Bird Blog: March 2013

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Grrrrrrackle!

I thought I saw them yesterday, but the beaks were yellow (Starlings.) But they showed up at my feeder today....grrrrrackles! (black beak = grackle.)

And then she (he?) showed up to mock me:

I'm glad we put the new bird seed in...but so is Foxy, our resident (fox) squirrel.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

I thought I saw a red winged blackbird on my neighborhood walk earlier. This time I was awakened from a nap by its unmistakable call...but where could they be? There are no bodies of water in my neighborhood, no cattail reeds for them to fly in and out of. They were at my feeder! I just put the new bird seed in (well, not in, but around) and guess who found it?

Walking Around the Neighborhood

Today I saw what looked like a red-winged black bird hanging out with a bunch of starlings:

The noisy starlings, which I first thought were grackles but then learned that if they have yellow beaks they are starlings:

This hilarious mocking bird did the best blue jay impression ever:

And here's another news story about our resident eagles.

Another day of birding in the 'Burgh.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Bald Eagles Move Into My Neighborhood...Within City Limits!

For the first time in what I imagine is a long time, a pair of bald eagles are nesting inside Pittsburgh city limits...in my neighborhood!!

On one of my favorite trails, near my home...past where the Steelers play, the eagles have landed.

I found out yesterday and this morning was up on my bike at sunrise, pedaling down the south side river trail in the hopes of seeing these amazing birds, and I did get lucky. I plan to go back and spend some time there, maybe I'll get to see it soar.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Bath Time!

This morning a cardinal used the bird bath I didn't realize we had...luckily he found it!

Then his lady friend thought she might go for a dip, but ultimately decided against it. Still too cold for her I guess.

Bird Blog

This is my first "big year," only without the travel, running after birds, flying to remote locations, or even being more than a beginner birder, which is why my husband has dubbed it my "not so big year."

I began to be interested in birds 20 years ago, in the early nineties, on a trip to the Florida everglades. I took a tour in Everglades National Park and was enthralled by the bird life. Ibises, storks, flamingos, herons, egrets, cormorants, anhingas. The birds there were so BIG and OBVIOUS, I loved them. I even had to made a special trip to Florida's gulf coast just to see the Roseate Spoonbill .

Up north everything seemed like a sparrow to me. Little, brown, hopping around, nondescript. Or so I thought.
But like everything else, once a little knowledge is gained, birds became interesting. I still can't tell my sparrows apart (other than male house sparrows, which I suppose aren't really sparrows), nor my black capped chickadee from the Carolina chickadee (I live in the zone of overlap), nor the house finch from the purple finch.

But the more I look the better I get and the more fun I have.
Last year I saw a bunch of new birds...like the black skimmers in the picture above and American oystercatchers, all at the beach in North Carolina. I'm hoping to go back this year and see what else I can spot. Maybe even make it down to Florida again at some point.

So here is a blog of my "big year." Perhaps it's just a list of all the birds I see in 2013. Perhaps there's no difference, perhaps there's a big difference, I still don't quite know all the nuances of birding. But I have my binoculars, camera, and BirdPro app ready and it's time to get out there and spot some birds!

(I hope the snow owl comes back to Western PA this year...and if he does that I don't MISS him again!)