My first guided bird walk went very well today. And I got to meet Kathi, a.k.a. "katdoc" of comment fame. We live in the same part of Ohio and she asked if I would like to come along when the Cincinnati Bird Club went out to East Fork Lake State Park.
Well, heck yeah! Kathi was a peach and the birding was good, at least for me. There were other birders who were way more advance than me, but the guide knew that my list was pretty small and he made sure that I saw all the birds I could.
I left the house today with 98 life birds, and I cam back with 104. I'll take it.
(Thanks for letting me use your scope, Kathi! I may just have to get one.)
List for today:
(* means life bird)
1. Bonaparte gull*
2. Ring billed gull
3. Lesser scaup*
4. Pied billed grebe
5. Mallard
6. Field sparrow*
7. Swamp sparrow*
8. Song sparrow
9. White throated sparrow
10. Cedar waxwing
11. Dark eyed junco
12. White breasted nuthatch
13. Downy woodpecker
14. Red bellied woodpecker
15. Northern flicker
16. Northern cardinal
17. Blue jay
18. Carolina chickadee
19. Tufted titmouse
20. American crow
21. Red breasted merganser*
22. Great blue heron
23. Eastern towhee
24. Ruddy duck*
25. Carolina wren
26. American coot
27. Goldfinch
28. Killdeer
29. Belted kingfisher
30. Yellow rumped warbler
My 100th bird was a lesser scaup. Yay for me!
Dam!
Red bellied woodpecker
This is the best I could do with the Bonaparte gulls. 
HOME:
My new bird feeder: a wreath made entirely of sunflower seeds.
This poor male house finch has a mild case of conjunctivitis. He kept shaking his head...
Tip: If you see any house finches, goldfinches, etc, at your feeders and one or both of their eyes are swollen, consider reporting it to Cornell's House Finch Disease study. They are trying to track this disease and figure out what to do about it.
7 comments:
Susan,
Awesome, Awesome!!!! You met katdoc! Saw so much! Oh, the Great Blue Heron - one of my favorites (Not..He's a stinker). You go! See any Yaks?
So it was fun? Bonaparte's gulls are the only ones I like looking at and can easily ID besides laughing gulls. Plus they're cute! And Ruddies - love their little tails that poke straight up!
I remember my first *real* bird walk with fond memories. Great leader and a wonderful bunch of little old ladies who didn't make me feel embarrassed. We saw bluebirds and an indigo bunting and nestling great horned owls that day - I was hooked for life.
Mangy old blogger. It would not let Swami enlarge any of the photos. Wanted to see the red-bellied woodpecker close up.
Excellent! Way to go Susan on your life list! Love woodpecker photos. Where did you find the sunflower wreath? That's cool!
Mary:
Can't say too many bad things about GBH's...they are my totem bird.
Laura:
I am so glad I went. It was cool to have all those people helping me find birds that I would have missed.
Swami:
Blogger needs an anti-mange ointment, to be sure.
Pam:
I found the wreath at our local bird store. And it is huge and heavy. The birds love it. I wonder how long it will last.
Sounds like a fun trip! I'm really bad at id'ing water birds. I really like that sunflower feeder. I need to get a coconut (I see one in your last pic)
Thanks, Susan! I don't think I've ever been called a "peach" before. It was a fun day, wasn't it?
I rate birding trips by the number of woodpecker species I've seen. We have 7 species in Ohio in the winter, and it takes at least 3 for me to consider the day worthwhile. Counting the Pileated Woodpecker that flew over the parking lot before you got there, Sunday was a "4 woodpecker day" for me, which means a good day. Five or 6 is great, and I have only ever had a 7 woodpecker day once. The Red-headed Woodpecker is the hardest one to get, and you practically have to know a spot where they hang out to find one.
Hope to see you at another local bird walk soon. Maybe I'll be there the day you get your 200th species!
~Kathi
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