I subscribed to the BirdKY list recently, and have been getting updates on what people are seeing around the state. This afternoon I found this in my Inbox:
There were flocks of Horned Larks feeding along the road into the north construction entrance into the Commons off Highway 1694. We also spotted one snow bunting and 2 American pipits. There were also quite a few Lapland
longspurs and savannah sparrows. The larks are very flighty and the snow bunting
would fly every time the larks took off. It was very hard to keep track of this
bird.
It sure was neat to see these visitors from the North.
Pat and Jane Bell
Jefferson County
Pat and Jane are friends from the Beckham Bird Club, and birders
par excellence, so I was excited to find their posting from a location just a couple miles from home. "Let's go," I told my husband. "It isn't too cold, the sun is shining, the wind is not blowing, and Pat and Jane have sightings of birds we've never seen before!" Even a man with a broken rib can go birding in conditions like this. Yes, when he fell on the ice, it broke a rib.
The target birds are Horned Lark, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, American Pipit and Savannah Sparrows. We found 3 out of 4, and those 3 are lifers for us! I had "seen" the Horned Lark before, but not closely enough to identify it with confidence, so we marked the field guide first to make sure we knew what to look for.
Lapland Longspurs
The construction entrance for this development is very muddy, as you can see, but it provides perfect camouflage for these small ground birds. The other trick is remembering that they are in winter plumage now, so look at the right picture in the guide.
Grains of yellow corn left from last fall's harvest shone brightly, attracting the birds' attention.
We were warned that they were very flighty, and that is putting it mildly. We walk carefully, squishing in the mud, and trying to shield our eyes from the late afternoon sun. Fortunately, they only flew around for a few minutes before resuming foraging in the same spot.
This Lark even has his horns up, just a little.
One brave little bird did not fly away as we crept down the road in our car, but continued peering around the dirt piles on the side of the road, bobbing its tail vigorously. I got some nice shots right through the window. As I reviewed the pictures on my computer, I said, "This is not a Lark, Longspur or Snow Bunting at all!" We found the American Pipit!! I will definitely have to go to the car wash tomorrow to get the mud off my car. (Wonder if they wash boots too...)
By the way, Pat and Jane, we also saw a bright yellow Meadow Lark. (Dick got this photo.) This is a great way to go birding and get new life birds, so I'll watch the KyBirdlist more carefully from now on. Did you see that today
49 of 50 states in the US have snow on the ground? Guess who does not....
It's December 4, and a clipper system blows its way across the midsection of the country. The staff at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve plans for the annual Nature of Christmas in Goshen with their fingers crossed. On one hand, Kentuckians are not used to driving in snow, and are likely to just stay home if the weather is bad. On the other hand, snow will be beautiful for the Christmas event, and we are prepared.
We make special arrangements for all the red berries to glow under the snowy branches. A few people will be brave enough to walk around and enjoy them. I will take lots of photos for both this blog and the Preserve's website.
Crafts people set up their booths inside the house this year. Last year people stood in line for hours for the free hot dogs, chili, coffee and hot chocolate. This year, there is a tent with a heater that allows people take off their coats as they sit down to eat.
The grounds look like Christmas cards. Maybe we should try making Christmas cards or a calendar as a fund raiser next year.
Fluffed up Song Sparrows perch on the window sill of the nature center, then hop to the feeder for a quick bite.
The snow is wet and makes terrific snow balls. It's a great day to attack dear old Dad.
Other neighborhood residents take advantage of the safe slopes to slide down the hill on saucers. Two girls sharing one have a hard time getting started, then they laugh as they spin in circles.
Buddy Freckles, the director's dog, stayed inside most of the day, but says that he loves playing in the snow.
Entertainment included a handbell choir, followed by Santa and Mrs. Claus. As the crowds finally left at the end of the afternoon, one little boy came to ask a very important question. "Is that the real Santa?" he whispered. "What do you think?" I replied. With big glowing eyes he nodded his head. "Yes, he's the real one." "You are absolutely right. He is the real Santa Claus!" Anyone who will sit for and hour and a half, listening to the soft mumbles of children and acknowledging their wishes, is certainly the real Santa in my book! And he brought Mrs. Claus along to be sure everything was written down correctly.
I got a present too. Tavia's book about Bernheim Forest is now available for purchase, both at Bernheim, local book sellers, and online, and I got my copy on Saturday. 28 of my photos are featured, including two that fill entire pages! Sometimes I had to check the credit on a photo to see if it was Tavia's or mine, since I have many that are very much like hers in some instances. I started taking bird photos to help me remember what we saw on birding trips. I think they are pretty good, and tried submitting them in photo contests for a while. I never got recognized for them though, and gave up that effort. I don't really need recognition, but I must admit that I'm very excited about being published! Dick and I enjoyed remembering trips we made to Bernheim with his parents and our own young children. Today the landscaping is quite different than it was 25 or 30 years ago. We also looked at the pictures of friends who volunteer with Dick and our special friend Wren Smith, who taught us both in our Certified Interpretive Guide class. In fact, Tavia included a section on this opportunity. Whoo-Hoo! I'm published!!!
