Beginning Birding-The View Through My Binoculars

2012-01-21T13:40:00.000-08:00

On the first full day I was in Michigan this summer, I went out to several locations, and this ring-billed gull was the best photo I got. I'm still searching for the supposed prairie warblers along the low dunes by Lake Michigan.This redstart at Esch Roadwas sitting still and singing constantly, but from a difficult spot.
This porcupine was at Esch road. It's only the second time I've seen a porcupine in my life.
This Eastern Phoebe was the best picture from one of the most amazing days of birding I've had. I was at a nature preserve I'd never been to before, and the best bird I'd seen to that point was a male indigo bunting with some children. I saw on the map that the natural are extended across the road, so I crossed and came upon a pond with a great blue heron. This phoebe was at the base of a hill. I went up the hill into an open, almost entirely pine forest where there were more birds in one area than I'd ever seen. There were flycatchers, sparrows, pine warblers, and a red-breasted nuthatch, which is one of my favorite birds. I had what I think was a juvenile pine warbler come within about three feet of me and look at me for a while, and when I went back a second time, there was a female purple finch in a bush by the pond. That reminds me that back at the beginning of the summer, I had seen a white-throated sparrow at the Trapp Farm Nature Preserve (later closed temporarily because of garlic mustard problems), which is amazing because it is like a temperate rain forest. I always enjoy the many different habitats up there-low dunes, forest, meadow, lake, etc. And it's amazing to see it transformed in the winter.

House Wren Nesting

2011-06-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'd given up hope, but there is a house wren that is trying to nest in my nest box. He's missing a tail (any ideas?), but there was a female around earlier in the day, and they've both put sticks in the box. Anyway, he was singing constantly today, and I got some good pictures.

Shaw Nature Reserve

2011-06-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

On Monday my dad and I went out to Shaw Nature Reserve, which is run by the Missouri Botanical Garden. We saw a Prothonotory Warbler and A Yellow-Throated Warbler, both of which were life birds for me. We also saw a young male deer, which is interesting because you mostly see females (at least in my experience). Also there were Yellowthroats, Summer Tanagers, and Indigo buntings, so we were only lacking a green bird to finish the rainbow. The only good picture I got was when we walked by a flock of chickadees, one of which was eating a caterpillar.
These next two are from way back in April, at Powder Valley Nature center. The bluebird was very cooperative, and I think the gnatcatchers are nesting in the area where I found them.
A couple weeks ago, I went back out to Powder Valley, but there wasn't much going on, so I tried to find Emmenegger Nature Park. I found it, but I spent 15 minutes trying to locate a bird up in a tree, and then walked into the woods, where I was greeted by mosquitoes. After crossing a bridge, I came around a bend to find this copperhead sunning itself. I left.

Florida Part 2

2011-03-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

On the first full day in Florida, my dad and I went out early to Wakodahatchee Wetlands and Green Cay. There were lots of great birds at Wako, including palm, pine, and yellow-rumped warblers. There were also many other people there with large lenses, although this year I was able to hold my own in that respect, with only a few 500 f4 lenses to dwarf mine. Unfortunately, I didn't see a purple gallinule, which I had last time. On the other hand, there was a painted bunting pair at Green Cay, which is one of the most amazing birds I've seen.
We went to the West Palm Beach Zoo, and there were white ibises everywhere. This one's at a more natural setting in Green Cay.
One of my favorite things about Florida is that I get to see these neo-tropical migrants before spring. This blue-gray gnatcatcher was very cooperative.
I took this little blue heron right as I was leaving Green Cay for the last time. I certainly hope to get back to Delray Beach next year.
Most of the photos in this post have been entered in the Green Cay photo contest, and I think I should know April 27th how I did. It's snowing here right now, but I got lots of nice pictures because the birds are eager to use the feeders.

Florida Part 1

2011-03-06T14:18:00.000-08:00

First off, here are some Sanderlings from the beach-they were very tame, I suppose because the beaches in south Florida are never empty.
I lay in the sand to get some of these shots, and I liked the eye level angle. I have to say, I envy those who live by beaches, especially in Florida, since it was bright, so I was at iso 200, and it was very possible to get great images of these birds without too much work.

Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary

2011-02-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

One of the major attractions of this area are the wintering Bald Eagles. They are reliably found here, and I don't think I've ever not seen a couple (although this time a lot of the water was frozen over). These two were taken below a dam, where there were many photographers, including some, believe it or not, with even longer lenses.
I had actually just put my camera back in the car when this guy showed up. Fortunately, I was able to get it out in time. I'd still like to go back and get some more shots, though.
There were sparrows all over the place here. Song, Eurasian Tree, American Tree, White-Crowned, and Savannah.
There were also Horned Larks! I really like these birds because they look so funny with their little tufts. There was a big flock of them around the visitor center feeders, and I had to crowl for quite a ways on my belly to get this shot.I've seen a lot of shots like this this winter, and I think it's because of their flight habits. Northern Harriers cruise low over the fields, which lets you get a nice brown background.
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vg1&ns=1 This is a fun site to look at, because it often has many very nice pictures, including many nicer harrier flight shots.
These guys were in a big flock foraging around the visitors center. Due to an embankment leading up to it, I was able to get many nice eye-level shots. That embankment is hard to describe, but basically the entrance to an office building was below ground level, so I could crouch over a snow drift and be at the birds level.

I'm going to Florida on the 17th, and besides the warm weather, I look forward to Wakadahatchee and Green Cay, and Fishing on lake Osborne. Look up Peacock Bass. Hopefully I'll catch one, and I remember the photography at Wako/Green Cay was amazing, and that was even before I got my new lens!

Great Backyard Bird Count

2011-01-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

Just A reminder that this is coming up. I've done it the past couple years, and this year I anticipate being in Florida!

Cold Today!

2010-12-12T14:18:00.001-08:00

As you can see, the birds were braving some pretty snowy conditions.

I used a Homemade ground pod (a board with a screw in it!) to get these eye-level pictures.

This Song Sparrow got into a confrontation with a white-throated sparrow, but I was not in a position to get any good pictures of it, since the white-throated sparrow was in front of it. What it did was bend down and spread its tail feathers up in the air.
It was sporadically windy today, so I got several shots of birds with their feathers blowing like this.I like this shot because the eye is fairly distinct from the black around it. I'm especially proud because I purposely overexposed to try to separate the eyes from the black. I think I actually sort of understand how to use this feature now.

Yard Birds

2010-11-30T17:55:00.000-08:00

I hadn't posted in a while, so here are some birds from my backyard recently. I was really happy with the Carolina Wren, since they are one of my favorite birds and up until now I didn't have any really good pictures of them. I also really like the feather detail in the Junco. I'll try to post new stuff more frequently from now on!

Yorkshire Dales

2010-09-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

First, you might want an idea of what the Dales look like.Just down the road from our cottage was a stream that had many birds around it, including some warblers that were too hard for me to identify.
The warblers there are definitely not the equivalent of ours, except in behavior, since they flit around a lot and are hard to get a picture of. The finches and tits are the really colorful birds, which seems unfair since they're very common and will come to feeders.
This male chaffinch is feeding what I presume is a young one. we were there at the right time for nesting, and I also found this spotted flycatcher nesting under the eaves of a house.
I have to say, I was actually more confident identifying this flycatcher than I am identifying the ones we have here. I just label them "Generic Flycatchers" and then move on.
This is a pied wagtail along a stream near Arncliffe. There was also a bank where you could lie down and look into swallow nests.
The buzzard is, I believe, one of the most common birds of prey in England. This one was floating around a little way up one of the fells.
This is a Dunnock that was in our garden. They look plain, but sing very nicely. The blackbirds also had nice songs. Overall, the common birds there seemed more musical than ours.
These curlews are funny looking birds with their huge curved bills. I think they had just arrived.
When we were first driving into the Dales, we saw some oystercatchers, and I was amazed. It turns out they regularly breed here though. I just wish I had gotten some pictures of the Lapwings, which have an interesting crest.
See how colorful these blue tit are? I would love to have birds like this at my feeders here at home.
You can't complain about our goldfinches, but I like the red faces these guys have!
This little blackbird gave me some of my best shots from the trip. He's also a really fluffy looking little guy! The Yorkshire Dales is one of the most beautiful places I have been, and the birding was excellent, since we had sun for almost the entire time we were there. Look for more summer posts in the future!

Tower Grove Park

2010-04-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

Today it was cold, windy, and damp here, but Tower Grove Park still produced some good birds: Red-Tailed Hawk, Eastern Phoebe, White-Throated Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, Winter Wren, Wood Thrush, Hooded Warbler, American Robin, European Starling, Ovenbird, and Northern Cardinal.
You can see the wind here blowing both the tree and the birds feathers!
Here's a wood thrush on the path; the light was bad and I was unable to get good shutter speeds even at ISO 800.
This is the hooded warbler. Just a proof shot, although it's iffy even for that!
This phoebe was hovering just over the ground, I guess looking for insects. It sort of looks like its perched on an invisible branch here! I look forward to getting later into spring, as more migrants arrive. In the meantime, Good Birding!

Florida Pt. 2

2010-04-04T07:40:00.000-07:00

On my second day in Florida, we went to Wakodahatchee Wetlands, a boardwalk in a marsh. Within feet of the entrance to the boardwalk we saw black and white-warbler on a tree so close to us that I could almost touch it.
A Purple Gallinule was the next interesting bird we saw. These look like common moorhens, but are more colorful.
The boardwalk also crossed bits of dry land, and these had many palm and yellow-rumped warblers.A yellow rump.
A palm warbler.
A pine warbler, I believe. I thought it was interesting that I was more interested in seeing the warblers that I would see in Missouri in a month anyway than looking at the shorebirds you can only see in Florida.That's all for this part. Check back for part 3!

Florida Part 1

2010-03-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

The first birds I saw in Florida were Brown Pelicans, an Osprey, a Laughing Gull, and Ring-billed Gulls. Also, there were Boat-Tailed Grackles and a Palm Warbler in a parking lot. The grackles turned out to be everywhere we went.
Ring-Billed Gull with Laughing Gull in the Background.Pelicans with a gull tail in the foreground.
All the gulls were interested in this bone.This is actually from Wakodahatchee Wetlands, but I didn't get a picture of the other Palm Warbler. More to come!

Florida Pictures Soon!

2010-03-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

I had a great time in Florida, but I have lots of pictures to sort through and edit and convert. However, I'm on Spring Break, so I should have a post ready soon.

Woodcock/Owl Prowl

2010-03-17T18:39:00.001-07:00

No usable pictures from this trip, since it was cold and grey, but I did see a Great Horned Owl on its nest, heard a Barred Owl, and saw and heard several Woodcocks, although it was extremely dark, and they were little more than moving shapes. They called quite often, however. I also saw and heard the Barred Owl at the bridge again this evening, and got a dark, blurry, unrecognizable cell phone picture of its back. I'm heading to Florida tomorrow, so I hope to have an exciting post full of great birds when I get back!

Forest Park Forever Beginner Bird Walk

2010-03-10T18:48:00.000-08:00

Not too many species seen, but it was nice out finally, and there were many more people than usual.
Wood Ducks, male and female. It's hard to believe they're native; they're so exotic looking.
Canada Goose, common, but I thought it was a nice picture. Other species of note were a red-headed woodpecker, great blue heron, and cooper's hawk.
Song Sparrow. There were lots of these around, along with at least one American Tree Sparrow. This is more a testament to Canon's great cameras than about the bird walk. My dial had slipped, and I was shooting on the wrong mod at 1/640. They picture was way too light. However, I shoot in raw, and was able to correct that. The birds are too far away for it to be a graet shot, but I thought the comparison was interesting.Undoctored photo.
Corrected photo. Thank you Canon, and thanks for reading!

Barred Owl

2010-03-06T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today my Grandfather and I biked down to the drainage creek in our neighborhood, and there were some birds moving around, so I went back to my house to get my binoculars. When I got back to the creek, we suddenly hear a Barred Owl calling its who cooks for you call from right over our heads, and another responding from upstream. It eventually poked its head out from a tree that had lost its top, and apparently had a hollow in the top. It then flew upstream, and started doing its jackal-laughing call. (That's how I would describe it.) They nested in a tree extending over our yard one year, but then our neighbors had to cut the tree down, so it is nice to see them again. I'll have a post up later about the Forest Park Forever Beginning Bird Walk I went on today.

Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary

2010-03-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

I headed out to Riverlands this weekend, since it was around 40 degrees. Not at Riverlands. There was a cold wind that that illustrated the fact: It's always colder at RMBS. However, there were some great birds, including a kestrel with a meal, horned larks, Bald Eagles, American White Pelicans, unidentifiable ducks (mergansers of a sort and some possible goldeneyes), geese(greater white-fronted and canada) and gulls.Gulls. I'm going to say the smaller ones are ring-billed and the larger ones are herring. If you want to disagree, you're probably right.
I think this is a Ring-Billed Gull.I thought it was interesting that so many birds could be found close to an industrial area.
This one looks sort of like its winking.Bald Eagles are one of the big draws for this area. As you can see, there are several on the ice in the background.An adult one.You can't really tell, but this is a big flock of pelicans.Greater White-Fronted Geese.
Kestrel with snack. Good Birding!

New Camera!

2010-02-21T15:49:00.000-08:00

I'll have some pictures from Michigan up, but I don't have them right now, so I'll talk instead about my new camera. It is a Canon Rebel XSi/450D. 3.5 frames per second, 12.2 megapixels, and overall a great step up from my Powershot S2 IS. I got a two-lens kit, with the ef-s 18-55 and the ef-s 55-250. The 55-250 is the one I use for birding, and for the price, it is excellent. I am perfectly happy with the image quality and autofocus speed, the only problem is that it is a little short. However, it came with some nice editing software, and I can crop to get some really nice images.
This is a white-throated sparrow, taken in my backyard.This is a chickadee, also from my backyard.
This junco is in a funny pose, I thought.
This eagle, from Forest Park, is dropping the catfish/bullhead it was eating.
I was happy to get a couple of decent flight shots. Ring-Billed Gull.
White-Throated Sparrow. I like to see the green, since it reminds me of spring.
A Northern Flicker from Tower Grove Park.
Finally, I would like to recommend Birdforum to you birders reading this. I joined in June, mainly to ask camera questions, but now I enjoy just browsing the forums and gallery. One of the best features is the Bird Identification Q&A section, where you can get answers to your ID questions as soon as you post them. There are almost 90,000 users from all over the world, and it is a great community! Good Birding!

American Woodcock

2010-02-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

A Woodcock seen at Tower Grove Park.

Beginning Bird Walk

2009-10-06T13:40:00.001-07:00

I'll have some pictures up soon of the Forest Park Beginner Bird Walk on Saturday. The Wild Bird Sanctuary was there mist netting, so I have some nice pictures of birds in the hand.

Michigan

2009-09-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

I saw many new life birds this summer, bringing my life list total up to 129. I don't think these are all my pictures from Michigan, and I'll try to find where I put the others.Scenery along Peterson Road.

Spotted Sandpiper at Peterson Beach.

Least Sandpiper at Peterson Beach.

Least Sandpiper again, Peterson Beach.

This Piping Plover has lots of bands on its legs. The DNR is very active in protecting them.

Empire Bluffs.

Immature Phoebes in a nest under the barn eaves.

Caspian Tern with some gulls at Esch Road.

Female Common Merganser with babies, seen at the Platte River.A Piping Plover. It turns out it was sitting on its chicks.They are really tiny and fluffy.

A Promise of Posts to Come

2009-07-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'm in Michigan, I have seen lots of birds, and I will post more in depth sometime in August when I'm back in St. Louis.

Tower Grove Park Again

2009-05-17T09:00:00.001-07:00

This Thursday, I went to Tower Grove Park in the afternoon. I saw redstarts, magnolia warblers, chestnut-sided warblers, wilson's warblers, and, the highlight, a hooded warbler. I'm afraid I don't have any pictures, but I will soon post about saturday's trip to TGP, which will contain some nice photos.

Tower Grove Park

2009-05-17T08:53:00.000-07:00

A few Sundays ago, I went to Tower Grove Park. Species observed included a summer tanager, black-throated green warbler, kentucky warbler, wood thrush, and common yellowthroat.

Afterwards, I went to Kennedy Forest in Forest park, where there were swainson's thrushes, a northern parula, and a nesting blue-gray gnatcatcher.

Beginner Bird Walk

2009-05-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, I went on the Forest Park Forever Beginner Bird Walk. It is led by very knowledgeable Audubon members, and geared toward beginners. On it, we saw many species, including a ruby-throated hummingbird, white-eyed vireo, eastern kingbird, white-throated sparrow, red-tailed hawk, nashville warbler, magnolia warbler, magnolia warbler, and brown thrasher.

White-eyed vireo

Brown Thrasher

Eastern Kingbird

I think these are the caterpillars that make "tents" in trees
These red-tails were on top of a building across from the park

Yard Birds

2009-05-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

In the fall, and earlier this spring, I observed a seeming lack of migrants in our yard. However, that has changed. I realized that I need to look in the big oak trees in our front yard, instead of the low bushy trees in our backyard. I have been able to see a tennessee warbler, swainson's thrush, male redstart, and many other warblerish birds that only show me their bellies However, there was also a common yellowthroat in the backyard. Earlier this spring, I saw in my yard for the first time white-crowned sparrows.

Also, a pair of robins nested in the holly tree right outside our front window. All the babies have fledged by now.

Another Nice Day

2009-04-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Sunday, I visited Tower Grove Park, and, later, Forest Park. At Tower Grove, in and around the Gaddy Bird Garden, quite a few species were observed. They were as follows: Indigo bunting, white-throated sparrow, white-eyed vireo, gray catbird, field sparrow, cooper's hawk, swainson's thrush, american goldfinch, rose-breasted grosbeak, yellow-rumped warbler, ovenbird, eastern towhee, coopers hawk, gray catbird, and, the highlight of the trip, a Cape May Warbler. In the Cypress Circle area, we saw chipping sparrows, ruby-crowned kinglets, a warbling vireo, and a possible gray-cheeked thrush. Moving on to the Kennedy Forest in Forest Park, we saw blue-gray gnatcatchers, nashville warblers, palm warblers, a northern parula, a tennessee warbler, yellow-rumped warblers, a red-bellied woodpecker, and a 1st spring summer tanager. Of course there were also numerous robins at all locations.

This turtle was right next to the path leading towards the Bird Garden.

This cooper's hawk flew away with something in it's talons, presumably a meal.

This gray catbird was on the edge of the Bird Garden

I hope no one was using this nest!
The molting look suggests that this is the tanagers first spring

Warblers At Last

2009-04-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I went to Kennedy Forest in Forest Park to see what migrants I could find. After seeing some yellow-rumps and a northern parula, we met with another birder who told us where he had seen most of his birds. Going down to a little creek, and there meeting another birder, we saw Indigo Buntings, a swainson's thrush, and tennessee warblers. Meeting the first two birders with yet another, we saw a nashville warbler, and, going off with the second one, saw a rose-breasted grosbeak and a cardinal, both eating from the same tree. I should mention at this point how amazing these birders were at identifying birds by sound. The one we were with heard a white-eyed vireo, and sure enough, after searching a while, there one was. We birded a little while longer, but it had gotten very hot by that point, so we went back to the car after quite a successful trip!

I apologise for the blurriness, but warblers are fast!(A tennessee)

A rose-breasted grosbeak

This is a tree growing in another tree. I believe it has something to do with the Osage.I hope your spring migration is going well!

Owls And Others

2009-04-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

Tower Grove Park on 4/18. Many species were seen, with the highlight being three Great Horned Owls. Also seen were white-throated sparrows, eastern towhees, hermit thrushes, winter wrens, a probable white-eyed vireo, brown thrashers, a yellow-bellied sapsucker, a pine warbler, and possibly others.

Hermit Thrush
A winter wren The hermit thrushes were enjoying these berries
The Gaddy Wild Bird Garden
A Great Horned Owl
Female Eastern Towhee

Lots of Robins were bathing in the creek
The Stables
For a warbler, he was pretty cooperative
Entrance to the Gaddy Bird Garden
After seeing them all day, I was glad to finally get a decent picture of a brown thrasher at the end. This weekend, I went to Forest Park twice and Tower Grove Park once, so expect a springy post full of warblers soon!

Prelude to Migration

2009-04-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, I went fishing at Lone Elk Park, and when there were no fish to be caught there, August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. At Lone Elk Park, there were yellow-rumped warblers (this was the first time I had seen them in their breeding plumage), eastern phoebes, including one that flew right among an elk herd, a blue winged teal, mallards, barn swallows, and an unidentified sparrow. At August A. Busch, there were barn swallows, chipping sparrows, goldfinches, field sparrows, bluebirds, dark-eyed juncos, downy woodpeckers, mallards, mourning doves, unidentified hawks, a winter wren, probably some other birds, and, the highlight of the trip, an osprey that dove completely into the water to catch a fish This is a picture taken using a camera with 4x zoom, but believe me, it is an osprey.
Also, on Sunday, a quick trip to the Kennedy Forest in Forest Park led to a nice list: yellow-rumped warbler, yellow-bellied sapsucker, northern cardinal, northern flicker, hermit thrush, white-throated sparrows, a carolina wren, and possibly a few others.Soon, I will have a post full of great pictures that I took on yesterday's trip to Tower Grove Park. It has given me a new target species for this spring: a white-eyed vireo. I am sure I saw one yesterday, but it was such a short glimpse that I don't want to add it to my life list. Oh well, I'll try to see one when migration is in full swing, which, according to my Missouri Department of Conservation calender, is today.

Lots Of Lifers

2009-04-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, I went on the Forest Park Forever Beginner Birdwalk. On it, I saw three new birds: a pied-billed grebe, a barn swallow, and a purple martin. Also, there were mockingbirds, mallards, a sapsucker, song sparrows, a brown creeper, tree swallows, wood ducks, starlings, grackles, and killdeer. On the Friday before last, I went to Shaw Nature Reserve, which is an extension of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, although they are about forty minutes apart. It has a variety of different habitats, and twenty-one or so birds were seen, with two others heard, and a possible winter wren seen. Two new birds for me there were a red-shouldered hawk and an eastern towhee.

I realize that this picture is kind of blurry, but it was so sunny that I could hardly see through my viewfinder.

A red-shouldered hawk. We had hiked quite a ways to the wetlands, and although except for two canadian geese, there were no birds traditionally associated with wetlands, it was nice to see this hawk.
It dropped down to walk by this puddle. Perhaps it was looking for frogs?
There were brown creepers everywhere. They're such adorable little birds!
There were several eastern phoebes around.
The bluebirds were looking spectacular, especially against the brown background

There were lots of bluebird houses. Perhaps this one will be occupied later in the season!
I took this picture of a white-throated sparrow while searching for the eastern towhee.
There were lots of white-breasted nuthatches around, along with many tufted titmice.
I took another picture just like this one when we were here a few years ago. In this area, the noise of the spring peepers is deafening. I will be going to Lone Elk Park next Saturday, primarily for fishing, but since it yielded a solitary sandpiper last fall, you never know.

More Spring

2009-03-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I observed a slightly orange variant house finch in my yard. I believe this is due to malnutrition.

See the green? Spring is on it's way here at least.Also, some cowbird pictures, and a male and female red-winged blackbird. The Missouri Department of Conservation calender has the females returning on the 22nd, so not too far off. It's a great calendar, and predicted my junco arrival to within a couple days.

I think this is a cowbird. I saw it a couple weeks ago, and I assume it is a young male.

Male and female red-winged blackbirds.

The goldfinches are yellowing up!

I hope to soon have a post full of colorful migrants, or at least a description of some colorful migrants. Well, I guess it's a little to early to hope for that, but the weather sure has warmed up here. See you later!

Harbingers Of Spring

2009-03-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

I've just set up a birdbath , and hope it will attract some of the migrants that must be on their way. There were certainly some early migrants to be seen today on the Forest Park Forever Beginner Bird Walk. There were numerous calling red-winged blackbirds, an eastern Phoebe, and several killdeer, along with song sparrows, a red-bellied woodpecker, a yellow-bellied sapsucker, mallards, wood ducks, robins(which sort of belong in the migrants category, but also sort of overwinter), a cooper's hawk, starlings, and common grackles. At home there was a red-winged blackbird, but also a brown-headed cowbird, which also are are supposed to be year round here, but which I don't think I'd seen since last June. Is spring coming to your area? What warbler are you most looking forward to seeing? Post about it!

Bald

2009-03-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a cardinal from my yard this fall. I saw him many times, and he seemed fine, and now I believe he is one of the cardinals that visits my yard, although now with a full head of hair.

Great Backyard Bird Count

2009-02-20T17:48:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed my first GBBC, and even had a life bird and yard bird show up during my counting. The life bird was a sharp-shinned hawk, and the yard birds were pine siskins.

Two pine siskins and a goldfinch.

I also had several red-winged blackbirds.

These next pictures are from an earlier trip to Forest Park

A red-bellied woodpecker. Isn't it funny how many birds (at least the ones that I post about) have hyphens in their names?
A tufted titmouse that was eating some sort of seed. Good birding!

Woodpecker

2009-02-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

This is an unidentified (presumably immature) woodpecker that was in my backyard in Michigan this summer. At least I assume it's a woodpecker. My best guess would be a juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker. While its wing was spread out in an awkward fashion, it did not seem to be injured, and later flew off quite easily.

Any thoughts?

(I posted on the Michigan listserv about this, and it was confirmed to be a juvenile yellow-bellied sapsucker)

Coming Soon To A Blog Near You...

2009-02-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

Saturday or Sunday I can promise you a new post full of information from my Great Backyard Bird Counting!

A Mixed Bag

2009-02-04T17:15:00.000-08:00

In this post you will find some snow pictures from around my house, and some pictures from a trip to Forest Park. That trip netted me a new species: the field sparrow. Also seen were mallards, wood ducks, a juvenile red tailed hawk, song sparrows, american tree sparrows, starlings, white-throated sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, a carolina wren, and an american kestrel.

Various yard birds.

I made this fruit feeder myself. No birds have come to it yet, however.This juvenile cooper's hawk was (I think) eating a road-killed rabbit as I left my neighborhood to go to Forest Park.

A song sparrow in Forest Park.

Wood Ducks. It's hard to believe that they're a fairly common native bird.

American Kestrel.
A juvenile red-tailed hawk.

There were lots of bird's nests visible around the park.

I may be going on an Audubon field trip to Riverlands this weekend, so keep checking back!

Snowbirds

2009-01-29T18:54:00.000-08:00

We have had a lot of snow in our area over the past few days, and the birds were really taking advantage of the feeders. At some points I could count fifteen or so each of white-throated sparrows and dark-eyed juncos, and there were flickers, downys (downies?), carolina wrens, and, surprisingly, grackles and starlings. I will post later with pictures of the snowy scenes, and I encourage you to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count (Feb. 13-16). This will be my first year, and I am looking forward to it!

Did you notice that I changed my title picture?

Powder Valley

2009-01-20T17:33:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I went to Powder Valley nature center, since I heard that siskins and purple finches could be seen there. No purple finches for me, but the pine siskins looked great in the morning light.

There were also cardinals, blue jays, juncos, titmice, chickadees, downy, possibly hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers, along with white-throated sparrows, mourning doves, goldfinches, and an unidentified hawk.

However, the real treat came at the end, when I was walking one of the trails. There was a medium sized brown bird that I followed for a long time (mostly off the trail) until I finally got a good look at it(most of the time it had its back to me). The tail-flicking and rusty wing and tail edges (I'm sure there is a taxonomically correct word for those; possibly coverts?) identified is as a Hermit Thrush, a new bird for me. To end with, here is a picture of a carolina wren I took a week or so ago. They will sit on this chair right beside the kitchen window before going to the feeders.

Riverlands

2009-01-20T17:18:00.000-08:00

These are some pictures from my trip to Riverlands Migratory bird sanctuary. They are trumpeter swans. The gray ones are juveniles. We also had an American White Pelican fly by, and ring-necked ducks, common goldeneyes, american black ducks, mallards, and the gadwall I mentioned in my last post.

A different kind of crossbill.

Doesn't this eagle look like its dirty?

A clean bald eagle.

What's That?

2009-01-12T17:43:00.000-08:00

This is a duck I saw at Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary. It was in a pond full of mallards. Any idea what it is?

Note: The duck in the picture is a gadwall. Thanks to Nisbett Family for that ID.

Michigan

2009-01-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

What a great trip! There was lots of snow, and I saw three new bird species: pine siskin, brown creeper, and red-breasted nuthatch. There were also many other species around, including white-breasted nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, crows, and downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers. One of the biggest surprises was a golden-crowned kinglet. I had assumed that they went south for the winter, but I saw him or her twice in the time I was up there.

Look at all the snow that was up there!

Here are some nice chickadee and titmouse pictures.

Here is a blurry picture of a pileated woodpecker.
White-breasted nuthatch.
Waves at the Frankfort pier.
The sunset on our final day.
My next post will be about a trip to Riverlands Migratory Bird Sanctuary, here in Saint Louis, so keep checking back!

Patience

2009-01-06T19:17:00.000-08:00

Sit tight! As soon as I get my Michigan pictures loaded onto the computer, I can promise you a post full of new and exciting pictures.

See You Later!

2008-12-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

I hope to to be leaving for Michigan today, so this may be the last post you see for a while. However, I hope to have many new adventures to write about when I next post, and several new birds for my life list. See you later!

Quick

2008-12-18T20:22:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post to say that I saw a northern flicker plus the usual suspects in my yard today. I'm off to bed now, so I'm afraid there will be no pictures tonight.

Old Friends

2008-12-17T17:19:00.000-08:00

Today in my yard, there were house sparrows, robins, a downy woodpecker, a carolina wren, white-throated sparrows, juncos, house sparrows, and cardinals. They looked very pretty against the snow that was left over from yesterday. Here is a picture of one of two song sparrows that visited my yard on Monday.

High Hopes

2008-12-16T18:18:00.000-08:00

I will be heading up to Beulah for Christmas, and I have heard tell ( from my relatives up there) that brown creepers have been seen. There is also supposed to be lots of snow up there, and more to come. All was quiet today on the home front, with the usual juncos and white-throated sparrows being observed in the morning, looking under the snow for the seed I had scattered the day before. Now, to tide you over till the next post, here's a picture of a red-bellied woodpecker with a sunflower seed in it's... Bill? Beak? Mandible?

In The Beginning...

2008-12-15T15:28:00.000-08:00

Welcome! This is my first post on my blog, and I hope to have many more. Most of my birding is done in St. Louis, but I also bird in Beulah, Michigan, and occasionally other parts of the country. To start off with, let's have some pictures from my backyard.

A Carolina Chickadee

A White-Throated Sparrow

A Cedar Waxwing

All these pictures were taken with a Canon Powershot S2 IS, Using a 1.7x telephoto lense and a tripod that often will slowly sink to ground, one leg at a time, right when there is a red-bellied woodpecker on my feeder. I really just started birding in late spring of 2008, and look forward to a long time enjoying this hobby. See You Later!