Entries Tagged 'birding' ↓

Over Labor Day weekend I injured my knee. My neighbor’s dog ran into my leg and it twisted it backwards and it really hurt. The dog didn’t see me and ran into me but it was on accident.

So, birding has been no fun because I can’t walk very well. I was able to sit down and bird in the backyard though and luckily there are some warblers and other birds like Common Nighthawks to watch.

Hanging out in the Callaway Nature Preserve - photo by Birdfreak

In my backyard there are three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that are coming to the feeders. They are fun to watch hovering and drinking.

It is hard to deal with not playing baseball or hiking and I don’t know yet how long I will have to wait to get better. I hope it is soon.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - photo by Birdfreak

On day two (July 27), we visited Presque Isle State Park and saw a really cool lighthouse. This was in Erie, Pennsylvania.

photo by Birdfreak

We left Erie, Pennsylvania and headed to Allegany State Park where Mon@rch (Tom) lives. Tom is cool and really smart. We met in the parking lot and went for a short hike to look for Prairie Warblers.

We didn’t find any Prairie Warblers but it was fun. We went to the park station to check it out. Then I got the chance to do something very exciting! I got to help Tom band five baby Eastern Bluebirds!! I took them out of the box, and even got to put a band on one of them. One baby pooped in my hand.

Mon@rch helping me band baby Eastern Bluebirds - photo by Birdfreak

I learned how to tell male and female babies apart by looking at the color of their wings. I found out that if the color is in between you record a U which means you can’t tell if it is male or female.

Baby Eastern Bluebird - photo by Birdfreak

Tom then took us to Thunder Rocks. The rocks were huge and fun to climb around on. One was in the shape of a dinosaur’s head and tried to eat me.

Photo by Birdfreak

Tom asked a guy to take a photo of us all together. It was a great way to end our visit, which was too short. I liked hanging out with Mon@rch and we all had the best time.

Eddie, Grandpa, Mon@rch (Tom) and Me

Great Blue Herons - Birdfreak

This summer we have had a lot of rain. A lot of farm fields are flooded which sandpipers, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets and other waterbirds love. Frogs seem to love it to because my and my cousin Sammie saw (and caught) a lot of them and there were many different types.

Green Frog - Birdfreak

We also saw a family of Sandhill Cranes. They had one baby and were eating in a field. I love Sandhill Cranes and they are one of my favorite birds. There were also two more cranes in another field.

Sandhill Crane Family - Birdfreak

I am going to go again soon to look for shorebirds and more herons. It was a lot of fun. I even got a life bird which I will post about soon.

On July 2nd, I went with my cousins and Grandparents to northern Wisconsin. On July 3rd, we went to Bayfield, Wisconsin to go on a ferry ride to Madeline Island, one of the Apostle Islands.

Madeline Island is located at the very northern point of Wisconsin on Lake Superior. It is the largest Apostle Island. The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a scenic archipelago of 22 islands surrounding the northern tip of Wisconsin’s Bayfield Peninsula.

We saw about ten Double-crested Cormorants. A couple of them were flying but the rest of them were perched on a breakwater, preening. They were beautiful. There were also noisy Ring-billed Gulls and maybe some were Herring Gulls. They were all over, at least a hundred of them!

The ferry ride was pretty cool. It was the first time I ever rode a ferry. We drove our car right on to the boat. I really love Lake Superior.

Dickcissel

On June 28th my mom and uncle and I went to Seward Bluffs Forest Preserve. One of the cool birds we saw was a Dickcissel. We saw tons of them! The coolest bird we saw probably was the Lark Sparrow.

Lark Sparrow-Birdfreak

I also caught a really cool Virginia Ctenucha. It is a type of moth that flies around dooring the day. It was really pretty.

Virginia Ctenucha

My favorite birder (and teacher) is my uncle Eddie. I think he is the best birder in the world. When I am stuck on identifying a bird, he will help me figure it out and he usually knows all the bird sounds too. One of the best things he is teaching me is how to use his Cannon camera, which I love. Taking bird photos is very hard but so fun.

Eddie - Birdfreak

Eddie is Birdfreak and he is a bird freak. He has traveled to very far away places like Texas and California and Arizona to find birds and someday I want to travel too. One of the birds I really want to see is a Pyrrhuloxia, which is only found in the southeastern United States.

Eddie and I at Lake Superior in Michigan - Birdfreak

My uncle also teaches me many other things like baseball, my favorite sport. Eddie is like a big brother to me and since I don’t have a Dad he also does dad-like things with me. My Grandpa is also a great birder and he does many things with me too.

Grandpa and I - Birdfreak

Saturday, April 19 we went to Sugar River Forest Preserve after the Crane Count. We saw two species of warblers. They were Yellow-throated Warbler and Pine Warbler. They were singing. We also heard a Pileated Woodpecker and a Barred Owl.

Pine Warbler by Birdfreak

Some more highlights include…

1. Chipping Sparrow
2. Belted Kingfisher
3. White-breasted Nuthatch
4. Brown Thrasher
5. Hermit Thrush
6. Yellow Belled Sapsucker
7. Turkey Vulture

Yellow-throated Warbler by Birdfreak

Common Loon

Today we went to Rock Cut State Park. When we got there we saw 10 Common Loons! One of them got really close to the shore line. It started to snow hard and it was really windy. Pretty bad birding weather but we still went and had a good time.

Common Loon

Unbelievably we saw someone grilling out (and it was only 8:00 AM)! My Mom would never let me have a cookout in the snow but it could be fun.

Here is the bird list.

1. Common Loon (10)
2. Bufflehead
3. Great Blue Heron(12)
4. American Coot
5. Tree Swallow
6. Lesser Scaup
7. Wood Duck
8. Wild Turkey
9. American Crow
10. Red-Winged Blackbird
11. Song Sparrow
12. Ruddy Duck
13. Mallard

Common Loon by Birdfreak

Brown Creeper (can you see him?)

I was in my backyard trying to get bird photos. I saw a glimpse of something and turned around. About five inches from my face was a Brown Creeper! I was too busy looking at him to get a photo right away, but finally got him on another tree.

Hermit Thrush

Friday Afternoon Sightings

1. Hermit Thrush
2. Brown Creeper
3. Dark-Eyed Junco
4. American Robin
5. American Goldfinch
6. Northern Cardinal
7. Fox Sparrow
8. House Sparrow
9. Mourning Dove

Today I got to participate in my first Deer Run Bird Survey. I went with my Uncle, Aunt, Mom, and Grandpa.

Deer Run Bird Survey
We are counting all the birds at Deer Run Forest Preserve to see what birds are there and which birds migrate through the area.

This is a Birdfreak project that will take all year. Deer Run Forest Preserve is in Winnebago County Illinois.

Song Sparrow

We hiked for a few hours. Some of the highlights were Hermit Thrush, Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Field Sparrow, Osprey and Sandhill Crane. There were a lot of Song Sparrows singing like crazy. We had a good time.

Eastern Bluebird

Now Get Out And Bird!!!!!