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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Birding in My Neighborhood

You know how I said there would be new posts soon? Back in December? Yeah, obviously that didn't really go as planned. This poor blog has been neglected and pushed aside lately, and I will admit that procrastination is one of my best friends. But now I'm back, at least for now, to write a little about the place where I spend most of my time: my house and neighborhood.

The back of our house.




 We've lived in north Mississippi for around 3 and a half years, and I have to say that I love it here. When we moved down here from our tiny town in Upstate New York, I knew I'd miss our fifteen acres of woods and meadow, but I was excited to not have to struggle through hip-deep snow for more than half the year.
Our neighborhood in Mississippi is suburban, but with our five acres and large barn we like to imagine we're still out in the country. We used to have chickens (until they all disappeared one night) and soon will again.

And of course, the birds don't often disappoint either. The first bird I saw at our house was a Mississippi Kite, a lifer back in 2010 and now one of my favorite birds. Since then, I've recorded almost a hundred species in our yard and I'm hoping it won't stop there.
Since upgrading to a DSLR camera, I've been exploring my neighborhood even more. I've found a few places to bird and take pictures, and my little brother (let's call him George) has been pretty enthusiastic too.

A stream next to several houses under construction.


A goldfinch at our new feeder. (That isn't snow; our window was just a little dirtier than to be desired)

Snow Geese we spotted flying over our house during the GBBC.
George learning that dedicated birders sometimes have to endure being mauled by thorn bushes. 

Every day, I'm learning that suburban neighborhoods can have more habitats and species than I previously thought.