Birder PapaRrazi
An Amateur Birdwatcher's tally
A NEW STARTFinally. Finally. With the new year came fresh energy, a few more birds, and promise of better birding here in King County, WA.
Up to 20 birds in one trip My sister and I, with our dogs, went out one Sunday morning and counted 20 bird species for the first time in a long while. Our counts had gotten down to 6 species. What did we see on this trip?
It is true many of these birds should be on our every birding list ever. But many have been scarce. We only saw Canada geese twice this month. Where did all the pacific northwest Canada geese go? I’m still exploring that question. Some of our trips still logged low counts – 10 or more. My dog Maggie is in charge of remembering the count and she prefers smaller numbers to fall asleep on, uh keep track of. Katie puts out the memo about our trips– or would if her Mama let her use the computer. As it is, she barks at everyone we pass to let them know we are on the road. She also wriggles out of her harness so when we get to the park it usually hangs around her waist. But she is buckled in, so she is safe. At home Of course, if you’re lucky enough to have a yard or patio you don’t have to go out in the cold to bird watch. Take a fast moment to put out various bird food holders and they will come. My yard this month had held gold finches, house finches, white crown sparrows, black cap chickadees, doves (five at once!), starlings, scrub jays, juncos and two somewhat rare birds -a hummingbird and a handsome thrush. I have a comfortable chair by my bedroom window and can sit for hours, watching and snapping photos. Check out my birding gallery for January photos. Conclusion With January starting the new year so well, I have great hopes for February. I’m starting to follow an eagle’s nest, but I don’t know if the eagles are actually nesting there this year or not. I saw activity one day, but none since. I follow Jackie and Shadow on Facebook, as well as other eagle cams, and so I'm always hopeful I can follow a family on my own. Last year I was lucky to watch two young eaglets. Without a cam in the nest, I missed a lot. But I'm not going to try to climb an 80+ foot tree on property that isn't mine, so I have to accept that limitation. I'm still going to try.
0 Comments
|
AuthorI love birdwatching. It's relaxing and fun. Even though I've been birding for over 10 years I classify myself as an amateur birder. I plan to write a blog each month about my experiences. Hope you enjoy them! Categories |
Proudly powered by Weebly