Snow Day 2010

American Goldfinch - Out in the Blizzard

What a great snow storm!  The only problem was my husband was out helping a friend.  So I was home alone.  I spent the day working on a puzzle and watching for birds braving the snow and wind.  My Goldfinches turned out to be quite hardy.   

American Goldfinch - Braving the Wind

Blizzard of 2010!

There is nothing like a guilt-free day!  Can't get out of the house and don't want to!  It is in the 20's with a sustained wind in the 30 mph range, with gusts up to 50 mph. 

This has been a difficult month for Birds of a Feather.  It has been so cold and we just have not gotten together to do any birding.  Pretty much the extent of our Bonding has been playing Scrabble over wifi.  I promise we will do some birding as soon as we can.


In the meantime, so you don't think that I've blown off the blog, I am posting some pictures of my backyard during the blizzard.  Most pictures are not that great due to the high wind and blowing snow.  These were the visitors to my yard.

If any other feathered friends come to the yard, I'll add them to the post.  Until next time, which hopefully won't be too long....




Cardinal

 

Downy Woodpecker



Junco in coconut half





 





House Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Blue Jay



White-Throated Sparrow





European Starling





Song Sparrow

 

Red-Bellied Woodpecker



Black-capped Chickadee

 

Alway's on my Mind

I may not be blogging as much as before, but it is always on my mind.  I am always aware of my surroundings as far as looking for opportunities for a bird sighting.  On my way home yesterday I took a shortcut down Maple Avenue.  The pond was packed with fowl, so I turned around to check things out.

I carry my camera most of the time now, because you never know what you might spot.  I was the only one there, so as soon as I parked the Mallards, Seagulls and Snow Geese came crowding around my car.

They were all so cute and docile.  As soon as the realized that all I brought with me was a camera, they soon lost interest.








They were surrounding me at one time and I have never seen a Mallard that close up.  What a marvel of creation.  I used to think how dull the female Mallard was, but she is beautiful as well when you can see the intricacies of color in her muted feathers.

So each and every day we need to be aware of the lives around us, flying above or walking around or even hiding in bushes.

Once all the wildlife saw that I did not come with any tidbits of day old bread, they all too soon lost interest in me.


So they waddle back to their foraging and swimming and just hanging out enjoying the sun on this very cold Autumn day.

What to do for our 1 year Anniversary?

No new adventures to write about, no new bird to add to our list.  I have been home for the past three days, and I haven't seen many birds. 

All the feeders are full, sun was shining but only a stray Downy Woodpecker and a Dark-eyed Junco.

Of course as soon as I got my camera he refused to turn around for me.  But this is a sure sign that winter is just around the corner since Junco's winter on Long Island.  Which means Birds of a Feather will soon be celebrating our one year Anniversary. 

San and I are trying to think of a fitting way to commemorate this special occasion.  We could return to a spot we have visited in the past, or we could go to a new birding spot.  

San is putting together a list of birds we have yet to see here on Long Island.  So the logical choice would be a spot that can afford us the most opportunities to see the many birds that have alluded us all summer.

So we were wondering if any of our fellow birders had any ideas.  Let us know what you think.  I have a few ideas, but I would love to know what all of you think as well.  So leave us a comment and we will keep a list going on our blog.

The Park Before Dark

Once again there never seems to be enough time in the month, week or day!  Having a scant two hours before the sun went down, we went, yet again, to Sunken Meadow State Park.  We were not seriously birding.  Rather, we were just trying to eek out some quality time together.  Besides, it was the last day before the clocks were turned back and we would then have one less hour of daylight in the afternoons.

Our efforts proved serendipitous!  While not actvely birding, we were happy to spot two Great Blue Herons.  These large birds stand four feet tall and live year-round on Long Island.  We are so glad to be able to add a bird to our list.  It's been about two months since we saw the Belted Kingfisher.  Hopefully our next addition will not be months away!

In addition to seeing the Great Blue Herons, we saw the usuals at Sunken Meadow.  These include the Mallards, Herring Gulls and Canada Geese.  There were Double-Crested Cormorants on their rock in the Sunken Meadow Creek.  We saw the usual assortment of song birds.  It turned out to be a wonderful two hours!  Following are a few shots that we took along the way.



Grackles, Grackles everywhere!!!

Each Morning my yard is a sea of black iridescent birds with hundreds more in the treetops.  They are loud and intimidating at times.  This time of year the Common Grackle is out in full force taking over many a backyard. 

You’ll often find Common Grackles in large flocks, flying or foraging on lawns and in agricultural fields. They strut on their long legs, pecking for food rather than scratching. At feeders Common Grackles dominate smaller birds. When resting they sit atop trees or on telephone lines, keeping up a raucous chattering.

Common Grackles are resourceful foragers. They sometimes follow plows to catch invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, pick leeches off the legs of turtles, steal worms from American Robins, raid nests, and kill and eat adult birds.

Grackles have a hard keel on the inside of the upper mandible that they use for sawing open acorns. Typically they score the outside of the narrow end, then bite the acorn open.  Since my yard has an abundance of Oak trees, we have quite the feast for these noisy birds.

I found this fact to be quite interesting.  You might see a Common Grackle hunched over on the ground, wings spread, letting ants crawl over its body and feathers. This is called anting, and grackles are frequent practitioners among the many bird species that do it. The ants secrete formic acid, the chemical in their stings, and this may rid the bird of parasites. In addition to ants, grackles have been seen using walnut juice, lemons and limes, marigold blossoms, chokecherries, and mothballs in a similar fashion.  What a wonder of creation!


In winter, Common Grackles forage and roost in large communal flocks with several different species of blackbird. Sometimes these flocks can number in the millions of individuals.  This explains why there are so many of them this time of year.

Common Grackles are large, noisy, and gregarious birds that often flock with other blackbirds, cowbirds, and starlings, especially in winter. At feeders they tower over other birds and push them aside to get at food. Grackles typically forage on the ground and roost high in trees or on power lines. Common Grackles sometimes nest in loose colonies of up to 200 pairs, showing little territoriality except when nesting in the spring.  No wonder large groups of Grackles are referred to as plagues!

It's about time!

Who ever heard of a birder without a decent camera!?  Well the San part of Arsan finally has gotten up to date.  Here are my first three bird pictures.  A Song Sparrow, a Blue Jay and a Finch.  Can't wait to share more.