wonderful song. She paused for a moment and told me the bird was a European Starling and I had better stop putting out suet because they would just waste it. I was perplexed by this because at that time I was thrilled that a bird so exotic would want to be in my yard. Heck, this bird came all the way from Europe and here he was in my small town sampling my bird treats!! HA, now I know what she meant but at that time I was thrilled.

While I enjoyed watching the birds from my back yard, I yeared for a little more adventure and a lot more species. I joined the Audubon Society for field trips, bought some new binoculars and recently purchased a camera to properly begin my new hobby. I must admit that most of the time, I go home with the same species list and the same pictures, and while this is frustrating, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Birding to me is my anti anxiety pill, my anti depressant pill and my anti everything else pill the pharmaceutical companies have developed to lesson human pain and anguish. All I need to do is watch the splendor of a bird, even one as plain as the crow and all of that stress melts away and my mind is clear and focused.

One of the many beauties of birding is there is so much out there to see. According to 10000 Birds there are approximately 10000 birds on this planet of ours. Obviously we here in North America only make up a small portion of that 10000, but more than enough to keep us searching for the new lifer all the way into our golden years. Being fairly new to birding gives me an advantage somewhat because there are so many birds out there I have yet to see. This is why I continue to trudge through woods, rivers and brush. It is for that one opportunity to hear a bird sing its first spring song, to watch a hawk soar gracefully in the sky and to get a glimpse of the hummingbird in my own back yard. It is for that single moment for when it is just I and the bird.

Quick Post-Please Help Identify This Bird

Sorry for the picture not being very clear. Can someone help me identify this bird. At first I thought it was a nuthatch but it doesn't have the bill of one. Then I thought it was a golden crowned kinglet, but again it doesn't fit the bill (pun intended) and didn't exhibit kinglet behaviour.

Thanks and today was awesome! I have a ton of pictures and will post them later.

Great Backyard Bird Count-Fri 13th

My first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count went pretty well despite the cold temps and wind we had here in New England. I spent most of it in my yard and all of the regulars came as well as a couple of surprises, the most notable being pigeons. EEEEEKKK!! There were about five of them walking around my yard nibbling on leftover seed and I prayed that my neighbors (who are selling their house), wouldn't have any potential buyers coming over to check out the digs. All I could picture were perspective buyers going to look at a house and glancing in my yard to see pigeons, seagulls and starlings. Real curb appeal I tell you. ;o)

The red bellied came today and stuck around for a while which allowed me to get pretty good pictures.

One of two mockingbirds who are now regulars in my yard. The one above has spunk with a capital S. The starlings love to come and bully the other birds and they usually succeed, not with this bird though. It flaps its white wings and actually goes after the starlings with its beak!!! Just for that I am doubling up on the suet so the two of them will stay. It's about time someone stood up to those bullies. Now maybe I won't have as many of them and my bird bath will stay a little cleaner.

I decided to go to a few other places and most were devoid of birds. I did have some luck at the cemetery though, as you will see below.

A picture of a titmouse poking it wee little head in a tree to forage for food. It was actually fun to watch it and I hope it succeeded.

Speaking of success, check out what this little guy found for lunch!! Again, very cool to watch and it makes me feel more at ease to see that yes, there is still protein rich food out there for the birds should they need it. The nuthatch got this from the tree so I am guessing it's a grub of some sort??? I saw two nuthatches today which was awesome because I have not seen any of them since last year so another species to add to my 2009 list.

Have a great and lucky Friday everyone!