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| American Goldfinch |
Well, things have changed haven't they. With the COVID quarantine, we no longer spend any hours every week volunteering. I am over my cancer, but am still at risk for COVID probably, so we keep our distance. My memory is not reliable, so my husband has to be very patient with me. The YMCA is closed, so we don't go to exercise, and if it rains, we can't walk at the Mall. But we try to get in steps on Fitbit every day. We were registered for the
Verde Valley Birding Festival in Cottonwood, AZ last week, which got cancelled. But they used their imaginations and did virtual birding instead! I even became a virtual birding buddy with a student from the University of Vermont whose Environmental Studies class had gone online. Audubon asked the chapters to adopt one of these students and talk to them about birding. We looked at Cornell's feeder cam and I explained what we were seeing. Even talked about birding ethics! The neighborhood gets a little boring after 6 weeks, so we try to go to other parks and look for wildflowers or BIRDS! I've even taken the eBird tutorial on Cornell's website and been certified as an eBird user, which I never did before. And I've started posting on this blog more than ever in the last few years.
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| Solitary Sandpiper |
This morning one of our birding friends posted that he had spotted a Virginia Rail at Beckley Creek. A few years ago, one was sighted there, and flocks of birder came to look at it. Could it possibly be the same bird? Anyway, we were planning on going there this morning, so I grabbed my camera and we jumped in the car, but no luck with the Rail. It's probably there, but they are experts at hiding in the grass and reeds. While scanning the wetlands, I did spot something quietly moving around. It's a Solitary Sandpiper! I have a terrible time identifying Sandpipers, mostly because I see them so rarely I think. So I carefully compared this one to other Sandpipers on the Cornell website when we got home. How cool!
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| Baltimore Oriole |
One of my favorite birds is the bright orange Baltimore Oriole. I have never heard two of them sing the same song, so the songs on my app don't do much good to call them in. But they like to tee up on the top of a tree and whistle their hearts out, so they aren't too hard to find. You can just whistle the song back to them, and they are very forgiving if you don't get it just right.
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| Red-winged Blackbird |
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| Red Shoulders hidden - non-territorial |
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| Juvenile |
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| Female |
This time of year, if there is any standing water around, you will hear the raucous call of the Red-winged Blackbirds. When you see the red epaulettes, you know he's on territory, saying "Get out! This is mine!" When you only see the yellow line, he's not being so aggressive, at a feeder, for example. The female looks like a huge sparrow, but hides well in the marshy area of her nest. This is the first time I've seen what is obviously a juvenile Red-winged Blackbird. He sang their "chuck" note, but isn't ready to challenge the big birds yet.
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| Warbling Vireo |
This is the second time in a week we have heard and seen a Warbling Vireo. A birder friend once said their song sounds like "blurbieleialdlslakdlaioiieu" rather than some recognizable tune, and that advise has worked so far! Haven't seen/heard any Red-eyed Vireos yet this year. Either it's too early for them, or I haven't been in the woody habitat they like.
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| Green Heron- skulking |
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| Punk feather-do |
After the excitement of the Solitary Sandpiper, I was ready to head out for lunch and to rest my aching feet. But we were right next to the pond, so might as well check it out for anything to add to our list, and Dick saw a GREEN HERON! They are superb skulkers and we don't find them often, even in habitat where we would expect them. This guy walked about for several minutes, flashing his punk feathers, before finally fading into the cattails.
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| Common Yellowthroat |
Here's the one that got away. They were singing everywhere,
witchity witchity, but wouldn't come out in the open to visit. So here is one I found at Beckley Creek a few years ago. Total on eBird --30 species!
Although Fall has been sneaking up on us for several weeks, the equinox makes it official now. Bernheim Forest has their ColorFest on Oct. 17, and once again, my volunteer jobs all have great opportunities on the same date so I will have to choose carefully which I can join.
My friend, Tavia Cathcart, is collaborating on a book about Bernheim and says they have few pictures of birds. Well, I can certainly help with that! I sent her about 40-50 of my National Geographic bird photos. If/when they are used in the book, I'll let you all know. I'm pretty excited about it!
This little cutie got perturbed as we followed him around the edge of Lake Nevin. Don't you love his punk hair do?
Can there be conjoined trees? This one looks like it had two hearts before it fell in the ice storm.
"Leaves of three, let it be." Both the poison ivy and Virginia Creeper start the parade of fall colors.
Yellow is the primary fall color for wildflowers, with Goldenrod dominating the fields and roadsides. It's such a treat to discover a little bug in a photo when you enlarge it. This one is in flight from one sprig to the next on the Goldenrod.
Many different trees have red berries, but this one wins the prize in my book for the most scarlet, vermilion, red I saw. Fire engines should be jealous of this color.
You would expect a flower called Blazing Star to be red or yellow, right? How about this lavender shade instead. The Monarchs love it.
Cypress trees by Lake Nevin join in the color contest as their leaves/needles turn a rusty umber shade before the Garden Pavilion. I need to attend an art class to learn more color names!