Day One Great Backyard Bird Count, Lake Wichita Spillway

 

Beautiful clear morning on
Lake Wichita

It was a cold start to the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). I started at the Lake Wichita Spillway, arriving just a few minutes before 8 AM. I admit, it was a little warmer than yesterday and not quite as windy, but the wind off the water this morning was still a bit cold with temps in the 20's.

I only stayed 35 minutes, but saw some good birds., mostly water birds. I haven't found any dead birds in my outings, so hoping the bird flu is staying away from our area.

I saw some ducks that I didn't immediately know so I took a short video. The distance was farther than I would have liked, but it turned out between the poor quality video and my memory of the markings I saw through my binoculars, I was able to identify them as lesser scaups. Their plumage was overall dark, with the base of the bill white, which is not what I am used to seeing. I learn something every day.

All told, I saw 15 species of birds in that 35 minutes, so it was worth getting out in the cold. The birds seen included: green-winged teal, northern shoveler, ruddy duck, mallard, lesser scaup, American coot, Canada goose, white pelican, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, ring-billed gull. northern cardinal, American robin, red-winged blackbird, and great-tailed grackle. I also saw a couple of shorebirds I could not identify. I was looking toward the sun, so they were just black blobs in the general shape of a shorebird. I can tell you several shorebirds I can definitely say they were not, but couldn't be certain of what they were. That happens.

There are still three more days for the #GBBC, so get out and bird. It looks like the afternoons over then next few days are going to be nice. If you want to go with someone, I posted days, locations, and times in my previous post.

Good birding!

Lots of Upcoming Bird Activites

Bird walk at Lake Arrowhead

Most of us have been cooped up for some weeks and are ready to get out and find some birds. There are several opportunities coming up to learn more about the hobby, practice identifying birds, and just enjoy watching their antics.

Since I got interrupted when starting this and didn't get back to editing in a timely fashion, I am leaving off today's Birding 101 class at Smith's Gardentown and the monthly hike at Lucy Park.  I need to do better.

So, let's look at some other opportunities.

First, the monthly bird outing at Lake Arrowhead State Park will be Saturday, Feb 8, beginning at 8 AM. Entry fees to the park apply, so come a little early as you will need to use the self-pay station. The entry is $4 per person, unless you have a park pass. The outing is fairly level and we tend to saunter, so if isn't a strenuous activity. We occasionally have individuals with limited mobility come, so it is doable by pretty much anyone. The route is about 1 mile and may take anywhere from 1 - 2 hours, depending upon the weather and the birds. Meet at the admin building parking lot near the fishing pier.

Next, the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is Feb 14 - 17. You can take part in your yard or a local park for as little as 15 minutes. The idea is to document as many birds as possible in that time. For information about the count and how to submit your information, you can read the instructions here, or if you prefer a better visual, watch this webinar.

If you are new to watching birds, or just want to go with someone, here are some places and times I specifically set aside for this event. I would be happy to have you come along.

• 14 Feb, 8:00 - 8:45 AM, Lake Wichita Spillway (this is a short one as I have another appointment at 9:00)
• 15 Feb, 9:00 - 11:00, Lake Arrowhead State Park. Meet at the same location as for the monthly bird outing.
• 16 Feb, 9:00 - 11:00, Wichita Bluff Nature Area. Meet at the trail head off Seymour Hwy. This is a paved trail, a little more challenging due to the hills. The distance will be around 2 miles.
• 17 Feb, 9:00 - 11:00, Lucy Park, Meet at the 3rd Street entrance parking area. We will be staying on the paved trail which is fairly level. My intent is to walk the trail to the falls and on down behind the MPEC and back. 

You can see there are some opportunities to get out, enjoy being outside, and see some birds.

Good birding!

Purple Martins on the Way!

Purple Martin house at Wild Bird Rescue

Spring is just around the corner, so it's time to get outside. Spring migration is just getting started, and right now at least, the weather is moderating, so it is a good time to check out the birds.

A lot of bird activities are scheduled over the next few weeks, and some other bird-related activities are going on, and I will post about those, but let's start with the arrival of purple martins.

Purple Martins will be coming into town soon. We usually have scouts arriving in early February. The Purple Martin Conservation Association keeps a record of scout reports each year, and a number of reports have already been made. In fact, there is a report already posted on January 16 in North Richland Hills. What does that mean for you? If you have purple martin houses, get them cleaned out and ready. The hard part is keeping out house sparrows and starlings until the purple martins start moving in. You might plug the entrances until you see a scout and then unblock the opening.

I love the robotic sounds of these birds in the summer. Enjoy!

Good birding!

Catching Up on Recent Birding

 Yep. I'm behind. I have actually been out and doing some birding recently, although most has been incidental while walking the dogs. They are not the most patient when it comes to allowing me to look for birds. You can see in the photo at the left, Loki is ready to walk, not stand still and look for birds. This was a beautiful, crisp morning with frost. We did see some nice birds (briefly).

I have seen a lot of birds, even with all the "help" from the dogs.  I didn't post about the bird outing at Lake Arrowhead State Park on the 11th, so I'll start with that. It was a bit nippy when we started (around 26 degrees), but as usual in January, we had some good birds. Nothing special, but a nice variety. We saw Canada goose, white pelican, double-crested cormorant, mallard, green-winged teal, American coot, northern shoveler, killdeer, least sandpiper, ring-billed gull, yellow-shafted and red-shafted flicker, eastern/western meadowlark, Bewick's wren, northern cardinal, northern mockingbird, orange-crowned warbler, fox sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, song sparrow, Harris' sparrow, red-winged blackbird, great-tailed grackle, spotted towhee, dark-eyed junco, American pipit, and house finch.

Most of my birding lately has been at Lake Wichita Park, which is close to my house. Again, because of the dogs, I wasn't able to focus on birding, but still saw some good birds the last couple of weeks. Some notable birds (for me) were a repeat of the black phoebe (this time, at the west end of the pond at the end of the chat trail), a pair of Cooper's hawks talking (they are usually pretty quiet), a couple of long-billed dowitchers, and a great horned owl sitting atop a tree.

The weather is starting to warm up, which means summer won't be far behind, so get out and see the birds before it gets miserably hot!

Good birding!

Bird Outing Saturday, 10 Jan?

View out the window

Snow everywhere. And, as usual, with our severe snow storm (between 1 and 2 inches total), the city is shut down. I don't mind a bit. I don't drive on slick roads.

The picture is the view out my front window this morning. Since the temperatures didn't drop below 32 last night, the streets look clear. We did get more snow overnight, so there is some nice wet snow everywhere else.

As for our monthly bird outing at Lake Arrowhead State Park tomorrow, we'll have to wait and see, but I expect it will be a go. If it is just cold (prediction is 26 degrees in the AM), I will be there. The issue is the ice. With today's high in the low 40's, all of the snow should be melted off, and we'll have clear roads tomorrow. But, if I get up and there is any ice on the road, I will not be venturing out. So, look out your window at 7 AM (about the time I would leave the house). If the roads look clear to you, come on out. If in doubt, stay home if you want to bird with a group.

Good birding!

Book Review: The Healing Wisdom of Birds

 

I mentioned in a previous post that I received several books for Christmas. I have lots of books about birds, so it can be challenging for my family to find something I don't already have.

One of the books I got this year is The Healing Wisdom of Birds by Leslie Morrison. In addition to birds, I have a deep interest in mythology and comparative religion, so this was a good find. It is not a book about the natural history of birds (although there is some information on certain birds scattered throughout the book). Therefore, if your interest lies only in knowing more about bird biology, behavior, and identification, this would not be a good option for you. However, birds have touched human lives and cultures throughout our history. If that interests you, then give this book a read.

The book isn't very long (a little over 200 pages) and is a relatively easy read.

The book discusses the symbology of different birds in history as well as many myths associated with birds and the gods/goddesses they represent. The majority of the book discusses the use of bird feathers in various healing rites. (Keep in mind that it is not legal to have in your possession feathers of any wild bird without a permit--the author did mention she has permits).

I did find the short section on alchemy especially interesting. In most discussion of alchemy the focus is on the chemical transformation of base metals into gold. What I had not seen discussed in other books is the alchemical philosophy on spiritual growth. The various stages of spiritual enlightenment are represented by different birds. For me, this short section was worth the cost of the book.

An interesting read overall. Personally, I would have liked a more in-depth review of mythology and symbology, but as the title says, the focus of the book is healing, so it is appropriate to spend most of the book on the details of that. That part of the book was less interesting to me personally.

As it happens a book arrived in the mail shortly after Christmas on bird symbology, so that's in the TBR pile. I'll review that book later.

Good birding!

Shrike!

Cephas, CC BY-SA 4.0
 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>
 via Wikimedia Commons

 At the 1st Day Hike at Lake Arrowhead State Park we were excited to see a Loggerhead Shrike. For those of you who bird primarily in town, you may have never seen one as they are found in the countryside. They like open spaces for hunting.

The shrike is a beautiful bird, as you can see in the photo to the left. From a distance, it looks like a chunky mockingbird, but you can see it has cleaner lines and the black mask is a giveaway.

These birds are often called "butcher birds" due to their habit of impaling their food on thorns and barbed wire for consumption later. This allows them to capture prey when it is available, hungry or not, and keep it for when food is less available. 

As we walked the trail, we found several bugs impaled on mesquite thorns. I took a picture of a large grasshopper. In addition to this one, we found a smaller grasshopper, a damselfly, and a beetle, handy for a tasty snack. I would think it would be easier to have a larder with all its food together, but then, if some other shrike or bug-eating critter happened by, all of the food would be lost, so spreading out the largesse seems wise. That then brings up the issue of remembering where you put your food. You ever said to yourself, "I'm going to put this here for safekeeping," and then can't remember where you put it? Imagine doing that for multiple items. The damselfly looked a little crispy--perhaps this was one of those put away and forgotten. Of course, it wasn't near as tasty looking as the fat grasshoppers, so perhaps the shrike just chose better options.

Shrikes don't eat only insects and other bugs. They will also eat reptiles, birds, and small mammals. If they can carry it off, they will eat it, and they can carry their own weight in food.

The Texas shrike population has declined more than 76% since 1969. For shrikes, and all birds, please don't poison the invertebrates.  If you're walking out in the country, look for impaled insects and other prey in mesquites, on barbed wire, or in some case, stuffed in a small crevice.

Good birding!

Report Out 1st Day Hikes

Photo courtesy of Lynn Seman

Every January 1st, the state parks host 1st Day Hikes. I attended the hikes at Lake Arrowhead State Park. It was a beautiful, although chilly, day. Bright sunshine and a relatively light wind made it seem warmer.

The earlier hike was on the Dragonfly Trail and the later one on the North Onion Creek Trail. In between there was a gap of time that I used to bird other areas of the park. The earlier hike was not as well attended as the later one (go figure!) As far as birds go, the day was not the best, but I still saw some good birds. In addition, I watched a couple of coyotes and some white-tailed deer.

Birds seen/heard included: Canada goose, gadwall, green-winged teal, northern pintail, northern shoveler, American coot, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, killdeer, ladder-backed woodpecker, black vulture, Carolina chickadee, common yellowthroat, Loggerhead shrike, song sparrow, savannah sparrow, white-crowned sparrow, and a flock of meadowlarks. The meadowlarks could have been eastern or western as both occur in our area.

On the way home, I picked up an American kestrel.

Plan now for next year. Pick a park and plan to attend one of the hikes.  The various hikes are at different times (to include beginning at midnight!), lengths, and difficulty.

Good birding!

New Year Bird Prediction

 

Bernard DUPONT, CC BY-SA 2.0
 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>
via Wikimedia Commons

I have a superstition that the first bird I see on New Year's Day is a predictor of my birding success for the upcoming year. Because of that, I tried very hard not to look at my feeders that morning. I was heading out to a hike later and thought I would likely see a better bird on the way. But motion in yard drew my attention anyway, and there were two birds on one of my feeders--a white-winged dove and a Eurasian collared dove. Just what I was trying to avoid!

I was bummed. I told some of my fellow Texas Master Naturalist members at the hike and one of them said I should look at it that I saw two birds and therefore, that would mean I will see twice as many birds, regardless of the fact that neither of these birds are particularly exciting. I'm going to use their interpretation.

                                                    Good birding!                                                   

Mohan Raj, CC BY-SA 3.0
 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>
 via Wikimedia Commons