Entries from December 2007 ↓

A couple days ago 5+ inches of snow fell in Rockford and beautified our backyard nature preserve. Over the last five years or so we have found 96 species of birds at the C.N.P.

Here’s what it looked like (although the only birds of note were Dark-eyed Juncos and American Goldfinches):

The snow provided a playing field for our puppy Arizona…

Spring time is when the C.N.P. is alive with birds. During migration it is common for us to find eight or more warbler species feeding in our large trees.

With the snow, it is hard to imagine the new life of birds and the native plants we’ve added over the last three years, but the silence is usually broken by a White-breasted Nuthatch or a hungry gang of American Goldfinches and we soon realize there are always birds around!!

Since the nearby DeKalb Christmas Bird Count was on the same day as the Rockford Christmas Bird Count, December 15th, it was one we had to miss. Mike Andrews, compiler for the count, let us know how their day went.

They had 21 people out in the field and 4 feeder watchers this year. There was a White-winged Crossbill in the area earlier in the week (rare!), but it did not make an appearance for the count day. It’s not fair!

Photo taken at Northern Illinois University’s Davis Hall in DeKalb, Illinois

The weather matched Rockford, snow, snow snow! They did, however, come up with a record 55 species including a Sandhill Crane, a Northern Mockingbird, Winter Wren, Northern Shrike, and one Brown-headed Cowbird. Missing from the count were Lapland Longspurs, Ring-billed Gulls, Black Ducks, and Snow Geese.

All-in-all, the count went well and we hope they have even more counters for 2008.

Little Birders

The Birdfreak Team has been working on a Photo Lifelist for awhile now and we finally reached 177 species! We were going to celebrate the 175th, but due to faulty counting, we passed it already! So here is number 177 on our photo lifelist!

This Rough-legged Hawk was “shot” while out on our first Christmas Bird Count of the year!

The photo life list can never end, because even if we photographed 10,000 species, (we wish!) we know you can always take a better picture so our work is never done!

Listing is so fun, and there is no end to what you can list! County lists, state lists, year lists, month lists, life lists, North American lists, forest preserve lists, backyard lists…..or no list! Just one more reason birding is so great!

We were supposed to do our third Christmas Bird Count of the season [Dec 23], but blowing snow and zero visibility forced us to turn back. We are dedicated citizen scientists, but sometimes it is better to, as the saying goes, “be safe than sorry”. Especially right before Christmas.

Christmas Eve day we decided to conduct our third Deer Run Bird Survey (and the weather was a lot better than the day before). Birding was pretty slow, but we added three species not seen on the previous two counts: Great Horned Owl, Wild Turkey, and our winter warbler, the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

We had to cross a flooded path, but were rewarded with a good mix of birds near this running water (including the Yellow-rumped).

To date, we have sighted a total of 30 species in our survey area, but we have yet to cover a full third of the area. The number is unlikely to increase too much until spring but there are definitely some notable birds missing: Rough-legged Hawk, Eastern Screech-Owl, Cedar Waxwing, and more.

Of course, the purpose of this survey isn’t to build a big list of birds, but instead discover what types of birds use the area and how we feel the land should be restored to best enhance the diversity of birds there.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

The little Henslow’s Sparrow (Ammodramus henslowii) is easy to identify by sound (the call is similar to a tiny hiccup), but hard to find in tall prairie grass. It has declined by more than 80% since 1966 and its habitat is all but gone. Sprawling cities, farms, and reforestation have all contributed to loss of prairie and its inhabitants. The Henslow’s wintering areas, southeastern United States savanna and pine habitats are being replaced by non-native species, causing more trouble for the sparrow.

One thing we can do to help the Henslow’s Sparrow is to support the increase of conservation provisions of the Farm Bill where farmers are paid to leave grassland habitats unplowed and unmowed.

The Henslow’s Sparrow needs more restored prairie and wintering ground habitats. The Midwest is in need of much more prairie and savanna restoration projects.

We posted this last year and were happy with it so decided to have another go at it!

‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The cat had removed any stray rodents running the floors,
Because she followed the policy to keep cats indoors;

The birders were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of lifers flitted in their heads;

When out in the great oak a clatter did brew,
A Barred Owl calling “Who cooks for you?”;

I sprang from my bed and grabbed my bins,
Slipped on a bird book and bonked both my shins;

I felt the need for a pain reliever,
And nearly toppled over my sleeping Golden Retriever;

I made it to the window and looked at the feeding station,
And remembered all the year’s work for bird conservation;

I gazed at the moon-lit yard, which twinkled like glass,
Oh how great it looked nearly devoid of grass;

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
An early rising Cardinal chirping with no fear;

I grabbed a coat and was followed by my entourage,
Three excited dogs out towards the garage;

The shadows of the old willow blocked the light of the moon,
Concealing the suet where woodpeckers would be soon;

Suddenly out of the darkness a figure did stand,
The friendliest person I’ve seen in the land;

He carried a camera, bins, bird guide, and gave me a smile,
And asked if he could talk to me for awhile;

He called out bird names with a bellow,
“Whooping Crane, Cerulean Warbler, and that ‘Lord God’ fellow;

All birds facing the danger of vanishing from Earth,
Unless people realize just what they’re worth;

Birders and nature-lovers must make a stand,
Educate the ill-informed to make sure to care for the land”;

He warned me to never quit fighting for birds,
Even if just through the blog full of words;

Without warning his mouth was drawn and he let out a pish,
And a Bald Eagle arrived still carrying a fish;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Let me know if we work together we have nothing to dread;

And then I heard him exclaim as he vanished from sight,
“Merry Christmas and good birding to all, and to all a good night!”

The Birdfreak Team wishes each and every one of you a Merry Christmas!! Be safe and in good cheer!!