Dawns bloggy blog

Catbird at my dining window

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:42:26 PDT

Howdee all,

No~I haven't lost my head..this is not a Catbird. This sweet little Chipping Sparrow is just one of the birds checking out their reflection in our windows.

This Catbird is now a regular visitor..

Hanging out..trying to figure out what this reflection or bird is all about.

It stares at the window and sometimes flies into it fighting with its reflection.

Its only a few feet away from my dining window.

Our Homey is parked in Mom and Dads driveway….Muther says she cant see her purdy Rhododendrons now…Homey is blocking her view.

We have great views…Thanks Muther ~come visit and look out my dining room window.

You will find a few of your birds here too.

Did someone say Kirtland’s?

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 24 May 2012 19:34:07 PDT

Howdee all,

Watch what you say on the Boardwalk of Magee Marsh. When someone mentions the K word..heads turn, hearts begin to beat faster.

Bodies get in gear and quickly head in the direction the K word was uttered.

Hundreds of people amass to hopefully get a glimpse of the *K* Bird.

Such was so during The Biggest Week in American Birding this year. Not once but three times.

Last year while at the Biggest Week Jeff and I did not see a Kirtland’s and I don’t believe that any were seen.

Kirtland's Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii) is a small songbird of the New World warbler family (Parulidae), named after Jared P. Kirtland, an Ohio doctor and amateur naturalist. Nearly extinct just 50 years ago, it is well on its way to recovery. It requires large areas (> 160 acres) of dense young jack pine for its breeding habitat. This habitat was historically created by wildfire, but today is primarily created through the harvest of mature jack pine, and planting of jack pine seedlings.^[1]

Since the mid-19th century at least it has become a restricted-range endemic species. Almost the entire population spends the spring and summer in the northeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan and winters in The Bahamas. From Wikipedia

First sighting of Kirtland reported at Ottawa NWR..There was a mass exodus of birders from Magee Boardwalk to Ottawa NWR when the twitter alert went out.

Just a handful saw the bird.

All here did not.

Video of birders waiting and watching for the*K* Bird seen by just a few at Ottawa NWR.

Dawns Tale of the Second sighting…

May 9th

It was early morning~Jeff and I were on our way out of the Motorhome when I got a twitter alert to my phone that a Kirtland’s Warbler was seen. Adrenaline pumps thru my body. This is the last of the Eastern Wood Warblers we needed to add to our Life List. A difficult bird to see in most places,unless you go to its breeding grounds.

I told Jeff to forget about dropping off a Guitar to the Park owner~Lets high tail it to Magee Marsh.

The K Bird was seen on the boardwalk just a few minutes earlier.

I was supposed to be helping Adrian Binns with a Bird Sit at nine and It was close to nine.

We drove towards the east end of the Boardwalk and noticed people streaming out of the boardwalk. Word was the the K bird had flown over the water area and had not been re-found.

I felt obligated to go to the sit and told Jeff to call me if the K bird was re-found.

Friends Debbie and Dave called~

The K bird was being seen again....

I ran from the West end of the boardwalk to the eastern area off the boardwalk hoping I would not be too late.

Many people had nice looks of the K bird.

A life bird for Jeff and me.

Yes people actually jump off a wheelchair to see the K Bird! ;) see below

Yipppppeee..I made it!

I had a few good looks of the K bird~~ Way up there in the tree.

A male Kirtland’s Warbler.

Read Bobby Harrison’s post of how this bird was found on the boardwalk.

Saturday May 12th..

A female K bird was found by three young Amish birders on a new Crane Creek Estuary Trail.

Bird was seen here for quite a while.

Jeff and I went out around 5 to see if people were still seeing it.

They were.

And so did we.

Much better looks than the male K bird.

She looks lovely with flowers..

She sits and preens..

Oblivious to her large audience.

Isn't she a beauty?

It was so exciting to see not one but two of these rare Warblers!

Thanks Biggest Week!

Sometimes I get lucky~Blackburnian Warbler

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:32:01 PDT

Howdee all,

Sometimes I get lucky.

Well, to tell you the truth..Its not too difficult for a point and shoot camera to get a photo at

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Its the big lenses that have may have trouble getting a photo when the birds are this close.

Blackburnian Warbler~Magee Marsh Boardwalk

Taken with my three year old Canon SX-1~IS 20x optical zoom

I was eyeing the new Canon that my friend Linda Rockwell has..ohhh for a bigger zoom.

For now my Canon SX1 will do..

Unless someone out there wants me to review a camera for them.

Chipper Chatter at my window

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:00:11 PDT

Howdee all,

Jeff and I are now parked in Mom and Dads Driveway in CT.

We had a fabulous time At The Biggest Week and I will be posting a few more photos soon.

When we park our Homey in Mom and Dads Driveway, we are just a few feet from a Rhododendron.

Because of our reflective windows we have birds coming to them and checking out the Other bird.

This was just one of the birds who checked out their reflection..

Chipping Sparrow

I didn’t get photos of it attacking its reflection..but that’s what it did.

Along with a pair of Catbirds..

They took turns tapping at the window.

Silly little bird

Bird sex and cocktails

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Wed, 16 May 2012 11:11:06 PDT

Howdee all,

Our last night in Ohio we were invited for cocktails and dinner at friends Hugh and Judy's home.

Hugh and Judy have a lovely garden and pond.

I thought my Sickstas would enjoy these photos and maybe Craigy might get a few ideas on how to make a waterfall.

The waterfall

A rock that water flows from..

A water spouting critter

Just one of the cool pieces of garden art

Hugh and Judy have nest boxes and feeders all over their property..

What a great home for birds!

No I didn’t forget about the title of my post ..and it wasn’t just a catchy title to get you here..

We really did have Cocktails..

And while we did we did have quite the show..

Ms. Tree Swallow waits for more..

He came back another six or seven times

I lost count..you would think they would take the whole thing indoors..

After dinner we took a walk around the park

Spotted Sandpiper all spotty..

Greylag Goose with Canada Goose

Wow..I think they adopted a few

geese 'creches' - where the offspring of different parents get mixed up - are fairly common

Check out this article to see a pair with 40 goslings~~Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280370/Canada-geese-left-charge-40-goslings.html#ixzz1uwtY89vE

Kildeer…It was acting as though there might be a nest nearby.

I just thought this looked cool…

Judy said this is part of an old trailer.

Thanks Hugh and Judy for a lovely evening.

Thanks Hugh and Judy for your warm hospitality!

Until we meet again.

Goodbye Biggest Week

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:32:59 PDT

Howdee all,

Jeff and I had a wonderful ten days birding and socializing at

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Because internet was very spotty with our mifi device I was not able to blog at the end of the day. In all honesty..I was too darn tired to try.

Jeff and I are on the road again…We will arrive in Connecticut in a few days where I will go through all the photos I took at the Biggest Week.

I have one photo I want to share with you now…

This is the second Kirtland's Warbler we saw this week!

Life bird for Jeff and me! I did the Kirtland's Warbler jig several times during the day..sorry no one got it on film..ha ha.

This was the lovely female that showed up a few days after we saw a male Kirtland's

Isn't she a beauty?

I also wanted to share where I spent a few days selling raffle tickets to Benefit the Ohio Young Birders Club

I used an app on my ipod touch called DMD to take this panorama of the area where I was selling raffle tickets.

Use your curser to move around the room..…Its pretty darn cool!

I might use more of this in future blog posts.

Hope you all are doing well!

Its going to take me ten years to catch up with you all and with all I missed on Facebook and Twitter.

Not to mention all my favorite shows on TV that I missed. ..any other Once Upon a Time fans out there?

No time to blog.. The Biggest Week Rocks!

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sat, 12 May 2012 09:46:57 PDT

Howdee all,

Jeff and I have been in Ohio since May 3rd at

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Its been so much fun! We are busy from morning until night and then crash..only to repeat the process the next day.

I have been so busy socializing and birding I have not taken that many photos.

I hope to get out tomorrow and take a few.

Until then ..

The Biggest Week~not just birds

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 06 May 2012 06:49:21 PDT

Howdee all,

I am as happy as this smiling Snapping turtle to be here at

The Biggest Week in American Birding

I feel like hooting..

There are birds a plenty for everyone here..

Like this Lovely Prothonatary Warbler..

Butteflies…

Snakes..

And plenty of birders…

If you don’t like crowds please don’t let this scene discourage you..there are soo many places on the boardwalk and other areas to bird where you will find solitude.

Birding Metzger

Shorebirds!

Shorebird tour at Ottawa NWR

There ARE shorebirds out there..even though my camera wont reach them.

When birding..be prepared for any type of weather..

A storm approaching..

Hope to see you at The Biggest Week

Please stop me and say hello!

A wonderful day- Biggest Week Birding

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:58:57 PDT

Howdee all,

The Biggest Week in American Birding

A perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Ottawa NWR

It was a full day of birding and socializing from o dark early until 9pm.
20 warbler species and many more birds that I am too tired to list here.

We start all over again in the morning. I best get myself into bed.
Goodnight all!

Biggest week morning

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 03 May 2012 06:22:01 PDT

Howdee all,

Here we are.. Early morning
Magee Marsh

Jeff and I are Birding this morning with fellow bloggers Chris West and Gunnar Engblom

A beautiful start to our day

We are extremely excited to be here birding and meeting up with fellow bloggers and birder friends.

I will be posting mainly with my blogger plus app via my iPod while here.

Morning on the boardwalk. Amazing morning 20 warbler species so far. With Chris leading us I am sure we will see many more.

Jeff with Chris West, Marsha Fulton, Gunnar Engblom, Jerry Jourdon.

Her Garden.…

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 01 May 2012 15:34:26 PDT

Howdee all,

Jeff and I are now headed north to Ohio for

The Biggest Week in American Birding

We had a wonderful month at Sickstas and Craigys.

Sickstas wonderful garden bloomed around us..

Encircling us with fragrance and beauty..

I found this poem and it reminded me of Sicksta and how she likes to roam around her garden and check on her plants..

I don’t know who wrote the poem I found it on this website.

Make time for the garden

You have to make time
in your garden,
not only for working
but just to see.
Not only for planting or harvesting
or weeding,

but to smell the freesias,
to look at the new rose leaves
admire the new growth thrusting out
in strong red leaves,

to see the white columbine
blooming behind the flowering quince,
the lavender ageratum at the base of the snapdragons,
the grape leaves bursting from the seams
of last year's vines,

pink tulips about to open inside green sheathes,
and most amazing of all
the purple orchid sprays in that pot
you thought was dead and dry.

You have to walk through the garden
and say hello to each newly leafing tree,
caress the buds,

and try to see it whole,
your garden,
or as much as you can-

how different greens complement each other,
set off the yellows and flame into reds,

how daffodils and star magnolias
turn dried brown leaves
into background for their spring painting.

So don't go into you garden
looking for weeds,
which will only make you bend down
and miss the point.

Sicksta doing her evening garden walk

Red white and blue

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:40:26 PDT

Howdee all,

Its colorful around here..

The three male Rose-breasted Grosbeak are still around.

We have at least four male Cardinals

Jeff and I leave tomorrow and head north to Ohio..

Biggest Week in American Birding…here we come!

1-2-3-4-5 ~~Wow!

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:51:21 PDT

Howdee all,

Last night while enjoying dinner in Homey. Jeff, Sicksta Dell and I saw the big beaked Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

I mentioned that we had not seen they young male who was here a few days earlier and that he must be on his way north.

We watched her and another female Rose-breasted.

And then~

A bright male popped in.

A beauty

A male Blue Grosbeak was at the feeders as well,

We then had another Male surprise us..Notice his red is a bit different then the one above.

And then in comes another male..

Each time this happened we all looked at each other and exchanged glees and excitement.

The males each tried to sit at the feeder with the female..but she would not have it and chased them away each time.

A Blue Grosbeak joins in on the fun~

Both male Blue Grosbeaks seemed much bluer last night and they both had a bit of a crest.

Female Rose-breasted taking a drink..

Count them~Three males!

The males took turns eating..

What wonderful free entertainment we had while having dinner!

Jeff and I are in North Carolina for one more day. We head to Ohio for The Biggest Week in American Birding on Tuesday. It will take us two days of travel.

Cant wait to see what birds will show up there!

Blue~Indigo and Rose visitors

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 17:52:48 PDT

Howdee all,

I was excited last week to see the return of our Blue Grosbeak..ha I say “our” I am very possessive about these birds..ask anyone who knows me.

The Grosbeak showed up a bit early.

I was then anticipating the next birds that would visit our feeders..not to mention all the others that would begin arriving to Sickstas yard that don’t come to the feeders.

To our delight the day after the arrival of the Blue Grosbeak was the arrival of a single Indigo Bunting in the morning.

And then more buntings…

Female Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak and three Indigo bunting

As you can see I have been “baiting” the birds :)

Our next new arrival waiting for its turn at the feeders

He looks young to me…and I say that only because of the amount of Rose on his chest..anyone know?

Coming in for some seed..

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Here's some of our feeder set up…I put seed between the antlers of the wooden deer. The buntings and Grosbeaks prefer tray feeders.

Male Indigo bunting

Needless to say I am thrilled

We are here most every year to see these birds arrive.

Its always thrilling

I tend to get very excited..

Ask my Sicksta…I get very animated and jumpy

She gets that way when she talks about her plants.

We all have been enjoying these birds.

And they are not our only spring arrivals

Black and White Warbler

Two days ago I jumped out of bed when I heard the Summer Tanager calling..

What an exciting time of year!

We are heading to The Biggest Week in American Birding next week for more birding fun.

Until then..Wow~What a Bonanza of bird we have here!

Adele and Craig's , Moore, US-NC
Apr 23, 2012 7:42 AM - 2:02 PM
Protocol: Stationary
Comments: <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.4.2
34 species (+1 other taxa)

Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Black-and-white Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Summer Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting 6 Five males one female
Brown-headed Cowbird
blackbird sp.
American Goldfinch
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

She gets down and dirty

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:13:06 PDT

Howdee all,

I am pleased to have featured a Wonderful Photographer blogger at

Birdingblogs.com

Please go check out the photographs

of Mia McPherson

A self taught photographer extraordinaire

Featured Bird Photographer blogger ~She gets down and dirty

~Garden butterflies~Carthage~NC

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 08:37:32 PDT

Howdee all,

I am just starting to learn about butterflies.

I don’t have a guidebook. I am taking photos and trying to compare them to photos online.

I am using this site since I am in NC now

~Butterflies of The Carolinas & Virginias~

If you have any suggestions of good sites to ID butterflies I would appreciate it.

I prefer not to carry around books since our space is limited. I would also be interested in a Ipod app on butterflies.

I have tried to ID some of these butterflies and will continue to research the ones I have no ID for.

I will put a question mark after the butterfly until someone confirms my ID.

If you know of an ID please feel free to let me know in the comments below.

Thanks..

American Lady

I thought that this could have been a Painted Lady ~Alex L a facebook friend told me this

“One good clue is the small white dot surrounded by orange on the upperside of the forewing. Painted Lady lacks that white dot, among other differences.”

Variegated Fritillary
Euptoieta claudia

After looking online for these IDs I realize taking a photo of the wings closed are important in ID~will try and get more photos in the future.

Sachem ?
Atalopedes campestris

I was told this could be any skipper..I will have to take more angles of these when I see them.

Just found this photo of the same skipper above

Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus

Eight-spotted Forester moth~Alypia octomaculata ?

Eastern Tailed-Blue
Cupido comyntas

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail,

Papilio glaucus

Variegated Fritillary
Euptoieta claudia

Again~any help is appreciated!

Thanks to Alex Lamoreaux , Russell Reynolds Kerri for your ID help!

Devils Dipstick?

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 19:14:11 PDT

Howdee all,

Looks what's ….ahh..…Popping up in Sickstas yard.

When Sicksta called me over to look at this I thought…

Stinkhorn

~I am sure a few other things came to mind as well ~~but, lets not go there..I will let you use your own imagination. :)

I have never seen a pink Stinkhorn.

So I took a few photos and pulled out Mushrooms Demystified

At first glance I thought it was Mutinus caninus

Dog Stinkhorn

After more reading and photos I believe it is Mutinus elegans

Devils Dipstick

The brownish slime are spores..

with an olive brown to brown slime towards the apex (covering 2-3 cm in Mutinus caninus, more in Mutinus elegans) but usually not covering the extreme tip; the slime quickly becoming foul and odorous, and often quickly removed by insects; hollow; spongy; with a whitish, sacklike volva at the base.

If you know what this mushroom is please let me know so I can confirm this ID.

I thought it was a very cool find..

Jack could care less..

Chickadees in the Moon again

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:24:41 PDT

Howdee all,

Chickadees are in the Moon again!

Chickadees have nested in this moon for the past four years

This is not technically a bird house it was a bird feeder until the Chickadees decided it wasn't…

Both Mom and Dad are in and out all day long now..

Feeding their hungry youngins~

I have have been trying to get photos as they go in and out of the moon

I am so darn slow..

I get mostly tail shots..

A few head shots

I am lucky if I get a shot like this..the in and out is usually very quick.

And this photographer is pretty slow..

sometimes I catch them flying off..

It’s busy at the moon..

I hear the youngins calling out for food.

I will keep an eye on them and hopefully watch them fledge.

Last year we were lucky enough to see that happen.

Until then…

Mom and Dad are very busy..

Testing 123

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:40:06 PDT

Howdee all,

Test Test this is a test

I am testing to see if this Tweetmeme add on button via Windows Live Writer is working.

My old button didn’t work so I replaced it with another button that just RTs the full blog and not the specific post.

So..here goes..I will see if this add in via Live writer works any better.

If not..back to square one.

If any of you have an solution please let me know..Others are having the same issues with their Tweetmeme button on Blogger.

………………………………………………………………………………..

I don’t know if anyone has noticed but I also added Disqus for commenting.

I like that I can respond to people directly, though, I am not sure if the comment makes it to everyone.

Let me know if you get my responses to your comments..I am curious if it works the way it should.

Squirrel Buster ~No Squirrels at this feeder!

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 06:38:30 PDT

Howdee all,

A few months ago I was contacted and asked to review a bird feeder by someone representing Brome Birdcare.

I looked at their website and the feeders, and immediately recognized a feeder as one I had seen in someone's yard just a few months ago. I had asked the owner where she purchased it~ she said it was given as a gift and didn’t know where to buy one. The owner said the feeder worked like a charm.. the squirrels could not get the seed out.

I left it at that thinking I would try and find the same feeder.

What a cool coincidence that I am able to review it.

Squirrel proof
Holds 3 quarts of seed
Weight adjustable to help control unwanted birds
Cardinal friendly
Dishwasher safe
Chew proof
Lifetime hassle-free warranty

For us traveling full time in a Motorhome~ I always cart along a seed feeder, a thistle sock, a hummingbird feeder, a water dish and a small tray feeder.

All of this, except the tray feeder and water dish~ is put on a double plant hanging stake. (I have been drooling over some of the Wild Bird Unlimited’s feeder hanging setups)

Squirrels always manage to climb up the pole and hang off the feeder and consume massive quantities of seed…so I was happy to say yes to this offer and review one of Bromes Birdcare feeders.

Since we were still traveling in Florida, I had the feeder delivered to my Sisters home in North Carolina where she unpacked it and started to test it for me.

Now that we are in North Carolina I can see how the feeder operates first hand.

The Squirrels cannot get seed out of the feeder and they just plain~ give up!

Watch this video below to see how the feeder works

The feeder is made very well~ Strong and Durable.

I like the fact that they are eco friendly and can be cleaned in a dishwasher if needed.

Eco-Friendly

One of the founding principles of Brome Bird Care is our commitment to reducing the negative impact of human activity on our planet. We achieve that, in large part, by building wild bird feeders that last a very long time, and don’t need to be discarded because a single part needs to be replaced. We are guided by our LEGACY COMMITMENT.

Our products are 100% recyclable and we are in the process of ensuring that each part is stamped with the appropriate recycling number.

The Brome Birdcare website has many more reviews and facts about the different types of feeders they make.

I am very impressed by this feeder and plan on carrying it with us wherever we travel!

Oh course its not inexpensive…Prices on the internet vary around 60 plus dollars~but with Bromes great warranty and sturdy construction. I would certainly buy another one of these feeders!

I highly recommend this Brome Squirrel Buster plus feeder!

Two thumbs up from me and the birds!

No squirrels Dangling from my feeder now!

I am hooked!

Now~~I want their Peanut feeder..

and the Thistle feeder..

Squirrel proof
Holds 1.4 quarts of seed
Specialized nyjer®/mix feeder
8 birds can feed at the same time
Chew proof
2 year hassle free warranty

Hummm..

Does anyone want me to review a Wild Birds Unlimited Pole system

The Biggest Week in American Birding

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 07:34:09 PDT

Howdee all,

I want to invite you all to

~The Biggest Week in American Birding~

There is still time to sign up and join in on the fun.

Jeff and I went to Ohio for the Biggest Week for the first time last year.

It was amazing!….The scene~The people and Wow~The Birds!

The birds so many and so close it had me teary eyed many times that week.

We knew this would be a place we would return to again and again.

This year I was asked to be one of the Official Bloggers for the event. I worked with Kim Kaufman to put together an awesome team of bloggers.

Follow our team of bloggers to know what's happening and being seen at The Biggest Week.

Also:

Like ~ The Biggest Week in American Birding Facebook page

Follow~The Biggest Week on Twitter @BiggestWeek

Follow~Kenn Kaufman's birding predictions for the area here.

If you need to be enticed more…read some of the Biggest Week bloggers posts

Greg Miller Birding:

Get Ready for Warbler Mayhem

Birds and Blooms:

Biggest Week in American Birding 2012: Registration is Open!

Go See Some Warblers this Spring

The Nutty Birder:

Biggest Week Countdown - One Month to Go

Jerry's Birding / Digiscoping Blog:

Biggest Week in Birding is Coming! - 17 Feb 2012

Magee Marsh, OH - 24 Mar 2012

Countdown to the Biggest Week in Birding! - 6 Apr 2012

My Biggest Week posts:

The Biggest Week~~ Bloggers

The Biggest Week~Life Peeps

You NEED to go see these~Biggest Week Birds

The Bloggers

Birds and Blooms~
Birds & Blooms

Laura Erickson~
Laura's Birding Blog

Dale Forbes~
Birdingblogs and 10,000 Birds

Jerry Jourdan~
Jerry's Birding/Digiscoping Blog

Cheryl Harner ~
Weedpicke'rs Journal

Greg Miller ~
Greg Miller Birding

Kelly Riccetti~
Red and the Peanut

Rob Rimpa~
Nutty Birder Blog

Linda Rockwell~
Photo Feathers

Susan Williams~
Susan Gets Native

Chris West~
The Southwest Wisconsin Birder

Drew Weber, Anna Fasoli and Alex Lemoreaux

all from ~Nemesis Bird

Jennifer Callaway ~

Birdfreak.com

I hope to see you there!

Please stop me and introduce yourself

or join me in one of the Birding sits I will be assisting in.

Magee Marsh Bird Sits
Date: May 7 & 9
Time: 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Where: Magee Marsh Wildlife Area (Near the west end of the boardwalk. See the map (to the left) for the exact spot indicated with a red star.)
Fee: Just show your BIGGEST WEEK name badge to participate!

Designed for those with limited mobility—or those who just like to take a break and see what birds come to you—these Bird Sits will allow you to relax and enjoy the birds visiting the edge of the wood lot along the boardwalk. This edge habitat frequently offers some of the best birding in the area and we’ll have expert guides on hand to help you spot birds and tune your ears in to the fine art of birding by ear, too. We’ll post these group sit-ins in the grassy area near the west end of the Magee Marsh boardwalk. (See the map for the exact spot.) Please bring your own chair, birding stool, or blanket to sit on. This area should be fine for those with wheelchairs or motorized carts.

……

And as Kimberly Kaufman would say:

Birds Rule!

Here we are~

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 07:43:49 PDT

Howdee all,

Here we are~not in Florida anymore…

We are now in North Carolina at Sicksta Dell and her Hubby Craig's home.

This is the evening we arrived..

Sicksta moving a planter below..

See the side of Homey on the left..

Its nice being neighbors..

Orlando Wetlands~Its Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:44:09 PDT

Howdee all~

While in Titusville having service done to Homey….we took a suggestion of fellow birders and went to Orlando Wetlands in Christmas, Florida.

The OWP is a water treatment wetland and city park run by the city of Orlando, located in Christmas, FL. It takes treated wastewater from the Orlando metro area and runs it through a series of ponds, in which the vegetation take up remaining nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. The water is then discharged into the St. Johns River.

Click here to see Maps and Bird Check list of the Wetlands park.

Jeff and I did a 2.5 mile loop …

The park is large and we didn’t have enough time to

see the whole park.

We were greeted by A chorus of Coot, Limpkin, Boat-tailed Grackle, common Gallinule and roaring alligators..

Mottled Duck

There were large expanses of marshy areas..

We passed thru one area..

There were Turkey Vultures on one side of the road..

And Black Vultures on the opposite side..

We continued on looking thru the reeds…to our delight we found

American Bittern

In the same vicinity a Green Heron flies in..

We notice a Purple Gallinule in the greenery…

Also in the same are a Glossy Ibis is preening..

A hawk flies in and causes a ruckus amongst the birds..

Red shouldered Hawk

We continue on and find a Common Gallinule..

Jeff disgiscoping..

Bald eagle

Taken with my 20x point and shoot.

Digiscoped by Jeff

We continued on looking for more birds..I wanted to see rails..

We didn’t find any rails this day..

We did find two Wilsons Snipe

The area was active with alligators..

We heard and saw them roaring ..This one is just lounging around..

It was facing the road so we quickly went by..

Baby alligator snoozing..

Onward we pass these pretty flowers.

We find another Purple Gallinule..

Beautiful colors..

A large green Dragonfly

I think this may be an Eastern Pondhawk

We decided to take the shorter loop and do the Bird trail..

We find a Corm with some sticky white thing stuck to its bill..it kept trying to flick it off.

See this very blurry photo below…Jeff tried to digiscope this bird but it flitted around too much..

We had wonderful views of not one but four Least Bittern in this area.

They flew in and out of the reeds several times.

Neither of us were fast enough to get a good photo..

What a wonderful thing to see! We were so exited and left thinking nothing can top this…(Well ~this Cedar Waxwing flock did)

We continue on

Passing Great Blue Herons..

Blue-winged Teal

White Ibis

Glossy Ibis

Immature Ibis in the green..

Glossy Ibis on a dead tree..

White and Glossy Ibis

Hanging out in a dead tree..

Boat-tailed Grackle

More Ibis

Little Blue Heron

More Blue-winged Teal

Anhinga

Common Gallinule..

We really enjoyed this park..

And will be sure to visit the next time we are in Titusville

We saw 51 species

It was Christmas for us here at Orlando Wetlands Park…

Tri-colored Heron

Orlando Wetlands Park, Orange, US-FL
Mar 30, 2012 8:45 AM - 12:25 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.5 mile(s)
Comments:      <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.1
51 species (+1 other taxa)

Wood Duck  
Mottled Duck  
Blue-winged Teal  
Pied-billed Grebe  
Wood Stork  
Anhinga  
American Bittern  
Least Bittern      4 in the same area - watched them fly and land several times
Great Blue Heron  
Great Egret  
Snowy Egret  
Little Blue Heron  
Tricolored Heron  
Cattle Egret  
Green Heron  
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron  
White Ibis  
Glossy Ibis  
Black Vulture  
Turkey Vulture  
Osprey  
Bald Eagle  
Accipiter sp.     Short tail hawk?
Red-shouldered Hawk  
Purple Gallinule  
Common Gallinule  
American Coot  
Limpkin  
Sandhill Crane  
Killdeer  
Wilson's Snipe  
Mourning Dove  
Belted Kingfisher  
Red-bellied Woodpecker  
Pileated Woodpecker  
White-eyed Vireo  
Fish Crow  
Purple Martin  
Tree Swallow  
Carolina Wren  
House Wren  
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  
Gray Catbird  
Northern Mockingbird  
European Starling  
Cedar Waxwing  
Northern Parula  
Eastern Towhee  
Savannah Sparrow  
Northern Cardinal  
Red-winged Blackbird  
Boat-tailed Grackle  

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Cedar Waxwings Galore!

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:08:11 PDT

Howdee all,

Our last day in Titusville, Florida was amazing..

We had a great morning birding Orlando Wetlands..

I thought nothing could top seeing four Least Bittern flying in and out of the reeds..

UNTIL

Words cannot describe how incredible this was~watch the video and see for yourself

Try to hang in there till the end..you will see Waxwings dripping from the trees..

.. Thousands of Cedar Waxwings..

Jeff and I were on our way to Target after a fine morning of birding

I saw an enormous flock of birds in the Home Depot parking lot and had Jeff turn quickly into it..

I thought maybe Starlings..

Something didn’t seem right…and then I heard them..and saw them..

I have never seen anything like this..and most likely never will again

The video above says it all..

Nature is Awesome and as Kim Kaufman would say…

Birds Rule!

If you haven't had enough..Check out the first video I made..This is when I jumped out of the car and started filming..it shows the small trees with the berries that the waxwings were chowing down on..

The flock flies right at me and over my head..hee hee..

Needless to say..This girl was thrilled!

Birding Biolab Road~Pretty in Pink..

noreply@blogger.com (dAwN) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 06:33:54 PDT

Howdee all,

This past week we have been in Titusville....Stuck in Service for Homey…

Oh~ poor us..

Guess we should go look at some birds..

Jeff and I did a quick drive on Gator Road..

Our destination was Biolab Road..

We stopped before the road to see if we could find some Scrub Jays..

There was a prescribed burn here a few days before..

I left with my feet as black as these Vultures..

Jeff found the Scrub Jay and digiscoped it..

We then headed to Biolab road…

We were looking for Stilt Sandpipers that had be reported here..

We found them..

We continued on

that’s when we saw pink..

Roseate spoonbill

A magnificent trio here..

Roseate, Tri-colored Heron, Black-necked Stilt

Close up of the lovely Spoonbill

Tri-colored Heron and Stilt

Love those pink legs!

Trio in Pink..

Jeff digiscoping ~

he covers his head with a towel s that he can see the screen of his camera better.

I had fun taking photos of the Spoonbill also~

We left the Spoonbills and continued on Biolab Road

White Pelican Bonanza

We find a Green Heron..

And ~

if you haven't had enough of the Spoonbills..

Jeff Digiscoped these~

Here's lookin at ya..

What a face..

Cute Pair..

Love them!

I was playing around with one of the Roseate photos..and came up with this`

~I thought it would make a cool notecard~

Jeff and I are on our way to North Carolina as I type this! We had a fabulous time in Florida this winter.

Time to migrate north…

Cant wait to see Sicksta and her family!

42 species (+1 other taxa)

Mottled Duck   
Blue-winged Teal   
Northern Shoveler   
Pied-billed Grebe   
Double-crested Cormorant   
American White Pelican   
Brown Pelican   
Great Blue Heron   
Great Egret   
Little Blue Heron   
Tricolored Heron  
Reddish Egret  
Green Heron  
White Ibis  
Glossy Ibis  
Roseate Spoonbill  
Black Vulture  
Turkey Vulture  
Osprey  
hawk sp.  
American Coot  
Black-bellied Plover  
Killdeer  
Black-necked Stilt  
Lesser Yellowlegs  
Sanderling  
Dunlin  
Stilt Sandpiper  
Caspian Tern  
Royal Tern  
Red-bellied Woodpecker  
Northern Flicker  
Florida Scrub-Jay  
House Wren  
Gray Catbird  
Northern Mockingbird  
Northern Parula  
Eastern Towhee  
Savannah Sparrow  
Northern Cardinal  
Red-winged Blackbird  
Eastern Meadowlark  
Boat-tailed Grackle  

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Dawns bloggy blog

Catbird at my dining window

Did someone say Kirtland’s?

Sometimes I get lucky~Blackburnian Warbler

Chipper Chatter at my window

Bird sex and cocktails

Goodbye Biggest Week

No time to blog.. The Biggest Week Rocks!

The Biggest Week~not just birds

A wonderful day- Biggest Week Birding

Biggest week morning

Her Garden.…

Red white and blue

1-2-3-4-5 ~~Wow!

Blue~Indigo and Rose visitors

She gets down and dirty

~Garden butterflies~Carthage~NC

Variegated Fritillary Euptoieta claudia

Sachem ? Atalopedes campestris

Silver-spotted Skipper Epargyreus clarus

Eight-spotted Forester moth~Alypia octomaculata ?

Eastern Tailed-Blue Cupido comyntas

Devils Dipstick?

Chickadees in the Moon again

Testing 123

Squirrel Buster ~No Squirrels at this feeder!

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Weight adjustable to help control unwanted birds

Cardinal friendly

Dishwasher safe

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Squirrel proof

Holds 1.4 quarts of seed

Specialized nyjer®/mix feeder

8 birds can feed at the same time

Chew proof

2 year hassle free warranty

The Biggest Week in American Birding

Here we are~

Orlando Wetlands~Its Christmas!

Cedar Waxwings Galore!

Birding Biolab Road~Pretty in Pink..

Variegated Fritillary
Euptoieta claudia

Sachem ?
Atalopedes campestris

Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus

Eastern Tailed-Blue
Cupido comyntas