Birding

We love to travel to find new birds and participate in a lot of bird counts. We also created a Guide to Birding Field Guides and host a collection of over 300 birding links from all over the globe.

Conservation

While our main focus continues to be birds, we are working to promote other areas of conservation. Conserving land not only benefits wildlife, but is hugely beneficial to people as well.

Outdoors

We love all sorts of outdoor activities, especially hiking and spend a lot of time outside with dogs and horses. We are working to produce more articles on all sorts of outdoor fun!

Photography

Every week we bring you Bird Photography Weekly. We periodically talk about our adventures in digiscoping. Feel free to browse our photo lifelist.

Bird Conservation – Prothonotary Warbler

June 21, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation

Prothonotary Warbler

Prothonotary Warblers (Protonotaria citrea)are one of the few songbirds to nest in cavities and inhabit much of the southeast and Great Lake states. They nest in swampy forests and winter along the coast of Central and South America. Their mangrove wintering sites are rapidly decreasing.

Prothonotary Warbler

In our area, Prothonotary Warblers are uncommon but found yearly along riparian areas. We have been lucky to see them often this year, perhaps due to high amounts of rainfall.

Conservation List

Prothonotary Warbler {Protonotaria citrea}

Conservation Action

Partners in Flight along with other conservation organizations such as Mississippi Valley Joint Venture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners for Wildlife Program, The National Resources Conservation Service Wetland Reserve Program, Ducks Unlimited, and the Nature Conservancy have taken up efforts to increase acreage of proper habitat. Other organizations on the wintering grounds have been limited and stricter laws are needed (and enforced).

Prothonotary Warbler

In our area we have been tracking Prothonotary Warbler sightings to work on establishing nesting locations. We have hopes of creating a nest box program similar to what has been done for Eastern Bluebirds. However, according to the Birder’s Conservation Handbook, nest boxes have “increased local densities of breeding birds, though there is concern that birds breeding in nest boxes may have increased rates of nest predation”.

As of 2004, Prothonotary Warbler population was estimated at 1.8 million (39% decline since 1966). Full details on this species and 99 other North American birds at risk can be found in Jeffrey V. Wells’ Birder’s Conservation Handbook.

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Deer Run Bird Survey – #14

June 5, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation

Our last Deer Run Bird Survey for May (31st) and warbler migration is definitely slowing down. However, we found several new species including some from the past week by other local birders.

First, the new birds found from others:

  1. Bald Eagle
  2. Bay-breasted Warbler
  3. Canada Warbler
  4. Eastern Wood Pewee
  5. Green Heron
  6. Kentucky Warbler
  7. Philadelphia Vireo
  8. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  9. Semipalmated Plover

Over our 72 hour count we also added two new species on an unofficial survey: American Woodcock and Common Nighthawk.

Black-billed Cuckoo
Black-billed Cuckoo {Coccyzus erythropthalmus}

We spent over 5 hours hiking and were thrilled to find a lot of cuckoos, including 8 Yellow-billed and 2 Black-billed. Warbler numbers were low but we believe there are Prothonotary Warblers nesting in the swampy areas.

Prothonotary Warbler singing on his territory
Prothonotary Warbler {Protonotaria citrea}

New birds:

  1. Blackpoll Warbler*
  2. Cliff Swallow
  3. Eastern Screech-Owl
  4. Olive-sided Flycatcher
  5. Scarlet Tanager
  6. Yellow-billed Cuckoo
  7. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher

Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-billed Cuckoo {Coccyzus americanus}

We sighted 70 species and now have found 139 species for the survey area.
Total individual birds counted: 5,760

*sighted the following day on a non-survey outing

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Deer Run Bird Survey #9

April 29, 2008
Article in: Bird Conservation

This is our ninth Deer Run Bird Survey and the best “migrationally” speaking.

Sparrows (eight kinds) and warblers (four) were the main attraction. Deer Run is an excellent place for sparrows due to all the grasses in the restored prairie.

Lincoln’s Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Savanna Sparrow
Savanna Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Lark Sparrow

A huge surprise was one of our favorite birds, a Prothonotary Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler

Not a surprise was this Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler

Despite cloudy weather, the birds were quite photogenic, including this Eastern Towhee.
Eastern Towhee

Total species sighted: 40 [a new high count]
Total birds counted: 194 (a bit low but the mini flocks of sparrows were hard to count)
New for the survey, 12 species:

  1. Chipping Sparrow
  2. Gray Catbird
  3. Lark Sparrow
  4. Lincoln’s Sparrow
  5. Northern Rough-winged Swallow
  6. Ovenbird
  7. Palm Warbler
  8. Prothonotary Warbler
  9. Savannah Sparrow
  10. Spotted Sandpiper
  11. Barn Swallow
  12. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Survey numbers up to this point:
Total Species: 74
Total Birds: 3,142

Next up, May and more migrants!!
Raccoon

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