The morning of Saturday, November 17th dawned cold and clear. It was 6 in the morning, and my dad and I were up and eating breakfast, even though the east was just beginning to glow with the rising sun. I was anticipating a morning of birding Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, TN with the Memphis Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society. I hadn't been out birding in a month and a half, and I was ready to get started.
It was not the best time for birds, though. November is on the border between fall and winter. The trees have (mostly) lost their leaves, but it's not quite cold enough to be winter. The birds notice this, too. The summer residents have gone, the migrants have passed through, but not all the winter residents have arrived yet. November is not known for its "birdiness", but birding is birding, all the same.
We met with the other participants in the amphitheater parking lot at about 7:30. I was surprised at the amount of people there. I was not used to large birding groups, and 24 people seemed like a lot. We broke up into smaller groups, however, with 8 people in each. My group birded the space around the pistol range, as well as the riding stables and Chickasaw Lake.
We had to drive to our destination, and as we followed the group leader, he kept stopping at every bird he saw. He was rather skilled in the art of keeping one hand on the wheel and the other on his binoculars without causing an accident. When we arrived, he lost no time in calling out birds.
"White-throat, White-crowned, Field! Lots of sparrows over here, guys."
Turns out the day was great for sparrows. We saw Savannah, Swamp, White-throated, White-crowned, Song, Field, and Fox. No Vesper Sparrows, though. They're usually seen at that location at this time of year, but we didn't see any. A notable sighting was Gray Catbird. November is pretty late for them, so it was rather unusual.
The brush piles and cotton fields around the pistol range produced many species, including my lifer Winter Wren! I'm pretty excited about that one. One species that failed to show, however, was Lapland Longspur. It's somewhat of a nemesis bird for me, and I was hoping to see one, but we didn't.
After we left the pistol range we headed to the riding stables and Chickasaw Lake. The lake was full of ducks, including Bufflehead, Northern Shoveler, and Gadwall. As well as another lifer: Northern Pintail! We got other new species for our day list as well: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Great Blue Heron.
Around this time my dad checked the time, saw that it was 9:15, and decided that it was time to leave. So we did, and left feeling satisfied with another day of birds, birding, and two lifers. It was pretty fun!
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Guess Whose Birthday it is....
Not mine; my blog's! Yep, on November 7, 2011, this blog was created. Has it really been a year? I haven't posted in a while (sorry!), so I thought I'd post some special never-before-seen photos from recently, and any time in the last year. Here are some:
That's all for now, folks! I hope to be around more in the future.
That's all for now, folks! I hope to be around more in the future.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Hummingbird Migration Celebration
This post is kind of late, so I apologize.
September 7--9 were the dates of the National Audubon Society's annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs, Mississippi. If you've read an earlier post I wrote, you'll know how great Strawberry Plains is. It's even greater in early September, when the hummingbirds are getting ready for their long migration to Central America. The Center's feeders are literally buzzing with hummers. It's like a hummingbird fallout!
The Hummingbird Migration Celebration is the biggest Audubon event in the country, partly because it's so close to Memphis, TN, but mostly because it's so much fun. Strawberry Plains almost feels like a different place, with all the people and tents all around. My favorite was the hummingbird banding tent, where you could see hummingbirds being banded while the banders explained how it was done.
The hummingbirds are caught in traps set up around the feeders. They are basically wire cages with doors that can be pulled shut by an attached fishing line. Once the hummingbirds are caught, they are put in little drawstring mesh bags to wait their turn for banding.
The band is very, very small, which is why I didn't get a photo; the camera wouldn't focus. It is pried open and placed in the banding pliers, which are just pliers with tongs on the end in the exact shape and size of the band. The band is then squeezed shut around the hummingbird's leg. Then the hummingbird is weighed, its fat content measured, and then placed in some lucky little kid's hands to be released. It was really cool.
There were plenty of other tents, including one for the Organization for Bat Conservation. There was a program given by the director, about all kinds of bats. He brought some live bats to show the audience, including the largest bat in the world, the flying fox, which is about the size of a large hare. I had only read about them before, so I was excited by this.
He had also brought a Malaysian fruit bat and a big brown bat, and gave everyone close-up looks of both. It was pretty awesome.
There were also kids' tents, artwork on display, and, to the excitement of my amateur geologist brother, a rock tent. All of them were very interesting, and the festival itself was fun for all.
September 7--9 were the dates of the National Audubon Society's annual Hummingbird Migration Celebration at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center in Holly Springs, Mississippi. If you've read an earlier post I wrote, you'll know how great Strawberry Plains is. It's even greater in early September, when the hummingbirds are getting ready for their long migration to Central America. The Center's feeders are literally buzzing with hummers. It's like a hummingbird fallout!
The Hummingbird Migration Celebration is the biggest Audubon event in the country, partly because it's so close to Memphis, TN, but mostly because it's so much fun. Strawberry Plains almost feels like a different place, with all the people and tents all around. My favorite was the hummingbird banding tent, where you could see hummingbirds being banded while the banders explained how it was done.
The hummingbirds are caught in traps set up around the feeders. They are basically wire cages with doors that can be pulled shut by an attached fishing line. Once the hummingbirds are caught, they are put in little drawstring mesh bags to wait their turn for banding.
The band is very, very small, which is why I didn't get a photo; the camera wouldn't focus. It is pried open and placed in the banding pliers, which are just pliers with tongs on the end in the exact shape and size of the band. The band is then squeezed shut around the hummingbird's leg. Then the hummingbird is weighed, its fat content measured, and then placed in some lucky little kid's hands to be released. It was really cool.
There were plenty of other tents, including one for the Organization for Bat Conservation. There was a program given by the director, about all kinds of bats. He brought some live bats to show the audience, including the largest bat in the world, the flying fox, which is about the size of a large hare. I had only read about them before, so I was excited by this.
 |
| Flying Fox, the largest bat in the world. |
He had also brought a Malaysian fruit bat and a big brown bat, and gave everyone close-up looks of both. It was pretty awesome.
There were also kids' tents, artwork on display, and, to the excitement of my amateur geologist brother, a rock tent. All of them were very interesting, and the festival itself was fun for all.
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Fall Changes
It was officially fall weeks ago, but I've only just started to believe it. Today the high temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit. That's pretty cool for October in the South.
The trees have just started changing colors; their leaves portraying just a hint of yellow, orange, or red. It's actually quite pretty. I went with my youth group to Natchez Trace State Park near Jackson, Tennessee last Saturday, and the trees were especially noticeable. I was going to bring my camera, but unfortunately the memory card is used up and I have to wait a while for the new one. But before the memory card complained that it was full to bursting, I was able to take a few photos of some fall changes in our yard:
The leaves are turning (finally)
The persimmons are ripe!
The grass is going to seed...
And finally, I can wear jeans without melting! :D
The trees have just started changing colors; their leaves portraying just a hint of yellow, orange, or red. It's actually quite pretty. I went with my youth group to Natchez Trace State Park near Jackson, Tennessee last Saturday, and the trees were especially noticeable. I was going to bring my camera, but unfortunately the memory card is used up and I have to wait a while for the new one. But before the memory card complained that it was full to bursting, I was able to take a few photos of some fall changes in our yard:
And finally, I can wear jeans without melting! :D
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Just a Quick Post...
...to let you guys know that I have written another post for the ABA's Young Birder Blog, The Eyrie! I'm really excited about it. Here's the link:
http://birding.typepad.com/youngbirders/2012/09/great-views-of-great-blues-.html
http://birding.typepad.com/youngbirders/2012/09/great-views-of-great-blues-.html
Sunday, September 9, 2012
New Place, New Experiences, New Birds
We just got back from vacation in coastal Alabama! We went with our grandparents, uncle, aunt, and two cousins. The reason we went was to celebrate our grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. We stayed at Fort Morgan Island, a barrier island off of Mobile Bay. We'd never been there before, and all of us but my dad and older brother hadn't been to the beach for about five years. That meant lots of fun, new experiences, and, of course, new birds.
I've always loved Alabama, but I had only been to the northern part of the state before. Southern Alabama is completely different. Firstly, it's way flatter. No mountains there. Not even hills. Secondly, the people talk different. It's still a southern accent, but different somehow. And thirdly, some of the birds are way different as well. It has most of the birds of north Alabama, but also the special birds of the Gulf Coast. So yeah, southern Alabama is awesome.
But just how awesome? Our first peek at that was as we were driving over Mobile Bay. From the bridge you could see the battleship U.S.S. Alabama, which was retired and turned into a museum. My brothers thought it was great, and so did I, but my attention was slightly diverted by pelicans, gulls, egrets everywhere! I was not ready for the Gulf's birdiness (which is a real word, I assure you).
We arrived on Friday, August 31st, but it was too late to do anything but unpack and go to bed at our rental house. On Saturday, we went to the beach bright and early. The sun was shining, the water was just right, and there were shells just waiting to be collected and birds just waiting to be found. I wasted no time kicking off my flip-flops, grabbing my binoculars and camera, and setting off down the beach. I had forgotten to change into my swimsuit, so I couldn't go in the water, but that was all right. I immediately spotted some Sanderlings, which to some are considered too common to be interesting. But you forget, I hadn't been to the beach in five years, so to me, they were a real treat. So were the Laughing Gulls, which believe it or not, was a lifer for me.
Out to sea a little ways, I saw brown pelicans and some terns I identified as both Royal and Common (both of which were lifers!).
I decided to take some notes on the Sanderlings, and followed them a little ways to where I was rewarded with yet another lifer--a Willet! It was very cooperative and did not seem to mind the ecstatic clicking of my camera.
While I'm on the subject of Willet, I will say this. Isn't it funny how sometimes the AOU code for some species are actual names? Like Willet is WILL. Dickcissel is DICK. And Hudsonian Godwit is HUGO. Yeah, I know, that was completely random.
So anyway, we came back to the beach on Sunday and I did something I've always wanted to do--I birded in my swimsuit! No lifers then, though.
Also on Sunday, we went to the famed Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Gulf Shores, AL. We went around midday, so that combined with all the sound we were making meant we didn't see that many birds. We saw Prothonotary Warbler(!), Great Blue Heron, and Royal Tern, among others. We also saw two dead snakes, one of which may have been a copperhead (we couldn't tell--it didn't have a head).
Bon Secour NWR is part of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, and covers over 4,000 acres of maritime forest, beaches, swamps, and dunes. It is home to the endangered Alabama Beach Mouse, and is a nesting site for loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles. The Kemp's ridley is critically endangered, and is only known to nest on the Gulf Coast.
Speaking of endangered animals, I found evidence while at the beach that the BP oil spill is not completely gone. I noticed some black stuff in the tide and asked what it was. My uncle, who had been there before, told me it was the remnants of oil.
Sunday night we took a walk on the beach at night. Wow, it was beautiful. We arrived at sunset, and only when I saw the amazing photo opportunity did I realize I had forgotten the camera. But fortunately, when there's good light, it doesn't matter what camera you use. I used my dad's iPhone. I don't have the photo uploaded yet, but I'll try to get it up here soon.
We looked for ghost crabs and found a whole bucketload of them. The art of ghost crab catching is surprisingly difficult. The crabs are so fast you must be stealthy, quick, and have good eyesight.
Once we had caught about twenty, the scene inside the bucket began to look a little too much like a crab version of the Hunger Games, so we let them go.
Monday morning dawned bright, warm, and, as is so typical of southern Alabama, humid. We went to the fort for which Fort Morgan Island is named, which was used in the War of 1812, the Civil War, and World Wars 1 and 2. It was huge, interesting, and altogether very cool.
On Tuesday we went home. I had only one regret: I had not seen an Anhinga, a bird I had always wanted to see. I was just thinking about this when out the car window, in a wooded swamp, I saw a large, majestic, heronlike bird with a long, thin neck; its black and white wings stretched out to dry. An Anhinga. It wasn't a great look, and only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to put a smile on my badly sunburned face and give me one last lifer before leaving the state I now love even more. Alabama. :-)
I've always loved Alabama, but I had only been to the northern part of the state before. Southern Alabama is completely different. Firstly, it's way flatter. No mountains there. Not even hills. Secondly, the people talk different. It's still a southern accent, but different somehow. And thirdly, some of the birds are way different as well. It has most of the birds of north Alabama, but also the special birds of the Gulf Coast. So yeah, southern Alabama is awesome.
But just how awesome? Our first peek at that was as we were driving over Mobile Bay. From the bridge you could see the battleship U.S.S. Alabama, which was retired and turned into a museum. My brothers thought it was great, and so did I, but my attention was slightly diverted by pelicans, gulls, egrets everywhere! I was not ready for the Gulf's birdiness (which is a real word, I assure you).
We arrived on Friday, August 31st, but it was too late to do anything but unpack and go to bed at our rental house. On Saturday, we went to the beach bright and early. The sun was shining, the water was just right, and there were shells just waiting to be collected and birds just waiting to be found. I wasted no time kicking off my flip-flops, grabbing my binoculars and camera, and setting off down the beach. I had forgotten to change into my swimsuit, so I couldn't go in the water, but that was all right. I immediately spotted some Sanderlings, which to some are considered too common to be interesting. But you forget, I hadn't been to the beach in five years, so to me, they were a real treat. So were the Laughing Gulls, which believe it or not, was a lifer for me.
 |
| Sanderling among seaweed. |
Out to sea a little ways, I saw brown pelicans and some terns I identified as both Royal and Common (both of which were lifers!).
I decided to take some notes on the Sanderlings, and followed them a little ways to where I was rewarded with yet another lifer--a Willet! It was very cooperative and did not seem to mind the ecstatic clicking of my camera.
 |
| My lifer Willet. |
So anyway, we came back to the beach on Sunday and I did something I've always wanted to do--I birded in my swimsuit! No lifers then, though.
Also on Sunday, we went to the famed Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge in Gulf Shores, AL. We went around midday, so that combined with all the sound we were making meant we didn't see that many birds. We saw Prothonotary Warbler(!), Great Blue Heron, and Royal Tern, among others. We also saw two dead snakes, one of which may have been a copperhead (we couldn't tell--it didn't have a head).
 |
| The boardwalk at Bon Secour NWR. |
Bon Secour NWR is part of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, and covers over 4,000 acres of maritime forest, beaches, swamps, and dunes. It is home to the endangered Alabama Beach Mouse, and is a nesting site for loggerhead and Kemp's ridley sea turtles. The Kemp's ridley is critically endangered, and is only known to nest on the Gulf Coast.
Speaking of endangered animals, I found evidence while at the beach that the BP oil spill is not completely gone. I noticed some black stuff in the tide and asked what it was. My uncle, who had been there before, told me it was the remnants of oil.
 |
| Oil in the tide. |
Sunday night we took a walk on the beach at night. Wow, it was beautiful. We arrived at sunset, and only when I saw the amazing photo opportunity did I realize I had forgotten the camera. But fortunately, when there's good light, it doesn't matter what camera you use. I used my dad's iPhone. I don't have the photo uploaded yet, but I'll try to get it up here soon.
We looked for ghost crabs and found a whole bucketload of them. The art of ghost crab catching is surprisingly difficult. The crabs are so fast you must be stealthy, quick, and have good eyesight.
Once we had caught about twenty, the scene inside the bucket began to look a little too much like a crab version of the Hunger Games, so we let them go.
Monday morning dawned bright, warm, and, as is so typical of southern Alabama, humid. We went to the fort for which Fort Morgan Island is named, which was used in the War of 1812, the Civil War, and World Wars 1 and 2. It was huge, interesting, and altogether very cool.
On Tuesday we went home. I had only one regret: I had not seen an Anhinga, a bird I had always wanted to see. I was just thinking about this when out the car window, in a wooded swamp, I saw a large, majestic, heronlike bird with a long, thin neck; its black and white wings stretched out to dry. An Anhinga. It wasn't a great look, and only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough to put a smile on my badly sunburned face and give me one last lifer before leaving the state I now love even more. Alabama. :-)
Friday, August 24, 2012
Photo Update
Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I haven't been around much; it's been pretty busy around here. I thought that you, my patient readers, would like to see what I've been photographing lately, and so here are some photos:
A crape myrtle blossom.
A baby Eastern Kingbird I found in our Rose of Sharon bush.
A really pretty Luna Moth I found.
We saw these black bear claw marks on a beech tree at Strawberry Plains Audubon Center. They're probably about 3 to 5 years old. Black bears usually don't live in Mississippi, so this one was probably passing through.
Well, I hope everyone's having a great rest-of-summer and a great new school year!
A baby Eastern Kingbird I found in our Rose of Sharon bush.
Well, I hope everyone's having a great rest-of-summer and a great new school year!
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