Birds • Page 6

Doooooooo it!

 

Bird Journal 2/26/24

Consider this the official write-up from Saturday's bird walk.

I went to a park near the zoo here in San Antonio. The park has so many species that there are 3 different 'hotspots' alone in the location:



Each of those little light green balloons represent a hotspot. I went to the Avenue A location, the red balloon on the left side of that map. It's a dead end road nestled between the golf course and a small creek, so I was hoping to see a wide range of stuff. Had all the usual suspects - wrens, chickadees, cardinals, grackles, etc - plus some local waterfowl like Egyptian Geese and Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks - both rampant on the golf course so nothing special.

Right away I saw a bird perched in a tree by itself and couldn't ID it. I took some terrible photos of it with my phone and posted it in the local bird group later for helping IDing it. Turned out to be a female Red-Winged Blackbird, which you can see is way more drab-looking than the male:



It sort of crossed my mind but also I've only ever seen them in big groups so I wasn't sure. All my walks have been with experienced birders who know what they're about so this time it was just my clueless self. I had the Merlin app in one hand and my binocs in the other as I walked. I was able to get a decent pic of a Golden-Fronted Woodpecker:



Always love seeing these guys. Didn't see much else along the dead end until that Kingfisher I mentioned landed maybe 10 feet away from me, which was really really cool. That thing looks like it should be native to New Zealand or something.

I got in my car and moved to the location further into the park where there were way more people. Here there were basically a bunch of waterfowl that were used to people and I managed to see a few more new birds - Neotropic Cormorants and a Ring-Necked Duck. Waterfowl are cool, but aren't as exciting to me to see, unless it's a really rare bird. Guess I saw too much of that in the 2.5 years I spent in Florida right by the water. Too bad I didn't care then!

Can't wait to go out again. I see the value of going early in the day - less people/noise and the weather is better. All in all, first solo trip was a success!

My final checklist for anyone that cares:

https://ebird.org/checklist/S162820976

 

Bird Journal 2/26/24

You know what the worst part of having a kid is? You go to a park that's a designated eBird hotspot and you hear unfamiliar birds when you're pushing your 2 year old on the swings but you can't just leave her to go ID them with Merlin because 'you shouldn't leave your kids alone' or whatever

it's just not fair

 

Bird Journal 2/27/24

After work I went to a nearby park to see if I could get in an hour of solo birding in. Unfortunately going at like 5 PM isn't the best time, and the weather was warm today so all the birds must have been hiding. Heard some goldfinches and wrens and cardinals, but didn't really see anything except Song Sparrows, Orange-Crowned Warblers, and some Titmice.

I need to go to a damn state park. I need to make a day of it.

 

also the long promised bins....





Vortex Crossfire HD 8x42. Lifetime warranty! Came with a cool neck strap and case. Haven't figured out the chest harness thing yet, that basically requires a Youtube tutorial lol

 

Washington man to plead guilty in 'killing spree' of 3,600 birds, including bald eagles

I have found agentcoma's nemesis

 

"The killing of bald and golden eagles is a violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act."

 

Bird Journal 3/1/2024

There's never a bigger test of my marriage than when my wife sends me screenshots from the birds she's picked up on Merlin and it includes a couple birds I've never seen before. She picked up a Bronze-Headed Cowbird and a Cedar Waxwing while out at an estate sale. She's out here getting new stuff on her bird list while looking for sewing supplies.

anyways I'm going to Cincinnati for a few days this next week, hope to see some cool stuff

 

I went roller blading yesterday because I'm 10 years old and went down to the park and found a red bellied woodpecker. I heard the call and it sounded so abnormal so went towards the tree line separating the park from the lake and found it. Very common apparently but I just love how much more attention I'm paying than I ever have in my life. It's so awesome zeroing in on a bird's call and telling the difference

Can't wait to not be a noob

 

love this for you. there's nothing better than following the sound and actually finding the bird. especially woodpeckers, they have very distinct calls.

 

Bird Journal 3/5/24

Going to Cincy tomorrow. Best thing about going to new places? New birds. It's like traveling to a different city in the Kanto region and seeing new Pokemon. It's all Pidgeys and Rattatas and then BOOM we're in Ekans territory now mfer

anyways hoping to see, among other things:

Tufted Titmouse
Red-bellied Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
Dark-eyed Junco
Eastern Bluebird

will probably end up seeing a goose and a gull instead

 

Bird Journal 3/6/24

I'm in Cincy and all I've seen are some damn ass pigeons

also saw a rat run across the street, which pigeons are rats with wings anyways

it's basically gonna be cloudy this whole time which sucks but I'll not let that stop me!!

 

I BELIEVE IN YOU

 

See if you see any racing pigeons

 

Bird Journal 3/8/24

I've added four new birds to my list in Cincy, including Canada geese lol. Will do a more thorough write-up later. So many woodpeckers!

 

Bird Journal 3/11/2024

Finally submitted my official checklist. I went to Burnet Woods, a park about 10 minutes north of Cincy and right next to the university. After double-checking my recordings, I managed to also locate an Eastern Towhee and a Brown Creeper, bringing my total up to 6 new birds for the trip.

American Robins were everywhere - they are the most common bird in America (I think) so that's not surprising. A Tufted Titmouse is the first new bird I added, though I realized they are also in my area of Texas (rarely) while we get the Black-Crested version more commonly. I heard woodpeckers all over the place and tracked down a Red-bellied woodpecker (new to me) and some Downy ones as well.

Dark-Eyed Juncos were added as well, which are fairly common there. I also spotted an Eastern Towhee in the brush, though I didn't note it until after the fact (I originally thought it was a Spotted Towhee but those are not local to the area. No waterfowl to be found unfortunately.

I did however see Canada Geese down by the riverfront/stadiums.

Visuals of all the new birds I saw:

Brown Creeper



Red-bellied Woodpecker



Tufted Titmouse



Dark-eyed Junco



Eastern Towhee



Link to checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S164412283

 

also lol at this picture my BIL took of me when we got to the hotel. I was tracking a hawk

 

Looks like your BIL was tracking a fox if you know what I mean

 

Bird Journal 3/13/24

So I think I know what I want to do for my birthday and it's the most boomer shit ever. I want to do an overnight trip to a state park or somewhere within reasonable driving distance of San Antonio. I'll do a whole day and night of birding and stay in a cheap hotel or whatever and do some more birding in the morning. There's a pretty big hotspot south of the city (352 species all time) but I want to go further away from the city so it feels like an actual trip if that makes sense.



The lone bright red spot south of SA is Lake Mitchell Audubon Center, which I'll get to someday.

Man, so many bubbles. So many birds. So little time.

 

Bird Journal 3/15/24

Heard some unfamiliar tweeting in the front yard. Opened up Merlin and ID'd a Cedar Waxwing. I know they're common but to this day I still haven't seen one up close, only at a distance and in flight. This one was right above me, but I couldn't fkin find the damn thing.

Ah well, someday soon. Pic for reference:

 

Bird Journal 3/16/24

Dude! Normal boring Saturday errands/stuff to get the baby out and in the parking lot of At Home (a wild store that's like Home Goods/Marshall's/Hobby Lobby all in one) a Crested Caracara flew right overhead. They're not very rare but I still haven't been anywhere that has them. Just goes to show that you're always birding, even when you're not.

Pic for reference. They're called the 'Mexican Eagle':

 

Ever since they trimmed the tree infront of my apartment I stopped getting Woodpeckers and it bums me out.

I would see the smaller Woodpeckers all the time, but occasionally I would see the really cool huge Pileated Woodpeckers that made the loud *swoosh* sound when they took off.

 

Bird Journal 3/20/24

DUDE I was sitting at the dining room table playing a boardgame and I heard bird noises outside (this is at like 9 PM). I whip open the Merlin app, carefully open the sliding door outside, and creep out onto the porch. Lo and behold I hear the call of a Barred Owl in the next door neighbor's tree! I managed to get two rounds of calls recorded, and after the first one you can hear my breath catch in excitement lol I'm such a fkin dork

just wish I could have seen it in the light!

 

My stepmom just posted that she saw one as well! She took a picture in the light and it looks so cool