tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45577077047561154902024-03-04T21:39:58.988-08:00Bird Lady Blog... by Sherrie SteeleSherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-64258246947726481472021-04-09T13:36:00.000-07:002021-04-09T13:36:02.997-07:00<p> I haven't posted for quite some time! But today I am excited to add a new bird to my life list. It has been awhile since I have seen a new species. There are all kinds of ducks active right now in the bay, as spring has sprung! When looking through the binoculars, I saw ducks I hadn't seen before. After researching, I discovered they were Northern Shovelers. The males have green/black heads, and their bodies are black, white, and brown. They weren't close enough for a decent picture.</p><p>Also active in the bay have been the Bald Eagles, up until yesterday they've had the run of the place. But the resident Osprey showed up yesterday and are chirping away while working on their nest in the park, just a few trees away from my balcony. Unfortunately, the trees branches are in the way of my viewing the nest from the balcony.</p><p>Here is a cell phone capture of an juvenile Bald Eagle checking out the fishing on a nearby dock that I took the other day.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWeNBAMYsJtutK-24m5DJWy-MLA3yjyxligXH3MhPDkVVxTIOSH-gMP8otdEtWW9Z6KpkUmjaBfyHagFqRVesDK1YulmIRSCWMT6gD5XtrF9CnNvKGtjj3neB0Z1NHZCxzh-OnOQpYbQ/s1322/IMG_E1810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="1298" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhWeNBAMYsJtutK-24m5DJWy-MLA3yjyxligXH3MhPDkVVxTIOSH-gMP8otdEtWW9Z6KpkUmjaBfyHagFqRVesDK1YulmIRSCWMT6gD5XtrF9CnNvKGtjj3neB0Z1NHZCxzh-OnOQpYbQ/s320/IMG_E1810.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-82911461887342978032013-09-22T16:38:00.000-07:002013-09-22T16:38:18.556-07:00Awesome Yard Birds!Well it's been a while since I have had a new post here at Bird Lady Blog. I've been a bit pre-occupied with becoming a first-time Grandmother, with baby boy Cyrus due on Thanksgiving Day! Also, I was having an issue with getting car sick when I would go out birding. But today, as fall has officially arrived, the birds decided to come to me! Awesome bird days like these are few and far between...<br />
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As I stepped out on my balcony to get a wiff of that cool, crisp fall air, I heard a familiar sound. It was a Pileated Woodpecker, one of my favorite birds, my 'Spark' bird, the one that got me interested in birding over 27 years ago. As I scanned the ground where the woodpecker was, I catch a glimpse of another one! Two Pileated Peckers foraging for ants most likely. Ants are the main diet of these woodpeckers. I ran to get my binoculars and camera to try and get some footage of these awesome birds. When I got back, I noticed there was a third bird a few trees away from the other two. When I took a break from the binoculars, I saw a fourth woodpecker fly on to the scene! Likely an entire family! And to top that off, there was also a Northern Flicker hanging with the gang of Pileated. <br />
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I took four different videos I will share. Pardon the shakiness. While I was videoing the birds, my son let the darn cat, Stanley Oliver outside. Immediately he ran over next door and started stalking my lovely woodpecker family! OMG, I would be devastated if he was to get one. I did send my son out to get him when he proceeded to get too close to them.<br />
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After all the excitement of the four, well five woodpeckers, I went inside to download my videos. Not long after that, I went back out on the balcony when I heard some birds calling back and forth. For a quick second, I thought the Pileateds were back, but the sound wasn't quite right. Then I thought perhaps it could be a Belted Kingfisher, they have an interesting call like what I was hearing. I scanned the trees, over and over, looking for any movement. Back and forth the birds were chatting with each other. It took quite a while for me to finally see one of them when it flew to another tree. I got the binoculars, but it was difficult to see, and mostly was hanging out behind a bunch of pine needles, so I couldn't see it clearly. I snapped a couple of photos, thinking I might be able to zoom in on the computer and see better. The photos weren't clear either, as the pine needles were in the way. So I get out my trusty iPhone iBird app and do a search based on the criteria I do know. Came up with three possibilities, an American Kestrel, which I knew it was too big. A Sharp-shinned Hawk, which I have seen here once before, and a Merlin, which I have never seen. Not knowing which of the two it was, I listened to the call of both birds. Sure enough, it was not the Sharp-shinned, but indeed it was the Merlin! A life bird for me!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Shy Merlin hiding</td></tr>
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So between the four Pileated Woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker, and a pair of Merlins for yard birds today, it makes for an A-W-E-S-O-M-E Bird Day!Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-34464866316999206222013-03-24T15:32:00.000-07:002013-03-30T13:11:26.906-07:00Birds of Prey Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was excited to hear that there was going to be a Birds of Prey exhibit at the Big Horn Show at the Spokane Fairgrounds this weekend. Promptly, I had Bird Lady Assistant put it on our schedule. When Saturday came, we showed up at the Big Horn Show and I practically ran (well, not really) from the information booth to the annex where we were told the Birds of Prey would be. The show was to start at 5:00, and we had about 25 minutes before the it started. There were a few things to look at while we waited. But I wanted to get good seats, so I didn't want to dilly dally too long. Here are some posters that showed the stars of the Birds of Prey Show.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stars of the Show</td></tr>
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They had this sweet looking little <b>American Kestrel</b>, named Sadie in a cage that did not seem to mind all of us photogs trying to get a snapshot of her. Here I just used my iPhone because it seemed to fit right in between the wire cage. Come to find out, Sadie is the center's loudest and meanest bird! Can't judge a 'bird' by it's 'feathers', I guess.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadie, the American Kestrel</td></tr>
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When the show was about to start, they started bringing out the birds. The first bird to come out, I didn't recognize. It wasn't until later, after the speaker started, that I found out it was a <b>Harris's Hawk</b> named Stanley. They aren't from around here, only the very most southern part of the US in Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico and into Mexico and Central America.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stanley, the Harris Hawk</td></tr>
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The bird handlers ranged in age from about 9 or 10 it looked like, to teens and 20's. There were two experts who took turns doing the speaking, one on hawks, the other on owls. The youngest handler, who looked to be about 9, worked with the birds daily at the <a href="http://www.wvolc.org/hawkowl/" target="_blank">Hawk and Owl Sanctuary</a> at West Valley Outdoor Learning Center. He seemed very confident in his handling skills.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Handler and Stanley the Harris Hawk</td></tr>
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I did recognize the next star of the show. It was One-eyed Willie, whom I had<br />
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seen on TV on KHQ 6 news, advertising the Birds of Prey exhibit at the Big Horn Show. He was a beautiful male <b>Barn Owl</b>. The males have a mostly white belly, while the females have more spots/streaks on their bellies. The teenage handler of Willie said his favorite part of the <b>Barn Owl</b> was their heart-shaped facial disk. I was surprised to learn that <b>Barn Owls</b> only live one or two years and eat up to 1000 mice a year!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One-eyed Willie the Barn Owl</td></tr>
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I've only seen one other <b>Barn Owl</b>, and that was at my friend Jana's. She had one roosting in the peak of her house one year, and invited me over for lunch one day so I could see the owl they named Baxtor. Just recently I found out that the males have mostly white bellies, and the female's bellies are more spotted or streaked. So I think Baxtor was most likely a female, so maybe Baxtorette is more appropriate? You can see her at the bottom of this blog on the scrolling banner.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 16px;">Willie, Barn Owl</td></tr>
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The next owl star to appear on stage was a <b>Great Horned Owl</b> named Hanovi. The handler stood right behind Willie so I couldn't see worth a darn. Did I mention we had front row seats? They were still in setup mode, and the speaker gal was looking to the audience to see if we could see, so I gestured that we couldn't see. Then she directed the handler to bring Hanovi down in front of the stage just a few feet from where we were sitting. Our front row seats became up close and personal seats in a snap!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanovi, the Great Horned Owl</td></tr>
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Hanovi was quite the character during the show. He kept flapping his wings and ending up hanging by his feet upside down until the handler could get him back right side up and perched on her leather-gloved arm. His feather covered feet were so cool. They looked more like dog paws.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanovi flipped upside down</td></tr>
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Apparently, Hanovi is well behaved enough that he can be kept out of his cage, although tethered to a pole. He does snap and hiss at people, but doesn't bite. His beak is so strong he could snap a broomstick in half.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanovi, the Great Horned Owl</td></tr>
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You can imagine my glee when the next bird came out and it was a huge <b>Rough-legged Hawk</b>! Yep, my newest life bird (see <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/mistaken-identities-beginning-of-spring.html" target="_blank">yesterday's post</a>). They came and stood right in front of me just about 3 feet away! I swear I was in hawk heaven! The main speaker said this was her favorite, and her name was Pantelones, which is Spanish for Pants, which happens to be her nickname. She was named this because of the feathers on her legs make it look like she is wearing pants.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2If90Xt4aL_NzEemIs2aTrnshXB7oiaxJ1gtC8MDcX1X_FYU5fmtZssstwjPBs8z8uXm-1vZdBVF8F1kifM5VJmGmsn_x2TisfYpT_L4yZKVS3zJLUxaRs3WNWEMkKbn54Bbs2rFTG8/s1600/DSCF3616_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2If90Xt4aL_NzEemIs2aTrnshXB7oiaxJ1gtC8MDcX1X_FYU5fmtZssstwjPBs8z8uXm-1vZdBVF8F1kifM5VJmGmsn_x2TisfYpT_L4yZKVS3zJLUxaRs3WNWEMkKbn54Bbs2rFTG8/s640/DSCF3616_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pantelones (Pants) the Rough-legged Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
This hawk was really a gorgeous creature, and to be so up close and personal was truly a special moment. The fact that I had just added this hawk to my life list yesterday, made it all the more special. Pants made the sweetest little chirps, and her handler would whisper to her throughout the show.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9BUh4WMtBdjLDcCvM2Ztqe8qXwZDONnROuJKGCv0Al8SrrBIaFBCfH9f_equ6imT7rvoUkeyj95mZfaUyouv_qrtILY01moxpySfm7LIMHk4Cqn7bS5zkishgaU9c41s5gUEO-PGmrE/s1600/DSCF3618_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9BUh4WMtBdjLDcCvM2Ztqe8qXwZDONnROuJKGCv0Al8SrrBIaFBCfH9f_equ6imT7rvoUkeyj95mZfaUyouv_qrtILY01moxpySfm7LIMHk4Cqn7bS5zkishgaU9c41s5gUEO-PGmrE/s640/DSCF3618_edited-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pants, the Rough-legged Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
On the other side of the stage, down on the floor was another owl. Oroville was a mixed hybrid. <b>Spotted Owl x Barred Owl = Sp+arred Owl.</b> </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tuKwe-3SFnXOEv1008k_sAPfyCZT3BCz94MNhymYpj1Izks9ITHUqugQ6F1f5YDmLd2ruIaX9exdBmd1w8jPLeU6JgOTkH9h0Bwu6qhjEkH2F6aJ_OPkjkPqkhhc9FMmW5TwTLNtVdI/s1600/DSCF3626_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9tuKwe-3SFnXOEv1008k_sAPfyCZT3BCz94MNhymYpj1Izks9ITHUqugQ6F1f5YDmLd2ruIaX9exdBmd1w8jPLeU6JgOTkH9h0Bwu6qhjEkH2F6aJ_OPkjkPqkhhc9FMmW5TwTLNtVdI/s640/DSCF3626_edited-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted Owl x Barred Owl = Sparred Owl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The owl expert told us that the dark-eyed owls always have a pale beak, and the light-eyed owls always have a dark beak. They aren't sure why. Are you scrolling back to see the previous owls? Yep, the <b>Barn Owl</b> has dark eyes, pale beak. The <b>Great-Horned Owl</b> has light eyes and a dark beak.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeqe-5upbspetQBirJ2ZbeYzK7wWIPJ4ExJJcRVSqrX6Fkrn3XFgIiER5T5jrCwnmUf_CFj4wrt8j_YJmJ-szYa52AwW3B2-zjHzZBuwjyGG19wwn7ZGYJLBZSwkkPoMMtCvfHCPFP3A/s1600/DSCF3627_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPeqe-5upbspetQBirJ2ZbeYzK7wWIPJ4ExJJcRVSqrX6Fkrn3XFgIiER5T5jrCwnmUf_CFj4wrt8j_YJmJ-szYa52AwW3B2-zjHzZBuwjyGG19wwn7ZGYJLBZSwkkPoMMtCvfHCPFP3A/s640/DSCF3627_edited-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oroville, the Sparred Owl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The following picture is of a <b>Long-eared Owl</b>. Notice the eyes look a little dull? That is because it is a stuffed (taxidermy) specimen.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqUfsnontZX2eFGNJXH070B5UM5-AGmOS8WdtCSt8QZN-Ku8cqKfQrrMf8gmtDpeYCOGSm7Bh8hyN8rnLMUDlUtPVkuouR3wrUCd-SrLzLIoY7ykGIXtcyROUCAV8CARNGjTx8JtS8WY/s1600/DSCF3528_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAqUfsnontZX2eFGNJXH070B5UM5-AGmOS8WdtCSt8QZN-Ku8cqKfQrrMf8gmtDpeYCOGSm7Bh8hyN8rnLMUDlUtPVkuouR3wrUCd-SrLzLIoY7ykGIXtcyROUCAV8CARNGjTx8JtS8WY/s640/DSCF3528_edited-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long-eared Owl (stuffed) on display</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some other fun wildlife from around the Big Horn Show...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt-OalgMohwcUudqG1s3MQnkUUZepkaLCqdXYorx2eL_ca-4Bdfl6ip4IQCg9rF7Z7mNt-Cx1rBYzxHAvvwGGLggLoqzUdkqG6E5D-XBR2affXFevke5wNQT9NXVslx_KZzWJZ8CMfL8/s1600/DSCF3526_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzt-OalgMohwcUudqG1s3MQnkUUZepkaLCqdXYorx2eL_ca-4Bdfl6ip4IQCg9rF7Z7mNt-Cx1rBYzxHAvvwGGLggLoqzUdkqG6E5D-XBR2affXFevke5wNQT9NXVslx_KZzWJZ8CMfL8/s640/DSCF3526_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Friendly Skunk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2bnGb8hwLi46P7_nn0s9iRt3Bh3tdluJpaBbmBa6ciDa897DtQLHCiPf6BXbTBAW4m0k5ObvwLfp6zDAz0MRkMCAayvWlAPwlqbZJIpP6pUnMSHVQs190v7Nh7MoMxovyEMZaqmgMw8/s1600/DSCF3531_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2bnGb8hwLi46P7_nn0s9iRt3Bh3tdluJpaBbmBa6ciDa897DtQLHCiPf6BXbTBAW4m0k5ObvwLfp6zDAz0MRkMCAayvWlAPwlqbZJIpP6pUnMSHVQs190v7Nh7MoMxovyEMZaqmgMw8/s640/DSCF3531_edited-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porcupine</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxd8qBLRE5H8Z3Ycrf_Q7LkJ5h1B4OBjFGdDAfFOFVa-RFj5950nSijXhs19GohKkklzXw4y08RpRF_mfALwTRDnOB8njoUiAMjRQ2rFdhE-zwlJp77bSQN3vFxzvmXC_pFgYhq1vUj7M/s1600/DSCF3532_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxd8qBLRE5H8Z3Ycrf_Q7LkJ5h1B4OBjFGdDAfFOFVa-RFj5950nSijXhs19GohKkklzXw4y08RpRF_mfALwTRDnOB8njoUiAMjRQ2rFdhE-zwlJp77bSQN3vFxzvmXC_pFgYhq1vUj7M/s640/DSCF3532_edited-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Bear</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_QWahp8uLeIG1kelzHFySyyi4E2O2vTtHcC-_zqmtZswYj8GjhOwn1vwkcFAnNGgRp6kZn2l7OJrrE1plCChf7lT4V86iAT2FO8XkmKPydwR_8JcHaPh3uqrF8nqhcwHSTDv33KUPUc/s1600/DSCF3533_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_QWahp8uLeIG1kelzHFySyyi4E2O2vTtHcC-_zqmtZswYj8GjhOwn1vwkcFAnNGgRp6kZn2l7OJrrE1plCChf7lT4V86iAT2FO8XkmKPydwR_8JcHaPh3uqrF8nqhcwHSTDv33KUPUc/s640/DSCF3533_edited-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coyote </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6y4SDxHMwN3LzMb0f5CMjInxGe0Vd_oT1bKTXmKkyIxmhoH93ZYvo2-tGKHNlyrfscrGIER4SYlKBV2yuekpRIwLyzbU86qMvvCmtQIFSTVnJzo_cv0JBYj5zfsCy_LBYqkqfCcYgRw/s1600/DSCF3534_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ6y4SDxHMwN3LzMb0f5CMjInxGe0Vd_oT1bKTXmKkyIxmhoH93ZYvo2-tGKHNlyrfscrGIER4SYlKBV2yuekpRIwLyzbU86qMvvCmtQIFSTVnJzo_cv0JBYj5zfsCy_LBYqkqfCcYgRw/s640/DSCF3534_edited-1.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain Lion</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnwrolwGCwTCK9oYa_E6v9AmbskwoUEN6tqSZLgBFK-TIbaLAqs1Pbz2wOFF5gW8IVeoUqRK2qx7IVJjkU_kF-gZJsWUXcmkja2-u2Yu7MMmoMbV_nnsBi62JvEhswbT9q0hogKG7b3I/s640/IMG_1210.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="480" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Bear</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBnwrolwGCwTCK9oYa_E6v9AmbskwoUEN6tqSZLgBFK-TIbaLAqs1Pbz2wOFF5gW8IVeoUqRK2qx7IVJjkU_kF-gZJsWUXcmkja2-u2Yu7MMmoMbV_nnsBi62JvEhswbT9q0hogKG7b3I/s1600/IMG_1210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeOmuNsGXBMUWFECxHEu4Dj32kjfSFA_m6Hisci_twF1VeAAxr3V1NQZ4yGZvRRpQRxTnFt1jeExNjWaqAZ5ow3y_HaMEhXog_mkNHkzjj79CZWCt2_asfoQakB650Cx6UwjfkPUcsjI/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmeOmuNsGXBMUWFECxHEu4Dj32kjfSFA_m6Hisci_twF1VeAAxr3V1NQZ4yGZvRRpQRxTnFt1jeExNjWaqAZ5ow3y_HaMEhXog_mkNHkzjj79CZWCt2_asfoQakB650Cx6UwjfkPUcsjI/s640/IMG_1211.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Bear</td></tr>
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<div>
It was a great time spent with the Bird of Prey at the Big Horn Show. I wasn't much interested in all the other hunter related stuff, but did enjoy doing some taxidermy birding while I was there. Scoping out all the stuffed ducks and birds and trying to identify them. I stopped by one booth that had some spotting scopes and binoculars displayed. Told the guy I was into bird watching, not hunting. He pointed out a pair of binoculars and said they were the top bird watching bins. I took one look through them and it was like looking through the cleanest window you had ever seen with the freshest eyes! He told me they run about $18.99. I was sold! I was about ready to whip out my debit card when I realized he was talking eighteen <i><b>hundred</b></i> and ninety-nine dollars!! I laughed, and told him he was a big tease! Now, Bird Lady wants some obscenely expensive bins! Oh boy...</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)</div>
Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-2080761496635602672013-03-23T02:57:00.000-07:002013-03-23T03:35:10.596-07:00Mistaken Identities... The Beginning of Spring!Now that it is officially spring, I'm eager to get out and about, but it is still too cold and breezy to be outside for more than a few minutes. So car birding it is for me, until that weather warms up. Since I had such good luck in Deer Park on Enoch Rd., I headed back there today to see if I could get some more birds in.<br />
<br />
The first bird I saw after I turned off the busy highway was a small rusty-breasted bird with a dark body sitting on a phone wire. I snapped a quick pic, thinking it was a <b>Barn Swallow</b>. But after looking at the shot on the computer, it didn't look quite right for a swallow. With the rusty belly, and a grayish, blue tone back, and a notched tail, I knew right where I wanted to check next in my Stokes guides. Sure enough, I had mistaken the identity and had actually captured a <b>Western Bluebird</b>. Makes me happy because I haven't seen one since 2004. So almost 10 years ago. Nice to put one on my<a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/2013-big-year.html" target="_blank"> <span id="goog_1522808228"></span>2013 list</a><span id="goog_1522808229"></span>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiWqT29OF8VfXeUO-7OI7gQ8t5VEv8usxrkNHZP1JcYitxhtGzQIeji9f2ADxq0AdYyJY2MdjQGiWDEOWypSsbPzEC1NbmVyonCnre1uk47Hthwx7VvDCRz3keOrOFNu0273opUoXVRc/s1600/DSCF3450_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiWqT29OF8VfXeUO-7OI7gQ8t5VEv8usxrkNHZP1JcYitxhtGzQIeji9f2ADxq0AdYyJY2MdjQGiWDEOWypSsbPzEC1NbmVyonCnre1uk47Hthwx7VvDCRz3keOrOFNu0273opUoXVRc/s640/DSCF3450_edited-2.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Western Bluebird</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As usual, I saw lots of <b>Red-tailed Hawks</b>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LUvDE4ewy-7y9ZjcMsa2aM-nTp6lGo2_IKDx1mIFqafmKM9x3r3PKLoPa-l6tymwSN65zL6R7ySy9yPnwVrkCdhP95kQEDxoC99ahdajwwNNHE-3m8NOSr9EZsLFJPWqoTN2dpaxEAI/s1600/S0063443_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4LUvDE4ewy-7y9ZjcMsa2aM-nTp6lGo2_IKDx1mIFqafmKM9x3r3PKLoPa-l6tymwSN65zL6R7ySy9yPnwVrkCdhP95kQEDxoC99ahdajwwNNHE-3m8NOSr9EZsLFJPWqoTN2dpaxEAI/s640/S0063443_edited-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-tailed Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Thought I saw a <b>Bald Eagle</b>, in the same area where I saw two <b>Bald Eagles</b> last week (the one in the photo-merge pic from my <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/on-way-home-yearning-for-more-birding.html" target="_blank">last post</a>). I was thinking maybe it was a juvenile eagle who's white head had not quite come in all the way. There were two of the large birds out in the field close to each other, both looked like they were in different stages of molt or different ages. Wasn't sure if they were <b>Bald Eagles </b>or <b>Red-tailed Hawks</b>. It looked like too much white on the chest for a <b>Bald Eagle</b> when I looked through the binoculars. So I took several pictures, and when I got home, I enlarged the pics on my huge 23" screen computer. Consulted my old Stokes Field Guide to Birds Western Region (1996) and my new Stokes Field Guide to Birds of North America (2010). Did some research online and determined they were neither Bald Eagles or Red-tailed Hawks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLg5Cu__yKRQF5upAHpCNrwRmUawV1RLxEGRyJqd2hk-kSPjwLrz3WfGPQo9R-NNbIDzvu6-ohcJIljs0NkgARqvGk612zcYavV09HOWXhmh6lwCFAE3x7P4uYeYXE878Qhh158DgTw-8/s1600/S0123479_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLg5Cu__yKRQF5upAHpCNrwRmUawV1RLxEGRyJqd2hk-kSPjwLrz3WfGPQo9R-NNbIDzvu6-ohcJIljs0NkgARqvGk612zcYavV09HOWXhmh6lwCFAE3x7P4uYeYXE878Qhh158DgTw-8/s400/S0123479_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR34chuYPy8jaWq1JRQDUnrdqUAdtKuyZutMkA6ZkCRNkl4JIgjWijeG0q8Yf8hvwIR6ZcrbpCwnWq3lNUkZsEaiG9jcEXLFC_35R2hXUPk4-S9fYjZ5ihxjfA2VCcUES40WB_7UrC3jM/s1600/DSCF3485_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR34chuYPy8jaWq1JRQDUnrdqUAdtKuyZutMkA6ZkCRNkl4JIgjWijeG0q8Yf8hvwIR6ZcrbpCwnWq3lNUkZsEaiG9jcEXLFC_35R2hXUPk4-S9fYjZ5ihxjfA2VCcUES40WB_7UrC3jM/s1600/DSCF3485_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR34chuYPy8jaWq1JRQDUnrdqUAdtKuyZutMkA6ZkCRNkl4JIgjWijeG0q8Yf8hvwIR6ZcrbpCwnWq3lNUkZsEaiG9jcEXLFC_35R2hXUPk4-S9fYjZ5ihxjfA2VCcUES40WB_7UrC3jM/s1600/DSCF3485_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR34chuYPy8jaWq1JRQDUnrdqUAdtKuyZutMkA6ZkCRNkl4JIgjWijeG0q8Yf8hvwIR6ZcrbpCwnWq3lNUkZsEaiG9jcEXLFC_35R2hXUPk4-S9fYjZ5ihxjfA2VCcUES40WB_7UrC3jM/s1600/DSCF3485_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR34chuYPy8jaWq1JRQDUnrdqUAdtKuyZutMkA6ZkCRNkl4JIgjWijeG0q8Yf8hvwIR6ZcrbpCwnWq3lNUkZsEaiG9jcEXLFC_35R2hXUPk4-S9fYjZ5ihxjfA2VCcUES40WB_7UrC3jM/s1600/DSCF3485_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR34chuYPy8jaWq1JRQDUnrdqUAdtKuyZutMkA6ZkCRNkl4JIgjWijeG0q8Yf8hvwIR6ZcrbpCwnWq3lNUkZsEaiG9jcEXLFC_35R2hXUPk4-S9fYjZ5ihxjfA2VCcUES40WB_7UrC3jM/s400/DSCF3485_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Finally, I came to the conclusion that they were indeed hawks...</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Of the Rough-legged variety (with feathers on their legs).</span><br />
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<b style="text-align: center;">Rough-legged Hawk</b><span style="text-align: center;">... </span><span style="text-align: center;">a new life bird for me #101.</span><br />
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Of course spring means lots of <b>American Robins</b>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGB0tv06UaZZCHkMBKb5U9h-ESzee00FOYXXR9q4gekPjpff8eG5X1TGHhRyIHE-XuJyJ3NgmSlfTa8nyinouZO1G1lL0oy1w5NWoKXnT3q7OUX65stNopI_ePSQtz-bV8m-3_1amFMo/s1600/S0143496_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSGB0tv06UaZZCHkMBKb5U9h-ESzee00FOYXXR9q4gekPjpff8eG5X1TGHhRyIHE-XuJyJ3NgmSlfTa8nyinouZO1G1lL0oy1w5NWoKXnT3q7OUX65stNopI_ePSQtz-bV8m-3_1amFMo/s640/S0143496_edited-1.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Robin</td></tr>
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Also, new for this year, were a dozen <b>Killdeer</b> out in the field hanging near some <b>European Starlings</b>. They were too far off for pictures, so I had to use the binoculars and could still barely see them. They are such cute little birds and their sweet little faces that stood out even in the distance. A fun fact about <b>Killdeer</b> is the parents will fake a broken wing and start chirping real loud to distract predators from it's nest. It's a hoot to see!<br />
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<span style="text-align: right;">These sweet little bunnies were busy getting ready for the big Easter weekend coming soon...</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbSb2hQklbWe97lOLeuMmL2MdZkB1NlSY5aYBWsbuYcLhD6KWlPdCFcfBpFvAKYHxdlQljKptEtZyMRU_csroYLYfySD7uvU67qD2uz8-a8rseraFv1x3wdC0lcCDllVK_zgeC6SO1_c/s1600/DSCF3484_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibbSb2hQklbWe97lOLeuMmL2MdZkB1NlSY5aYBWsbuYcLhD6KWlPdCFcfBpFvAKYHxdlQljKptEtZyMRU_csroYLYfySD7uvU67qD2uz8-a8rseraFv1x3wdC0lcCDllVK_zgeC6SO1_c/s640/DSCF3484_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHVzk-S4PI2dY99aDfY9dWiABRTlo0S1Mz05K4rvb4Ugco8gXGtlcfu3XFUulEbsuWdqhNOvNNJXosgx0C6amSvjgH72piQW7s5MlHuwSlJFvHbBvA2dDHWim_jqDr2j45UoPtmWbLQU/s1600/DSCF3483_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHVzk-S4PI2dY99aDfY9dWiABRTlo0S1Mz05K4rvb4Ugco8gXGtlcfu3XFUulEbsuWdqhNOvNNJXosgx0C6amSvjgH72piQW7s5MlHuwSlJFvHbBvA2dDHWim_jqDr2j45UoPtmWbLQU/s640/DSCF3483_edited-1.JPG" width="512" /></a></div>
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Best of all, I didn't even get a hint of car sickness wearing my motion sickness bands! I feel like Super Bird Woman with them on!<br />
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Oh yeah, forgot to mention that Bird Lady Assistant (hubby) is taking me to the Big Horn Show this weekend to see the Birds of Prey Exhibit! They showed a one-eyed Barn Owl named One-eyed Willy on the news today. I'm excited to go and hope to get some close-up pictures of some cool Birds of Prey! Stay tuned...<br />
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~ Sherrie (Super Bird Woman)Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-6555047945852859422013-03-19T03:32:00.002-07:002013-03-19T17:25:07.080-07:00On the Way Home... Yearning For More Birding<b><i>On the way home</i></b> from my afternoon of <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/owling-during-last-week-of-winter.html" target="_blank">owling</a> and then grocery shopping, I was still <i><b>yearning for more birding</b></i>! So I took the back road instead of jumping on the highway towards home. There is a natural bog/wetland area with a dead end road on one side and agricultural land on the other side of the road. I had never ventured down the dead end road before, but it seemed like a great place to bird!<br />
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The first bird I saw was an <b>Eurasian Collared Dove</b> hanging out on the phone lines. A different looking bird than I've seen around here, but I used to get <b>Mourning Doves</b> at my feeder when we lived on the west side of the state in Poulsbo. They look very similar except for the 1/2 necklace around the Eurasian's neck. This is a new life bird (#99) for me! After I took a few photos, it flew away...<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgWvL3PosnCsCI2vbRVRKTMPCSFrrzY0TWAmfwT7u96ZUD6JjOqxJhenIBXVqq-K_RD3pjiV-u-i4N-ywCjMggUYtUomadDU4eILAuNPtuvRr4aEuEx-Q-J7tS4teEZ4T0tvmIE6K1J8/s1600/Eurasian-Collared-Dove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKgWvL3PosnCsCI2vbRVRKTMPCSFrrzY0TWAmfwT7u96ZUD6JjOqxJhenIBXVqq-K_RD3pjiV-u-i4N-ywCjMggUYtUomadDU4eILAuNPtuvRr4aEuEx-Q-J7tS4teEZ4T0tvmIE6K1J8/s400/Eurasian-Collared-Dove.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eurasian Collared Dove</td></tr>
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Down the road a bit were thirty <b>American Crow</b> perched in some trees. I'm not sure I have seen that many crows together all at once. As soon as I snapped a picture of them...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8XMXqPFci5S1kafO6LiOAq9I3Cv3QsAczyS_pv-1yVHPNBE6weNLE3V9aetbjOK3iad0X4VoMlEz_UCLgobVtdwCXOyGj3OmeXommqUp_5PCPSrywccs1KUNz1scukWmXsACaGoSc9w/s1600/DSCF3268_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG8XMXqPFci5S1kafO6LiOAq9I3Cv3QsAczyS_pv-1yVHPNBE6weNLE3V9aetbjOK3iad0X4VoMlEz_UCLgobVtdwCXOyGj3OmeXommqUp_5PCPSrywccs1KUNz1scukWmXsACaGoSc9w/s640/DSCF3268_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A <i>Murder</i> of American Crow</td></tr>
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They made a bunch of noise and then flew away...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRGHaFSxOuO2XWGBcuNnPrZAaar3qX6hCb-Oixvq5WnkCBx9BS-F7N1KARKs8W2_suvLVit2xLv2VRi8PGBMyiY1dglBIJbH-I-Y-Z2dueljGKNpttsRjeIbRb_G_XOhtULYsvunUgcs/s1600/DSCF3270_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRGHaFSxOuO2XWGBcuNnPrZAaar3qX6hCb-Oixvq5WnkCBx9BS-F7N1KARKs8W2_suvLVit2xLv2VRi8PGBMyiY1dglBIJbH-I-Y-Z2dueljGKNpttsRjeIbRb_G_XOhtULYsvunUgcs/s640/DSCF3270_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Crows in Flight</td></tr>
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I was able to get some photos of some more birds in flight, I wasn't real sure what kind of birds they were and I couldn't tell much from the distant photo. But when I looked again on the computer and zoomed in real close I could tell that they were some sort of Geese or Swan. My friend Jana from across the lake had text me this last weekend and told me the swans were here on the lake. So I researched swans some more and I do believe these were <b>Tundra Swans</b>! Another lifer bird for me! That would be number 100!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHu2ERgLNaXkuEu7ql5tKktYPMEMYrOauTPPXQQVcgQH3ifqyfIhon0T81Al2ECeTzutq7giIdB9xr4GpzahnN5e5fcJFK7gANDlNEUXFSnkBxxk21sB9YTi4xlWb-lnz9cdc-pYzW2I/s1600/DSCF3276_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHu2ERgLNaXkuEu7ql5tKktYPMEMYrOauTPPXQQVcgQH3ifqyfIhon0T81Al2ECeTzutq7giIdB9xr4GpzahnN5e5fcJFK7gANDlNEUXFSnkBxxk21sB9YTi4xlWb-lnz9cdc-pYzW2I/s640/DSCF3276_edited-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tundra Swans</td></tr>
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Flying away seemed to be the thing to do today. Here I caught a huge flock of blackbirds, that looked more like mostly brown birds when I looked at the picture on the computer. Not exactly sure what kind. Originally, I thought <b>Starlings? Red-winged Blackbirds? Brown-headed Cow Birds? </b>Can't really tell in this pic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RXQ1I1WZbhUg1tOi4RaOji-9CZwJJfJQNHF5DA5yZiP04mjN8FktJEOOvI7xGQJu-OYIzWne6cWvs6_eLephtaJs4Terus9roBl-flTnmF4cltYoWutsvQ2D3uhf-VDEvS4ZfMU5EdM/s1600/S0113283_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-RXQ1I1WZbhUg1tOi4RaOji-9CZwJJfJQNHF5DA5yZiP04mjN8FktJEOOvI7xGQJu-OYIzWne6cWvs6_eLephtaJs4Terus9roBl-flTnmF4cltYoWutsvQ2D3uhf-VDEvS4ZfMU5EdM/s640/S0113283_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What kind of Birds???</td></tr>
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There were a dozen ducks out in the field. I was leery of using the binoculars, as they have made me car sick before. But I was wearing my SEA-Bands for motion sickness, and so far, I have not been car sick since I have tried them. So I peered through the binoculars, and could see that they were mostly <b>Mallards</b>, except one odd man out. I snapped a distant photo to help with identification later. When I was able to zoom in on my computer and check my my new Stokes Field Guide, I deciphered it to be a <b>Pintail Duck</b>. Not a lifer for me, but definitely not one that I see often. I can't remember when I've seen one, but it is marked in my book with a date of October 2005, so there you go!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEm91ZpOUfmvjWvWuUzvprlyqCXlJW51QBskCQlpLogZhvyB_-lzU-YVDCfNtb1Sv-HG0yifMlfoGxsjBd3IBUll_xqFj9hRdVniuRaqZY8y6YrLkRq1h9oEcwTaH1PY7iE6aMgqWVlMQ/s1600/S0133295_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEm91ZpOUfmvjWvWuUzvprlyqCXlJW51QBskCQlpLogZhvyB_-lzU-YVDCfNtb1Sv-HG0yifMlfoGxsjBd3IBUll_xqFj9hRdVniuRaqZY8y6YrLkRq1h9oEcwTaH1PY7iE6aMgqWVlMQ/s640/S0133295_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pintail Duck with a bunch of Mallards</td></tr>
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Now it's not a bad day when you see FOUR <b>Bald Eagles</b>! <span style="text-align: center;">I saw the first <b>Bald Eagle</b> of the year earlier in the day not more than a couple of miles from here on Highway 395 in Clayton.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtyE4t75u5pVBdPXomKPbMEKJgg2bG5LFKmoIlFBo8QxN_iXycea9OOXT6v_wzsXVYCQbdHh_9y6Y8yIy2xfzwFdMjZYICatGMkZ85_r95WUbVF6ITyXIB2oUYPc45ofZYnGmU16NGek/s1600/DSCF3204_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrtyE4t75u5pVBdPXomKPbMEKJgg2bG5LFKmoIlFBo8QxN_iXycea9OOXT6v_wzsXVYCQbdHh_9y6Y8yIy2xfzwFdMjZYICatGMkZ85_r95WUbVF6ITyXIB2oUYPc45ofZYnGmU16NGek/s320/DSCF3204_edited-1.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmiviDXOY3hvzhKAE0Nxq8hc0pEVyDONnlPxZgoAtIo5GQWSRtMgjro8lRSg3gTPDBu4F40BlIeXOuU_BpyFEWgMmVxDW2p81W_jEgQRk64LmSmazfPpIhwJ58IIFNG-oedCx_6V7yIM/s1600/S0163310_editied.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmiviDXOY3hvzhKAE0Nxq8hc0pEVyDONnlPxZgoAtIo5GQWSRtMgjro8lRSg3gTPDBu4F40BlIeXOuU_BpyFEWgMmVxDW2p81W_jEgQRk64LmSmazfPpIhwJ58IIFNG-oedCx_6V7yIM/s320/S0163310_editied.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">I stopped and pulled over on the shoulder of the highway and snapped a couple of quick shots. To far off for decent photos, but at least you can see the eagle!</span><br />
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Here is another far off, distant photo of one of the <b>Bald Eagles</b>. I also saw two <b>Bald Eagles</b> together, but...<br />
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The two eagles took flight as I got my camera ready to take photos. It was all I could do to push the button on the camera and point it in that direction in hopes of catching the birds in the viewfinder. These pics didn't turn out well either, so I decided to use a new technique. I photo-merged the five Eagle flight shots to get this effect. Took me a few tries to perfect it, but how cool is that? Much more interesting than showing you the individual shots one by one like I was going to do.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE64itO19LO3arlAnKDtUOLkCMCGi3wv3HdrGtQOu4LSej6-41aDN9u08xWJbTZ5-fsjez9goVOvLnFa_Z4mQpJx9cTkEIYlQoU5M_shDqhkxzBtBfBwgESwPMw4UE00g_GNIaT9vpA48/s1600/Bald-Eagle-Merged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE64itO19LO3arlAnKDtUOLkCMCGi3wv3HdrGtQOu4LSej6-41aDN9u08xWJbTZ5-fsjez9goVOvLnFa_Z4mQpJx9cTkEIYlQoU5M_shDqhkxzBtBfBwgESwPMw4UE00g_GNIaT9vpA48/s640/Bald-Eagle-Merged.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo-merged Bald Eagle in Flight</td></tr>
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The <b>Red-winged Blackbird</b> males have been seeking out the best ponds with cat tails for a couple of weeks. The males migrate back first to scope out their territory. The old saying... "The early bird gets the worm" applies here. The early birds get the best territory. Now that the females are showing up, I love watching the males show off and broaden their shoulders and puff up the red and yellow part of their wings.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-L0JCp0xAYuQh-9LK7qpccYrc-ifXAmZLvWZk4_eAX7VHlbut17pZJqH0UeEiKM7-8d2asNarFozw88zynTKJFkAELFWg8NScnluy3YBDJECrG7a5cQMV9V2fTuDCdPIM-mR9lA0pUc0/s1600/Red-winged-Blackbirds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-L0JCp0xAYuQh-9LK7qpccYrc-ifXAmZLvWZk4_eAX7VHlbut17pZJqH0UeEiKM7-8d2asNarFozw88zynTKJFkAELFWg8NScnluy3YBDJECrG7a5cQMV9V2fTuDCdPIM-mR9lA0pUc0/s640/Red-winged-Blackbirds.jpg" width="496" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-winged Blackbirds</td></tr>
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And there he goes... flying off...<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">On the way home</i> from a family get together in town last weekend... I was enjoying being out and about and seeing some birds. I got excited when I saw a <b>Northern Shrike</b>, and wanted to turn around to go check it out (I don't have any pics of one). Bird Lady Assistant (a.k.a. my husband) murmured a resounding NO. But I was still <b><i>yearning for more birding</i></b><i>!</i> So after I dropped off the family at home, I let my chihuahua Jack E. Cheez hop in the car, and come birding with me. I had seen some ducks back at the wetland a mile from my house. Now that the lake was starting to defrost and there was a little of the lake showing, the birds will start showing back up. It's an exciting time here for this Bird Lady! There were a dozen ducks, all <b>Common Mergansers</b>, and then one <b>Common Goldeneye</b>. Funny that each time I've seen a Goldeneye this year, they have been the only one in a group of other ducks. In this picture, the Goldeneye is... yep, flying off... from the group of Mergansers. The lucky ducks are the first (I've seen) to enjoy the lake this year!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdYWcinXrqB0YfB1mdCFxOAc6nk1Y5ZvDj0bg3OmJFqfroIxOo4eChMnpS42qbtLaUCiarPZHvxcKmo4vFTBaXQuRTp5O2XH12LFBQTTL21jhY011CkIdjkS0mNiHIr55AdB02Rgwdys/s1600/S0043401_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKdYWcinXrqB0YfB1mdCFxOAc6nk1Y5ZvDj0bg3OmJFqfroIxOo4eChMnpS42qbtLaUCiarPZHvxcKmo4vFTBaXQuRTp5O2XH12LFBQTTL21jhY011CkIdjkS0mNiHIr55AdB02Rgwdys/s640/S0043401_edited-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Goldeneye flying away from the group of Common Mergansers</td></tr>
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<b><i>On the Way Home</i></b>...<br />
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Finally, I'm at home, relaxing in my recliner, and I hear an all too familiar sound coming from outside. I leap up, open the slider to the balcony, and sure enough, I hear the resident <b>Osprey</b>, returning after a long winter to check out the annual nest that is just a few yards away from my balcony. However, there is a huge tree in between the balcony and the nest tree, and way too many branches blocking my sight of the nest. Oh what I would give to have a clear shot. Guess I'll have to use the neighbors deck behind us to get some pictures. They have a great view of the <b>Osprey</b> nest! As I'm out on the balcony, I also hear the <b>Pileated Woodpecker</b> that have been calling out to each other the last couple of days. It's great to be adding some new yard birds to the list. Be sure to check out my yard list, 2013 list, and life list on <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/2013-big-year.html" target="_blank">Bird Lady's Lists.</a> I have 17 yard birds, 45 Species in 2013, and finally 100 species on my life list!!!<br />
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and yet I'm still... <i style="font-weight: bold;">Yearning for More Birding!</i><br />
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~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)<br />
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<br />Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-72971130420322929222013-03-15T02:26:00.002-07:002013-03-15T02:26:26.510-07:00Owling During the Last Week of WinterIt's still a bit snowy around here and the lake is still frozen solid this last week of winter. But today it was to be the warmest day of the year so far, near 60 degrees, so I thought it would be a good day to get out and about and do some birding. As I headed out, I noticed a small amount of water along the edge of the ice down at the wetland. Look closely, you can barely see the reflection of the sky in the water where the dock is floating between the ice on the lake and the snow on the beach. I am so excited to see that reflection and my old friend the lake. Oh how I've missed it over the long winter.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQjjnUliTUs5-0Bu6RXUBRm_G6LQZ6O6gcGEDdJb3z0Jf2i9vCJGxop-AxmYLi75zrbKL6maLQQ8g68kkM_K6yKp_t_8wqpSIjmVT0u1f1R_oD6Tm-mIj7We-XS6lihNTF1RpOT-c9eQ/s1600/DSCF3362_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUQjjnUliTUs5-0Bu6RXUBRm_G6LQZ6O6gcGEDdJb3z0Jf2i9vCJGxop-AxmYLi75zrbKL6maLQQ8g68kkM_K6yKp_t_8wqpSIjmVT0u1f1R_oD6Tm-mIj7We-XS6lihNTF1RpOT-c9eQ/s640/DSCF3362_edited-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally the ice is starting to recede!</td></tr>
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My plan for the day was to head over to Deer Park to look for evidence of the owls my daughter has been hearing at night behind her apartment. The other night, when I got home after dark, I heard an owl near our house too. After listening to all the owl sounds on my iBird app, I decided that it sounded like a Great Horned Owl. I would love to get some proof of it, but there is still alot of snow around our place. There isn't much snow at all in Deer Park so it's much easier to walk around there. So today I did my owling in the woods behind the apartment complex. The first thing I came upon was this cool fort.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVWYIQ4uS8WPEzK6ZHLV5M8vEkB3AIGX4rtIKS6o-AhF8ZhOwe_6U-D0NageiYwCI0gQo_yzKoWWPc7mHfxf8L6gAyRob2hTozeTJSOqnZnzBVgo9x3pCMauY9VPyaoGzQfXkLTIpeHc/s1600/DSCF3216_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVVWYIQ4uS8WPEzK6ZHLV5M8vEkB3AIGX4rtIKS6o-AhF8ZhOwe_6U-D0NageiYwCI0gQo_yzKoWWPc7mHfxf8L6gAyRob2hTozeTJSOqnZnzBVgo9x3pCMauY9VPyaoGzQfXkLTIpeHc/s320/DSCF3216_edited-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neat fort with a <b><i>Home Sweet Home</i></b> sign inside</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_gQiJ1I3TR5Q-Sh8PPCS_LFRh-gTWRHTHrU-N8Q4tsN7VMKr19dNocBDwzq6obVOzvn_4yb1as5RNKtbCZgxq8Vg42eGlsezFj0WxZs0xGI_Tc8gv6mcJclskeruIXKyYUgn9qBjMXE/s1600/DSCF3217_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB_gQiJ1I3TR5Q-Sh8PPCS_LFRh-gTWRHTHrU-N8Q4tsN7VMKr19dNocBDwzq6obVOzvn_4yb1as5RNKtbCZgxq8Vg42eGlsezFj0WxZs0xGI_Tc8gv6mcJclskeruIXKyYUgn9qBjMXE/s320/DSCF3217_edited-1.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>
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Then I stumbled upon another type of home. Wonder what type of woodpecker made these holes?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilllGerIA_1Eec02z7x4WdB3Yk7g6Ar-ZIFqleoPWSQKdKjUU3pPAEDGsOIO0Bk3Ry0LwY-q9Uij-tWMPK1yieLIq3-3jA6krCbUo-5EsyJ9K7U_9SB78de2SPA-cm_GiT5fSTfO07fgY/s1600/DSCF3222_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilllGerIA_1Eec02z7x4WdB3Yk7g6Ar-ZIFqleoPWSQKdKjUU3pPAEDGsOIO0Bk3Ry0LwY-q9Uij-tWMPK1yieLIq3-3jA6krCbUo-5EsyJ9K7U_9SB78de2SPA-cm_GiT5fSTfO07fgY/s320/DSCF3222_edited-1.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvo7TX9TqQbfA3tQ-v_BrLku2CYelNpMaBMYG0vPgPnM-H0bD1ix9qc4UqVRhzrBVRJ6ZBjxIBMmD4FJgV1u16-sAMHAm2tPSqwLmXO1y-NCN0WcrGmNaZfQ9rfqOYtCs1a8NBlGUpk8U/s1600/DSCF3220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvo7TX9TqQbfA3tQ-v_BrLku2CYelNpMaBMYG0vPgPnM-H0bD1ix9qc4UqVRhzrBVRJ6ZBjxIBMmD4FJgV1u16-sAMHAm2tPSqwLmXO1y-NCN0WcrGmNaZfQ9rfqOYtCs1a8NBlGUpk8U/s320/DSCF3220.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1X0Y8P_xNr_ePzOS4NcR5L4bI55wlqVqFts_ut2VNaqr7IpqN9k8Xic6DetNO7336FcDuwqBoShMCpC2QzKPDe4HOXp6Y3OzOj4Hoisg6LkSzy6cX1k5tjh8-gbYUdHGprftEjWZS38/s1600/DSCF3224_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1X0Y8P_xNr_ePzOS4NcR5L4bI55wlqVqFts_ut2VNaqr7IpqN9k8Xic6DetNO7336FcDuwqBoShMCpC2QzKPDe4HOXp6Y3OzOj4Hoisg6LkSzy6cX1k5tjh8-gbYUdHGprftEjWZS38/s320/DSCF3224_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OoXsv4vix_AiosRutfoNjp-g0UKexWTWpSLNHhOqGgpIrtoXgiQnf1-nGsJv224ImTgT8hHzfIlUzXhbYmwQdQHenesSdJVrP4PYRAV52f4dwlDEL1Ih4WjtGwAOl0_L3xlkXedZ1NM/s1600/DSCF3226_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OoXsv4vix_AiosRutfoNjp-g0UKexWTWpSLNHhOqGgpIrtoXgiQnf1-nGsJv224ImTgT8hHzfIlUzXhbYmwQdQHenesSdJVrP4PYRAV52f4dwlDEL1Ih4WjtGwAOl0_L3xlkXedZ1NM/s320/DSCF3226_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There was an old fallen down barn in the lot next door. I had fun exploring inside...<br />
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Looked like the perfect hangout for barn owls. It was a little spooky...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkLzeHI6N_TEJNP_Le1qUqqbJIarm8c_nsRHY82nSX0jtq9laNTICo-0i4pWcgoZwSDMWJLV4LwuqLtnnfQAaTCUNrIfSlMzrDblmvfpSAr8qMwDpLR07et1WKsJZNCBKsJ-4FZaUOQo/s1600/DSCF3258_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkLzeHI6N_TEJNP_Le1qUqqbJIarm8c_nsRHY82nSX0jtq9laNTICo-0i4pWcgoZwSDMWJLV4LwuqLtnnfQAaTCUNrIfSlMzrDblmvfpSAr8qMwDpLR07et1WKsJZNCBKsJ-4FZaUOQo/s320/DSCF3258_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vole Tunnels</td></tr>
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In the field were <i>tons of tunnels</i> made by voles, also known as field mice, making it a perfect area for owls to hunt.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCDnOjKKEB-wzC4sSRj3JaHvVb7p6sbJ2RXLDXymmacyiuhcb1X9O6rURrgzCqn3P45CIxo8CGcduPgWdZKPDo8v0uW4eEpUZA_z4_Q8jOWhYcN5zkXA9YrA6aNvadN6N7STYQ9UvuD8/s1600/DSCF3229_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCDnOjKKEB-wzC4sSRj3JaHvVb7p6sbJ2RXLDXymmacyiuhcb1X9O6rURrgzCqn3P45CIxo8CGcduPgWdZKPDo8v0uW4eEpUZA_z4_Q8jOWhYcN5zkXA9YrA6aNvadN6N7STYQ9UvuD8/s320/DSCF3229_edited-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrances to the tunnels</td></tr>
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<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Then I made my way to the wooded area, checking the ground around each tree looking for owl pellets. Owl pellets are the regurgitated indigestible parts of the food the owl eats, and contains bones, fur, feathers and such. I did see a few questionable piles of waste, but didn't feel like poking around in it to see if it was owl or dog waste. I also came upon several deer droppings.<div>
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As I scoured the trees up and down, checking the tangles of branches, I hear some sweet little tweets coming from the woods. I followed the tweets and found some cute tiny birds flitting about the pine trees. They moved so quickly, it was hard to get a glimpse of them. But I would see a flash of yellow on the tiny birds crown, and a fleck of red on the crown of some. First bird that came to mind was a Kinglet. There are Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and I wasn't sure without checking my references which these little birdies were. I tried to get a decent picture of the cute little things, but the were so quick to flit about the tangles of the trees, that it was next to impossible to get a good shot in. I did get enough pictures that I could confirm the I.D. as being the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The male and females both have the yellow crowns, but the males also have a red spot on their crown too, hence the Ruby-crowned. Here are the pics that cinched the identity.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkNUTxinB3WvJr0oBQdewsth2apg7AMllWgLVP4mCF7j01IexBT99lp59UdN_yz1sbDwaiY_ikpBhvsrUv32-OtZv-s9U9JpDxyl1WwEDJxPG-GdUcGoaYzwMDx__A2_NoHplQJLrMck/s1600/Ruby-crowned-Kinglet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfkNUTxinB3WvJr0oBQdewsth2apg7AMllWgLVP4mCF7j01IexBT99lp59UdN_yz1sbDwaiY_ikpBhvsrUv32-OtZv-s9U9JpDxyl1WwEDJxPG-GdUcGoaYzwMDx__A2_NoHplQJLrMck/s400/Ruby-crowned-Kinglet.jpg" width="310" /></a></div>
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So I spent almost an hour and a half wandering through the woods and found plenty of evidence that this was perfect owl territory, but no actual owl evidence. This won't be my last time, as I plan to go back in the near future!</div>
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~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)<br /><div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCDnOjKKEB-wzC4sSRj3JaHvVb7p6sbJ2RXLDXymmacyiuhcb1X9O6rURrgzCqn3P45CIxo8CGcduPgWdZKPDo8v0uW4eEpUZA_z4_Q8jOWhYcN5zkXA9YrA6aNvadN6N7STYQ9UvuD8/s1600/DSCF3229_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCDnOjKKEB-wzC4sSRj3JaHvVb7p6sbJ2RXLDXymmacyiuhcb1X9O6rURrgzCqn3P45CIxo8CGcduPgWdZKPDo8v0uW4eEpUZA_z4_Q8jOWhYcN5zkXA9YrA6aNvadN6N7STYQ9UvuD8/s1600/DSCF3229_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCDnOjKKEB-wzC4sSRj3JaHvVb7p6sbJ2RXLDXymmacyiuhcb1X9O6rURrgzCqn3P45CIxo8CGcduPgWdZKPDo8v0uW4eEpUZA_z4_Q8jOWhYcN5zkXA9YrA6aNvadN6N7STYQ9UvuD8/s1600/DSCF3229_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinCDnOjKKEB-wzC4sSRj3JaHvVb7p6sbJ2RXLDXymmacyiuhcb1X9O6rURrgzCqn3P45CIxo8CGcduPgWdZKPDo8v0uW4eEpUZA_z4_Q8jOWhYcN5zkXA9YrA6aNvadN6N7STYQ9UvuD8/s1600/DSCF3229_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-11907098780273354412013-03-09T23:48:00.000-08:002013-03-09T23:53:59.362-08:00Birding at Gonzaga CampusFinally, after being stuck at home for a week, I was able to get out of the house and do some birding. Last week when I attempted to get some badly needed birding in, I got car sick, really car sick, and ended up with a two day migraine and no desire to ever get back in a car. So this Bird Lady was <i><b>more </b></i>than ready to get some outdoors in!<br />
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After taking myself out to lunch, I drove to Gonzaga University (#1 team in NCAA college basketball right now, GO BULLDOGS!), parked my car, and started walking across campus until I came upon this fellow...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TXC7gqL1Q7PhQ9yR3w6dvvDVCtkoHQjz3aS3nMtg5hQvoVPzSppf79lG8uVXfAV6bUY9xF7ctG4GsQ6lbZ7gmh5nhXCbIkPWFINdpTW_tREPLO3WVJBpaJpjDCD9h8aLGBFj-v4FYtA/s1600/DSCF3203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TXC7gqL1Q7PhQ9yR3w6dvvDVCtkoHQjz3aS3nMtg5hQvoVPzSppf79lG8uVXfAV6bUY9xF7ctG4GsQ6lbZ7gmh5nhXCbIkPWFINdpTW_tREPLO3WVJBpaJpjDCD9h8aLGBFj-v4FYtA/s640/DSCF3203.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spike the Bulldog's mascot</td></tr>
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As I continued walking, I could hear the birds singing, and looked up into a huge tree to see what types of birdies were making the sweet sounds. I recognized the American Robins of course, and a couple of European Starlings. There were also some small grayish birds that I snapped a couple of photos of in hopes to identify them once I downloaded the pictures to the computer, and got a better look. I do believe the little birds were American Goldfinches in winter plumage. After the big tree with birds, I made my way to a large pond at the back of the campus. Imagine my delight when I saw a gazebo with bird feeders on both sides! I made a b-line for the gazebo and right away noticed several little birds enjoying the feeders. There was a pair of House Finches sharing one feeder with a Black-capped Chickadee.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhSP0xKdO21PRENTzeTHs2Fchhn7zz0VCYVw1nAuvhBU3Lgca4OdMnx849PCTu1AiTPWwjHNMImcOKo-BOARa-cyAJDPzkgQNTy_tGNrlAAqCYoY6WjYLEoDBuu7XwUbRM5oI5ls9AM4/s1600/S0053108_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhSP0xKdO21PRENTzeTHs2Fchhn7zz0VCYVw1nAuvhBU3Lgca4OdMnx849PCTu1AiTPWwjHNMImcOKo-BOARa-cyAJDPzkgQNTy_tGNrlAAqCYoY6WjYLEoDBuu7XwUbRM5oI5ls9AM4/s640/S0053108_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male House Finch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJ0cGNAnwAf2_KyykzQJaE2gAGyILFotzRsidzi-kreAVc9Pd5bs6TMFANkBRtvWGAOe_M8cxTWdXSmpeSGDLB1mGSxdQiqUdOO8UEL9dWcfp5thUKwBl_2_Hi8_zQy1WE9b7U3nWtDE/s1600/S0053114_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilJ0cGNAnwAf2_KyykzQJaE2gAGyILFotzRsidzi-kreAVc9Pd5bs6TMFANkBRtvWGAOe_M8cxTWdXSmpeSGDLB1mGSxdQiqUdOO8UEL9dWcfp5thUKwBl_2_Hi8_zQy1WE9b7U3nWtDE/s640/S0053114_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">House Finch & Black-capped Chickadee</td></tr>
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Under the other feeder, there were several Dark-eyed Juncos dining and a male House Sparrow enjoyed the fallen seed too.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCm1VPeotR7YPylogOUYS806J2vjy24D5rig2zy4o24vQConpH6GOiLrrsFkFmkmubMDe5tppZfAP7koo0NCKF7XdD0RWd7epecq_5yXI-C-rzS1mJz5lmYmsjZ0A_ouVTkF3hkJl-x_4/s1600/S0073129_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCm1VPeotR7YPylogOUYS806J2vjy24D5rig2zy4o24vQConpH6GOiLrrsFkFmkmubMDe5tppZfAP7koo0NCKF7XdD0RWd7epecq_5yXI-C-rzS1mJz5lmYmsjZ0A_ouVTkF3hkJl-x_4/s640/S0073129_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Male House Sparrow</td></tr>
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I spent quite some time enjoying the feeder activity, and then continued my stroll along the pond's edge. A Northern Flicker and Red-breasted Nuthatch caught my eye, but didn't cooperate for pictures. A couple of pairs of Mallard ducks swam along the shore of the pond and there was a neat water feature in the middle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jaP2g1WdgiDx2bBIE9ddT-W213GNAl5OqmN8xqbYaJktErFq9gsqsu3W7i8oUFcZQoYyodiEH_ewhx15C-EiPxa2SMRthv7TimzZql5wfl91IySB6kx376EVCJRRV4AE2x4Qt3ZB8P0/s1600/S0093143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jaP2g1WdgiDx2bBIE9ddT-W213GNAl5OqmN8xqbYaJktErFq9gsqsu3W7i8oUFcZQoYyodiEH_ewhx15C-EiPxa2SMRthv7TimzZql5wfl91IySB6kx376EVCJRRV4AE2x4Qt3ZB8P0/s640/S0093143.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water Feature in the middle of the pond</td></tr>
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Dozens of American Wigeon were swimming in the large pond, and making their funny little sounds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yORRz1X1WnJIfiNDWAxkedgwYwMFYqhauUNzeQLLxTrDk5AJPtY95UuAaUIT61IqrGtQVtvMU8Qx-TjWdIvLlNjjLSuWxy9l7DKr_WEy-N1a1Du3QvAxPl0HRdfuOGdi6dAY712anZA/s1600/DSCF3156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5yORRz1X1WnJIfiNDWAxkedgwYwMFYqhauUNzeQLLxTrDk5AJPtY95UuAaUIT61IqrGtQVtvMU8Qx-TjWdIvLlNjjLSuWxy9l7DKr_WEy-N1a1Du3QvAxPl0HRdfuOGdi6dAY712anZA/s640/DSCF3156.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful pond with all the American Wigeon in the distance</td></tr>
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An American Robin hid in the bushes as I walked by, but couldn't hide from my camera lens as I peaked over the embankment. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hcpR_09ulrdo9wC3fVb0P7Of5cnXWWouP-hXp_kSonExxNGiA3eKoIqmmCE3RAGnqdY_WaGvz0GvWyJu0lyoUhR7gek-MRryGWHn-SFuP9zGxqT3ECDdtHw-GrNFzwb1Lj4BxiH2q3U/s1600/DSCF3196_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hcpR_09ulrdo9wC3fVb0P7Of5cnXWWouP-hXp_kSonExxNGiA3eKoIqmmCE3RAGnqdY_WaGvz0GvWyJu0lyoUhR7gek-MRryGWHn-SFuP9zGxqT3ECDdtHw-GrNFzwb1Lj4BxiH2q3U/s640/DSCF3196_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Robin in the bush</td></tr>
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As I made my way back to my car, a group of Canada Geese flew into the soccer field and set-up for a game of soccer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0gqn0p8CNDCMd8Z9nnlGnBXsp2O8z1PujSzXyWSi9WkQL_BKkrvMb5hcPWjn-QRTuFY46PM9050OoBCS2qhCCd3hT6ONeD48IUr2oTs7ZiGlLKnk2KgX1sjABoyO2AyFLivxoYtDuM0/s1600/DSCF3200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_0gqn0p8CNDCMd8Z9nnlGnBXsp2O8z1PujSzXyWSi9WkQL_BKkrvMb5hcPWjn-QRTuFY46PM9050OoBCS2qhCCd3hT6ONeD48IUr2oTs7ZiGlLKnk2KgX1sjABoyO2AyFLivxoYtDuM0/s640/DSCF3200.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soccer Geese (Canadian team)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yTAU2g_HNlS7Cdd50mCAecZc0z8Hl4OL05k4QuF6scv4qmmXoTL2LO7vgDXkB5DgI7jFcMMdf0o1QeHnhYgy-UYo14rpHvxZF3HiEaerERGYIOtE4itO_hSqLCJCXHpetZFhvpLHntQ/s1600/DSCF3195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4yTAU2g_HNlS7Cdd50mCAecZc0z8Hl4OL05k4QuF6scv4qmmXoTL2LO7vgDXkB5DgI7jFcMMdf0o1QeHnhYgy-UYo14rpHvxZF3HiEaerERGYIOtE4itO_hSqLCJCXHpetZFhvpLHntQ/s640/DSCF3195.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful day at Gonzaga!</td></tr>
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Be sure to check out my <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/2013-big-year.html" target="_blank">2013 lists</a>. I'm up to 38 birds species for the year so far.<br />
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Come on SPRING!<br />
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<br />Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-70321698015278435282013-02-23T23:32:00.003-08:002013-02-24T00:29:50.515-08:00Red-breasted, Red-headed, Red-spotted, Red-winged, Red-tailedYesterday was a dreary day, snowing most of the day. Many of the birds used the feeders as a sort of refuge from the snowy weather. The <span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-breasted</span> Nuthatches used the suet to shield themselves from the snow, and were just kind of frozen there. The Pine Siskin roosted for quite some time on the black sunflower seed feeder that is under the eaves and clear of any falling moisture on my, as I like to call it, bird balcony.<br />
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Another bird who I haven't seen come to the balcony feeder, spent a good deal of time there while it snowed. I had only seen the <span style="color: #cc0000;">red-headed</span> male House Finch once this year, perched on my bird tree. He stared me down as I took a few photos of him through the glass slider door.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkRWueorrkVqCyBktMkPAeYFwD_Jl1u3KHXpqErTKL8LU8ccMuVtbNMjIU_gLlMdvzc7x-LTNExrMU9WSfYNLiICK3fqCpIldHRpEfCZJZQq12SPszwucDgfU7UE69WhTLjFyM_9Yvvc/s1600/S0012918_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkRWueorrkVqCyBktMkPAeYFwD_Jl1u3KHXpqErTKL8LU8ccMuVtbNMjIU_gLlMdvzc7x-LTNExrMU9WSfYNLiICK3fqCpIldHRpEfCZJZQq12SPszwucDgfU7UE69WhTLjFyM_9Yvvc/s640/S0012918_edited-1.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handsome House Finch</td></tr>
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A male Hairy Woodpecker with a <span style="color: #cc0000;">red-spotted</span> crown, showed up in the hood a couple of days ago, and was back again. Up until now, there was only one female Downy Woodpecker that frequented the suet feeders just about daily. So it's kind of nice to see a male and a Hairy for some variety. In the following picture you can see the size difference between the male Hairy on the left and the female Downy on the right. They look very similar except for the body and beak size.<br />
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When I get away from home, it seems much closer to spring when I'm out and about, away from my snowy wonderland here on the backside of the lake. Today on my way home, I took the back roads and was able to stop and take some snapshots of some birds that remind me of spring. Like the Robin <span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-breast</span> (American Robin), I've been seeing more and more while out. Today, there were a dozen or more of robins hanging out with a 'cloud' of blackbirds. A few of them were Starlings, but then there were plenty of <span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-winged</span> Blackbirds staking out their territory in the small ponds with spent cat tails. I was able to catch this guy as I pulled up under him with the sun roof open. He started zinging and whizzing and showing me how big he was with his wings and tail all fanned out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-winged Blackbird</td></tr>
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Another bird I like to stalk with the sun roof open is the <span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-tailed</span> hawk. I always count the Red-tails I encounter along the highway and today was no different (I counted 11), except that since I was on the back roads, I could actually pull over and snap some pics! This hawk was sunning itself in the last couple of minutes before sunset. I got one quick shot in before it flew off (and one really fuzzy one after it took flight).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjBlRvF4GtVfLG1J2Txy2nrYfUU95PzvmFOpOsBlgssjQKdvx4d0ABIZpS06PXf1c2qFwUHeM7nO7LjXulUSNlLa5bBtHiaTeny98jy1ocIOWOpevtb_YgusqKRjzcYHdJkg_jUCnYFg/s1600/DSCF3016_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjBlRvF4GtVfLG1J2Txy2nrYfUU95PzvmFOpOsBlgssjQKdvx4d0ABIZpS06PXf1c2qFwUHeM7nO7LjXulUSNlLa5bBtHiaTeny98jy1ocIOWOpevtb_YgusqKRjzcYHdJkg_jUCnYFg/s640/DSCF3016_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-tailed Hawk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Oh, and how could I forget, the last bird sighting of the day was a highway hawk, but not my typical Red-tailed. It was smaller, with a long barred tail. I swung back around and did a u-turn to go back and check it out. The little hawk flew off before I could get a photo, but I did get a good look. After I got home, I consulted my trusty bird reference book and it was indeed a Sharp-shinned Hawk. A new bird for 2013 and for my <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/2013-big-year.html" target="_blank">life list</a>!<br />
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All the <span style="color: #cc0000;">RED</span> birds featured in today's post...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-breasted</span> Nuthatch</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(<span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-headed</span> & <span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-breasted</span>) House Finch</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(<span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-spotted</span>) Hairy Woodpecker</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
American Robin <span style="color: #cc0000;">(Red-breast)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-winged</span> Blackbird</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Red-tailed</span> Hawk</div>
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</div>
Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-20739428127862028102013-02-19T22:13:00.001-08:002013-02-20T13:43:31.795-08:00Duck, Duck, Goose at Riverfront Park<i>See something different about Bird Lady Blog? A new and improved format! I got a fancy new all-in-one computer with a 23" screen, and the old blog looked so puny and small. I didn't like it at all, so I updated to a new format. The photos are a lot bigger and look much better on a dark background. Along with my new computer, I bought Photoshop Elements 11, an upgrade from my Elements 7. These were the first set of pictures I downloaded, and I must say I'm loving the new version! Hope you enjoy!</i><br />
<br />
The other day I was in town and had some time to myself after meeting a friend for lunch. I decided to visit Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane to see what ducks and geese I might find along the river that runs through the park by the infamous Looff Carousel. I paid $2 to park across the street from the park for an hour. As soon as I entered the park, I could see quite the group of ducks and geese. I was able to get within a few feet of them and started snapping photos. They didn't seem to mind at all.<br />
<br />
There was a lone Common Goldeneye in the group. A handsome fellow indeed...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiel85RCZhiei93FjIAr7XsURvSNSgiVHeCAtQK3gts5bAKugbByjcFqO95DCCrv2lMZnlDlocGtmRMCa5TVWq4foNEX1vzT-yIejKItK41EfpShg06GG29xblFzLA7xjEvDBzMLEGFwRM/s1600/DSCF2716_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="473" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiel85RCZhiei93FjIAr7XsURvSNSgiVHeCAtQK3gts5bAKugbByjcFqO95DCCrv2lMZnlDlocGtmRMCa5TVWq4foNEX1vzT-yIejKItK41EfpShg06GG29xblFzLA7xjEvDBzMLEGFwRM/s640/DSCF2716_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Common Goldeneye</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
About a dozen Mallards...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3N3kiNJNxbSLbEsEVZg3zhlrJue5-hJ85ZayvgPKJcZzOOOR1kkidfPDjexmd_URaER6XTDPIT5YwVUy1f5rE2kmzz1qqi2f9nk03b1AG16LlcjIgOx8D2_n48EAR8Gre2zk2zxFjMLs/s1600/DSCF2703_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3N3kiNJNxbSLbEsEVZg3zhlrJue5-hJ85ZayvgPKJcZzOOOR1kkidfPDjexmd_URaER6XTDPIT5YwVUy1f5rE2kmzz1qqi2f9nk03b1AG16LlcjIgOx8D2_n48EAR8Gre2zk2zxFjMLs/s640/DSCF2703_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mallards</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Half a dozen American Wigeon...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUcQ8oBNYf9aXQan9ITv631HUTH2vdeRmWPziqJNa8oZQuBi00X6Bimgu2N4ti8D74r0mj_4CyPBS3U6bpMhh1FzVxA11B0Q-d-O_BU_UZpRMAmp_fQlLdUiqDWDufci0xlPb1REi43E/s1600/DSCF2694_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoUcQ8oBNYf9aXQan9ITv631HUTH2vdeRmWPziqJNa8oZQuBi00X6Bimgu2N4ti8D74r0mj_4CyPBS3U6bpMhh1FzVxA11B0Q-d-O_BU_UZpRMAmp_fQlLdUiqDWDufci0xlPb1REi43E/s640/DSCF2694_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Wigeon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Three pairs of Canadian Geese. Notice the water droplets?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNZzomjZK4i9U_y0x8_KIw66dtsKob9LJJrMtaiuI4r0eMoIkIbBOebmQgb0Pg96cUkPvn76Wm0UqrSiWQQm17425UvyU73LSwEEcCfP2SJkkyQ0MHwOTfVRKjKv3Kq6lgF9ylYX1w5o/s1600/DSCF2713_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNNZzomjZK4i9U_y0x8_KIw66dtsKob9LJJrMtaiuI4r0eMoIkIbBOebmQgb0Pg96cUkPvn76Wm0UqrSiWQQm17425UvyU73LSwEEcCfP2SJkkyQ0MHwOTfVRKjKv3Kq6lgF9ylYX1w5o/s640/DSCF2713_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canadian Goose</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This bad boy was smoking a cigarette!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvwrXQajgi7tOW4rlPUvDh5sTKDPKx60sHgvf-8Jb1H__CyW-Pn7aVzF-YHDfm1O7tIrxJGmyj0Y__dOfVKru4Okf5KkDLDzTjLmLryVgWezCx889Ubg8ZerHnzxMuFKo0SaKOxUl0D4/s1600/DSCF2718_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCvwrXQajgi7tOW4rlPUvDh5sTKDPKx60sHgvf-8Jb1H__CyW-Pn7aVzF-YHDfm1O7tIrxJGmyj0Y__dOfVKru4Okf5KkDLDzTjLmLryVgWezCx889Ubg8ZerHnzxMuFKo0SaKOxUl0D4/s640/DSCF2718_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A cigarette smoking Wigeon</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There was one strange looking brown-headed duck that I had to research when I got home. After looking through my pics and looking online, I decided that it is a Mallard of some sort. Anyone seen one like this before?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjDJ7Y0rJGuQSXtyweyWT0TEoc2KxFIrXGEyWUi_y75NuexHhjICHvZVJY2efIgIviqzOpPPCuLHfWk2A54_6x2KuFcqUhMGzDuQfMDQJ1NzOFmkuLuXd16T2gYPet7mSLk5gAVgNNP4/s1600/DSCF2730_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjDJ7Y0rJGuQSXtyweyWT0TEoc2KxFIrXGEyWUi_y75NuexHhjICHvZVJY2efIgIviqzOpPPCuLHfWk2A54_6x2KuFcqUhMGzDuQfMDQJ1NzOFmkuLuXd16T2gYPet7mSLk5gAVgNNP4/s640/DSCF2730_edited-1.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An interesting Brown-headed Mallard</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It can be quite challenging to identify wild and domesticated ducks and geese because they can interbreed, hybridize, and mutate. So even after researching online, consulting my bird books and coming to a semi-conclusion of what the following geese are, I am not confident on my I.D. The more I research, the more I question my guess and I have changed my mind several times.<br />
<br />
I believe the goose in the back is a Greater White-fronted Goose. I also thought the front goose was a Greater White-fronted Goose. Then I read something that led me to believe the front goose was perhaps a hybrid Greylag Goose. I found that the White-fronted Geese and Greylag Geese look a lot alike, so I'm not really sure what these three are. If anyone has any input on this, please comment. The middle one, looks like the front one, but honestly, I can't find any pics that look just like this one, but I'd have to venture that it is the same as the front goose. All I know is that I'm really confused on goose identities! Notice the wattle on the front goose?<br />
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja1z3kUZUdy0VbXTzrf1sWHxWyoImNKMEwBfXlvxVN40ziUWpbI8tjhRhhNl7Lr7hPFbBvfqhojt1wdh2hgj23uzwVjJ_Cbw3rBxhSpbFl2CV_zVWHVpdD-AjthRpeAIMfPf6EDx_XTjs/s1600/DSCF2746_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja1z3kUZUdy0VbXTzrf1sWHxWyoImNKMEwBfXlvxVN40ziUWpbI8tjhRhhNl7Lr7hPFbBvfqhojt1wdh2hgj23uzwVjJ_Cbw3rBxhSpbFl2CV_zVWHVpdD-AjthRpeAIMfPf6EDx_XTjs/s640/DSCF2746_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greater White-fronted Geese or Greylag Geese or hybrids?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The goose in the middle is a Chinese Goose, closely related to a Swan Goose and African Goose.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTdJDgihgEYcNa8wM8yz4PCeFCNN226XvQt8e9GyuK5-6Au4Lf710dU6cPg1ItxEP5NsZJdgTyJ-xNPEUb5rdUoyDG8ObyNF5BS-_9KKZ4VpQsGHlVXV7ZYycquVCXQ9G_b0FOdpvq44/s1600/DSCF2748_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxTdJDgihgEYcNa8wM8yz4PCeFCNN226XvQt8e9GyuK5-6Au4Lf710dU6cPg1ItxEP5NsZJdgTyJ-xNPEUb5rdUoyDG8ObyNF5BS-_9KKZ4VpQsGHlVXV7ZYycquVCXQ9G_b0FOdpvq44/s640/DSCF2748_edited-1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swan Goose or Chinese Goose with Canadian Geese</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This boy was so handsome. No questions about his identity!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4UF2v6FfObJ2tAllSOdiNPLyelKHKx6lLG3mJVIAhXsCTEGINaw53aC4KFrGalSkk15eLNzjxhOSxmJn5i8MCkYy87ZCOVrLf4WVlaRgifTurfazeZbq-c0GaMJPLrp2f0cIjKooW-E/s1600/DSCF2870_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL4UF2v6FfObJ2tAllSOdiNPLyelKHKx6lLG3mJVIAhXsCTEGINaw53aC4KFrGalSkk15eLNzjxhOSxmJn5i8MCkYy87ZCOVrLf4WVlaRgifTurfazeZbq-c0GaMJPLrp2f0cIjKooW-E/s640/DSCF2870_edited-1.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mallard Male</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Look what a cute duck butt this guy has...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_kQcuNJnISU56dFOuu77p2egdWdUMlzwVBS-5pldevQOwM7VcWG7lbgGl4LSTmv7Wdmt7-1cRNA7LI9hxtQejG81snEz_atMheTzn8LtPvWW5ZuzlG3RuQRhSbIm1hVSaHaRdf9rltE/s1600/S0172863_edited-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_kQcuNJnISU56dFOuu77p2egdWdUMlzwVBS-5pldevQOwM7VcWG7lbgGl4LSTmv7Wdmt7-1cRNA7LI9hxtQejG81snEz_atMheTzn8LtPvWW5ZuzlG3RuQRhSbIm1hVSaHaRdf9rltE/s640/S0172863_edited-1.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Wigeon preening</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Just when it seemed Spring was not far off, we got a fresh covering of snow to remind us that we are still in the middle of Winter. Back to hibernation for this chickadee!<br />
<br />
~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)<br />
<br /></div>
Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-1326018401125518622013-02-14T13:31:00.001-08:002013-02-14T13:34:57.878-08:00New Yard Birds ~ Pine Siskin, House Finch or Sparrow?After weeks of seeing the same old yard birds (Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Downy Woodpecker, and Black-capped Chickadees), it's nice to get some new birds in the yard. I posted recently about the <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/exciting-sighting-and-few-views_3.html">Brown Creeper</a> that was new to the bunch. A few days ago, a sweet little brown and white streaked bird joined the yard gang. My first thought was Pine Siskin, but it is really difficult to positively I.D. a nondescript small brown and white streaked bird. In the birding community these are called Little Brown Jobs (LBJ's). I researched the Pine Siskin on my iBird app and in my bird field guides. Clues that led me to to the I.D. were the pointy beak and notched tail. I did not however, see any yellow on the wings or base of tail, but it is not always visible on a perched bird. I recall the first time I saw Pine Siskins at my feeder, it was a siskin in flight photo that cinched the I.D. for me. Without seeing the tell tale yellow, I could not be 100% on the identity of Pine Siskin.<br />
<br />
Cut to the next day, when much to my surprise I see a spry little red-headed bird scoping out the balcony feeder. I did a double-take... Yes, I DID just see a red-headed bird, a new bird in the yard! Yippee! Now this one I was sure on the identity, it was a male House Finch. But now I was more confused about the previous day's bird. Could the Pine Siskin have been a female House Finch? I spent some time consulting the field guides, Googling images of Pine Siskins and House Finches and concluded it was indeed a Pine Siskin. Later I spotted a little bird outside the window in the neighbors Lilac bush. It too was a little brown job. But this one, I knew right away was a Song Sparrow, by the brown spot on it's belly. But without the spot, all three birds look very similar.<br />
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Check out the updated lists on the new <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/2013-big-year.html">Bird Lady's Lists</a> page. Here is the cute little Pine Siskin with Mr. White, the resident White-breasted Nuthatch.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqipe6L4jyIb1jK5dtNX__aRroBgbGxWGMFmD70-iKBW78Vf1cjcMiIuPAZfexge9JmykbhUi2O9pwX0w7Kr4XZmJ1JHOyB06ShA6RggJbd48snJTqu-qehvRbSSpDrWFxOaOR0r6XXM/s1600/DSCF2568+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBqipe6L4jyIb1jK5dtNX__aRroBgbGxWGMFmD70-iKBW78Vf1cjcMiIuPAZfexge9JmykbhUi2O9pwX0w7Kr4XZmJ1JHOyB06ShA6RggJbd48snJTqu-qehvRbSSpDrWFxOaOR0r6XXM/s320/DSCF2568+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pine Siskin & White-breasted Nuthatch<br />
JPEG edit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj0K0ZG5bt4XlXL1GOtJ4Q_0wjYBpJrwOoIhVsJqz4fAdbN8RKBKaliJTUExNKctuOwfQWC4kat15zuvuR4_WT_Boy5DRFr6kbtqyGqFevVNLyqSfrOykLrtFSWcQ-uYJzOIEndqVbpE/s1600/DSCF2568+raw+edit+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEj0K0ZG5bt4XlXL1GOtJ4Q_0wjYBpJrwOoIhVsJqz4fAdbN8RKBKaliJTUExNKctuOwfQWC4kat15zuvuR4_WT_Boy5DRFr6kbtqyGqFevVNLyqSfrOykLrtFSWcQ-uYJzOIEndqVbpE/s320/DSCF2568+raw+edit+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pine Siskin & White-breasted Nuthatch<br />
RAW edit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h4>
<i>Photography Talk</i></h4>
Not the greatest of pics. I'm still trying to perfect shooting from behind the sliding glass door, with the tripod setup. It creates a less-than-ideal back lighting situation, and I just haven't got the settings down. I did some reading online and in my camera manual and set my camera for spot metering, which should help when the background is brighter than the subject like it is in my balcony feeder setup. I will test it out tomorrow.<br />
<br />
For the above pic, I was shooting in Shutter Priority mode with the shutter speed @ 1/256, f/6.5 This is an edit of the RAW photo, with some post processing done in Photoshop Elements 7. Honestly, I have been trying to do more of the RAW editing, but I'm not really happy with the results. Obviously, I still have lots to learn!<br />
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~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-13806041291431802122013-02-03T16:53:00.003-08:002013-02-08T17:59:30.596-08:00Exciting Sighting and a Few Views<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOlU5PGMIclEgxjAEMwZtHpqklXdhoA0t3IuRHWB59wpyBCTMYe8w7DAO3XC1lFk0E6nD_5IG2uHCJPqJoZakajQgy6lmnKv_urIrooKuE8CXcMx5oEXtVtoxeNICLinOrOpnbTUC2aM/s1600/DSCF6612+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTOlU5PGMIclEgxjAEMwZtHpqklXdhoA0t3IuRHWB59wpyBCTMYe8w7DAO3XC1lFk0E6nD_5IG2uHCJPqJoZakajQgy6lmnKv_urIrooKuE8CXcMx5oEXtVtoxeNICLinOrOpnbTUC2aM/s640/DSCF6612+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exciting Sighting... I like how that sounds... </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold;">Ex-CIT-ing SIGHT-ing</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">! And by a</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Few Views</i></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, I mean Bird Lady Blog has surpassed 2500 page views!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Exciting Sighting</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It started out as another trip to town and back with the family. I usually drive because I get car sick easily when I don't. I was counting my Red-tailed Hawks along the highway like I always do. My Bird Lady Assistant (the husband) was not cooperating with me that day. He didn't want to press the record button on my voice memo app on my iPhone when I would see a bird so I could record the location and time. Something about him wanting the family to live. You see the family thinks I should watch the road while I am driving, and I do, but </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just can't help seeing the birds around me, even when I'm driving. (</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Days later I listened to my recordings and hear his whole conversation about this because he forgot to turn the record button off.) </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We did our errands in town and then headed back to the lake, seeing along the way a couple of crows, over a dozen blackbirds, an American Kestrel, several pigeons, a gull, and 9 Red-tailed Hawks! Hard to identify some of them when your driving and attempting to preserve the lives of your family riding in the car.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we are almost home, off of the highway, not quite to our private road, I see something alongside the road. I blink a couple of times, slow down the car and could not believe what I was seeing! A couple of feet from our car, there was a hawk feasting on a dead turkey. We had seen the dead turkey along side the road a couple of days ago. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bird Lady Assistant (BLA) and my son Beau had the best view being on the passenger side of the car and later reported that the hawk was staring us down with a mad look on it's face because we were interrupting his meal. No sooner had I realized what I was seeing, the hawk flew up in the trees. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course I had to get out of the car so I could see what was going on. I assumed it was a Red-tailed seeing what I thought was some rustiness of a tail and a very dark back. It was one big-ass hawk! The turkey was well... dead, and there were feathers scattered about, and the poor thing's head and neck had been stripped and eaten and was just a thin resemblance of what it had been. BLA wanted to get going home, and there was a car behind us, so I had to leave, without even getting a picture. I wanted to go back, but we had groceries to unload and it was almost getting dark. Of course I can't post a story without some pictures, so I went back... a couple of days later, and the entire carcus had been picked clean. I did take a pic, but it's a bit disgusting. If you really want to see it, click on the 'cute' turkey pic to be taken to the 'disgusting' eaten turkey pic. If you're squeamish, don't click on the photo below. </span></div>
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<a href="http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m56/sherriesteele/Birds/DSCF2436copy_zps809c4c4f.jpg"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvHKO3vbwqWw2L_R44KsPXkWwLi9QSdC4ZOrmt497P9TLMGFSxBMjYwy5lj3tZIs9XlYSej57gCIH-HT5249Nbzwblt1GWmYIv-BECHWyNXOweqZ3H5jyX9BHMesQdG8h16kPFxHFjcw/s400/DSCF5658+copy.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another sighting that was new to the yard this week, was a Brown Creeper joining the flock of winter feeders at the suet. While I was adding it to my lists, I decided to start a page on the blog for my lists. You will find it under the scrolling picture banner at the top of the page right after the </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/photo-gallery.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Photo Gallery</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> link. It's called </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/2013-big-year.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bird Lady's Lists</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. This is where I will keep my updated yard list, 2013 Big Year list, and my life list. One of my goals of the year is to get to 100 birds on my life list! I'm sitting about 94 right now. I think 6 new birds is do-able, don't you?</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgAmbDIiMAz0Yf_lcN0QuEDxDQldrpUcSlbBaFzEjcOG2K1VUPe84DYaHLu-NoRKqcTT9TcMsMOBuFwTIWUy4SVmsdNUZpgv17xNG1hQjFI70eJlU8i_YM7CewgUlw87R3Dw7iLQYfkc/s1600/2005_0217_0075+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipgAmbDIiMAz0Yf_lcN0QuEDxDQldrpUcSlbBaFzEjcOG2K1VUPe84DYaHLu-NoRKqcTT9TcMsMOBuFwTIWUy4SVmsdNUZpgv17xNG1hQjFI70eJlU8i_YM7CewgUlw87R3Dw7iLQYfkc/s400/2005_0217_0075+copy.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brown Creeper</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">Also new on my 2013 Big Year list this week is the American Robin. These birds remind me of spring and with the news today that Punxsutawney Phil, the ground hog did NOT see his shadow today could mean an early spring! I saw about 25 robins roosting in a tree, when I was trying to identify some blackbirds, who ended up being European Starlings. So I added both to the 2013 list. I don't particularly care for the starlings, but the robins, are such great birds. I didn't get decent photos of the robins, since they were quite far away. I barely could make them out with the 30x zoom lens and then magnified again on the</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;"> computer. They blended so well into the trees. I did discover that I really should not use the binoculars while out and about birding and driving around in the car. I have a real problem with motion sickness and migraines, and looking through the binoculars for more than a few seconds makes my eyes twist and gives me a horrible headache. Nix the plan to get binoculars for the car. The photos I am sharing today are some of my past favorite robin eating berries pics that I've taken.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyzwRESqyG7niWuVrWmVpuCB5-yuj02zuHBSHBUKDnMILF0VNFY2zShxOQJ1VBT7LUVGbpM0XqGURhjqSwmaa0E0vu85LK48Lf_HhK5cKs_1S5SgkEpzrTplmbAIaDjGPjzlD61g-5TM/s1600/2005_1023_0099+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyzwRESqyG7niWuVrWmVpuCB5-yuj02zuHBSHBUKDnMILF0VNFY2zShxOQJ1VBT7LUVGbpM0XqGURhjqSwmaa0E0vu85LK48Lf_HhK5cKs_1S5SgkEpzrTplmbAIaDjGPjzlD61g-5TM/s640/2005_1023_0099+copy.jpg" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Robin</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokIvlosCX3xDH24d0P6wa85sLWBJUVfwEpnblwtDkCWPUxxJECJPWJe3M-lnqXUw4EYZve46BAOMJa5qKyVuY2mhN4mfQH2KRwTU33BggsC3MWLhbYiNr9Jdi8JMNjO6cEBRhm9RQvBQ/s1600/DSCF6592+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgokIvlosCX3xDH24d0P6wa85sLWBJUVfwEpnblwtDkCWPUxxJECJPWJe3M-lnqXUw4EYZve46BAOMJa5qKyVuY2mhN4mfQH2KRwTU33BggsC3MWLhbYiNr9Jdi8JMNjO6cEBRhm9RQvBQ/s640/DSCF6592+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Few Views</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This has been an exciting couple of weeks, participating in the Grow Your Blog party. Bird Lady Blog started with 6 followers, and as of today, has 46 followers! I'm not sure about the exact view count before the party, but I'm happy to say we've got over 2500 views now! I know we have about tripled our page views in about 2 months. I have really enjoyed visiting all sorts of interesting blogs and look forward to getting to know my new followers better.</span>Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-14638368760731145742013-01-22T22:05:00.000-08:002013-02-08T10:27:02.950-08:00Favorite Moments and Popular PostsI would like to thank all the new followers and readers here on Bird Lady Blog. The Grow Your Blog party was a great way to make new friends, follow some new blogs, and get some new followers. I'm really excited to have over 20 new followers in just a few days time and looking forward to getting to know you all better.<br />
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Due to a dead car battery, and frigid cold weather, I haven't been out birding much at all this last week, or this New Year for that matter. So I thought perhaps I would share with you some of my favorite or most popular posts here on the Bird Lady Blog. <br />
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One of my recent great birding moments was seeing the Snowy Owl after getting a tip from my favorite news gal Shelley Monahan at KHQ6 News. <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/searching-for-snowy.html">Searching for Snowy</a> describes my adventures to see the beautiful owl, whom I have since then learned is named Henrietta.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8h_6HGCFcOwGusVdYp5pQF3R3fdhKqpS9Eax1opsr-Q_JRz07n5LyC4WANzDI8FYkTWSFhOFfrEBewfLc4cNJjpB45YaQ_6VuhHyqVe-rORd76i6Ii7aMXFBJVPKLDWxhJk36lubHEo/s1600/DSCF2018+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw8h_6HGCFcOwGusVdYp5pQF3R3fdhKqpS9Eax1opsr-Q_JRz07n5LyC4WANzDI8FYkTWSFhOFfrEBewfLc4cNJjpB45YaQ_6VuhHyqVe-rORd76i6Ii7aMXFBJVPKLDWxhJk36lubHEo/s640/DSCF2018+copy.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henrietta, the Snowy Owl</td></tr>
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My most popular post, and I'm not sure exactly why, is <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/little-hawks-birding-trails.html">Little Hawks and Birding Trails</a>. Perhaps it's because I talk about the Great Washington State Birding Trails and the search engines pick it up? Not sure, but it has the most views of any post here on Bird Lady Blog, but not a single comment, that wasn't spam. It does have some cute pics of an American Kestrel with a rodent, and the sweet Great Horned Owls I saw at one of the birding trails.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNVridwNN53g2EtgeX78ugwmMcmvBo9nCydndKtiB7TrV6R-Mmk0L3vMR4KdS3AsLs9aymuH4NBHO8ZjoxRiaybUMthwCKa2h9ljRLFznqqmZarnqLTf_QMB0RCfELYODwM8BQ2DNf5c/s1600/DSCF4833.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHNVridwNN53g2EtgeX78ugwmMcmvBo9nCydndKtiB7TrV6R-Mmk0L3vMR4KdS3AsLs9aymuH4NBHO8ZjoxRiaybUMthwCKa2h9ljRLFznqqmZarnqLTf_QMB0RCfELYODwM8BQ2DNf5c/s640/DSCF4833.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Horned Owls at Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge</td></tr>
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This last fall I had one of the closest encounters (aside from holding the hummingbirds) that I have had with one of my most favorite birds, the Pileated Woodpecker. This is the bird that got me interested in bird watching, and has always fascinated me. The <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-best-of-birding-adventures.html">Best of Birding Adventures</a> shares my excitement as I get within a couple of feet of this magnificent bird with my iPhone.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxA5xy8DDgwtjdPqAwtMwabWqKGgc97enpXiS27_VQ6IGR-c7zLEekl_mu8dsQudQwYtu-HhWm5n9UN9QcdZzLUvysbmPaQxTO36En0IeLce05tf8iCzr8Pn9Pq3TEgWE2JVsPQHb782Y/s1600/PW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxA5xy8DDgwtjdPqAwtMwabWqKGgc97enpXiS27_VQ6IGR-c7zLEekl_mu8dsQudQwYtu-HhWm5n9UN9QcdZzLUvysbmPaQxTO36En0IeLce05tf8iCzr8Pn9Pq3TEgWE2JVsPQHb782Y/s640/PW.JPG" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pileated Woodpecker</td></tr>
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Another popular post has been the post about the Tree Swallows, <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/tiny-egg-shell.html">Tiny Egg Shell</a>. This picture of a baby Tree Swallow was published by Birds and Blooms magazine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwz5DTZf_jk0cNVm0gvnG-lgOhWfh8WEspTGNmTz9EibpCMwTNvZLM0AcwmGO3Utl4uOIgzGqJEDJ44wB9XKSMC_73O9Yio2Finrq9-oa0KU_cHioRMLVRRnmdw5WzXvi80L0vbwxowE/s1600/SwallowBabyCute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwz5DTZf_jk0cNVm0gvnG-lgOhWfh8WEspTGNmTz9EibpCMwTNvZLM0AcwmGO3Utl4uOIgzGqJEDJ44wB9XKSMC_73O9Yio2Finrq9-oa0KU_cHioRMLVRRnmdw5WzXvi80L0vbwxowE/s640/SwallowBabyCute.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Tree Swallow</td></tr>
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A great memory of mine was when an otter came to visit the resident Great Blue Heron when we had a fish pen at the neighbors dock for the winter. <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/visitors-at-fishpen-buffet.html">Visitors at the Fishpen Buffet</a> has a great video of the two snacking on fish together within a couple feet of each other.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7DBSM04-vsRBKnYTskZJOGOch-QRr3WBkHoixq61z8vYI0KhmQgU_BghdaXk4-QGR7hEJvJyxvbeB9PB76dW9-7GlVmb-P4XyzVJVVxt7iqKEswcQ1fTPWYQzLc3XcZrTObomJV_zF4/s1600/DSCF0717+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX7DBSM04-vsRBKnYTskZJOGOch-QRr3WBkHoixq61z8vYI0KhmQgU_BghdaXk4-QGR7hEJvJyxvbeB9PB76dW9-7GlVmb-P4XyzVJVVxt7iqKEswcQ1fTPWYQzLc3XcZrTObomJV_zF4/s640/DSCF0717+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great Blue Heron & Otter at the Fish Pen</td></tr>
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Another great video of the Great Blue Heron hanging at the fish pen in a major snowstorm is in <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/rain-or-shine-sleet-or-snow.html">Rain or Shine, Sleet or Snow</a>.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed a look back through some of my favorite birding moments and most popular posts here on Bird Lady Blog. I can't wait for the weather to improve so I can get out to those birding trails, or even just out in the neighborhood would be nice. It's supposed to get down to 12 degrees Fahrenheit tonight and only got up to about 22 degrees today. That's just a tad too cold for this chick-a-dee!</div>
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~ Sherrie {Bird Lady}</div>
Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-64850738182202471572013-01-18T21:39:00.000-08:002013-02-08T10:27:23.716-08:00Grow Your Blog Party<h3>
Welcome Grow Your Blog Party goers! </h3>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My name is Sherrie, and they call me the Bird Lady. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bird Lady Blog is about my birding adventures here in eastern Washington (US). I have blended my favorite hobbies together, bird-watching, photography, and computers. I love sharing my love of bird watching, wildlife and nature with you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was excited when I stumbled upon the </span><a href="http://vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-grow-your-blog-party-all-bloggers.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Grow Your Blog idea</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> while reading a fellow bird bloggers post, but disappointed that the deadline had already passed a couple of days before. By chance, I asked to still be included and Vicki, over at </span><a href="http://vicki-2bagsfull.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">2 Bags Full</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, was kind enough to let me join in on the fun. I am looking forward to meeting other bloggers and readers and expand my reading list of interesting blogs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Recently, Bird Lady Blog has had a bit of a makeover, with several </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-features-on-bird-lady-blog.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">new features</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> added and a new scrolling banner at the top and bottom, as well as a new </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/photo-gallery.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Photo Gallery</a> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">page. It's a great way to check out some of the older posts. Another neat way to explore Bird Lady Blog is Blogger's new </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/view/snapshot" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Snapshot View</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> or</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/view/magazine" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Magazine View</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. There are several other views available that you can choose. There is no sidebar available when in these special views, so to get back to the normal view, just click on "Bird Lady Blog" at the top of the page. I noticed that these 'views' don't work on my iPhone's mobile browser.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you are on Pinterest, there is now a "Pin It" button on the sidebar at the right, that pins a link to Bird Lady Blog on your Pinterest. I'm planning on adding a button to future posts so that you can easily pin a post you are interested in also. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BirdLadyBlog" target="_blank">Bird Lady Blog is also on Facebook</a>. So be sure to stop by and 'like' the new page. There you will find links to all the posts here on the blog. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been gearing up for a </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-big-year-2013-birding-project.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Big Year birding project for 2013</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. My goal this year is to see as many bird species as possible, and to visit as many of the </span><a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/little-hawks-birding-trails.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Great Washington State Birding Trails</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> as I can. I've been tracking my bird sightings daily with my iPhone app BirdLog, which submits my sightings to eBird. My sightings show up here on the blog in the sidebar to the right under the BirdTrax gadget.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-breasted Nuthatch, a daily visitor at my suet feeders</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hope that you enjoy reading about my birding adventures, and hope that you will continue to follow as I blog about my 2013 Big Year. I'm always interested in meeting other bird minded folks, or those that just enjoy nature, photography and blogging.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks for stopping by!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~ Sherrie {Bird Lady}</span><br />
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Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com76tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-31315696204078913052013-01-16T22:14:00.000-08:002013-02-08T10:27:43.395-08:00Chickadees in the Yard<h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Slideshow Banners</i></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, I would like to bring your attention to the new slideshow banner at the top and bottom of Bird Lady Blog. I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, then I remembered some slideshows of some of my older bird photos out on Photobucket.com that I used to use for my MySpace profile. So I'm trying them out here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hope you enjoy them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chickadees in the Yard</i></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On New Years, I hung a new feeder on the balcony, that had just been sitting around not being used. I found some Black-Oil Sunflower Seeds in the cupboard and filled up the feeder, hoping to attract some different winter birds to my yard. The birds are used to coming to the suet I have hanging about 15-20 feet from the balcony, but I wondered if they would be comfortable enough to come up closer to the house, as the new feeder was only about 4 feet from the slider door. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, it's been a couple of weeks now, and finally I have visitors to the new feeder, the Black-capped Chickadees! Which are new on my Big Year list and my Yard list. They are so cute when they come into the balcony area, they usually land on one of my wind chimes before going to the feeder for a seed or two. Even a Red-breasted Nuthatch came and clung to the ropes hanging from the wind chime. I wanted to get a picture of one of the birds doing this, as it would make for a great photo. So I decided to set up my camera on the tripod just inside the slider door. The plan was to get everything all set up, wait for the birds to start coming, and then open the slider up for picture taking. Mind you it is only in the mid 20's outside. When the chickadee finally came, then left and I opened up the door, but it didn't come back. So until they get used to me and the tripod so close to the feeder, I would try to get a decent photo with the slider door closed. I did recently wash the glass door since it was filthy dirty with dog nose prints from my chow chow Cubby Bears, who's bed is on the balcony. I wanted to actually be able to 'see' the birds out of the window. I wasn't able to get a good shot of the wind chime landing, but did get a few half way decent shots through the glass door. This chickadee sat there for the longest time with the seed in his beak, and posed for several photos. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>P<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">hotography Talk</span></i></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did edit both the RAW and the jpeg versions, and am displaying both after some cropping and editing in Photoshop Elements 7. I adjusted the levels, increased the contrast slightly, adjusted the brightness and sharpened the photo. I don't really like shooting in RAW because of the lag time on my camera when it saves the large files. But I understand the importance of being able to have access to the RAW version of the photo especially when the shot is less than perfect, which many of mine fit that category just perfectly! After looking at both photos, I'm leaning towards the jpeg edit. It just looks crisper to me, but the colors in the RAW edit are better.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am really trying to learn my camera manual settings better, so I experimented with the ISO, doing some of the shots at 400, and others at 800 as my lighting faded. I set my mode to Shutter Speed Priority and tried to set the camera at the fastest shutter speed and lowest aperture that I could and still maintain the exposure. I then also took some shots in Auto Scene Recognition mode to compare. This particular photo was taken at ISO 400, f/7.2, 1/20 sec. It's not a half bad shot for being through the window, with the available light. The bokeh is nice. I like how you can see some frosty spider webs on the feeder right under the birds wing. Check it out in the larger version (click on the photo). Funny the things you notice when you are so close with the camera. I am looking forward to more photo shoots on the balcony with the chickadees! See if I can improve my pictures.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Don't forget to check out the slideshow down below...</span></span></div>
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</span></span>Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-79209375118149099092013-01-11T17:00:00.002-08:002013-02-08T10:28:21.100-08:00Confusing IdentificationsI have come to the conclusion that identifying the birds I see everyday is not an easy task. Sure I know more birds than your average Joe and there are some that come easy to me. The common ones I have memorized and can I.D. by sight or sound. But then there are some real challenges, like trying to I.D. birds that are very similar, or too far away to get a good look, or fly by so fast, you don't get a chance to see their features.<br />
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A new yard bird for this week presented a challenge. A couple of days ago when I looked out my back window, I saw a large bird fly into one of the snowy trees in the back woods. I ran and got the binoculars and tried to locate it, but couldn't seem to find it. Finally, I opened the window, looked and listened, and I could hear that it was either a raven or a crow. Grabbed my iPhone and geared up my iBird app to listen to the calls of the raven and the crow to see if I could distinguish between the two and what I had heard. Difficult to say the least, I determined at that point. A little while later, I was letting the little dog (my chihuahua <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/bring-on-spring.html" target="_blank">Jack E. Cheez</a>) outside, and there was the crow/raven in the tree right there in front of me. It looked at me, and I looked at it. It let out a few caw, caw, caws. I'm thinking it is a Common Raven, but then again it could be an American Crow. We exchanged a few glances, the dog a few barks. I was downstairs at the time, and all my 'gear' was upstairs. So back upstairs I went, hoping to view it in the binoculars or get a quick snapshot, so I could further analyze it on the computer. But no, it was gone by then. Later, I could still hear it in the neighborhood, so out came the iBird app, and I love turning on the sound bites and flirting with the neighborhood birds! Out on my balcony, in the snow, caw, caw, cawing with the crows! But, after playing my bird games, consulting my bird apps, I concluded it was a Common Raven, bigger than the American Crow and known to hang out in the area. The iBird recording and the back and forth between the bird and I was the clincher Sounded just like a Raven, and not quite like a crow. So adding to my Yard Bird List for 2013 is "The Common Raven". I really think he was eyeing the little birds at the suet feeders, seeing if they would make a tasty little snack for a great big black bird. The nuthatches and Downy took off until trouble left the hood. Although I am confident that this I.D. was accurate, honestly when I only see a quick glance of a big black bird, I do my best to distinguish between the two, but can't be 100% sure. <br />
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I decided since I needed to go to the grocery store, that I would do some birding while I was out and about. First hotspot near my home is the <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/wonderful-world-of-walking.html" target="_blank">Walter and Betty Davis wetland</a> about a mile from my home. The lake is totally frozen now except for a small area at this wetland. There were about 25 ducks there, a few easily identifiable, the rest, not so much. Yep, another identity challenge! I determined I really need a set of binoculars to leave in the car. There were a pair of Common Mergansers, a male and female I am assuming. They were apart from the rest of the group. Also, some Mallards, and then there were the dozen or so unidentifiable ones. So I took a few fuzzy snapshots in hopes I could I.D. them later after scrutinizing them on the computer. I did discover several of them to be Ring-necked Ducks. I have been questioning my I.D. of the American Coots just after New Year, and wondered if they were something else, and now I'm thinking they may have been the same group of mixed ducks, which included at least one coot with the rest of ducks. Still I'm not sure on some of the other ducks. The females are even tougher to identify. I'm thinking about posting a couple of the shots on Google+ in my birding communities to see if I can get some help identifying them. This is where a better quality camera and nice zoom lens would come in handy. Oh a bird lady can dream can't she?<br />
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<i>*After finally going to bed at 2:45 a.m., I'm up with the hubby as he gets ready for work at 4:45 a.m. Again looking at the fuzzy pictures I took at the wetland yesterday of the ducks I was having a hard time identifying. I figured it out, after consulting my Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds. Funny how a different reference can cinch the I.D. Anyways, I am happy to report that there were several American Wigeon along with the Mergansers, Mallards, American Coot and Ring-necked Ducks. And that is a new life bird for me!! My first new bird of the year!</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEhVS6zGBi3IT7XOam0a_8A5bRUCzzVc5kQ5oy0sUM_cBPazJWvBV2V1oUNge7JHNJSAKMjQtfpsyekTRoLGun7LfnRQH8ujF-1MueCofUIab2_b0EFV8pvFmJi7G6BeNuz_DCAU8APM/s1600/DSCF2303+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrEhVS6zGBi3IT7XOam0a_8A5bRUCzzVc5kQ5oy0sUM_cBPazJWvBV2V1oUNge7JHNJSAKMjQtfpsyekTRoLGun7LfnRQH8ujF-1MueCofUIab2_b0EFV8pvFmJi7G6BeNuz_DCAU8APM/s640/DSCF2303+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ring-necked Duck and an American Wigeon</td></tr>
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I didn't see many Red-tailed Hawks out today, just one actually, which is unusual. I normally see several on a trip into town between Clayton and Wandermere. Just after I saw the Red-tail, a Red-shafted (Northern) Flicker flew by that I identified by it's flight pattern and coloring. A couple of those big black birds were cleaning up a deer carcus along side of the highway. I assumed they were Ravens, and not the smaller American Crows, but it was just a quick id, as I was driving.<br />
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Next I was headed up to Mt. Spokane High School to see if I could see Henrietta, the <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/searching-for-snowy.html" target="_blank">Snowy Owl</a> that I was lucky enough to encounter last November. The school's newsletter said she likes to hang out between 7-9 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. I showed up about 3 pm, and she wasn't there. On the barn that I saw her roost upon last time, I saw three medium sized birds roosting, but couldn't make them out. Looked a bit like pigeons to me, and I thought I saw them there last time too. Geez, if I had some binoculars, I could probably have an easier time! <br />
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A little further up the road is the <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/little-hawks-birding-trails.html" target="_blank">Feryn Ranch Conservation Area</a>, that I discovered when I originally came to look for the Snowy Owl. It is part of the <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-big-year-2013-birding-project.html" target="_blank">Great Washington State Birding Trails</a>. On the way, I saw an American Kestrel eating some prey on a light pole at the roundabout on Bruce Rd. and Hwy 206. To get to the Feryn Ranch, you turn off the highway and go 3500 ft (that's what the sign says) to a parking area. Along the way, there is a farm home with a bunch of ducks, geese, chickens and turkeys in a fenced in area just off the road. I stopped and took some photos of the big ol' Tom Turkey that was strutting around showing me his stuff. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWmzhhTMo7CfQtC72-W8j2HDNilz24uaS1LI0ewE6Jg6Vy2JGN4Kq1gHp6KgEJB6zF2YCXDQ2tsQm6mqTytxgus2bfSmm7vbHP-MpM3Jz5vJy_P2opKCqnwvlocx4nndE1vSFyjqbpgU/s1600/DSCF2318+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="552" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYWmzhhTMo7CfQtC72-W8j2HDNilz24uaS1LI0ewE6Jg6Vy2JGN4Kq1gHp6KgEJB6zF2YCXDQ2tsQm6mqTytxgus2bfSmm7vbHP-MpM3Jz5vJy_P2opKCqnwvlocx4nndE1vSFyjqbpgU/s640/DSCF2318+copy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Spanish Turkey</td></tr>
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A pregnant lady came out of the home to see what all the ruckus was about. I said "I hope you don't mind if I take some photos of your ducks" and mentioned I was on my way to the birding trail. She was nice, and didn't mind at all. We chatted for quite some time, and I asked about what kinds of ducks they were, hoping to score some birds for my list. But how does that work with domestic ducks? If it isn't in my bird books, then I won't count it. But of course, I am still interested in any birds, not just 'the count'. There were Toulouse Geese, The turkeys were Black Spanish Turkeys. She told me one of them was a Harlequin Duck, which would have been a score if it wasn't a Mallard. I wasn't gonna argue with her. I looked at the pics when I got home, just to make sure, and it's a Mallard all right.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEj1lHQ5sRz6ktG9x0ov6PjbHl3eAJxp_UXAILaFXn5gFrTmeqzElf_bShHU3cJm1_-LcUQuv_M44XN91aLEj6532HE4bK-E7oYh73ppHEY2razochkkIPK8mKtdaEe6FnC-mco2nEYU/s1600/DSCF2320+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglEj1lHQ5sRz6ktG9x0ov6PjbHl3eAJxp_UXAILaFXn5gFrTmeqzElf_bShHU3cJm1_-LcUQuv_M44XN91aLEj6532HE4bK-E7oYh73ppHEY2razochkkIPK8mKtdaEe6FnC-mco2nEYU/s640/DSCF2320+copy.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mallard</td></tr>
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When I got to the parking lot for the birding trail, the snow was starting to fall and it was windy out. So I didn't get out of my car. I read the signs about the Feryn Ranch Conservation Area and how the water gets there. <br />
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The grasses are tall around the parking area, so it's hard to see without getting out of your car, but I did see an old barn and what looked to be a small stream or water of some sort amongst the rolling hills of farmland. I just spent a few minutes, and then went back to the main road, where a sweet little American Kestrel, one of the three little hawks I saw in that area, sat and posed for me for several pictures. <br />
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Still no Henrietta the Owl at the school, but I did see a couple of Black-billed Magpies in the area, and that was about the last of birds for the day. I went shopping shortly afterwards, and even tried a couple of stores looking for binoculars, but only found a cheesy pair, so that will be a project for another day! <br />
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As I'm finalizing my post today, I am adding a Dark-eyed Junco to my Yard Birds and Year Birds. Just one lone Junco checking out the other regulars at the suet.<br />
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<b><u>Sherrie's Lakefront Yard Birds</u></b></div>
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1. Red-breasted Nuthatch</div>
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2. Downy Woodpecker</div>
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3. White-breasted Nuthatch</div>
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4. Black-capped Chickadee</div>
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5. Common Raven<br />
6.Dark-eyed Junco</div>
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<b><u>Sherrie's 2013 Big Year Birds</u></b></div>
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1. American Crow</div>
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2. Red-tailed Hawk</div>
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3. Black-billed Magpie</div>
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4. Rock Pigeon</div>
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5. Herring Gull</div>
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6. American Kestrel</div>
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7. Canada Goose</div>
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8. Common Merganser</div>
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9. Mallard</div>
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10. Ring-necked Duck<br />
11. American Coot<br />
12. Wild Turkey</div>
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13. Black-capped Chickadee</div>
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14. Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker<br />
15. American Wigeon<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Total 21 species for Sherrie's 2013 Big Year!</span></div>
Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-41291146385147380912013-01-07T17:14:00.002-08:002013-01-07T17:17:36.817-08:00Old Man Winter ~ First Week of 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0eE5yfcsG06PQwsZy10TO4SwmuEhsIYMY3mRmWVWX75NncTVUfqVCo_4qbfSZuo6U-HhaBJcade1B88pU7pmtTm4gXjzeOjLJu-g1jpOvqwUevlpbHEMR0QSJ9Nr0BXBWUGlZQV84wGk/s1600/photo+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0eE5yfcsG06PQwsZy10TO4SwmuEhsIYMY3mRmWVWX75NncTVUfqVCo_4qbfSZuo6U-HhaBJcade1B88pU7pmtTm4gXjzeOjLJu-g1jpOvqwUevlpbHEMR0QSJ9Nr0BXBWUGlZQV84wGk/s320/photo+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, the first week of 2013 has been cold, snowy, and icy. Just when we were getting used to it, the roads had been plowed and we could get around once again, Old Man Winter brought us several more inches of new snow overnight. It doesn't make for the best birding. Who wants to get out in the frigid cold when it's down to 1 degree Fahrenheit or snowing all day long? Not this little chickadee! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's times like this that I am thankful for my yard birds that are attracted by my suet feeders. F</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or this first week in my 2013 Big Year it has been the trusty Red-breasted Nuthatches, between 1 and 4 of them visiting the suet each day. Along with them is a female Downy Woodpecker. Those were the only birds I had seen until Sunday, when two new birdies came to the suet feeders. I was excited to see a couple of Black-capped Chickadees and a White-breasted Nuthatch in the yard.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLduU0m_RTC7lgS_k1FyhKtw7PU_NEZs9CLMB1n9lN1ckoh9WKqLAky8PJKiSEdI0_sR2Fa6mrYmFfCEOq8S7uYfODCUvV1IdwwaceaCFdAgEDc438j9fT40tmGhsivxMJYPnvLcgGeLk/s1600/S0042250+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLduU0m_RTC7lgS_k1FyhKtw7PU_NEZs9CLMB1n9lN1ckoh9WKqLAky8PJKiSEdI0_sR2Fa6mrYmFfCEOq8S7uYfODCUvV1IdwwaceaCFdAgEDc438j9fT40tmGhsivxMJYPnvLcgGeLk/s320/S0042250+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White-breasted Nuthatch</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These four species of social birds often winter together in small mixed feeding flocks, so it is not unusual for them to be seen together. The flocks are better able to keep an eye out for predators and can send warning signals to the other members. They are also better able to find food and are less wary about visiting feeders. A group of nuthatches are called a "jar" of nuthatches. A group of chickadees is a "banditry" or "dissimulation". Woodpeckers are known as a "descent" or a "drumming". So what are these mixed flocks known as? A "jar of drumming banditry"? I get a kick out of some of these collective nouns they come up with for groups of birds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An interesting fact about the White-breasted Nuthatch is that they are usually quiet during breeding season and in the summer. But certainly not in the winter and spring. They have a nasal sounding 'yank-yank' that is quite distinguishable of the nuthatches when you hear it. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Black-capped Chickadee have their own cute little song... 'Chick-a-dee-dee-dee', hence the name.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO-5_WMI3NB4tw8VheBIKEE9eIqEAbrfUnTTAH5F3_GYybSVFnjlC-Gj71dZqP5Z_4FblNCfLHAvQo6YFNjSMLsrYfPeTtOLjcr6yKvmf5dfaxyy33nqmtXBhlyT4_EtyM9azAISULZI/s1600/S0012244+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqO-5_WMI3NB4tw8VheBIKEE9eIqEAbrfUnTTAH5F3_GYybSVFnjlC-Gj71dZqP5Z_4FblNCfLHAvQo6YFNjSMLsrYfPeTtOLjcr6yKvmf5dfaxyy33nqmtXBhlyT4_EtyM9azAISULZI/s320/S0012244+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black-capped Chickadee</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To sum up my 'Big Week' of 15 birds, (giggle)...</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Sherrie's Lakefront Yard Birds</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Red-breasted Nuthatch</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Downy Woodpecker</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">White-breasted Nuthatch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Black-capped Chickadee</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><u>Sherrie's Big Year Birds</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">American Crow</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Red-tailed Hawk</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Black-billed Magpie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rock Pigeon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Herring Gull</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">American Kestrel</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Canada Goose</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Common Merganser</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mallard</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">American Coot</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wild Turkey</span></div>
Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-51507942811535343172013-01-05T20:49:00.000-08:002013-01-06T00:40:51.491-08:00New Features on Bird Lady Blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The days have been cold and long and boring. Not many birds now that the lake is frozen. So I decided to add some new features to the Bird Lady Blog. Now, there is a <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/photo-gallery.html" target="_blank">Photo Gallery</a> page in addition to a Home page where all of my blog posts appear. The <a href="http://birdladyblog.blogspot.com/p/photo-gallery.html" target="_blank">Photo Gallery</a> page has most of my photography that I have shared here on the blog. Each picture is linked to the original blog post that was associated with the photo. Here you can scroll through the pictures, and if something catches your attention, you can go right to the post, which will open in a new window.<br />
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Also, new on the Bird Lady Blog, is the BirdTrax gadget. Yes, more tech gadgets for birders! You will find it on the right hand column above my life list of birds. BirdTrax displays eBird sightings and data, and can be customized to your liking. I have mine set to show sightings in a 30 mile radius around my Loon Lake home in the last 30 days. I was going to change up the settings, but have found I can't get access to the code like I did when I put it on here. So I guess for now, we are stuck with it like it is. Oh well, it shows my sightings and others in the community that have submitted to eBird, so it's all good.</div>
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A view counter is now located to the right above the archive directory, so you can see how many visitors the Bird Lady Blog has been getting. I am thankful to my Facebook and Google+ followers for my increased traffic lately. In just the last month, Bird Lady Blog has had over 500 page views for a total of 1454 as of this moment.<br />
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Recently I also added a couple of ways to quickly become a Bird Lady Blog follower on the right hand column. You can submit your email address and become a follower, or you can subscribe to posts and/or comments. I'm always interested in other bird bloggers and photographers and would love for you to become a follower. Be sure to leave me a comment on the blog to let me know you stopped by!</div>
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A couple of cosmetic changes were made, like enlarging the headings so they are easier to see, and I made them look just a tad fancier :o) Also planning on changing up the header and footer photos, but I'm having a hard time deciding which ones to use. So it will be a bit yet before you see those.</div>
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Hopefully, you will enjoy these newly added features here on the Bird Lady Blog!</div>
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As I'm finishing up the final touches on the pictures for this blog post, my husband was flicking through the T.V. channels and happened to stumble on one of my favorite movies "The Notebook". My favorite part just played where they are at the beach with all the seagulls and she is talking about wondering if in another life she was a bird. She starts "ka ka ka'ing" and flapping her wings, and makes him say she is a bird. Then she says "Now say you're a bird". He replies, "If you're a bird, I'm a bird". Love that part!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The only visitors to my yard in 2013 have been four Red-breasted Nuthatches and a female Downy Woodpecker. They have been there each day so far.</td></tr>
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Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-34270083321642430522013-01-02T17:13:00.002-08:002013-01-02T17:13:53.711-08:00Happy Bird Year!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New Year's Eve most people are getting ready to go out to parties to toast in the new year. What was I doing? Filling up my two empty suet feeders making sure they were ready to go. Hanging a barely ever used bird feeder outside my balcony and filling it with some black oil sunflower seeds that I happened to find in the cupboard when I was looking for the suet. Hardly saw any birds on New Year's Eve day, probably because my suet had been empty, and the bay was freezing over. Only saw three Common Goldeneye. But now that my suet cages are full and my feeder has seeds, I am raring to catch a glimpse of the first bird on my 2013 list!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Woke up to a totally frozen bay, and most of the lake. Disappointing because that really hampers my waterfowl sightings. There are still a couple of areas on the lake that are clear for now, but not that I can see from my house. I was up earlier than my usual, since my husband is still off from work, it being New Year's Day and all. First birds I see are the pretty much daily visitors, the Red-breasted Nuthatches. There are two of them, no three, no... four in all. And a female Downy Woodpecker joins the group too. Pretty common yard birds for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Decided to take a trip into Spokane, have some lunch and visit with some old friends. I see it as an opportunity to do some birding! I grab my camera, just in case I see something exciting. Wishing I didn't have to drive, but if I don't, I usually get car sick. I would rather be logging any birds I might see. My family doesn't like it when I'm driving and commenting on my bird sightings. They feel I should be watching the road, but I can't help but observe nearby birds! Today I was lucky, because my husband was handy, and I talked him into pressing the record button on my iPhone so I could voice record myself some memos of the birds I saw while I was driving, then I could add them to BirdLog and eBird later. It worked out great! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First bird sighting on the highway at the Loon Lake Summit, was an American Crow, and I saw two more just down highway 395 a bit into Clayton, and ended the day with 7 crows. Figuring I would see several Red-tailed Hawks along highway 395, and I did. A total of 9 of them between Clayton and Spokane. Another given, was a Black-billed Magpie, they hang out around the Deer Park area. It wasn't long before I saw a couple here and there and ended up with 6 magpies. Surprise sighting of at least a dozen Rock Pigeons around Burroughs Road. Some miscellaneous birds around town in Spokane were a gull of some sort at Wandermere, I thought possibly a California gull, but after looking at my iBird app, I think given the winter range, it is a Herring Gull. Twelve black birds of some sort, possibly starlings. BirdLog lists starlings, rock pigeons, and house sparrows as birds you may want to hide the sightings, because they are quite frequent. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I talked hubby into taking the long way home so we could drive by Mt. Spokane High School to see if the Snowy Owl that I saw back at the end of November might still be around. I bribed him with some coffee. My assistant birder for the day! We drove up Bigelow Gulch Road, which is where my husband grew up. The old homestead is still there. Spotted a couple of American Kestrels along Bruce road, and saw two huge groups of Canadian Geese, estimating 60 of them. They were in the same spot as they were right before Christmas when we traveled to my sisters house. Not too much farther was the Snowy Owl hang-out, but no Snowy in sight today. My best friend sent me the following email. Her son goes to Mt. Spokane High School where the Snowy Owl has been hanging out.</span><br />
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<span class="messageBody" style="color: #333333; line-height: 1.38;">From the Mt Spokane High School Newsletter:<br /><br />"WILD LIFE ON THE PRAIRIE CONTINUED<br /><br />Henrietta (the snowy owl) is still with us and is most likely to be seen in the morning hours around 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. and afternoons from about 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. She is usually seen on the light and power poles looking for her prey in the fields south of the school."</span></h5>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">So apparently </span><i style="font-weight: bold; line-height: 22px;">she</i><span style="line-height: 22px;"> is still there, and her name is Henrietta! Definitely going back!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After arriving back home in Loon Lake, I stopped the car at the wetland just a mile from our house. It's not quite frozen yet, as this portion of the lake gets some sun during the winter. There were 30 or so ducks in the dusky afternoon. I wasn't sure that they were American Coots, thinking they were mostly black and had a little white on them. Not enough white to be Common Goldeneyes like I had seen yesterday. But after looking in iBird, I don't know what else they could be, so I logged them as Coots. Probably the most exciting sighting, that I let out a gasp and a "What was THAT?", was the Wild Turkey, just one, that flew out of the woods and into a tree as we drove by on our private road. I was hoping it was an owl! Hubs said that our chihuahua Jack E. Cheez chased about a dozen turkeys right next to our house this morning when he let him outside. So if I count my birding partners turkey sightings, than we have a baker's dozen turkeys for New Years Day!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All in all, it was a busy bird day with 11 species, and over 147 birds. Didn't take any pictures on New Years Day, because I spent most of the time driving. So first thing, the following day, January 2nd, I snapped the above photo of the Downy Woodpecker at the freshly filled suet. Let this photo serve as a not very clear example of the photos I would like to be taking. Heck, you can't even see her beak! The photo below is of some Mallards I saw in Cedar Beau Bay, the only outing I had today. Most of the lake is now frozen with a light layer of ice, except a couple of areas such as this. I like how the bench is sticking out from the snow, welcoming you to come visit my winter wonderland!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-67674164669486561802012-12-29T12:54:00.002-08:002012-12-29T12:54:16.188-08:00My Big Year ~ 2013 Birding Project<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wa.audubon.org/great-washington-state-birding-trail" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XUAwGsOpfhP89ubTitwVBF57KBYkJol1dcFtjayqx6U3bA0CLkEHToiysy8197ax6fiOsCNPFOuoklb4NbaDjV9XiRrGW05yfUJvPYl4-LJBhW_VO90uXDdITijBcCjd7HLpyivcLIE/s320/palousetopinesloop_200x354.jpg" width="180" /></a><span id="goog_1493262658"></span><span id="goog_1493262659"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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I'm gearing up for my next big birding project, my Big Year! I will be getting out of my comfort zone of watching birds from my balcony and around my home for the most part. Getting out in nature and trying to visit as many of the Great Washington State Birding Trails (GWSBT) as I can, and observing as many bird species as I can. I hope to add a few birds to my life list of just over 90 birds. I plan on recording my sightings in eBird, an online checklist program by the National Audubon Society and Cornell Lab of Ornithology that lets you track the birds you see, keep track of your lists, and share your sightings with the community. I've got my GWSBT map in the mail and the app on my iPhone to help find the birding trails, the iBird app for identifying the birds, and the BirdLog app and eBird for logging the birds! I'm hooked up!</div>
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Yesterday, I played around with the BirdLog app and tested it out. On my trip to town, I counted 6 Red-tailed Hawks along highway 395 between Clayton and Spokane. It's amazing how I can spot em', even while driving, although my kids get mad at me... "Watch the road mom, not the birds"! So while I was getting my hair done, I entered my sightings in the BirdLog app. <br />
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After I got home and settled, I reviewed my entries and submitted them to eBird. It was fairly easy. Can't wait for next week when I start entering ALL the birds I see! The exciting thing about my Big Year project, is that even if I have seen the bird species before, it's like seeing it anew, because I will get to count them and add them to my lists, and report my sightings. Not only will I have a life list, but will have a year list, a yard list, and on location lists. Lots of lists!<br />
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Oh how I wish I had better camera equipment to document my sightings. I have a FujiFilm Finepix HS10 with a 30x zoom, which does help out in the field to zoom in on those far off birds. The photo quality is not the greatest. I really want to concentrate on taking better photos, and using more manual settings. But that is hard sometimes when you are out in the field and have to snap a quick photo before the darn bird flies off! At the very least, I should be shooting at a quick shutter speed to capture the action of my feathered friends. I'll be bringing my tripod along to get those steady shots.<br />
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Recently I have been posting my blog on Google+, which is kind of like a photo sharing social site. If you happen to belong to Google+, be sure to look me up! I belong to several birding communities and get to see lots of beautiful nature photography. This has increased the traffic on my blog quite a bit. Earlier this month, I was excited to have almost 900 pageviews (since starting my blog in June 2010) and looking forward to hitting 1000. Now, I have surpassed 1200 views from all over the world! I added a view counter here on the blog. It's right above my life list on the right ----> <br />
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Lots of great technology to assist my 2013 Big Year! I'm ready!</div>
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<br />Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-86896338134950653302012-12-20T14:59:00.000-08:002012-12-27T10:21:07.941-08:00Now That's What I Call S-N-O-W-!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tomorrow is the first day of winter, but I think someone forgot to tell Mother Nature because she sent the snow a bit early! We live in a snow belt and got dumped on here in Loon Lake over the last couple of days... 29 inches over night! No worries about having a white Christmas this year. But I am a little worried that I didn't get my Christmas shopping done, and we have family festivities to attend, and driving into town (we live about 30 miles from the big city of Spokane) could be difficult to say the least. Only one of our cars has snow tires, two have 4-wheel drive and my poor husband's van has neither. He had to stay home from work today because there was just too much snow this morning to go anywhere, and someone has to dig us out!</div>
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The poor pets are having a hard time getting around in all of this snow. You would think our chow Cubby Bears would be better at it then our chihuahua Jack E. Cheez, but no... Jack's not scared at all, it's Cubby who is the pansy!</div>
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Even the cat Stanley Oliver is fascinated with the snow. He hopped and skipped right out in the deep snow and over to under the picnic table. Getting back he wasn't so bouncy.</div>
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Earlier this week, we didn't have quite as much snow, but enough to cover the ski docks. There was one day that a Great Blue Heron spent most of the day roosting on the ski dock, sleeping as it snowed. </div>
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This isn't the first time I've seen the heron out in a snow storm. A couple of years ago, when the fish pen was in the bay over the winter, the resident Great Blue Heron named Bruchis would hang out daily. Check out this video I took of Bruchis in a snow storm...<br />
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Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-6999795309067568932012-12-02T13:47:00.001-08:002012-12-27T19:46:09.436-08:00Bird Lady Blog ActivityI've been reviewing my stats on my Bird Lady Blog and was excited to see I have almost 900 pageviews since my blog started in June 2010, 87 views last month, and 37 this week. It's surprising to see the different countries my readers are from... the United States of course, Poland, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, Canada, Latvia, South Korea, China, India, Guam, Philippines, Brazil, and South Africa. <br />
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I'm trying to give my blog some badly needed attention, and with my new Great Washington State Birding Trails project for the new year, I hope to increase my posts and my audience. Shooting for 1000 pageviews! <br />
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To my readers, thank you for checking out my blog. One thing I would like is to get more comments from you on my blog. My faithful reader Jana D. always leaves me a comment :O) <br />
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Thanks for stopping by!<br />
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~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-13402564482893383602012-12-01T19:58:00.000-08:002013-02-12T13:23:34.258-08:00Little Hawks & Birding Trails*2/12/13 UPDATE: I have discovered that American Kestrels are falcons, not hawks!<br />
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The cutest and littlest hawks are American Kestrels. While I was searching for the Snowy Owl this week (see previous blog post), I happened to see an American Kestrel, but didn't get any photos of it, so I posted one from my archives. Well today I went back up to Mt. Spokane High School to see if I could see the owl again and get some more pictures since I really only got one close up. The owl wasn't there, so again I continued on towards Mt. Spokane thinking perhaps I would see the Red-tailed hawks that were out that day and could try and get some pictures of them. But no, the Red-tails weren't out either. I did see some American Kestrels though, and since I only have two pics of a Kestrel, I was going to get me some more! This time, I had my sunroof opened, camera ready, no cars behind me as I was traveling down the road. When I got close enough, I zoomed in, and off it would fly. Usually not very far though so I would followed it the short distance, and again try to snap a photo, but by the time I would get zoomed and focused, it would take off again. I managed to get a few shots, but not as close, or sharp, or as many as I would have liked. As I was loading the Kestrel pics to my computer when I got home, I looked more closely at them and noticed that the little hawk I was chasing had a poor little rodent that it was trying to eat in peace. It is in every picture I took of the bird! I love seeing things like that when you finally get the time to look at the pictures in detail on the big screen. <br />
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Here is the first picture I got, a silhouette of the American Kestrel, that made me think, what's he got there?<br />
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The next one clearly shows that the little hawk has a rodent for a snack, and I am interrupting the feast. No wonder he kept flying off.</div>
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This pic below is a little clearer and shows how pretty these tiny hawks really are.</div>
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I decided that trying to take photos from the road was probably not the best or safest way to do this. So I turned off on a graveled road that I vaguely remembered from the other day, but this time I read the sign better. It was called <strong><em>Feryn Ranch Conservation Area</em> </strong>and I drove over 1/2 a mile on the gravel road to the parking area to investigate. I was surprised to see a sign that said it was part of <strong><em>Audubon Washington's The Great Washington State Birding Trail.</em></strong> <strong><em>Palouse to Pines Loop</em></strong>. <br />
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Below you can see more of the habitat... 168 acres of wetland, meadow, and fields with Ponderosa Pines. I want to go back and do some hiking and see what other birds I can find.</div>
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Recently, my husband and I took a weekend trip to Leavenworth and while we were there we did some walking along the Wenatchee River and I remember it being part of the <strong><em>Cascade Loop</em></strong>. Now I'm seeing the Palouse to Pines Loop. I thought to myself, I'll have to do some research about these <strong><em>Loops</em></strong> when I get home, see if they are related and what they are all about. </div>
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Come to find out there are 7 'loops' in <strong><em><a href="http://wa.audubon.org/great-washington-state-birding-trail" target="_blank">The Great Washington State Birding Trail</a></em></strong>. There are 51 birding trails that make up the <strong><em><a href="http://wa.audubon.org/palouse-pines-loop" target="_blank">Palouse to Pines Loop</a></em></strong>. <strong><em>Feryn Ranch Conservation Area</em></strong> is number 5 in the loop. The last trail listed just happened to be <strong><em>51 Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, </em></strong>near Cheney, WA which I have visited twice with a friend of mine. Last time we were there in Spring of 2010, we saw two baby Great Horned Owlets with their mamma in an abandoned Osprey nest. Great sighting! </div>
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The walk my husband and I took along the Wenatchee River in Leavenworth, WA I found out was part of the <a href="http://wa.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/cascade_booklet_8_7_2012.pdf" target="_blank"><strong><em>Cascade Loop</em></strong></a>, <strong><em>15 Waterfront Park</em></strong>. This bear warning was posted at the start of trail.</div>
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The autumn colors were at their peak at this time of year (the end of October), so the entire trip was full of the beautiful seasonal colors, and was one of the main reasons we went on this getaway. I had hoped to get in more birding, but the weekend was rather rainy, and even here in these pictures, we are walking in the rain.<br />
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I also discovered that another park we stopped by on the way home from Leavenworth, <strong><em>Wenatchee Confluence State Park, </em></strong>was the 17th destination trail on the <strong><em><a href="http://wa.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/cascade_booklet_8_7_2012.pdf" target="_blank">Cascade Loop</a></em></strong>. </div>
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So already I have visited four of these birding trails, without realizing it at the time, with the exception of Turnbull, which I visited specifically to go birding and knew it was a recognized birding trail. I'm off to a good start!</div>
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Now that I know about the <a href="http://wa.audubon.org/great-washington-state-birding-trail" target="_blank"><strong><em>Great Washington State Birding Trail</em></strong></a>, I have decided to start a new project. I plan to start visiting these birding hotspots, and tracking all the birds I can find. I recently signed up for eBird, and plan to also start recording my sightings through that at the beginning of the year. After 20+ years of birding, I have only recorded about 90 or so different species of birds here in Washington, where there are 346 annually recorded bird species. So my goal this year will be to get as many new species as I can and going out of my comfort zone and explore as many of these birding trails as I can. For those of you who aren't familiar with the movie <strong><em><a href="http://www.movieinsider.com/m2011/the-big-year/" target="_blank">The Big Year</a></em></strong>, Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Owen Wilson are bird enthusiasts who compete to try and become the world record-holder in a year-long bird-spotting competition. 2013 is gonna be my "Big Year"! </div>
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Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-21248683230965820622012-11-28T21:02:00.005-08:002012-12-27T10:19:35.065-08:00Searching for SnowyOn Facebook the other day, my favorite news girl Shelly Monahan from KHQ6, wrote that she had seen a Snowy Owl across from Mt. Spokane high school. I knew right away that I wanted to see that owl! The owls must be following lucky Shelly, because she saw the Snowy owl more than once, and also had a visit from a Great Horned Owl. She has told the story before about a Great Horned Owl killing their poor African Grey Parrot a few years back, so they don't much welcome the Great Horned. I couldn't get to town the first part of the week, because I was suffering from a constant headache, but when Wednesday arrived, I felt good enough to go to town in search of my first Snowy Owl. It's been awhile since I have had a new bird on my life list.<br />
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I arrived at Mt. Spokane high school right after 1:00 pm, which was the time Shelly had seen the owl before. As I drove by the school, I was a bit disappointed that there was no owl. But I thought it would be worth my while to keep going down the highway to see if perhaps the bird was exploring other territories. A mile or two down the highway, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk. A bit farther down the road, I saw another Red-tailed hawk, and another, and another, and another! Five Red-tails in less than 1/2 a mile. The last four were every other telephone pole! Although it isn't uncommon to see 4 or 5 Red-tails in one trip along the highway, I have never seen so many so close together. There was also a little American Kestrel in the same area. They are the smallest and cutest little hawks.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">From the Archives</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-Tailed Hawks</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">American Kestrel</td></tr>
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After seeing all the Red-tailed hawks and the Kestrel, I headed back towards the high school to see if the owl had possibly showed up. I was out of luck though, there was still no Snowy Owl. So I headed into town and ran my errands. After I was done with my grocery shopping, getting gas, and more grocery shopping, I thought I would head back up to Mt. Spokane before I headed home to Loon Lake. As I pulled up to the high school, I see in the short distance, an outline of a light colored bird. If it was a Red-tail, it would be darker. I think quickly, oh shoot, I don't even have my camera ready. I quickly pull out my super zoom camera, get it turned on, zoomed out, sunroof window open, pull up right under the light pole, and snap a shot! The owl quickly decided she didn't like that, and started to fly off. I tried real hard to get a picture of her flying, but with no luck. But when I looked back at the shot I had got, it was a good one. I was happy with it, given it was such a quick flick! And so excited that I had actually seen the Snowy owl, and could add this beautiful bird to my life list of birds. You can see my life list on the right of my blog. --->>><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Snowy Owl</td></tr>
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I pulled around into the school parking lot, and watched as the bird flew back onto the light pole across from the school. Again, it flew off into the field and over to an outbuilding/barn. As I watched, I saw the owl fly and land in the field, and could barely make out the white blob off in the distance with the zoom on my camera. But I knew it was there. I pulled back onto the highway and parked on the shoulder, hoping the owl would come back to the light pole. It was perched on the tip of the roof of the barn, and I was able to get a silhouette of the beautiful owl before it got too dark. I finally left with excitement in my heart and the exhilaration of a new life bird! Thank you so much Shelly Monahan for the great tip!<br />
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Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-20375398266438592242012-10-14T20:56:00.000-07:002012-12-27T10:19:12.913-08:00Goodbye Osprey, Hello Fall!<br />
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I have to say that I am happy to see the Osprey go for the winter! They showed up on the day the ice melted in the bay last spring, and stayed <em>all summer long</em> to raise two chicks, who stuck around until just the other day. Finally, their incessant squawking is gone! Day in and day out of these birds begging their parents for food, or begging each other as they got older and started catching fish for themselves. It was fun watching the young birds attempt to catch fish when they were first fledglings and leaving the nest! They weren't real good fishers at first, and the parents would leave them alone during the day, so that they would 'fend for themselves'. I would watch them as I did my swimming this summer. They would perch in the trees and complain about their hunger. As they became better fishers, they would perch on various trees and eat their catch. Many times, right in front of our patio, they would dine and then then drop their trash on our beach. Lovely for my chihuahua to get ahold of a stinking fish carcus. As summer goes on, the sounds of the Osprey goes on until one day you realize you haven't heard the Osprey for several days. I find myself wondering... where do the Osprey go for the winter? Do they fly to the coast of Washington, where they can continue their fishin mission? Or perhaps they fly way south to California or even Mexico? Well, I think I will just have to go research it. First I will try my iBird app to see if it tells me anything. <br />
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iBird says basically, Osprey are known to live around large bodies of water world-wide, except in Anartica. As the map above shows, they breed here in the northwest United States and in Canada. They then migrate across the United States and winter along the coast of California, Texas and the most southern states. Year-round residents are in Florida and in Mexico. I'd like to think our summer resident Osprey travel down to the California coast, and enjoy the warmer weather down there, while we stay here in the cold and experience the nasty winter months. Kind of like our other summer neighbors from California! But we know that when the warm weather comes back around our way, our Californian neighbors, and the Osprey will be back in the hood, ready for another lovely summer! For now, we will enjoy our lovely autumn colors as the leaves change with the seasons.<br />
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<br />Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4557707704756115490.post-31129221393414582902012-10-07T17:39:00.000-07:002012-12-27T10:18:36.720-08:00The Best of Birding Adventures...Yesterday I had one of the best birding adventures ever! Let me start by saying that the very first bird that got me into bird watching was the Pileated Woodpecker. I had seen this glorious bird when we lived in Suquamish (Poulsbo) Washington back in 1988. It fascinated me then, and still brings excitement to me today. So to my delight, when I was out walking this week I decided to go further than I normally do. <br />
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So happy that I did, because I came across one of these magnificant Pileated Woodpeckers. She was drumming away on a huge Ponderosa Pine a couple miles from my home. The tree was a regular stop for her you could tell because the bark was missing from large areas on the tree. <br />
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Of course, I slowed and quickly got my camera going on my iPhone. I got some pictures, but none to write home about. I thought it was a male when I was out there, but after reading up on my iBird app, determined it was a female because she lacked the red mustache. She let me get closer than I thought she would. Of course, I had my dogs with me and they were right under foot. She flew off to a nearby tree, and we trotted on with our walk with that high that you get when the endorphines are running good, and you've just witnessed something in nature that stirs your soul. <br />
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Cut to yesterday, me and the dogs are out walking again eager to beat my mileage from yesterday's record of 3.76 miles. As we approach the area where the Pileated's Ponderosa Pine is, and there she is again, working away at that tree. I move closer and closer until I am within just a few feet of this tree and this bird, my favorite bird! I am able to shoot photo after photo, and videos too. Such excitement, I can't even explain! Like that feeling of holding the hummingbirds while they drink! Experiences you won't ever forget.<br />
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We finally moved on and continued on our walk. The longest walk yet. A round trip of 4.33 miles! All the way to Cedar Beau Bay at the south end of the lake.<br />
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When we got back to the tree, Ms. Woodpecker was still there. This time I was able to creep up to the tree within 2 or 3 feet. I was standing on the edge of a block wall with the beautiful bird right there almost within arms reach. I took lots of photos and a video and spent quite some time with her. <br />
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Another walker with a couple of dogs came walking nearby and she flew off to a nearby tree. I spoke with the elderly lady, who was 80, and we chatted about the woodpecker. She told me she had seen some Cedar Waxwings recently, a once in a blue moon bird in this area, and exciting to see also (although I think it was probably a Bohemian Waxwing). As I continued home, my heart was full with nature. What a great feeling it is to have such great birding adventures to share!<br />
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<br />Sherrie {Bird Lady}http://www.blogger.com/profile/17091566411682632367noreply@blogger.com346357 Larson Beach Rd, Loon Lake, WA 99148, USA48.028164632107568 -117.6083850860595748.01754563210757 -117.62812608605957 48.038783632107567 -117.58864408605957