Sent in my count for the yesterday. I spent the entire morning on the deck and looking out the windows to come up with my list. It's not terribly large but this has not been a winter for either manyhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif species or many individual birds.
Just 14 species on my list.
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Mourning Dove 15
Downy Woodpecker 3
Pileated Woodpecker 1
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 1
Common Raven 1
Black-capped Chickadee 9
Tufted Titmouse 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Brown Creeper 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 35
Northern Cardinal 1
American Goldfinch 18
I didn't actually "see" the Raven or the Crow, but they were calling from somewhere nearby. The voices of the two are pretty distinct.
I first heard the Pileated Woodpecker calling from across the street where there's a tree that has obviously gotten its attention. Then it flew through the yard heading for another excavated tree up on the hill that I saw the other day.
The Red-tailed Hawk flew out of one of the white pines on the hill above the Aerie and circled once before disappearing over the ridge.
I spotted the nearly invisible Brown Creeper working its way up a locust trunk on the other side of the yard. Once it got to the second level of branches it swooped down to another tree deeper into the woods and I lost sight of it.
The rest were visitors to the several feeders I've got on the deck and in the side yard. They are here nearly every single morning--right after I scare the fattening squirrels away.
The rest
Showing posts with label Audubon Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audubon Society. Show all posts
Monday, February 20, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
The GBBC is On!
The Great Backyard Bird Count is underway!
Starting today (February 17) and running through Monday (February 20) the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society are sponsoring an event aimed at counting birds all across North America. Participants should count (and identify the species of) birds in any one locale for a minimum of 15 minutes. You can do this in your backyard, at a nearby park or sitting in the woods somewhere. After tallying your list, you can go to the GBBC web site and post the results.
The web site has a multitude of information for those not familiar with such efforts. There are How-to links; an instructional video; and a running tally of numbers of checklists, species and individual birds. Check out all the links on the right side of the GBBC page, too. The Photo Gallery and Learn About Birds are especially enjoyable.
And there are prizes for some lucky participants, too!
Starting today (February 17) and running through Monday (February 20) the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society are sponsoring an event aimed at counting birds all across North America. Participants should count (and identify the species of) birds in any one locale for a minimum of 15 minutes. You can do this in your backyard, at a nearby park or sitting in the woods somewhere. After tallying your list, you can go to the GBBC web site and post the results.
The web site has a multitude of information for those not familiar with such efforts. There are How-to links; an instructional video; and a running tally of numbers of checklists, species and individual birds. Check out all the links on the right side of the GBBC page, too. The Photo Gallery and Learn About Birds are especially enjoyable.
And there are prizes for some lucky participants, too!
Monday, July 04, 2011
We're b-a-c-k....
A l-o-n-g weekend!
Terry and I drove up to Yarmouth, Maine on Thursday after feeding the cats and taking out the garbage. We tried to stay on the back roads and did a pretty good job of it after we got past Albany, NY. Riding through the countryside on state highways and old US Highways as we crossed Vermont and New Hampshire was far more enjoyable than speeding along at 70+ miles on the interstate with tons of otheridiots drivers.
Even the interstate we took to get from Binghamton, NY to Albany (I-88) wasn't that bad as its direction of travel--northeast-southwest--is not a common one for most folks. And it too has an alternate: old New York Route 7 parallels it for nearly the entire length. Before the interstate, that must have been a lovely ride.
Back to our destination: Yarmouth, Maine. An old town along US Highway 1 that is now bursting at the seams along Interstate 295 just south of the quintessential old town bursting at the seams: Freeport, aka home of L.L. Bean.
We got to the motel around 4:30 PM after 10 1/2 hours and 475 miles on the road. Made a few phone calls to see if Terry's sister and her husband (Lucille and Doug) had arrived yet from Missouri (they had) and if they were interested in dinner (they were but were up the coast a ways). We met at the Muddy Rudder and had a lovely meal.
Friday we explored a little. Terry and I went up the road tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the Maine Audubon Society's Mast Landing Bird Sanctuary. We walked the trails a bit and got bit quite often. Tall moist grass, damp woods, an old mill stream still sluggishly flowing surrounded by bays, rivers and sounds...yeah: Mosquito Heaven! And we didn't see anything spectacular either.
Audubon Society Mast Landing Bird Sanctuary
Oh well, back to Freeport and some shopping. I got a nice pair of Rockport shoes at Famous Brands outlet and a nice short sleeved shirt at the L.L. Bean outlet before we met up with the parents of the groom (Terry's cousin Joe and his wife Pat) for lunch.
We separated after lunch and Terry and I went into the main L.L. Bean store. Yowsers! Joe had offered to hold my wallet but that wasn't necessary. I passed on the shotguns, rifles and all the fly fishing gear. (I LIKED all that stuff, but a man's got to know his limitations. I've got gear I don't use now. In part, because I don't know I've got it!) We did pick up a house warming gift for our son, Rick and his wife, Sandy, who got the keys to their first house on Wednesday. And L.L. Bean will ship it for free.
Eventually we escaped from Freeport and drove south on Route 1 to the Delorme Map Store. Here, I would have been better off if Joe held my wallet and credit cards. I dropped about $300 on a new GPS unit, a topo map subscription for the same, and power charging options pack. (I kept telling myself the Garmin I'm currently using is broken--and it is! I wouldn't lie. The screw that holds the battery pack is broken so the batteries can work their way loose and stop powering the unit. Plus it's almost 10 years old. Bloody thing is ancient in terms of technology. It was time to get a new one. Hopefully, it won't get me lost in the woods.)
Finally, it was time for the rehearsal dinner to be held at the Royal River Grillhouse in Yarmouth. Good food lots of old and new friends and relatives.
Terry speaks with Elizabeth
The Bachelder's Stephan, Julia, Elizabeth (the bride) and Deborah Strachan
Flower girl Madeline and her Mom, Jacqueline Messinger
The dinner was held on the waters of the Royal River so, of course there were boats to look at...and drool over. I kept reminding myself, that, while I could probably afford to purchase a decent sized boat, it's the after purchase costs that would literally sink me. Boat: a hole in the water into which one pours money, time and energy.
Nice boat.
Slightly nicer boat. I could learn to like living on the water in this one.
One I could get to like if all I wanted to do was sail about.
There were bigger boats--and lots of them--both sail and motor--in the harbor and in the yard. Many of them were for sale but I left the checkbook at home.
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
The Wind in the Willows
More to come.
Terry and I drove up to Yarmouth, Maine on Thursday after feeding the cats and taking out the garbage. We tried to stay on the back roads and did a pretty good job of it after we got past Albany, NY. Riding through the countryside on state highways and old US Highways as we crossed Vermont and New Hampshire was far more enjoyable than speeding along at 70+ miles on the interstate with tons of other
Even the interstate we took to get from Binghamton, NY to Albany (I-88) wasn't that bad as its direction of travel--northeast-southwest--is not a common one for most folks. And it too has an alternate: old New York Route 7 parallels it for nearly the entire length. Before the interstate, that must have been a lovely ride.
Back to our destination: Yarmouth, Maine. An old town along US Highway 1 that is now bursting at the seams along Interstate 295 just south of the quintessential old town bursting at the seams: Freeport, aka home of L.L. Bean.
We got to the motel around 4:30 PM after 10 1/2 hours and 475 miles on the road. Made a few phone calls to see if Terry's sister and her husband (Lucille and Doug) had arrived yet from Missouri (they had) and if they were interested in dinner (they were but were up the coast a ways). We met at the Muddy Rudder and had a lovely meal.
Friday we explored a little. Terry and I went up the road tohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif the Maine Audubon Society's Mast Landing Bird Sanctuary. We walked the trails a bit and got bit quite often. Tall moist grass, damp woods, an old mill stream still sluggishly flowing surrounded by bays, rivers and sounds...yeah: Mosquito Heaven! And we didn't see anything spectacular either.
Audubon Society Mast Landing Bird SanctuaryOh well, back to Freeport and some shopping. I got a nice pair of Rockport shoes at Famous Brands outlet and a nice short sleeved shirt at the L.L. Bean outlet before we met up with the parents of the groom (Terry's cousin Joe and his wife Pat) for lunch.
We separated after lunch and Terry and I went into the main L.L. Bean store. Yowsers! Joe had offered to hold my wallet but that wasn't necessary. I passed on the shotguns, rifles and all the fly fishing gear. (I LIKED all that stuff, but a man's got to know his limitations. I've got gear I don't use now. In part, because I don't know I've got it!) We did pick up a house warming gift for our son, Rick and his wife, Sandy, who got the keys to their first house on Wednesday. And L.L. Bean will ship it for free.
Eventually we escaped from Freeport and drove south on Route 1 to the Delorme Map Store. Here, I would have been better off if Joe held my wallet and credit cards. I dropped about $300 on a new GPS unit, a topo map subscription for the same, and power charging options pack. (I kept telling myself the Garmin I'm currently using is broken--and it is! I wouldn't lie. The screw that holds the battery pack is broken so the batteries can work their way loose and stop powering the unit. Plus it's almost 10 years old. Bloody thing is ancient in terms of technology. It was time to get a new one. Hopefully, it won't get me lost in the woods.)
Finally, it was time for the rehearsal dinner to be held at the Royal River Grillhouse in Yarmouth. Good food lots of old and new friends and relatives.
Terry speaks with Elizabeth
The Bachelder's Stephan, Julia, Elizabeth (the bride) and Deborah Strachan
Flower girl Madeline and her Mom, Jacqueline MessingerThe dinner was held on the waters of the Royal River so, of course there were boats to look at...and drool over. I kept reminding myself, that, while I could probably afford to purchase a decent sized boat, it's the after purchase costs that would literally sink me. Boat: a hole in the water into which one pours money, time and energy.
Nice boat.
Slightly nicer boat. I could learn to like living on the water in this one.
One I could get to like if all I wanted to do was sail about.There were bigger boats--and lots of them--both sail and motor--in the harbor and in the yard. Many of them were for sale but I left the checkbook at home.
"There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
The Wind in the Willows
More to come.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Birding at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
The northward migration is still going on here and there were plenty of warblers in the woods (which are just about two weeks behind the trees at Colton Point SP in Pennsylvania) to prove it. Ran into several American Redstarts that were nesting within a few yards of the trail. Rough water on the lake meant few water fowl up close and personal. (It was also a chilly wind so we didn't hang around the shore much.)
Location: Schlitz Audubon Center
Observation date: 5/27/11
Notes: Beautiful clear, crisp morning. Some wind off Lake Michigan.
Schlitz Audubon Center is a lovely place to go birding. Wish I lived a little closer!
Number of species: 30
Wild Turkey X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Eastern Wood-Pewee X
Eastern Phoebe X
Red-eyed Vireo X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Barn Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
House Wren X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
European Starling X
Chestnut-sided Warbler X
Magnolia Warbler X
Black-throated Green Warbler X
American Redstart X
Canada Warbler X
Song Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Location: Schlitz Audubon Center
Observation date: 5/27/11
Notes: Beautiful clear, crisp morning. Some wind off Lake Michigan.
Schlitz Audubon Center is a lovely place to go birding. Wish I lived a little closer!
Number of species: 30
Wild Turkey X
Double-crested Cormorant X
Spotted Sandpiper X
Ring-billed Gull X
Mourning Dove X
Red-bellied Woodpecker X
Downy Woodpecker X
Eastern Wood-Pewee X
Eastern Phoebe X
Red-eyed Vireo X
Blue Jay X
American Crow X
Barn Swallow X
Black-capped Chickadee X
White-breasted Nuthatch X
House Wren X
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher X
American Robin X
Gray Catbird X
European Starling X
Chestnut-sided Warbler X
Magnolia Warbler X
Black-throated Green Warbler X
American Redstart X
Canada Warbler X
Song Sparrow X
Northern Cardinal X
Red-winged Blackbird X
Common Grackle X
Brown-headed Cowbird X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
On the Road: Day 3: May 27: Food, Family
and Birding in Milwaukee
Nearly 20 of us got together last evening for a dinner treat near where Brian and Vicky live. A nice called, County Clare Irish Inn & Pub at which we nearly completely occupied the dining room. The food was excellent and we all had a great time. Although we, rather selfishly, remained separated into the bride's friends and relations and the groom's. That will not be the case tonight! Actually, since the guests came from all over, this was sort of a chance to get together after lengthy absences. Now we can get to meet new folks and intermingle.
******
Last night we got a 3 AM phone call from our security company telling us that the power was out at the Aerie. The line of storms we ran into in Toledo swept through PA and NY on their way to the coast. Heavy winds and hail took down trees and powerlines in both the Northern and Southern Tiers. There was even a possible tornado in Tioga County--New York--just to the northeast of where we are. Schools, businesses and roads were closed while several thousand folks were without power this morning. I called the Aerie several times and could not get through to the answering machine which indicated the power was still out at 9 AM EDT, so I called Ann, our friend who is caring for the cats while we are away. I wanted to tell her that if the power was still out, she wouldn't be able to get into the house via the garage doors. She confirmed that she had already figured that out but not to worry, the dry food was dished out in copious amounts on Thursday so they should be okay. (She called back a few hours later to let us know that, sure enough, she couldn't get in but the good news was that the Aerie still stood. While there were plenty of trees down in the Route 15 corridor, the Aerie, being on the lee side of Armenia Mountain, was relatively untouched.
******
More folks arriving today and tonight. Grandma has already gotten here from NJ. Rick and Sandy were in Chicago area last night with her parents and should be here tonight. Joe and his wife, Pat, should be arriving today from New Jersey (they are driving) and Joe's sister Nancy will be flying in later. Brian's sister (Laura) and brother (Adam) are flying in from San Francisco today. And Laura's husband--another Joe--will be flying into Chicago and then on up to Milwaukee. As a commercial co-pilot, the first leg is work, the second is not.
It will be interesting to see how many folks are here tonight for the rehearsal dinner.
******
Meanwhile, the weather here in Milwaukee is great! The high during the day has been around 55 degrees but the warm sunshine makes it very, very comfortable. After getting t he storm reports from back home, Terry and I took a ride up the Lake Michigan coast to the place the wedding will be held tomorrow: The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.
What a great place! Smack dab on the shores of Lake Michigan, this 185 acre facility has a beautiful welcome center, a variety of bird habitats, and miles of trails on which to enjoy them. We took one loop that carried us north of the welcome over to the east to the shore and then south and back to the center. We walked slowly enjoying all the birds, wildflowers and benches along the way. And, even though we were on the trail for two hours, we saw few people and covered only about 1/5 of the available forest area. I wish I lived closer, I'd be there once or twice a week. (A list of what we saw will be forthcoming.)
******
Last night we got a 3 AM phone call from our security company telling us that the power was out at the Aerie. The line of storms we ran into in Toledo swept through PA and NY on their way to the coast. Heavy winds and hail took down trees and powerlines in both the Northern and Southern Tiers. There was even a possible tornado in Tioga County--New York--just to the northeast of where we are. Schools, businesses and roads were closed while several thousand folks were without power this morning. I called the Aerie several times and could not get through to the answering machine which indicated the power was still out at 9 AM EDT, so I called Ann, our friend who is caring for the cats while we are away. I wanted to tell her that if the power was still out, she wouldn't be able to get into the house via the garage doors. She confirmed that she had already figured that out but not to worry, the dry food was dished out in copious amounts on Thursday so they should be okay. (She called back a few hours later to let us know that, sure enough, she couldn't get in but the good news was that the Aerie still stood. While there were plenty of trees down in the Route 15 corridor, the Aerie, being on the lee side of Armenia Mountain, was relatively untouched.
******
More folks arriving today and tonight. Grandma has already gotten here from NJ. Rick and Sandy were in Chicago area last night with her parents and should be here tonight. Joe and his wife, Pat, should be arriving today from New Jersey (they are driving) and Joe's sister Nancy will be flying in later. Brian's sister (Laura) and brother (Adam) are flying in from San Francisco today. And Laura's husband--another Joe--will be flying into Chicago and then on up to Milwaukee. As a commercial co-pilot, the first leg is work, the second is not.
It will be interesting to see how many folks are here tonight for the rehearsal dinner.
******
Meanwhile, the weather here in Milwaukee is great! The high during the day has been around 55 degrees but the warm sunshine makes it very, very comfortable. After getting t he storm reports from back home, Terry and I took a ride up the Lake Michigan coast to the place the wedding will be held tomorrow: The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center.
What a great place! Smack dab on the shores of Lake Michigan, this 185 acre facility has a beautiful welcome center, a variety of bird habitats, and miles of trails on which to enjoy them. We took one loop that carried us north of the welcome over to the east to the shore and then south and back to the center. We walked slowly enjoying all the birds, wildflowers and benches along the way. And, even though we were on the trail for two hours, we saw few people and covered only about 1/5 of the available forest area. I wish I lived closer, I'd be there once or twice a week. (A list of what we saw will be forthcoming.)
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