CBC Day 2: In Search of a Few Good Birds

To be standing together in a frosty field, 

looking up into the sky, 

marvelling at birds 

and revelling in the natural world around us, 

was a simple miracle. 

And I wondered why 

we were so rarely able to appreciate it.” 

~ Lynn Thomson, Birding with Yeats: A Mother's Memoir

This is one of the main ponds in my "designated area." On misty days I often find a Bald Eagle perched in one of these trees, but I haven't seen one this week. 

12-17-2020

I went out to check on the birds twice between errands. The birds were waiting. 

MORNING: 

It froze last night. A thin layer of ice formed in my water collection tubs. When I got out to the ponds I saw no ice -- but there were ducks. And the light was much better than yesterday - making some ducks easier to identify. The same ducks were here and I've included a couple of photos.

A few different birds - common birds - showed up that I didn't see yesterday. In fact, the ponds were busy with birds and I am sure I didn't count them all. I still hope for photos of the Blue Jays and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. And there are a few more rare birds I know visit this area that I have neither seen nor heard.

Stay posted. 

AFTERNOON:

There were fewer birds "in view" in the afternoon, but I knew they were in the grass and bushes. I decided to use a tool called pishing.* I learned about this technique on my first CBC. I was told the sound is similar to the sound of a wren and that attracts other birds out to see what is happening. [A link to a video on "pishing" can be found in the notes below.] 

It is important not to use techniques where you call the birds too often or if you believe other birders will also be calling them as you can stress the birds.  And NEVER disturb birds during nesting season!

"Pishing" today worked. A few curious birds came close enough for photos. 

Final list of NEW birds observed:

Greater Yellowlegs

Belted Kingfisher

Ring-billed Gull

White-crowned Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Northern Mockingbird

European Starling

Here are a few of the photos from today:

American Pipit. Pipits are in a group including "Wagtails." If you watch them long enough you will notice they do "wag" their tails up and down.

American Pipit. Same bird - another view.

Female Northern Cardinal. They are quite good at disappearing into the twigs.

Ring-billed Gull. 

American Crow. "Caw"

Northern Mockingbird. So, what's special about mockingbirds?

Yellow-rumped Warbler. It is one of the few birds that can "turn its back" on you and it can still be identified by the yellow spot on its "rump."

Yellow-rumped Warbler. Same bird/different view.

Greater Yellowlegs.

Greater Yellowlegs. Same bird/different view.
How do you tell the difference between a Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs?
 https://www.birdzilla.com/bird-identification/id-skill-development/comparisons-of-similar-bird-species/comparison-of-lesser-and-greater-yellowlegs.html

Sparrow. See how they blend into the leaves at the edge of the road.

Female and Male Northern Cardinal. There are also sparrows and pipits in this shot.

Killdeer. These birds have a distinct look, flight, and call. Even this blurry photo is good enough for iNaturalist. I think of Killdeer as shore birds, but they are found everywhere. I love their big "soulful" eyes.

Killdeer are known for a "broken wing" display used to distract possible threats away from their nest. You can find one here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNG7y0caqj0

Canada Geese. They were "bathing" and so the patter is dripping off of them in this photo.

Note the green patch on the wing of the Green-Winged Teal - the bird on the far left.

Gadwell. They really are lovely birds.

Based on an article*** showing the differences I believe this is a Western Meadowlark. [I could very easily be wrong.]

European Starling. It is an invasive non-native species.

Mystery bird! I know this is a Buteo, but which one? Sometime it is impossible to identify the species. There are useful articles to assist in identifying hawks. ****

I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL WE CAN ALL BE OUT IN A FROSTY FIELD TOGETHER! I HOPE IT IS SOON!

NOTES:

* PISHING:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LI4EwnWavUw There are some other good birding videos on Youtube. This one seemed okay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJI4hGM6LQ4

** Meadowlarks: https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/mlarkdiff.htm

***Identifying raptors: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2016/three-basic-ways-identify-hawks-eagles-falcons-and