Weekly Bird walk postponed by rain but...

Today was supposed to be the weekly Tiadaghton Audubon society bird walk. But only Gary and I showed up at Ives Run. And then the thunderstorms came. We sat in my truck for a while hoping things would clear, but the only thing that happened was I ran the truck battery down to where the dang thing wouldn’t start. Neither of us had jumper cables but, luckily, Gary doesn’t live too far away. He went to retrieve his set of cables and I sat in the rain.

When Gary returned, the rain had let up but not ended. We got my truck started and I headed home but Gary was going to wait it out some more. I hope he got some birding in ‘cause the rain showers have been sweeping through the Aerie every half hour/forty-five minutes. There’s a pretty good thunder-boomer going on right now just to the north of me.

Anyway, in the short time I was at Ives Run I did get to see:
Mourning Doves
Cliff Swallows (under the bridge)
Tree Swallows
Cedar Waxwings
Yellow Warbler
American Robin
Grackle
Red-winged Blackbird
Black-capped Chickadee
American Crow
Mallard
We also heard a Northern Oriole, a Killdeer and, possibly, a Catbird.

When I got back to the Aerie I made a startling discovery: my front door was open and Julie was outside. As soon as she saw the truck pull in, however, she scooted back inside and ran into the basement so she could pretend that I didn’t really see her in the driveway. (Chester and Shadow were still inside and, since there are seldom any birds or squirrels to be seen by the front door, quite happy to remain inside.) My guess is that the front door hadn’t been shut properly and a gust of wind had blown it open. Julie, being the oldest, and having some experience outside on a leash, took advantage of the opportunity but the two younger cats felt safer inside watching wildlife from behind the glass panels.

Anyway, I resumed by bird watching from the comfort of the deck and came up with the following list:

At the Aerie

Goldfinches (LOTS of Goldfinches!)
Blue Jays
Indigo Buntings (3 males at least)
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (3 males several females)
Dark-eyed Junco
Chipping sparrows
Mourning Doves
Red-breasted nuthatch
Common Grackles
Brown-headed cowbird
Tufted Titmouse
Purple Finches
Red-winged Blackbirds
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Turkey Vulture
(UPDATE: Add four wild turkeys to the list.)

I also got to see an Eastern Cottontail Rabbit, an Eastern Chipmunk, several Gray Squirrels and one Red Squirrel (who insisted upon climbing up on the deck to the rapt attention of Chester).

I got to play with the digiscoping equipment for a little while, too.

Several of these Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (males and females) came to the feeders and posed for pictures. They’ve been here for a little over a week and show no signs of wanting to move on.

The Indigo Buntings showed up two days ago and have become regulars at the feeders with the Goldfinches. There were at least three of these jeweled guys at and under the feeder.

The bright blue really stands out against the trees and on the ground.