Birds • Page 8

Bird Journal 4/22/24

oops I accidentally saw what my wife got me for my birthday. A bird feeder and some hooks to hang them on. Now I just need to go get a baffle and some feed and we'll see how this goes!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am the most fake. I have (1) terra cotta bowl with water in the backyard. It was $1 at an estate sale. Literally no bath or feeder (yet) or house.

What I do know is that birds prefer the water be clean and that having motion helps, like a fountain or something like that. It's easier for them to see

 

Bird Journal 4/25/2024

Birthday came and went and I finally set up a station. Bought a feeder and some poles on Amazon, then went to Wild Birds Unlimited (yes there's a bird store) and picked up the suet feeder and suet cake. Also got a 20 lb bag of safflower seeds which squirrels and blackbirds apparently don't like.



Only took a few hours for a few cardinals to check out the seed on the left. Since then, cardinals have been coming nonstop for the safflower. Had one finch show up, and chickadees started appearing this morning. A dove tried to land but there isn't enough space for them (good). Only the sparrows have gone for the suet. I'm hoping to get a woodpecker.

Squirrels have been trying nonstop to get to the feed. Most of the time they climb the pole then jump off halfway up. None of them have even tried to go for the one on the left. One tried for the suet feeder but just started swinging around from the cage then gave up. Little bastards!

 

Bird Journal 4/27/24

Backyard Bird Feeder Season is in full swing. Set up a 4th feeder (I have a problem) with a black oil sunflower cylinder seed cake. We've now had the following visitors:

Cardinal
House Sparrow
Carolina Chickadee
White-winged Dove
Northern Mockingbird
Lesser Goldfinch
Black-crested Titmouse

All normal backyard birds, but it's still fun to watch. And yes, I do just stand and watch out the sliding glass door a lot. Still hoping for a woodpecker or maybe some kind of warbler.

 

Bird Journal 4/28/24

Got a second woodpecker at the feeder today! A Ladder-backed Woodpecker visited the suet feeder today. The suet cake is decimated, those damn House Sparrows have been swarming to it.

I start work an hour later than usual tomorrow so I might get up and stop by a nearby park with a bird blind to see if I can catch anything cool. My wife went there with the kid today and there were two old ladies just chilling in camping chairs by the bird blind and she told them about me lol

Hopefully they're there tomorrow so we can be friends

 

Bird Journal 5/2/2024

WILD couple of days at the feeders. The House Finches finally found the safflower feeder and show up one or two at a time and camp there awhile. Mentioned we had a second woodpecker. But there were two birds I just couldn't ID for the life of me.

One was sparrow sized with a green coat and yellow underbelly. At first I thought it was a female goldfinch or some kind of warbler. I posted pics on the local bird ID Facebook group (I know) and they were able to identify it as a female/immature Painted Bunting:



I was stoked because these are back for the summer and I'm hoping to catch a male because they look like this:



Absolutely stunning.

The second bird looked like a sparrow of some sort. It had the white face streaks and the same colors, but its back was much darker and it was bigger than an average sparrow. Given there are like 35 different sparrows in Texas, I couldn't ID it for the life of me. My wife even noticed it before I got up and took pics of it, thinking the same thing (I'm slowly turning her into a casual). I utilized the Facebook group again and was stunned by the answer. Apparently it's a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak:



This is a migratory bird and once again, the males are rather stunning:



It's currently reported as 'rare' in the Merlin app, so it's cool to see them in our own backyard. No offense to the females, but I hope to see the male counterparts to both these species because they're beautiful!

 

@theagentcoma is gonna lose his fucking mind

 

I have to fill my feeder every day. Birds be hungry.

 

damn plane tickets to Oregon are not cheap rn

dude House Sparrows cleaned out my suet cake in like a week, and then the House Finches found the safflower and just started camping. More like House Binches am I right

 

tomorrow is my Big Day. Going to a nature center in the morning, then to a grand opening of a new Wild Birds Unlimited (door prizes, discounts, complementary tacos) then to a state park in the afternoon. Gonna be lit. I'm adding minimum 10 new species tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

oh man yesterday ruled so much. I birded for nearly 5 hours in two different locations. I added 12 new birds to my life list!!!!!!!! Will write more up tomorrow

 

Bird Journal 5/6/2024

This is just a recap of Saturday. I arrived at the Cibolo Nature Center around 9:40 AM and spent nearly three hours there. For the first little bit I only heard new birds but couldn't find any (Yelllow-throated Warbler and Red-eyed Vireo in particular). I then was able to finally spot a male Painted Bunting, although it was immature so the colors weren't as pronounced. Other highlights include:

- getting a really clear view of a Red-shouldered Hawk in the trees
- hearing a Barred Owl
- finding so many new warblers. Yellow Warblers, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, etc. I was overwhelmed at the amount of tiny little yellow birds that were new to me, I'm not sure I even recorded all of them correctly.
- spotted 3-4 Golden-cheeked Warblers, the endangered bird that exclusively breeds in Texas. One landed on a branch right behind me and I followed it for awhile, which led me to several more
- seeing a fox hiding in a tree. when I went to investigate, it retreated into a big hole in the tree
- hearing and eventually spotting a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Let me tell you, if you don't know what this bird sounds like, hearing it in the wild is absolutely baffling. Straight up thought it was a dinosaur. I mean listen to this:

Imagine hearing that in the woods without previous knowledge of it. Apparently it also signals the coming of rain, which sure enough, it started to rain shortly after.

In total, I IDed 8 new birds here. Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S172062246

I then went to the grand opening of a new Wild Birds Unlimited in Boerne, TX. I picked up more feed for my suet feeder (fruits and nuts for the woodpeckers and to keep House Sparrows uninterested) and a hat with a Western Tanager on it. There was complementary beer and tacos courtesy of the brewery next door and a taco truck, respectively. Free lunch!

I then drove about 30 minutes to Guadalupe River State Park. This place actually had two bird blinds, but one was closed due to inclement weather. I spotted a new bird before I even got out of the parking lot - a Black and White Warbler. At the blind it was mostly greedy cowbirds but there were a few hummingbirds and I got my best view yet of a male Painted Bunting. There was also a female Indigo Bunting and I never would have known it if it weren't for a lady also watching at the blind who happened to be the person in charge of maintaining the blinds.

I then trekked into the woods, following a trail into trees so thick I found myself crouching a lot. The bugs were relentless and it was humid as hell and my blood sugar was all over the place but I still found my way to the river and paused there for awhile, enjoying the view. Eventually I decided it was time to go (the wife had agreed to let me take the whole day out and it had been nearly ten hours at this point) but I walked over to at least glance at the cliffs the state park is known for before leaving. While making my way there, I encountered a male and female Summer Tanager. So that was a cool way to end the day!

All in all, I IDed 4 new birds here. Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S172063435

Truly an amazing day. Originally it was meant to be an overnight trip but my wife was alone in the house for the weekend since my sister and brother in law were out of town and she was too scared to be alone at night. I'll do a full overnight trip probably next month.

TLDR: I saw 12 news birds and had free tacos and beer

 

Bird Journal 5/10/24

I love it when I'm at home and I all of a sudden hear a completely unfamiliar birdsong different from all the other backyard birds I've heard a million times before. This morning I heard a lively sing-song tune unfamiliar to me. Grabbed the binocs and noticed a Baltimore Oriole singing it's pleasant song at the very top of my neighbor's tree! A first for me. Guess they're migrating through.

 

Bird Journal 5/19/24

Went out for a few hours this morning to a creek that runs along a golf course. Saw three new birds! Will do more of a write-up later.

 

Write-up of my 5/19 visit:

I went out for a few hours on Sunday to a creek that runs right by a road that borders a golf course. It's where I saw the Belted Kingfisher some months ago and is a pretty good hotspot. I had barely gotten out of my car when a guy pulled up and rolled down the window to ask if I'd seen anything cool. When I told him I just got there, he mentioned that yesterday he saw a Mourning Warbler close to where we were talking. He then pointed out a tree with a cavity in it about 25 feet up and told me there were some baby Barn Owls in there. I thanked him and he went on his way.

Best sighting of the day was easily a Yellow-crowned Night Heron eating a crawdad. They're usually nocturnal feeders so it was cool to see one out and about. Pic for proof:



Further down, another guy (much older) pulled up and rolled down his window. Without speaking he reached over to his passenger seat and showed me his hat with a bird on it (I was wearing my bird hat too). He said he was patrolling up and down the road to find a Wood Duck and I told him I'd keep an eye out. I've seen one there before, and sure enough I spotted a female Wood Duck and her duckling hiding out on a log sometime later.

I heard a bunch of what Merlin IDed as Great Crested Flycatchers but didn't actually get a visual on one until I was on my way back to the car, so that was another new sighting. The only other new bird I saw was a Muscovy Duck, but those are fairly domesticated so it wasn't too crazy of a sighting. Here he is in all his warty glory:



With a male and female Mallard:



Not a bad outing. The best part is the comradery/enthusiasm from other birders, which has been consistent since the beginning of my entry into the hobby. Everyone is always so nice and helpful.

This weekend I'm finally going to go on a short overnight solo trip to bird somewhere nearby. Haven't decided where yet but I want to go somewhere pretty isolated.

Checklist attached: https://ebird.org/checklist/S175717545

 

Had a great trip this weekend. Saw 20 new birds. Follow up post coming soon

 

Bird Journal 5/30/24 - The Great Write-Up

Over the weekend I visited Choke Canyon State Park, located about 1.5 hours south of where I live in San Antonio. It was a quick trip - I left around 1 PM on Sunday and was home by 4 PM the next day. The park is a known location for Green Jays, Roadrunners, and Olive Sparrows - all of which are new to me. On the way down, I stopped at Braunig Lake Park because it was right off the freeway and is a hotspot: Braunig Lake (HOTE 101), Bexar, Texas, United States - eBird Hotspot

The park is mainly a stretch along the shore a mile up and down the entry gates, with pavilions/picnic tables for camping and fishing. They really should rename the park to Grackle Lake because those loud creatures were everywhere and screaming nonstop. Not that I'm not used to them - they're in every parking lot in Texas it seems. Most of what I initially saw were waterfowl that I've spotted before - Great and Snowy Egrets, Double-crested Cormorants, even invasive Egyptian Geese. Purple Martins in the trees, an absolute mob of Black Vultures near the fish cleaning station, several Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers, etc.

I saw three new birds in total out of 20 species. One was a Bullock's Oriole, which I watched fly into a tree to its nest. I caught a glimpse of another one as well. I also saw several Killdeer, common to Texas but new to me. I observed one sitting on its nest right in the middle of a flat area off the road in a bunch of rocks, which I guess they nest on just about any open part of the ground. Lastly was a Green Heron I saw in a tree near the shoreline but couldn't get much closer.

I also walked a short trail loop (I spent most of the time watching from the car as I drove up and down the park) but didn't spot anything other than giant grasshoppers. It was very hot and I was sweating my bug spray off!

Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S177716660

After a few hours I got back on the freeway and headed to Three Rivers, TX - the gateway to the state park. It's a town of about 1,800 people with a HUGE Valero refinery looming just outside the town. I checked into my hotel and was thwarted by visiting the park - it was after office hours and they only take cash/check payment after hours. I resolved to visit first thing the next day and decided to check out the Three Rivers Cemetery - an idea that was suggested to me by a fellow birder on the local Facebook group.

Well, that turned out to be a great spot! I saw five new birds: Vermilion Flycatcher, Curve-billed Thrasher, Brown-crested Flycatcher, Couch's Kingbird, and a Western Kingbird. All in all, 16 total species. I was surprised at how active it was. I suppose it makes sense: plentiful birdbaths, lots of trees, rows of graves to perch on, etc. Cemetery birding might become a new thing for me.

Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S177717515

It was a satisfying start to the short trip - 8 new birds and I hadn't even visited the state park yet! Write-up of the following day in the next post.

 

The next day I made sure to get to the park early because I was under the impression that the bird feeders were filled right at open. However once I went to the bird blind, I was informed by another birder who was there with his sun that they stopped filling the feeders back in March. I always love coming across other birders in the field; we sat and talked for a good 20-25 minutes before they took off. During that time, I did finally get to see a Green Jay, a White-tipped Dove, a Bronzed Cowbird, and a Gray Catbird - all new to me (and the Catbird is supposedly rare for the location). Saw several others but those were the new ones. I walked down to the nearby water and saw some Stilts and Killdeer but nothing new. Merlin did however pick up a Sora and a Groove-billed Ani, but I didn't see either of them.

Another portion of the park was built around a smaller 75 acre lake. Here were hundreds of Common Gallinules, a new species for me. Also saw a Tricolored Heron, a White Ibis and my first Roadrunner. Four more new birds! Egrets, cormorants, whistling ducks, etc were also present. I then walked a trail on foot for quite some time but only picked up Olive Sparrows, though again Merlin teased me with a Great Kiskadee detection.

I visited the blind one more time before I left and caught the barest glimpse of a Northern Bobwhite lurking in the brush and was able to confirm the call via Merlin. I left the main part of the park after that and visited the south unit where the boat ramp is. Added two more birds here: a White-rumped Sandpiper and dozens of Cliff Swallows.

All in all, 20 new species isn't too bad for a one night/one day trip! Highlight was probably the Green Jay and Roadrunner. Also really liked seeing the Oriole. Will definitely visit in the winter when the Jays are more abundant.

Hotspot info: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L284174

 

man I've been so bad at keeping up with this but not for lack of bird tidbits!

I haven't really been on a good bird walk since that out of town visit. I did go on a night bird walk with a bunch of older people to see some night birds but I didn't see or hear anything new, just a bunch of damn bugs.

Also tried to rescue a baby sparrow that had fallen out of its nest at a park but it died :(

Also also my wife got me a bird bath with a little fountain in it for Father's Day

can't think of anything else. Remember to clean your hummingbird feeders often otherwise the hummers can get a fungus that makes their tongues fall out

 

We're going whale watching during our Boston/Portsmouth trip and apparently there's good birding opportunities too

Whale Watch – Granite State Whale Watch Rye, New Hampshire

 

hell yeah, love Rye. Jenness Beach is our preferred beach over Wallis Sands but has much less parking availability.

 

oh nice the entire coast is considered a hotspot, that rules

 

Hope y’all get some awesome encounters! A whale came up to our boat and hung out with us for like 10 minutes in Hawaii and being able to see it under the water and look into each others eyes changed my life.

 

Whales are my irrational fear :(

 

Hell yeah that sounds incredible! My only actual whale watching tour was in San Diego and we didn't see shit but when I went to Alaska we saw SO many whales, not that close but it was still incredible