BY1: The Usual Suspects January 5, 2012
Posted by indigobunting in Uncategorized.trackback
Fat Red Ant just left a “Happy Bird Day” message on my Facebook wall. Apparently, it’s National Bird Day. I didn’t know this. But it seems as good a day as ever to give my first Big Year report.
Of course, there’s little to report. I’ve barely left the house since the turn of the year. I’m on a deadline, and I’ve sequestered myself pretty well. This has limited my birding to occasionally looking out the window at the feeder and seeing birds from the car the few times I’ve been out in it. Went for a walk one day, but it didn’t add much to my count.
And it’s winter, and we’re down to the usual suspects: black-capped chickadee, American goldfinch, European starling, downy woodpecker, house sparrow, northern cardinal, mourning dove, American crow, rock pigeon, Canada goose, blue jay, dark-eyed junco, white-breasted nuthatch, mallard, tufted titmouse. Fifteen.
I’ve seen nary a house finch. They were everywhere at the end of December. Maybe they’re still sleepin’ off New Year’s.
While swinging on December 31, a pileated woodpecker called loudly, quite near me.
I haven’t heard him since.
Route 153 
Do you get snow geese in with your Canadians like we do here? What about hawks? The ever-recorded redtail swoops above my urban backyard all the time.
We get snow geese in the fall during migration (see my previous post, Snow Geese). We get LOTS of hawks. I saw many when I was driving home from Pennsylvania, but I haven’t seen any since January 1!
Way to go — good start, IB.
Apart from Canada goose and house sparrow, I’d have to google all these to see what they look like. You might be starting me off as a birder!