When everthing is still white and clean

The early morning after a storm is truly the most beautiful time to be out and about.  I can't help but thank God for allowing us to have these moments when we can do nothing but stand and stare with our mouths opened marveling at such beauty.  The way the snow rest on the Pine trees, and the thinnest of branches have snow clinging to them with such ease. 

There are times when I am amazed how much San and I at times think exactly alike.  Yesterday at home I was going to scan a picture of my husband and I that we took at Hawk Mountain when we went with San and friends.  I have my trusted binoculars as we look for migatory Hawks and Eagles.  All we saw were Turkey Vultures who refused to come over to our side of the mountain.  So we convinced San's cousin to go out a way on a ledge and lay down as though she were dead.  And I know you might not believe this, but sure enough here come the Vultures.  We were able to get some great pictures.  So though miles apart yesterday San and I were remembering similar memorable moments.  

It is almost the same time of year when we saw the covey of Northern Bobwhite.  What is the likelihood that we will see them again??  We will keep you posted.

Moments in Time

There are moments in everyone's life that are forever memorable.  Some good, some not so good.  Whether good or bad, we can recall them with amazing clarity.  My first memorable moment with respect to birding was the time I visited Hawk Mountain Sanctuary with my mom.  As I walked to the back window of the lodge, I was awed by the variety of birds at the bird feeders; birds of every color!  It was beautiful!  That was the catalyst that ignited my bird watching passion.  It was shortly after that that my dad put up a bird feeder in our backyard.  The next memorable moment came when I first saw a Black-capped Chickadee at my feeder.  A more recent memorable moment came when my BFF Ar and I saw, for the first time, 17 Bobwhites march past her deck.  Our visit to Morton on Wednesday gave rise to yet another memorable moment:  that moment when a Chickadee landed in the palm of my hand to feed on the seeds there.  I also had a Downey Woodpecker trying to peck open the peanut right in my hand!  It was an experience like no other, forever memorable.  Having no fear of humans, they were happy to follow us through the park, all the while saying, "May I have some more, please?"  Oh no, I think that was Oliver Twist, but you get the idea. I hope I can encourage all of you to pay a visit there.

Snow Day!

I can't believe it but this is my second snow day off this winter.  Yipee!!!  I love the snow, and my feeders are packed with birds.  My husband is out with his snow thrower (His idea of a great snow day) and I am taking a small break from working from my home computer.  Had to say hello to everyone out there.

We had them eating out of our hands

Awesome...is the best reaction I can come up with.   We went to the Sanctuary with the knowledge that some have had bird's eating out of their hands, but it wasn't until we got there armed with split nuts, sunflower seeds and black oil seeds that we experienced it for ourselves. It was the most wonderful thing.  As San mentioned, you didn't realize that your hands were frozen, because no one wanted to miss out on having the birds literally eat out of our hands.  At one point as we meandered down the muddy paths, the Black capped Chickadees followed us, and we had to keep stopping and hold out our hands so they could snack yet again.  To experience this with my BFF and with our husbands made the day simply fabulous. As we were the last ones to leave the refuge at dusk, the deer were making their way out of the woods for their evening meals.  Whether you are a birder or not, this is definitely something everyone should experience.  I can't wait until we go again. 

Morton National Wildlife Refuge

It is hard enough for us to get together.  That, in part, is the reason for the blog.  It is even harder for us to get together with each other and our husbands at the same time.  We decided that we all wanted to go to Morton together and if one couldn't go, none of us could go.  So....that explains why we ended up going to Morton on a nasty, drizzily day like today.  If we didn't do it today, who knows when the four of us would  be able to get together again.  As soon as we arrived, we forgot that the weather was less than ideal.  There were birds everywhere (already on the list) just waiting for an open palm with some seeds in it.  (More about this in our personal posts.)  This entry is about our mission to search out every bird species that resides year round on Long Island.  While the trip was well worth it to have the birdies eating out of our hands, we didn't net a big return for our Long Island Native Species List.  A thick fog had settled down on the eastern end of Long Island.  Aside from a few ducks quacking in the distance, we saw only one of the possible 25 species that was on our list for Morton today.  We were thrilled to see a lone Herring Gull emerge from the fog!  Even though that was our only bird for the day, we enjoyed the afternoon and look forward to a future visit on a warmer, sunnier day!  Everyone should pay a visit to this area.  Bring your own seed!  (We still haven't seen a Blue Jay together!)

Some great links!

It is obvious that since I am home, sick, I have much time on my hands.  I wanted to share with you some great websites that I discovered in my down time.  The first one is a good all purpose website for anything related to birds and birding.  It is sponsered by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.  The web address is www.allaboutbirds.org. The second website is also connected to Cornell.  Here you can search sightings in any state by county and date.  It will show you who saw what, and where, and when.  You can then print it out to keep with you.  Very cool.  The web address is www.ebird.org.  The last site www.birdpost.com.  At this site you can get a list by county of what birds are in that particular area.  You can print it out and keep it with you.  You are also able to keep an online Life List.  Hope you enjoy them.  I hope I get out of the house soon!

Follow Arsan on Twitter!

Now you can see the latest, up to the minute tweets.  Scroll to the bottom of the blog.  You can also follow Arsan on Twitter.

Monday morning blues...

This morning it is yet another beautiful day.  The sun is just cresting the horizon as I pull my car out of the garage, and I hear the distinctive call of the bird that alluded San and I yesterday afternoon.  I searched the treetops but couldn't find him.  When I went back in the house to get the rest of my things, and as I was leaving again and locking up, the Blue Jay was at my feeder.  Perhaps they only eat in the mornings now and that's why we didn't see one yesterday.  But it's still early in the season, we have alot more birding ahead of us.

Yesterday in our quest to get more birds to come to San's yard we wanted to throw out some bread to encourage our feathered friends to stop by if ever so briefly.  So San of course  has no bread in her house, so she decides to throw out some crackers.  So...she sprinkles out in the front and backyard these wheat-free, gluten-free crackers that don't look in the least bit appetizing.  The only taker was a European Starling, and after a few pecks, he preferred to peck through the dirt instead.  Perhaps San should keep something a little more appetizing on hand if not for her, for the more discriminating tastes of our backyard birds.

When Red, White & Blue are truly Majestic

Saturday morning we woke up to yet another gorgeous day that instantly moves us to thank God for such beauty.  Of course the first thing I do when I go downstairs is to grab my binoculars to see who is having breakfast.  As I gaze in my backyard still blanketed in white snow, I see the brilliant red of a male Northern Cardinal and at last the beautiful blues of a Blue Jay.  Of course this inspires me so I email San to see if we can squeeze some birding time in the afternoon.  But it was not meant to be, San is sick.  Maybe Sunday if the weather holds up.

More Backyard Birding

Unfortunately, circumstances did not permit us to bird, at length, today.  Ar came to visit sick San after her meeting.  We birded from the back window.  We won't be able to do that much anymore, because we have seen and recorded most of the common backyard birds.  Today, the only new bird we saw was a House Sparrow.  It is surprising that it has taken us a few weeks to see one together because House Sparrows are literally everywhere.  We also saw a Dark-Eyed, Slate-Colored Junco.  Of course, we cannot add this bird to our Long Island list since it does not live here all year long.  It only winters on Long Island.  It moves further north in the summer.  One common bird that continues to elude us when we are together is the Blue Jay.  Maybe next time!  Feeling sad that we could only add one new bird to our list, we took a drive to the local shopping center in search of some seagulls that always frequent the area.  There were none!  We cruised through the cemetery thinking that there must be a bird in there.  Not a bird!  Only some Canada Geese, (already on list).  We drove through the neighborhood.  Nothing!  Lastly, we went to the local Pigeon (also known as Rock Dove) hangout.  They didn't disappoint.  Now we have two birds to add to the list!

Whetting Our Appetite!

Sharing a picture that I just received from friends who visited Morton National Wildlife Refuge yesterday.  This is Mickey with a Black Capped Chickadee.  Or "Mick and Chick" for short!  We are looking forward to our visit there soon.

Adding Insult to Injury!

Just arrived home.  As if it wasn't bad enough that they took the old Blue Spruce trees down, they also terminated the beautiful healthy Maple tree between them!  I have a clear view of the neighborhood rooftops now.  However, aside from an occasional Mourning Dove or Pigeon, rooftops do not make great places for birdwatching.  It may look a little more manecured but I can no longer enjoy this tangle of branches coming to life with greenery and wildlife every spring. What should I expect from a neighbor who graveled his entire back yard!  My husband was sympathetic to my sorrow.  He bought me some beautiful roses to cheer me.  :)  Below are the before and after pictures.

Expectation Postponed

Proverbs 13:12 says, "Expectation postponed is making the heart sick...."  In this instance, for me, I was perfectly content in believing that the tree next door was not being taken down.  The stress I experienced a few weeks back was just them securing one of the branches so that it didn't crash through their Magnolia tree.  Or so I told myself.  This morning, however, as I was getting dressed, always with my eyes out the bathroom window to see who might be taking rest on one of the nearby branches, I was horrified to see the "tree terminators" hovering around the old Blue Spruce tree that my dad had planted!  Even as I update this blog, I hear the dreaded whir of the chainsaws.  As I sit here, I feel as if part of my childhood is passing through the woodchipper.  There are certainly many more pressing and devastating problems in the world.  This pales in comparison.  It is still a sad day for me.  At least I still have my memories.  Sharing also lightens the load.  Thanks for listening.

Bird of the Week!

Over the past several years, Bird of the Week has become, I guess you could say, a spring tradition.  Now thanks to technology, Bird of the Week can move into the 21st century.  Gone are the days of popping in the cassette, searching for the correct spot on the tape, listening to a bird call while looking at the picture of the bird from my Peterson's Guide.  Then if we needed to hear it a second time, the process would begin all over again.   And while many of my friends appreciated learning about the birds this way, I look forward to implementing Bird of the Week here on the blog.   As most of my day is spent outdoors, I have opportunity to hear the birds heralding the coming of spring with song.  By about the end of February or the beginning of March, there is enough singing going on that it becomes easy to identify who's singing what if you learn a few of the common songs and calls.  It adds another dimension to bird watching that I hope you will enjoy.  With that said, I will begin Bird of the Week within a week or two.  It will continue for about eight to ten weeks.  Each week I will focus on a bird that can be heard frequently at that particular time, in the Long Island area.  The new posts will appear on Saturday or Sunday of each week.  Listen to the call or song, then go outside and enjoy the symphony!  I will also give tips on how to locate the birds that you (hopefully) are hearing.  Once your ear becomes attuned to these songs, it really enlivens the world around you.  As the weeks progress, I would love to hear from you, to know how you're doing.  So stay tuned.  I look forward to sharing with you our first "Bird of the Week!"

Eagerly awaiting B.O.T.W.

This morning as I left for work I could hear the American Goldfinch happily chatting in the Oak trees in my backyard.  I heard Canada Geese flying above.  On my drive this morning I saw a few American Crows having breakfast along side the road.  Lots of activity, lots of bird calls, but what I want to know is what is the Bird of the Week?  Well San??? 

Who knew?

You learn something new every day!  Just found out that a group of geese on the ground is called a gaggle.  (I knew that!)  A group of geese in the air is called a skein!  (Didn't know that!)  This is courtesy of a Snapple bottle cap.  I checked it out though.  It's true. 

Spent some time with my BFF on another project, but we didn't even see any birds that we could add to our list!  Looking forward to our next birding get together.

Long time no see...

Haven't blogged all week, not sure where the time went.  I must say though living in the northeast definitely has it's advantages.  Thursday morning when all the trees were still covered in snow on a beautiful sunny morning, my Coral barked Japanese Maple was an absolutely radiant contrast against the white snow.   My thistle feeders were full of American Goldfinch and Dark Eyed, Slate colored Junco's.  I was on the lookout for Bob White all day long, but nothing yet.  I will keep you posted.

Caleb Smith State Park Preserve

Our first official birding day was last week.  We never ventured out of the yard!  Today, we began our birding day from the yard, but then we actually traveled to a state park.  It was a beautiful day!  Very cold, but not a cloud in the sky.  Light wind.  Our birding foray that began in the yard, started with a Tufted Titmouse, a House Finch, a Cardinal, and several American Goldfinches.  Once we entered the park, the birds became more vocal but less visible.  There is a great need to brush up on our bird calls!  However, we must both see the bird in order to add it to our list.  The exception might be our quest for owls, but we're not there yet.  As we ventured further into the park, it was unusually quiet.  Not a movement, not a sound.  Once we passed the "Creaking Tree," we spotted a lake.  There must be birds there!!  Nothing unusual here, however, we did find some birds that we could add to our list.  There were some Mute Swans, Canada Geese, and Mallards and American Crows.  Those pictured on the left hand side are:  American Crow; Tufted Titmouse; Mute Swan; Mallard.  Those on the right side are:  House Finch; Cardinal; Canada Goose; American Goldfinch.  Don't forget to visit the following two sites if you are interested in the calls of these birds:  www.birdjam.com/learn.php and www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp.   This excursion has really whetted our appetite for future visits to many of the other parks and preserves on Long Island.  Stay tuned....

A Clear View

In preparation for birding this afternoon with San, my husband cleans the kitchen windows so as to have a clear view of my thistle feeders.  As he moves on to the French doors to our deck he is outside in his pajamas windexing the outside of the doors, but the windex freezes and now what we have is frozen windex all over the doors and we can't see out at all.  Perhaps when it warms up to say a wind chill of 10 we can try and scrape off the windex.  Good idea, bad timing.  

Road kill...

Driving home this afternoon I came across a couple of American Crow feasting on some new road kill.  As gross as this may seem, so it goes in nature.  On the other hand, I did however see some less threatening birds today.  At my kitchen window, my thistle feeders were packed with American Goldfinch and Dark-Eyed Juncos. 

Looking forward to birding tomorrow with my BFF.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning...

Will this Weather lore prove true I thought as I drove to work this morning.  What a beautiful red morning sky.  San and I have tentative plans to 'Bird' this weekend.  Will the snow blanket not only my yard but our plans as well?

As I think about our 'Birding and Bonding' Blog, I can't help but think that for me it's purpose has already been realized.  It's not that we have spent a lot more time in each others company, but I have spent more time with her in my 'Mind's eye'.  I am happy knowing that during the day San is thinking about me as I think of her.  We see birds while apart, with the mental note of the other one not being there to see it with them, so we are constantly in one another thoughts.  We've inspired others to take a closer look at their feathery friends, and they in turn are thinking of us as well.

I also thought of the movie 'Pay it Forward', perhaps this is how San and I can help other friends realize how important it is to stay in touch.

City Bird's

I thought my day in NYC yesterday would afford me the opportunity to see some of our 'City Bird's' however things did not turn out as I anticipated.  I was looking forward to my commute on the LIRR reading a book and glancing out the window for a stray bird here and there.  Alas...that is not how things turned out.  I met up with two colleagues, so the trip in was a mini-meeting.    Not to worry, I still had some Pigeons in my future or so I thought.  Going to my first appointment I used the #1 subway uptown, no Pigeons or animals of any sort (which is a relief when you are underground, those 'animals' aren't on our list of things to see.)  Since I got stuck at my first appointment longer than I anticipated, I had to cab it downtown.  As the cab driver asked if it would be okay to take the West Side Hwy downtown, I thought a ride along the river would be perfect for spotting a few birds.  However I am beginning to believe that the birds in Manhattan, even Pigeons must  have gone south for the day, is it too cold for them???  Not one single bird, is that even remotely possible?  I must say I was quite disappointed.  The trip home afforded no opportunities for it was quite dark when I finally made my way back on the LIRR.  Hopefully San had a better birding day.

We appreciate your feedback!

Thank you all so much for your suggestions.  We will certainly try to implement them into this blog.  One request has been for pictures of the birds we have added to the Long Island Native Species List.  We want all who are interested to become birders too, so we are happy to obilge.  Here are pictures of the first eight birds we added to our list.  In order they are:  White Breasted Nuthatch; American Robin; Black Capped Chickadee; Mourning Dove; Red Bellied Woodpecker; Downy Woodpecker; Song Sparrow; European Starling.

In addition, we would love to include the audio of these birds but do not have that capability yet.  In the meantime, we encourage you to try out a site such as www.birdjam.com/learn.php or www.enature.com/birding/audio.asp. There are many common bird calls that you can listen to right on the website.  Please keep posted for more updates.

Just for the Record

Any posts written in bold type are posts of our joint birding adventures. (The whole purpose of this blog.) Posts in italics are the personal musings of San, whereas the plain type are the personal musings of Ar.

Highs and Lows

Another cold morning, dragging myself out of bed. Then I thought I heard a familiar sound. Could it be? A Song Sparrow; "Maids, maids, maids, put on your tea kettle, ettle, ettle." For me, hearing that song is a harbinger of spring, so despite the cold, I know spring is in the offing.

I was content for about two minutes, until I looked out the bathroom window. There, in my neighbor's yard, stands a Maple tree, with a Blue Spruce on either side. To my horror, it looked as if they were preparing to take one of the Blue Spruce trees down. I am very attached to that old tree. It has afforded me many bird watching opportunities. The most memorable was the morning I saw two Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers for the first time. In addition to that, my dad is the one who helped my neighbor plant that tree about 50 years ago! The thought of coming home later today to find the tree gone was very upsetting. At least I don't have to listen to the chainsaw. That pains me as much as the dentist drilling into my teeth!

Arrived home at about 4:30. To my delight, the tree was still standing! It looks like they were only securing one of the branches. It seems that I worried all day for nothing. How happy I am that my tree got a stay of execution!

Night Watch

Last night was another very cold crisp quiet night sky. Dressed in my husband's hooded Parka, as I grill quesadilla's on the BBQ, I listen for owl's in my backyard. All the while hoping my neighbors don't see me standing out there in the cold wondering what on earth is wrong with me. Alas...no owls last night, perhaps it was too cold for them as well.

It's Monday morning and as I leave for work, the sun is only a distant glow, the moon is still bright and brilliant. I hear birds singing and flitting from one branch to another in the bushes, only dark shadows taunting me to spot them without my BFF. (They know our only rule is that we must spot them together.) I see a tree filled with European Starlings, Common Grackles flying toward the south shore, alas I can't add them to our blog... Now I must work with the knowledge that San is out and about today seeing all kinds of wonderful birds. The sun is now a bright red-orange promise of a beautiful day to come. Enjoy the day fellow birders.