Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Weekend Bird Count

Do you see what I see?
(Click on any of the photos to see them larger.)

Are you talkin' to me?

I was one of many who participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count this past weekend. When I'm home I tend to be on 'bird alert' most of the time anyway, so it was no big deal to notice which species were in the neighborhood for a mere 15 minutes each of the 4 days. If you have youngsters at home, you can make it a fun family affair, like they did at A Gardener in Progress.

above: Dinner for the bushtit family

Here are the birds that visited here (mostly for the suet, some for the lake)...

Friday, Feb 13, 2009
Buffleheads
Bald Eagles
Anna's Hummingbird
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Bushtit
Spotted Towhee (Pacific)
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Song Sparrow

above: Northern flicker on suet feeder, towhee on railing

Saturday, Feb 14
Bald Eagle (they're on the nest all the time now)
Anna's Hummingbird
Red-breasted sapsucker
Northern Flicker
American Crow
Balck-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Spotted Towhee
Dark-eyed Junco
Red-winged Blackbird

above: Red-breasted nuthatch

Sunday, Feb 15
Brandt's Cormorant
Bald Eagle
Anna's Hummingbird
Steller's Jay
American Crow
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Spotted Towhee
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Red-winged Blackbird
Song Sparrow

above: a nervous Stellar's Jay

Monday, Feb 16
Canada Goose
Mallard
Brandt's Cormorant
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Anna's Hummingbird
Red-breassted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker (red-shafted)
Steller's Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Varied Thrush
Spotted Towhee (Pacific)
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Red-winged Blackbird

As of right now, Washington State ranks FIRST in 'States/Provinces reporting the most birds', and in the TOP 10 for 'States/Provinces reporting the most species'. Check out the TOP 10 here.

And as the suns sets on another day, I wish you all happy horizons,

~Aerie-el
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13 comments:

  1. Catherine@AGardenerinProgressFebruary 17, 2009 at 7:30 PM

    You did get some interesting birds to count. I actually thought about how lucky you were to be able to count the Bald Eagle since they are nesting near you. You also got some great pictures. Hopefully next year I'll get some better pictures. My daughter was still counting and taking pictures today, think she might have a new hobby.

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  2. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2009 at 7:49 PM

    Interesting post and that last photo of the sunset and the geese, beautiful. I'm still trying to figure out if I've ever seen a...what was it? Chestnut-backed chickadee...?

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  3. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2009 at 11:34 PM

    Amazing! Your sharp eyes caught them all. What a variety! I'm sure if I put out feeders and paid more attention, I'd notice greater variety than what I do now (crows, chickadees, juncos, jays, flickers and the occasional seagull). Congrats on helping our state vault to the top of the count!

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  4. AnonymousFebruary 17, 2009 at 11:43 PM

    PS Crossed comments! Shouldn't we be asleep instead of reading each others' posts? :) Happy Garden Show to you, whenever you go! I look forward to reading what you saw and loved (or hated).

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  5. MatronFebruary 18, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    Just so wonderful to see the different garden birds that you get out there in the Northwest. In London now, the latest addition to the garden bird is a large green long-tailed parakeet! yes! a parrot! apparently it escaped from captivity about 40 years ago and now is taking over!

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  6. Susan TomlinsonFebruary 18, 2009 at 4:49 AM

    Those are terrific lists for the middle of February. I wish some of those birds would find their way to my backyard.

    I love the little ones best--the bushtits, chickadees, juncos...

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  7. JanFebruary 18, 2009 at 8:15 AM

    Hummingbirds and Eagles! And that beautiful Stellers Jay...I've never seen one before! You had such an amazing variety Aeerial! I participated too...saw my usual, but the pileated woodpecker dropped in too, so I was happy:) I will do a post on that today. I think you had great success with the GBBC!!!

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  8. Corner Gardener SueFebruary 18, 2009 at 7:45 PM

    Awesome pics! I don't have enough different kinds of birds to count them this time of year. I enjoyed looking at yours!

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  9. AnonymousFebruary 18, 2009 at 10:12 PM

    These birdie photos are making me so happy - everyone is simply adorable!!! I've got to set out a suet feeder before it gets warm out and they don't need it anymore!

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  10. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2009 at 9:29 PM

    Whow, great photos you shoot.
    I have never seen this kind of birds in my life. It´s typical for north america nature.It´s a pity, that I havn´t so much time as you have to wait and took that shoots.
    But I know, where I can find it...
    on your blog.best wishes Mike

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  11. Sue SwiftFebruary 21, 2009 at 5:02 AM

    Wow - I'd not even heard of most of your birds.

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  12. Kit Aerie-elFebruary 21, 2009 at 11:33 AM

    Thank you all for your comments! It's fun to see how many people did the GBBC, and the variety of birds in different locations.

    I kept the suet feeder full the whole time, so we saw a lot more birds because of that. And because we're right on a rural lake, we get to see all sorts of birds who pass through, as well as reside here.

    I'm looking forward to catching up on all your blogs after this weekend!

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  13. Corner Gardener SueFebruary 21, 2009 at 8:00 PM

    I love your bird pics, and think my favorites are the one with the woodpecker and robin, and the one with the beautiful stellar jay.

    Silly me, I just notice that I already commented, but since this was more specific, thought I'd go ahead and send it.

    ReplyDelete

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