Entries Tagged 'Holidays' ↓

“Hey I heard a meadowlark!” says a birder.
“Seems a bit early to me but I just heard an Eastern Wood-Pewee,” replies her birder friend.
“But it just snowed yesterday. What’s going on?”

APRIL FOOLS!!

With the wild winter we had in northern Illinois, it is only fitting that the European Starlings have been practicing their imitations of other birds and fooling us greatly. Starlings are not as known for their mimicry but have been observed copying many species of birds as well as human made sounds including car alarms and crying babies.

They may be pests, but today’s the day to “celebrate” the European Starling.

This photo is from last year as we are now covered with snow again.

It’s either Sprinter or Wing, take your pick., but I know which sounds better to me! -Vern

Compassplant - Summer 2007

Arizona, our Doberman-Greyhound-Saluki (?) mix and the entire Birdfreak Team wishes everyone a wonderful year of birding and bird conservation.

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!!

Today marks the First Anniversary of Birdfreak! A year ago today the Birdfreak Birding Blog officially found its home at Birdfreak.com. It was a blizzardly day that left me stuck in the snow but the opportunity to transform a vision. And although our look has changed several times, our mission still stands: promote bird conservation.

To celebrate Birdfreak Day we will begin with a recap of the past year. A lot of things happened the past year, most of them good, including a lot of travel in the Midwest.

December: We took part in two Christmas Bird Counts - Rockford and Kishwaukee.

January: We reviewed birdJam’s software, a great tool for learning bird songs and identifying birds in the field.

February: We visited the Mississippi River in search of birds and discovered large numbers of Bald Eagles!

March: A very tough month as our Grandfather, who we’ve visited in northern Wisconsin since birth, passed away. Also, our beloved Doberman Baby passed away after a battle with bone cancer. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to rescue a second Doberman (mix) who had been dumped at a local airport.

April: We were lucky to see a first for our county, a Lazuli Bunting that was caught at Sand Bluff Bird Observatory.

May: The month of May was so busy it was hard to believe we were able to post anything. Spring migration was a blast and we did a 3 day bird count [day 1][day 2][day 3]. Plus, the 17-year Cicadas made a noisy appearance, making birding even more interesting.

June: Our love for prairie birds was enhanced greatly by a wonderful find of several species of birds at a local preserve called Deer Run. The declining Henslow’s Sparrow was a major highlight to find; and catch singing on video.

July: We had a delightful trip to Horicon Marsh [part one] [part two].

August: We hosted I and the Bird #55! It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work!

September: Our busiest month besides May! We had the wonderful opportunity to not only meet Kenn Kaufman, but go birding with him!!

The hotly debated feral cat issue became one of our biggest posts in terms of traffic and heated debate.

We also were lucky enough to have an extreme rarity, a stray from Mexico, the Green-breasted Mango [Take One] ,[Take Two] which we thought was a big hit for promoting birding.

October: We ran a series of 31 Days to Better Birding and Conservation.

November: By far the month with the least amount of birding. However we reviewed the Wingscapes camera, Birder’s Conservation Handbook, and A Contract with the Earth.

We had a busy, fun 1st year and have huge plans for our 2nd, including:

• Promotion of numerous Citizen Science projects
• Increased systematic bird counts in our area
• Year long population survey at Deer Run Forest Preserve
• More work on the Winnebago County Birding Guide
• Creation of an Online Illinois Birding Guide
• Operating our local bird club’s booth for Earth Day
• Mentoring Dakota for the Young Birder of the Year Contest
• A Project designed to help Prothonotary Warblers
• A new Christmas Bird Count in our area
• and of course, a whole ton of birding!

This list will grow and change as the new year progresses but the one thing that will stay true is our devotion to bird conservation and the joy our birds bring us!!

Our bird populations aren’t doomed; not when the Birdfreak Team is on the job!!

The Christmas season is upon us and to help out we’ve constructed the Birdfreak 2007 Christmas Bird Gift Guide.

All of the items listed on the gift guide have been reviewed at some point during the last year and we plan to add a few more items if time permits. If you have an item that you would recommend to birders let us know and we’ll try to add it to the guide.

Have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving Day!!