Birds
Into April, and the bird numbers are slowing down a bit. I am also breaking one of my rules for bird watching. Normally, I like to see a bird in person before I add it to my lifer list. So, for example, if I just hear a Scarlet Tanager before
Birds
The Thrashers have nested in our front bush again. I believe I’ve mentioned this before. From late February to early May, the Ruby-crowned Kinglets make short order of the suet I put out. The woods near my house are full of migrating warblers as they stop to rest and
Birds
It’s been 15 minutes since I saw the flash of yellow out of the corner of my eye. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve slowly walked up and down the same 10 yards of trail. Off in the distance the laser shot of a Cardinal
Birds
I was around the top of Craggy Gardens along the Blueridge Parkway. It was a bit off the main trail in an open space that ended with some dense scrub. Just then, a small, brilliant-colored bird popped up, sang two cycles of its song, then vanished back into the dense
Birds
There is something intensely personal about finding a bird’s nesting site. Birds work so hard to find a spot that provides protection from the elements and predators that I feel a strange mix of guilt and protection when discovering their nest. One or two birds will typically stick around
Birds
Whew, March was a birdful month! A trip to Harris Neck NWR and Piedmont NWR netting some great finds and I even got a couple of lifers around the Atlanta area. All told I got 27 new birds for the year and six lifers! I’m over halfway to my
Birds
Bachman’s Sparrows are elusive little things. They are a shy bird (as opposed to a Cardinal or Mockingbird) and live only in certain and diminishing habitats. Plus, they are sparrows, a group of birds I’ve struggled to differentiate since I started birding*. Fortunately for me, Piedmont National Wildlife
Birds
We’re getting to the time of year when birds of all shapes and sizes are building their nests to prepare for more birds. Most recently, I’ve seen two Phoebes located around an overhang of a neighbor’s house, some Carolina Wrens building a nest near our house, and
Birds
I’d come to the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge for one bird—the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (more on them in a later post). I saw two or three as I was slowly driving down a forest service road. It’s going to be a birdful day, I thought to myself.
Birds
At some point in February of 2019, I noticed the Phobes were back at it. I checked the front porch, and sure enough, there were the startings of a nest. I sprung into action. Before the birds got down to the serious work of nest building, I set up a
News
Towards the end of the month I managed to get out and about a bit more and caught a handful of new birds for the year. I have a trip planned to South Georiga for the first couple of days of March, so I’m hoping the list expands! The
Birds
Outside of calls and songs, there are certain traits that birds have that can help you quickly identify them. With some, it’s their coloration, like the bright white throat and yellow eyebrows of the White-throated Sparrow. Others, like the Eastern Towhee, scrump along the ground*, kicking up leaves. And