Bird Photography Weekly

I'm headed out to do a little BIGBY birding this morning. I mostly just need to get out into that cold sunshine, and take a walk under that beautiful blue sky. It's February, and I'm anxious to see what birds come out to play; to breathe in that crisp air; let the stresses of the week soak out into the sidewalks and pathways. For most people, the weekly stresses begin on Monday. Monday is my respite, and I'm grateful for it.

On another note, today is the beginning of another installment of Bird Photography Weekly. These photos were taken last week looking out the windows of the visitor center.

While watching the many birds at the feeder, including House Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Pine Siskins, and Juncos, something caught my eye. I pulled out my bins, and zeroed in on one Junco in particular. There was something wrong - it's tail was way too short. Then I realized, its tail length was just fine, it was just pure white.

Partial albino Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon race)

I never did get a picture that I loved, but these will just have to do. It really was quite pretty.

To see other birds this week, click the link below.

Birding in 2009

My 2009 lists have begun...at a turtle's pace. I am once again doing my year list, as well as a Bigby list (Big Green Big Year). What is the Big Green Big Year? Essentially it is carbon neutral birding. Only walking, biking, or using public transit to watch and enjoy those feathered friends. If you want to follow what I've seen to date, check the birding lists links on the sidebar.

Last year my Bigby list included birds seen in and around walking/biking distance of my home, as well as those birds seen in my work excursions around the park, and a few necessary work trips. This year I am going to limit my Bigby list to only those birds seen in and around my home within walking/biking distance. I know my list will probably be much smaller (of course how can you get much smaller than 71, which is what I saw while Bigbying last lear), but my motivation in doing it this way is to encourage more walking and biking excursions on my days off and to get to know good birding locations right around home-sweet-home. And unlike last year, where I just took what I got, with no goal in mind, this time I'd like to set myself a small goal. To encourage me to get out. So my goal for my Bigby list this year is 75. Small, yes. But having only seen a total of 71 last year, including those seen at work, I think this will be a true challenge. And fun too.

Of course the real purpose for me in doing any kind of birding, is just for the chance to get outside; walking, exploring, watching, listening, breathing...just being in nature. Even if that means nature is my concrete neighborhood.

A Bigby Day

Ok, it wasn't a huge Bigby day. But after not seeing anything new for months, it was very exciting to finally add a new bird to my year and my life list.

For the past month or so, I'd been hearing what sounded like a Mourning Dove, but not a Mourning Dove. The song was all wrong. I was curious, but never took the time to try and figure it out. I scanned the area a time or two, but didn't see anything.

Then the other day I was heading out to the Educational Yurt and heard it again. Again I wondered what it was. But this time it was close. Perched on top of a telephone pole. I had a momentarily excited thought that it might be a Eurasian Collared-dove. I had no idea, really how they sounded, but I knew that it had dark neck-ring. Upon closer inspection I did discover that it was, in fact the collared-dove. But to make doubly sure, I looked up its song, and sure enough, that's what I had.

The images aren't great; the sun was wrong. But you can see its neck-ring.

Though they are quite common in other parts of the country, they are still listed as rare in this area. Though that seems to be changing. They are listed as seen pretty frequently on ebird throughout the year here.

I.D. Me Please

There are so many great ducks out on the pond right now. Here's a sampling of what we've got. Can you identify them all? I spy 6, one of which was new for my life list, so partly I'm wanting other birders to help me verify I've identified them correctly. You should be able to click on the images to enlarge them.



And I added 5 birds to my BIGBY list today.

Walking the Dog

Today was beautiful. Not as cold as it has been. And so since everyone had the day off, my roommate and I took my dog on a walk. My dog was in pure heaven. All those things she smells every time we take this walk were apparently new and exciting. She loved it.

I loved it too. I saw 5 new birds to add to my year list. My bins (at home) are old and cheap, but I'm on a budget so they'll have to do until I get my tax refund back. But they were still enough to id 2 scrub jays, 1 mourning dove, a gazillion robins, a couple black-capped chickadees, 1 flicker, juncos, and of course house sparrows and starlings. Earlier this morning a cassin's finch was singing from the top of the evergreen tree in my yard. So it was a good bigby day.

My roommate even seemed excited about the variety of birds we saw.

Lovely Surprises

As part of my job I have the opportunity to visit local nature centers, classrooms, and other educational facilities to do programs and presentations. Today a co-worker and I had such an opportunity. I decided to use this time - before, during, and after the programs - to do a little Bigbying.

What a rewarding day. In addition to the myriads of Red-winged Blackbirds, and a few American Robins (which always make me happy), an immature Bald Eagle flew into a nearby tree and just hung out there for a while. So I left the class in the hands of my co-worker to take a closer look. It looked like maybe one more year and it would have its adult feathers, but for now, it was looking a bit scraggly. Still, it was awesome to see. This particular nature center is right in the middle of a neighborhood, near an over used, overly polluted river running through the city.

Many communities are making great efforts to clear this river corridor, and make it a nice place for people and wildlife to visit. And it is working in many areas. Obviously, if eagles are visiting, something right must be happening. We also saw a Kestrel, and another hawk (coopers or sharp-shinned) flying by. So with these "top of the food chain" type birds around, that says something good about the habitat.

After work I decided to take my dog on a walk and do a little more Bigbying. Well, there were tons of Starlings, as expected, but to my delight and surprise, I also came across a little group of Dark-eyed Juncos. Now I am embarrassed to say that I have lived in this neighborhood for almost 4 years and never new there were juncos here. And to make it even worse, they were 3 houses down from mine. I just don't usually take my binoculars out with me when I walk my dog in my very busy, cement and asphalt covered neighborhood. I have my BIGBY to thank for that little change in procedure.

Join the Club

I very much enjoy observing nature. Mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, insects - what ever is around. I generally take mental notes of such observances; sometimes I do mark the sighting on a checklist, like for birds. Only one time did I ever join a group with the aim of observing and recording specific data about a species. And although I enjoyed watching, in this case, birds of prey, I found the requirement to record so much data tedious. So I dropped out. I know, what a slacker. But I found that the level of enjoyment I experienced while having to think about and record so much data made the overall experience a chore, rather than a pleasure.

Even my own birding list is filled out very sporadically. I don't keep one year to year, but just keep adding to the one I've had for the past 4 years or so. And I may go for months (and months) without recording a single species, though I have seen several in that time. So what's my point here? My point is that I don't like to jump on band wagons where someone or some organization is relying on information I collect, especially if the information that is requested is more than a simple, "I saw this species here." I don't even record that information for myself.

So, it is quite surprising to me to have found a "cause" to join. Perhaps the simpleness of it is what caught my eye. And what I discovered as I read about this little event, was that I DID want to be more observant and aware of what is around me, when, and how often. So naturally that requires more effort than simply noting "I saw this species here".

The event (and really, its more than an event) is called Big Green Big Year - or BIGBY. Since I don't usually travel great distances to go birding, this is right up my alley. This is, shall we say, environmental birding. Birding by foot, bike, or local transportation. I love it! Cause that's how I do my birding anyway. This just gives me a focus, a purpose to my wanderings. And I figure I can make it as detailed or as simple as I'd like.

So to keep me on track (I tend to lose focus quite easily), I have added a section to my sidebar where I'll keep track of all birds I see - whether traveling, walking, flying, etc. - as well as those that just fit the BIGBY requirements.

I have to say I am quite excited about this. Finally something that I can get into that fits my level of observation, but adds just enough challenge that it pushes me to be a better observer overall.