Millrace Park

It was a dreary, rainy day yesterday. Okay, not really dreary, but it has been rainy. So, I decided to go out and take a look around a local pond to see what birds were hanging around in the rain.

It was a great gathering:

Double-crested Cormorants and American White Pelicans.

Spotted Sandpiper

Cormorant

Yellow-rumped Warbler (aka butter-butt)

Great Egret

Cormorants and a Snowy Egret

Another butter-butt

And the highlight of the day, a Neotropic Cormorant. 

 I only know this because another birder pointed him out to me.

Bird Photography Weekly

Last summer I found a little lake near my home that had been there forever, I was just too absorbed in other things to pay any attention to it's existence. I'm glad I finally woke up one day, and went in search of it because I've found many wonderful, beautiful birds, fish, and interesting people there.

One of my favorite birds is the Cinnamon Teal. Partly because I see it only occasionally, and partly because it's color is so tasty.

There is no particular story with this bird. Just one of my favorites, seen at a nice close, favorite spot.

Visit Bird Photography Weekly to view other birds or take part in sharing some of your own.

Bird Photography Weekly

I ventured out today, in the freezing cold of the morning, to see what birds might be at the little local lake. I've seen good birds there in the past, so I was looking forward to what might be around.

As I walked the edge of the lake, most of it was frozen on one end, and all I saw were Mallards. I thought, "Well, Mallards are birds, after all".

But as I continued around the lake, I found what I was hoping for. Gazillions of birds out on the open water. My first look through my bins showed me a couple of Northern Pintail. Sweet. Not sure I've seen them before. At any rate, they weren't on my life list, so I was pretty excited about that, 'cause now they are.

Next in sight were more Mallards, a bunch of Gulls, and loads of Canada Geese. As I continued around the snowy pathway, fingers freezing, a stiff wind in my face, I wondered if the journey to the south end of the lake would be worth it. Then I heard a "peep" which I thought sounded like a Killdeer. I like Killdeer, and I hadn't seen one yet this new year, so I kept going. Plus I thought I saw more Pintails, or maybe Northern Shovelers out there as well.

It turns out there were loads of No. Shovelers, a few Gadwall, some Green-winged Teal, and these two lovelies: A Greater Yellowlegs, and a Least Sandpiper - no Killdeer (click the images to enlarge).

Greater Yellowlegs in back, Least Sandpiper in front.

I was pretty excited to see these two and identify them correctly. I wasn't sure of my ID, because shorebirds are not my strong suit. But others from the local listserve confirmed them for me. And I was able to add two more birds to my life list as definite IDs.

The name "Least Sandpiper" certainly fits for that little bird. It looks absolutely minuscule next to the Yellowlegs. I actually didn't see it at first, and was just focusing my pictures on the Yellowlegs until the Sandpiper moved more directly into my field of view.

Hope it's okay to include two birds to this week's Bird Photography Weekly.

Birds are cool. And you can see many more and read other's stories about them by clicking on the link below.

Christmas Bird Count

I was in charge of the Heber Valley CBC this year. It's been years since one has been held in the Heber Valley. I was happy to organize it, and it was a great day. I only have a few picutes, but they are all at work, and I'm at home. So it's just a day of words.

Because the Heber Valley is a mountain valley, when the weather is stormy, it makes it hard to get to. And we had been having storms the week prior to the count on Saturday. But the day of, the weather was beautiful; cold but beautiful. One of the counters started his day at 6 am to look for owls. He said it was -2 F. Brrr.

We didn't have huge numbers of people show to count, but those that did were excited and enthusiastic. Most were new to the CBC. Everyone seemed to have a good time, which is important when outside all day in below freezing temps. One team found three uncommon species for this area. Very cool.

I didn't assign myself to an area with another group, but decided to fill in a few areas that might not get covered. While on my way to pick up the park truck I stopped to look at a bird perched at the very tippy top of a bare branch. Holy cow, it looked like a shrike. We do have them in the area, but I've never seen one up there. When I put my scope on him, I found it was a Northern Shrike. Even cooler! They are even less common than the loggerhead!

I am still working on tallying the numbers and species seen, but so far it looks pretty respectable. Not huge numbers like from some of our bird refuges, but not bad. And this being essentially the first year, it was good to just get out there and see what we could find.

Lots of good birds, beautiful weather, and great people. Not a bad day.

Birding Sites and Bins

I was recently sent an email asking me to check out a website in which a new feature is being added.

The site is The Binocular Site and the new feature is a directory of some of the best birdwatching spots in North America. It's a work in progress so stop by and add either your review of a birding location or a recommendation of a great birding spot they should include.

The main focus of The Binocular Site is on, you guessed it, binoculars. But it is much more than that. You can read reviews and get information on nearly every type and brand of binoculars you could think of from opera glasses to night vision binoculars, compact to giant, and optics for numerous uses from birding to astronomy and everything in between. It really is quite the comprehensive site. After looking over the site myself, and following a few links, I was able to FINALLY decide on a new pair of binoculars. Phew.

Not that I'm in the market for new bins just yet, after all, I just bought a pair less than a year ago. But there are things about my current pair I just don't like. I should have followed my gut in the first place and gone with another pair.

Me and Flat Stanley, doing a little birding together

My work pair is good, they're Nikons, and basically just about anything from Nikon is good. But I don't have a brand or pair yet that I would absolutely buy again and again. For those of you who bird, do you have a brand you swear by?