On my way to pick up Kat at school this afternoon, I took a chance and stopped at the Duck Pond on College Ave. again. First, I SAW THE "FREE-ROAMING" BUNNIES! There were five big giants of some sort (Flemish? they were a medium nutty reddish-brown)--I would've gauged their sizes from very large to huge--like a medium-sized dog. They were not exactly, however, roaming free as that sign had indicated. They were in a hurricane-fenced enclosure that was probably 40x40ish. There were all sorts of little bushes and stumps and rocks and things to vary their terrain, along with some pretty well-worn paths. Interesting. I saw a sign on the enclosure that said something like, "Absolutely no dogs or cats beyond this point." Good idea. Those rabbits might hurt a mere cat or dog!
So I turned away from the bunnies and went to see what was going on at the pond. Lo and behold--a lifer. Along with the 25-30 mallards, those two big black-and-white ducks, 5-6 Canada geese, and a tufted titmouse, I saw a ring-necked duck! I wasn't sure at the time what he was, but I took some notes and made some little drawings of his most distinctive features--his oddly pointed head with dark purplish feathers, very distinctive bill pattern with ring at base of bill tracing down sides to prominent ring around end of bill, dark gold eye, black body with sharply defined white pattern on each side. I came home and checked a few web sites, BT3's Identify Yourself, and my Stokes guide, and I'm confident of my ID. WOW! A lifer! I really had only ever seen the kind of ducks you see on farms (like the black-and-white big couple) or mallards, so this was a real thrill! OF COURSE I didn't have the Nikon! That would've been too simple, and I do mean simple; the ducks at this pond are rather used to road and human traffic. The ducks pretty much stayed right along the edge of the pond next to the back road alongside the pond, so I didn't get out of the car, for fear of spooking them. I had my tiny monocular (8x20) from Surplus Shed, so at least I was able to get a good view. But if I had had the camera--gees!
So I watched the ducks for a while, then got Kat, then came home. Roana Fuller had told me that someone had seen a green-winged teal on the marsh yesterday, so I got out the binocs and the scope and started looking. I was watching some mallards when I saw the red and green head--lifer #2 for the day! A green-winged teal male! I was viewing from the porch window, so I was up higher than usual; still, a photo was next to impossible due to grass, trees, and a setting sun. I'm hoping he's there tomorrow--I'll try to get him on camera! The other birds on the marsh:
Great blue heron--as I was oohing and aahing over the teal, who should float gracefully into scopeview but this heron! HUGE adult. Swept over the ponds and landed among the tall grass, disappearing from sight very near to the tree I saw him perched on several times early last summer.
Belted kingfisher--only one today
Mallard--six
Red-winged blackbird--a million
Eastern starling--just a couple here and there, among the red-wings
Cooper’s or Red-tail? couldn’t see because of branches; he was in the crook of two branches in a tree at the back of the marsh on Penns Creek's banks.
Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal at the feeder, along with some grackles, mourning doves, song sparrows, and red-winged blackbirds. Roana advised that I leave the feeders empty for a couple of days, to try to get the grackles to move on. Keep your fingers crossed.
Wow, what a day! Two lifers to add to my list, and a new bird for the marsh list. I don't believe I've posted the marsh list yet; I think this is everyone, not counting the usual songbirds that hang out at my feeders:
Red-winged blackbirds
Green heron
Great blue heron
Mallards
Cooper's hawk
Red-tailed hawk
Belted kingfisher
American bittern
American black duck
Sora (ID'd by Roana Fuller)
Green-winged teal*
Hooded merganser*
Eastern bluebird
The ones with * are 2007 first-sightings so far. I'm sure there are many more species out there, and I'm hoping to ID them this summer. I was discussing with Roana the idea of erecting a sort-of temporary blind out closer to the ponds, but we decided that a viewing tower might be better. So I might be able to get this by Kat; I'm not sure yet. Either I'll make a tower, or I'll make a treehouse-like platform on top of the crazy uncle house! I need to do a study of just how much wood I have in my workshop; I'm hoping I have enough for some sort of platform. Building it on top of the little house sounds pretty easy, especially given my knowledge of carpentry AND trigonometry! I'll view the whole project as one big word problem, with angles of elevation, 45-45-90 triangles, and a2+b2=c2 (pretend those are exponents--superscript 2s, okay?). Only I'll have to try to keep the words "fell off the roof," "put her foot through the roof," and "several hundred dollars later" OUT of this word problem. I can't see Kat approving of any of those. . . .
So--off to do some trig homework and revel in the glow of a two-lifebird day. As Birdchick would say, WHOOT!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
New bunny disapproval, yard ponds, and bluebirds
I'm only now adding photos to this post from earlier today. I'll start out with our newly bloomed daffodils, who took advantage of 80-ish degree temperatures yesterday to show their stuff:
NEWS: Birdchick has posted a new disapproving rabbits page!
http://birdchick.com/adventures/rabbit/index10.html
All the pages are hilarious, and page 4 includes a photo of Niblet from last summer, when we took him into our enclosed veggie garden! Sweet boy!
All this melting snow and rain have created quite the soggy mess on the marsh and in the backyard, but my backyard is nowhere near as bad as Neighbor Ed's, whose yard now features a nice big pond. This morning, some ducks decided to give it a try. First, the pertinent section of Ed's backyard, then a zoom onto the mallards, whom I didn't want to bother.
Meanwhile, the trig continues. . . . Still, it's easier than algebra was, strangely enough.
This weekend, I'm going to try to go to the upcoming Pennsylvania Bluebird Society Conference! The description states that it will be an "Excellent source of information and advice on Bluebirding for both beginners and those that already maintain Bluebird trails. Lots of tips, ideas and sharing." I'm pumped! I hope I can find some time to go. It's going to be a full weekend, what with Em and spring shopping and Easter bunnies.
There's also a birding club meeting tonight, plus there's something else going on in town called "Strictly for the Birds" -- "The Woodland Owners of Centre County are sponsoring a program on bird calls, bird habits and characteristics, stories of bird watching and tracking the bird's place in the ecosystem. Doug Wentzel, naturalist and program director at Shaver's Creek is guest speaker." Unfortunately, both these events start before I even get out of trig class. I may try to bolt out of there and hit the birding club meeting, arriving not-so-fashionably late. . . .
I just found out about these last two events this morning; I really need to get on some kind of listserv or whatever to keep up with the birding events, so I can plan better.
UPDATE: I didn't get out of trig until about 7:30 (had some questions on double-angle something or others), so I didn't want to interrupt the presentation at the birding meeting. I ended up having coffee with the editor of the community paper I used to write and edit for, Voices of Central Pennsylvania. It's a great little bastion of progressive and responsible reporting on important issues that impact this area, and Suzan Erem taught me a ton about writing and thinking in the time I was editing the environment section of the paper. However, between work and school and family and birding and woodworking and home improvement, something had to give. I miss it, but I'm just too busy to put in the time that paper needs. Still, I made some good friends there, and I helped the paper continue its life in this community.
So--no birding stuff tonight. BUT there are two great things that happened today regarding my birding:
1. A guy in my trig class is a farmer in Penns Valley, and he told me that all the farmers will be putting cow manure on their fields in the next week or so! That means BIRDS! I'm dying to see a horned lark, and I hear they're attracted to freshly pooped fields.
2. I got some great information on local birding hotspots from the State College Birding Club's web site, and I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend looking in some new places. Maybe I'll even spot some warblers--any warbler I see will be a lifer!
One last blog-related note; perhaps you've noticed that this post contains embedded links, which I hadn't been able to use since I switched browsers and computers (PC to Mac). However, I realized that I could just input the html by looking at other embedded links on my old posts, and voila! embedded links! I feel so computer programmy!
NEWS: Birdchick has posted a new disapproving rabbits page!
http://birdchick.com/adventures/rabbit/index10.html
All the pages are hilarious, and page 4 includes a photo of Niblet from last summer, when we took him into our enclosed veggie garden! Sweet boy!
All this melting snow and rain have created quite the soggy mess on the marsh and in the backyard, but my backyard is nowhere near as bad as Neighbor Ed's, whose yard now features a nice big pond. This morning, some ducks decided to give it a try. First, the pertinent section of Ed's backyard, then a zoom onto the mallards, whom I didn't want to bother.
Meanwhile, the trig continues. . . . Still, it's easier than algebra was, strangely enough.
This weekend, I'm going to try to go to the upcoming Pennsylvania Bluebird Society Conference! The description states that it will be an "Excellent source of information and advice on Bluebirding for both beginners and those that already maintain Bluebird trails. Lots of tips, ideas and sharing." I'm pumped! I hope I can find some time to go. It's going to be a full weekend, what with Em and spring shopping and Easter bunnies.
There's also a birding club meeting tonight, plus there's something else going on in town called "Strictly for the Birds" -- "The Woodland Owners of Centre County are sponsoring a program on bird calls, bird habits and characteristics, stories of bird watching and tracking the bird's place in the ecosystem. Doug Wentzel, naturalist and program director at Shaver's Creek is guest speaker." Unfortunately, both these events start before I even get out of trig class. I may try to bolt out of there and hit the birding club meeting, arriving not-so-fashionably late. . . .
I just found out about these last two events this morning; I really need to get on some kind of listserv or whatever to keep up with the birding events, so I can plan better.
UPDATE: I didn't get out of trig until about 7:30 (had some questions on double-angle something or others), so I didn't want to interrupt the presentation at the birding meeting. I ended up having coffee with the editor of the community paper I used to write and edit for, Voices of Central Pennsylvania. It's a great little bastion of progressive and responsible reporting on important issues that impact this area, and Suzan Erem taught me a ton about writing and thinking in the time I was editing the environment section of the paper. However, between work and school and family and birding and woodworking and home improvement, something had to give. I miss it, but I'm just too busy to put in the time that paper needs. Still, I made some good friends there, and I helped the paper continue its life in this community.
So--no birding stuff tonight. BUT there are two great things that happened today regarding my birding:
1. A guy in my trig class is a farmer in Penns Valley, and he told me that all the farmers will be putting cow manure on their fields in the next week or so! That means BIRDS! I'm dying to see a horned lark, and I hear they're attracted to freshly pooped fields.
2. I got some great information on local birding hotspots from the State College Birding Club's web site, and I'm hoping to spend some time this weekend looking in some new places. Maybe I'll even spot some warblers--any warbler I see will be a lifer!
One last blog-related note; perhaps you've noticed that this post contains embedded links, which I hadn't been able to use since I switched browsers and computers (PC to Mac). However, I realized that I could just input the html by looking at other embedded links on my old posts, and voila! embedded links! I feel so computer programmy!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Important marsh updates!
First off, I realize that I've been really neglecting my blog of late; my apologies. I've been busy with my trig midterm, a three-day snot-fest that refuses to give me back my good health, and all kinds of other things. I will try to do better and get on the blog daily, which was my original goal.
Now, to the birding news of the weekend. First, yesterday, I was finally able to get down to this little pond right along College Ave. near downtown; I've passed that pond a million times, but never when I've had a moment to stop. The pond is next to some university housing just east of campus, and the first thing to catch my interest was this sign posted as you drive into the little "complex" (one little apartment structure and some mechanical-looking buildings):
Wow! I'm not sure just where these rabbits came from, or why someone would release domestic rabbits to run wild in an area right near the woods that lead up to Mount Nittany and other wild areas around the city, but I pressed on--slowly!
I was hoping to see something a little more exotic than Canada geese and mallards, but that was pretty much all I saw. Here are some photos I took:
There were two black-and-white ducks, which I'm guessing are "domestic" ducks found on farms and stuff. Note the size differential:
The big guys' quacks were much more like the "quack" you'd hear on a See-and-Say toy than the mallards, whose gentle "mahps" are always kind-of soothing and sweet.
This mallard seemed to be having an irridescence malfunction; perhaps he's not quite mature enough to have all the green head feathers? Or maybe he's very mature and this is what grandpa ducks look like?
There were a few Canada geese as well; it looked like a chiropractor's waiting room here:
Later, on the main north-south street through town, I saw this on the lawn of a local small business:
I guess he'd probably been hit on the street, then had just enough energy to get about 4-5 feet up to safety. Sad. Strangely, though, there was no smell. Maybe he wasn't hit that hard?
Today, the sun was out and the temps were in the 60s! It was a beautiful spring day, most of which I spent napping on the couch while trying to stay awake enough to do my trig homework. Did I mention I got an 80 on my trig midterm? Whew.
About 5:30 I went outside and sat in the backyard, just soaking in the sounds and sights of the marsh in spring: the peepers' insistent calls for mates, the Canada geese's perturbed honks, the distant knocking of a woodpecker searching for food. A lone turkey vulture flew over the marsh, gliding silkily on the wind. As the sun lowered in the sky, the ducks began to appear, coming in low and landing on the marsh ponds. I decided to get a better look at the ponds, so I walked along the road that fronts the marsh.
Last year, all I'd seen on the marsh in the way of ducks was the usual mallard and maybe a few black ducks. This time, however, I saw some mergansers! Now, forgive the photos; it was late in the day, and I was shooting through the binocs while sitting on a guard rail, trying not to get myself killed by passing traffic:
Red-breasted merganser? I tried to get a closer look:
I saw what I believe was a hooded merganser as well, though I couldn't get a shot of him at all. But his little swooshy-back headdress was evident through the binocs.
Next, I watched a belted kingfisher diving after (I'm guessing) little baby frogs and stuff; he's there in the middle of the frame:
I even got him as he was returning from a food-dive, though the focus is pretty bad:
I watched long enough to see a second kingfisher in a nearby tree! Last year, I only saw the one, so this is definitely exciting news! First some mergansers, then two kingfishers! Wow. I can't wait until more species come back; last year, we suspected there might be a rookery of green herons, and we had an American bittern. I guess it's still a little early to see them.
All in all, it was a great day on the marsh. The temperature fell quickly as the sun set, but still--it's obvious that spring is making her grand entrance!
Now, to the birding news of the weekend. First, yesterday, I was finally able to get down to this little pond right along College Ave. near downtown; I've passed that pond a million times, but never when I've had a moment to stop. The pond is next to some university housing just east of campus, and the first thing to catch my interest was this sign posted as you drive into the little "complex" (one little apartment structure and some mechanical-looking buildings):
Wow! I'm not sure just where these rabbits came from, or why someone would release domestic rabbits to run wild in an area right near the woods that lead up to Mount Nittany and other wild areas around the city, but I pressed on--slowly!
I was hoping to see something a little more exotic than Canada geese and mallards, but that was pretty much all I saw. Here are some photos I took:
There were two black-and-white ducks, which I'm guessing are "domestic" ducks found on farms and stuff. Note the size differential:
The big guys' quacks were much more like the "quack" you'd hear on a See-and-Say toy than the mallards, whose gentle "mahps" are always kind-of soothing and sweet.
This mallard seemed to be having an irridescence malfunction; perhaps he's not quite mature enough to have all the green head feathers? Or maybe he's very mature and this is what grandpa ducks look like?
There were a few Canada geese as well; it looked like a chiropractor's waiting room here:
Later, on the main north-south street through town, I saw this on the lawn of a local small business:
I guess he'd probably been hit on the street, then had just enough energy to get about 4-5 feet up to safety. Sad. Strangely, though, there was no smell. Maybe he wasn't hit that hard?
Today, the sun was out and the temps were in the 60s! It was a beautiful spring day, most of which I spent napping on the couch while trying to stay awake enough to do my trig homework. Did I mention I got an 80 on my trig midterm? Whew.
About 5:30 I went outside and sat in the backyard, just soaking in the sounds and sights of the marsh in spring: the peepers' insistent calls for mates, the Canada geese's perturbed honks, the distant knocking of a woodpecker searching for food. A lone turkey vulture flew over the marsh, gliding silkily on the wind. As the sun lowered in the sky, the ducks began to appear, coming in low and landing on the marsh ponds. I decided to get a better look at the ponds, so I walked along the road that fronts the marsh.
Last year, all I'd seen on the marsh in the way of ducks was the usual mallard and maybe a few black ducks. This time, however, I saw some mergansers! Now, forgive the photos; it was late in the day, and I was shooting through the binocs while sitting on a guard rail, trying not to get myself killed by passing traffic:
Red-breasted merganser? I tried to get a closer look:
I saw what I believe was a hooded merganser as well, though I couldn't get a shot of him at all. But his little swooshy-back headdress was evident through the binocs.
Next, I watched a belted kingfisher diving after (I'm guessing) little baby frogs and stuff; he's there in the middle of the frame:
I even got him as he was returning from a food-dive, though the focus is pretty bad:
I watched long enough to see a second kingfisher in a nearby tree! Last year, I only saw the one, so this is definitely exciting news! First some mergansers, then two kingfishers! Wow. I can't wait until more species come back; last year, we suspected there might be a rookery of green herons, and we had an American bittern. I guess it's still a little early to see them.
All in all, it was a great day on the marsh. The temperature fell quickly as the sun set, but still--it's obvious that spring is making her grand entrance!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Bird Bonanza and two lifers!
What an exciting day at the feeders! We're under about six inches of snow, but the sun is out and the sky is a brilliant blue. I'm still stuffy and coughy from my recent cold (which kept me home for three stinkin' days), but I sure could use some sun. Let's go do the FeederWatch count!
The first bird I noticed was a little song sparrow who somehow lost his tail feathers.
Worse yet, the other birds were chasing him away from the feed I'd scattered on the ground. Look at this sweet face; how could they be so mean to him?
He stuck around for the entire two hours I watched; I guess it wasn't a pleasant meal, but it was a meal.
While photographing him, I accidentally caught a bird who'd just taken off:
Not so great focus, but still cool!
And of course, what would spring be without some big old grackles hogging the feeders?
The starlings were also out in force, including these three amigos:
I even saw a white-throated sparrow; I thought they'd all gone north!
Now to the LIFERS!
First, a female red-winged blackbird (I hope!):
I tried to get photos from all angles, to make sure the birding police could check the situation out and approve my ID; can someone stamp my passport, please?
Second, a photo of what I believe to be a fox sparrow--a lifer! Here again, I'll offer my papers; perhaps the proper authorities could direct me to the correct ID?
This guy was rather aggressive under the feeder, and his usual target was our poor little guy with no tail. However, I got this cool photo of him, the female RWblackbird, the no-tail bird, and the white-throated sparrow!
Two lifers in one photo, a bird I thought I wouldn't see again until next winter, and our poor unfortunate tailless sparrow! What a day!
I also got two pretty good close-up photos: a tufted titmouse
and the first American robin to appear in the backyard this season
And what do the kitties have to say about all this bird action?
Did someone say birds?
Leave the bird; take the cannoli.
Let me at 'em!
The first bird I noticed was a little song sparrow who somehow lost his tail feathers.
Worse yet, the other birds were chasing him away from the feed I'd scattered on the ground. Look at this sweet face; how could they be so mean to him?
He stuck around for the entire two hours I watched; I guess it wasn't a pleasant meal, but it was a meal.
While photographing him, I accidentally caught a bird who'd just taken off:
Not so great focus, but still cool!
And of course, what would spring be without some big old grackles hogging the feeders?
The starlings were also out in force, including these three amigos:
I even saw a white-throated sparrow; I thought they'd all gone north!
Now to the LIFERS!
First, a female red-winged blackbird (I hope!):
I tried to get photos from all angles, to make sure the birding police could check the situation out and approve my ID; can someone stamp my passport, please?
Second, a photo of what I believe to be a fox sparrow--a lifer! Here again, I'll offer my papers; perhaps the proper authorities could direct me to the correct ID?
This guy was rather aggressive under the feeder, and his usual target was our poor little guy with no tail. However, I got this cool photo of him, the female RWblackbird, the no-tail bird, and the white-throated sparrow!
Two lifers in one photo, a bird I thought I wouldn't see again until next winter, and our poor unfortunate tailless sparrow! What a day!
I also got two pretty good close-up photos: a tufted titmouse
and the first American robin to appear in the backyard this season
And what do the kitties have to say about all this bird action?
Did someone say birds?
Leave the bird; take the cannoli.
Let me at 'em!
Bird Bonanza and two lifers!
What an exciting day at the feeders! We're under about six inches of snow, but the sun is out and the sky is a brilliant blue. I'm still stuffy and coughy from my recent cold (which kept me home for three stinkin' days), but I sure could use some sun. Let's go do the FeederWatch count!
The first bird I noticed was a little song sparrow who somehow lost his tail feathers.
Worse yet, the other birds were chasing him away from the feed I'd scattered on the ground. Look at this sweet face; how could they be so mean to him?
He stuck around for the entire two hours I watched; I guess it wasn't a pleasant meal, but it was a meal.
While photographing him, I accidentally caught a bird who'd just taken off:
Not so great focus, but still cool!
And of course, what would spring be without some big old grackles hogging the feeders?
The starlings were also out in force, including these three amigos:
I even saw a white-throated sparrow; I thought they'd all gone north!
Now to the LIFERS!
First, a female red-winged blackbird (I hope!):
I tried to get photos from all angles, to make sure the birding police could check the situation out and approve my ID; can someone stamp my passport, please?
Second, a photo of what I believe to be a fox sparrow--a lifer! Here again, I'll offer my papers; perhaps the proper authorities could direct me to the correct ID?
This guy was rather aggressive under the feeder, and his usual target was our poor little guy with no tail. However, I got this cool photo of him, the female RWblackbird, the no-tail bird, and the white-throated sparrow!
Two lifers in one photo, a bird I thought I wouldn't see again until next winter, and our poor unfortunate tailless sparrow! What a day!
I also got two pretty good close-up photos: a tufted titmouse
and the first American robin to appear in the backyard this season
And what do the kitties have to say about all this bird action?
Did someone say birds?
Let me at 'em!
Leave the bird; take the cannoli.
The first bird I noticed was a little song sparrow who somehow lost his tail feathers.
Worse yet, the other birds were chasing him away from the feed I'd scattered on the ground. Look at this sweet face; how could they be so mean to him?
He stuck around for the entire two hours I watched; I guess it wasn't a pleasant meal, but it was a meal.
While photographing him, I accidentally caught a bird who'd just taken off:
Not so great focus, but still cool!
And of course, what would spring be without some big old grackles hogging the feeders?
The starlings were also out in force, including these three amigos:
I even saw a white-throated sparrow; I thought they'd all gone north!
Now to the LIFERS!
First, a female red-winged blackbird (I hope!):
I tried to get photos from all angles, to make sure the birding police could check the situation out and approve my ID; can someone stamp my passport, please?
Second, a photo of what I believe to be a fox sparrow--a lifer! Here again, I'll offer my papers; perhaps the proper authorities could direct me to the correct ID?
This guy was rather aggressive under the feeder, and his usual target was our poor little guy with no tail. However, I got this cool photo of him, the female RWblackbird, the no-tail bird, and the white-throated sparrow!
Two lifers in one photo, a bird I thought I wouldn't see again until next winter, and our poor unfortunate tailless sparrow! What a day!
I also got two pretty good close-up photos: a tufted titmouse
and the first American robin to appear in the backyard this season
And what do the kitties have to say about all this bird action?
Did someone say birds?
Let me at 'em!
Leave the bird; take the cannoli.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Spring is here!
Picture it: temperature in the 40s, a bright sunny day, birdsongs in the air, and red-winged blackbirds visiting my feeders: SPRING IS HERE!
I walked out to fill the feeders and was overwhelmed by birdsong; everyone is feeling spring's life surging in them! All that song study I'd intended to do to prepare for this spring fell by the trigonometry wayside (but I have a B+ right now going into the midterm!), so I was indeed overwhelmed by the whistles, buzzy brrrs, and calls of so many birds who've only just arrived on the marsh. I watched for two hours to get my Project FeederWatch counts, and I realized that the seasons have changed. Some hellos and goodbyes are in order, as today marks my first official sightings and marked absences of the following:
Hello to red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds.
Goodbye to white-throated sparrows and American tree sparrows, whose presence at the feeders will be sorely missed.
I took just a few photos in my song-filled daze. This is the first time I've seen a RWBlackbird at my feeder:
My first digiscope of the spring--I'll leave the vignetting so you can feel my woe at having a camera whose lens just gets farther away from the scope's eyepiece when I zoom it--update: I'll need to replace this pic with the uncropped one later:
A little song sparrow alit on the fence and timidly at first, then growing louder, sang his sweet-sweet-sweet-trilling song, the first song I learned to identify, after he filled his little belly with seed:
And a downy posed briefly for this shot:
What a great morning outside! I definitely need to get on the stick with the birdsong study; this whole "get home and study" thing really gets in the way of that, though!
I hope the weather holds. For the first time since daylight savings time began, I'm happy to be springing forward an hour because it gives me that much more sunlight to birdwatch after work. Trig will just have to wait until after sunset.
I walked out to fill the feeders and was overwhelmed by birdsong; everyone is feeling spring's life surging in them! All that song study I'd intended to do to prepare for this spring fell by the trigonometry wayside (but I have a B+ right now going into the midterm!), so I was indeed overwhelmed by the whistles, buzzy brrrs, and calls of so many birds who've only just arrived on the marsh. I watched for two hours to get my Project FeederWatch counts, and I realized that the seasons have changed. Some hellos and goodbyes are in order, as today marks my first official sightings and marked absences of the following:
Hello to red-winged blackbirds and brown-headed cowbirds.
Goodbye to white-throated sparrows and American tree sparrows, whose presence at the feeders will be sorely missed.
I took just a few photos in my song-filled daze. This is the first time I've seen a RWBlackbird at my feeder:
My first digiscope of the spring--I'll leave the vignetting so you can feel my woe at having a camera whose lens just gets farther away from the scope's eyepiece when I zoom it--update: I'll need to replace this pic with the uncropped one later:
A little song sparrow alit on the fence and timidly at first, then growing louder, sang his sweet-sweet-sweet-trilling song, the first song I learned to identify, after he filled his little belly with seed:
And a downy posed briefly for this shot:
What a great morning outside! I definitely need to get on the stick with the birdsong study; this whole "get home and study" thing really gets in the way of that, though!
I hope the weather holds. For the first time since daylight savings time began, I'm happy to be springing forward an hour because it gives me that much more sunlight to birdwatch after work. Trig will just have to wait until after sunset.
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