Birder PapaRrazi
An Amateur Birdwatcher's tally
Three exciting birding adventures occurred during the month of March. One was ongoing, a part of an investigation I found myself in. Not a murder mystery, or a robbery. No, this was a bird’s nest.
The nest has been on my route to Flaming Geyser Park for 2 or 3 years. I believe it was built by blue herons. For this time, we have driven by and looked at the empty nest. At the end of February, that changed. When we drove by, we saw an eagle in the nest. I’ve been watching eagle cams on Facebook for quite a while and grew excited about the opportunity of an eagle family in my own neighborhood. I know they’re raptor birds, but they are also majestic and beautiful. Two days later I drove back by that tree. No eagle was to be seen. I was disappointed, assuming an eagle had just lodged temporarily. Yet a few days later, there was an eagle near the nest. I eagerly looked around as I snapped pictures with my little digital camera. Another eagle posed across the street. Were they together? A few days later the nest was again empty, with no one nearby. What were these eagles doing? Was this a hotel, allowing short breaks on their way? Further down the road another big nest, which was just created about a year ago, held an eagle! I took more photos. This has been an ongoing investigation for the whole month. Eagles are not uncommon on this road which runs near the Green River. But I still hold hope of finding an eaglet. It hasn’t happened yet. So, I keep watching my cams on Facebook, and I keep driving to Flaming Geyser Park. It’s one of my favorite birding spots and I love the trip there. What will happen in April with this question? My next birding expedition involved the Heronry in Kent, WA. For the past few years, my sister and I have visited this place twice every March. Blue herons have established over 30 nests in a small range of trees, and they raise their babies there. By April the heronry closes, and the blue herons take off on their solitary sojourns. I read a report at a477874.pdf (dtic.mil) which indicated that heronries continue for 6 months, but this one is usually empty by the middle of April at the latest. The report was still fascinating because I didn’t know so much about blue herons. I got several good pictures from this sanctuary, which is near the Green River Conservation and Boeing Ponds. Finally, at the end of the month I went to Nisqually. It’s one of my favorite federal reserves but I’m usually only able to get down there once or twice a year. Because I have a bum knee, I usually just go the five-mile loop, and perhaps a little further to the river. One day I plan to cover the whole park. But as usual, I came home with a ton of great bird pictures. Want to check out Nisqually? I recommend it. The website is Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (fws.gov). There is a fee, or a pass required. It can get busy so go early if you can. I had great hopes of identifying more birds with the two new softwares I’ve discovered, Birdnet and Merlin Sound Identifier but I wasn’t so lucky. My phone is limited and so the softwares seem to be as well. But I know what I saw, and I’m putting a list at the end of this report, as usual. Check out my Birder Gallery pics as well! Birding Gallery - Yarn Cats Birds & More (weebly.com) March birds Black capped chickadees Chestnut backed chickadees Cormorant, Double breasted Crows Dove eagles Finches, house geese, Brandt geese, Canada gold finches Hummingbird, Annas Hawk, red tail blue herons Juncos kestrels Kingfishers mallards Mergansers, common pigeons Ring neck ducks Robins scrub jays Stellar jays seagulls Sparrow, house sparrow, white crown Sparrow, golden crown starlings Thrushes, varied Wood ducks wrens
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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 |
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