The great backyard bird count

[kambriel]

Today harkens the beginning of the Great Backyard Bird Count, and as a rather proud Robin pranced directly in front of me, I figured it was as good a sign as any to participate.

In just fifteen minutes of gazing outside the office window, we spotted eight different species including:

2 Northern Cardinals
13 American Robins
1 Eastern Towhee
3 American Pipits
1 Northern Mockingbird
2 Mourning Doves
2 Blue Jays
1 American Crow

It's rather easy to participate, since you can add your zip code and it will give you a list (with links to images/sounds/etc...) of the birds likely to be in your area. If you think you might enjoy taking part, the website is: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

We didn't spot any grackles today, but even though they're "common", isn't their iridescent plumage lovely? I actually saw some buttons yesterday that looked like this :)




~ Kambriel

[Kambriel.com ~ Etsy ~ Bluesky]

Comments

[pencat.livejournal.com]

I would wear something made in those colors! :)

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

Absolutely. It's that blackened rainbow lustre...

[meddevi.livejournal.com]

cool! Just reminded me when I was leaving work last night, there were SOOO many crows, like beyond counting.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

I cherish moments like that!

[meddevi.livejournal.com]

Yeap, it was pretty awesome, with the near-full moon, and I looked up as I drove out, and there on the roof with the silhouette of a very large crow with a token in it's mouth, just like that classic image of a crow carrying memory in it's mouth.

[miss-adventure.livejournal.com]

Grackles are lovely and full of cheek. This part of NYC is full of them--they seem to have expanded into the crow niche now that West Nile virus has tragically reduced the local crow populations. (However, the crows up on the Columbia campus were swooping and rolling and calling yesterday, which was the warmest we've had up here since October.)

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

It's 73 here right now... perfect weather. The birds woke me up early with their exuberant celebrating of the oncoming Spring.

At one point last year, I remember looking out to see a couple dozen grackles, so they're definitely in the area ~ and yesterday, we spotted two turkey vultures at the top of a tree looking every bit their massively ominous selves.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

Play the "typical sound" on this page: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black_Vulture/id

Is that not just utterly, perfectly creepy?

[miss-adventure.livejournal.com]

That is an amazing call. I'm sure our buddy Tombstone at the raptor centre can sing it out.

[deathling.livejournal.com]

It sounds like.....death!

[oldhalloween.livejournal.com]

The lack of trees at the new house is making me miss my crows so much. I just tossed out food for the scrub jays and scared the doves when I read this entry. Guess I'll have to wait until later for an accurate count.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

Or you could record, "X number of extremely skittish doves" ;) I'd love to hear what you find later if you try again! We surreptitiously counted them from inside.

Isn't it heartbreaking when you go to feed them, but frighten them off instead? That's what keeps me away much of the time when we spot rabbits having their Zen moments. I'd rather leave them in peace and admire them from afar... With birds, I just figure they'll watch what's going on from their leafy abodes and thickets and come back when the coast is clear.

[caleidescopeyes.livejournal.com]

There's quite the little on-going soap opera in our back garden with the birdies. There's a very tough little robin who can't be bothered with the big wood pigeons, and a whole little flock of bluetits.

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

We've got some rather territorial birds too ~ the sweetest though are a few year-round couples that tend to follow eachother around hopping about to sip water and such.

[mystressprynne.livejournal.com]

Wow! What a nice collection! So many colorful birds! Thanks for posting this. I've seen grackles up close in Central Park, and noticed they were iridescent, but I guess the light wasn't hitting them quite right, because I didn't see all those beautiful colors!

[kambriel.livejournal.com]

We do get colourful birds here, I remember looking out and seeing vibrant reds, yellows, and sapphire blue all at once.

[deathling.livejournal.com]

I just noticed Grackles flocking in my area today. Before today they haven't been around.