Adventures in Birding

#87-88

I feel like I'm going full-steam with bird species this year! Last year at this time, I was just hitting the 70s, and now I'm nearing the 90s this year!

Yesterday I managed two birding trips in one day! In the morning, I went to Landingville again, my current favorite spot! I saw #87, Brown Creeper, which was super exciting for me! They're a pretty common bird, but can be super hard to spot! They blend right in with tree bark and every year I worry I won't see one. I only spot them once or twice a year usually! So I was excited to get it crossed off my list. (I also spotted and identified Rusty Blackbirds on my own which was pretty cool. They're really very similar to a few other species. They are one of the most declining species in our country! They migrate through on their way to Canada, so I was happy to spot them again!)

Then in the evening, I met up with a local birding expert who was scouting out for an official state park birding event in two weeks. It's a night-time Owl/Woodcock walk. We got to the parking lot of a trail around dusk and waited for the American Woodcock to start their courtship ritual. We had at least three of them, I think. Then we headed into the woods to try to get a Saw-whet Owl. Normally, we have to play a tape of a male calling for about 20 minutes or so, and if we're lucky we can lure another male in to answer.

We totally lucked out because as we were walking toward a known good spot, we heard #88, a Saw-whet Owl calling (or "tooting") on its own! It's a good sign that they're probably breeding/nesting in that park! They're still considered a "rare" sighting for our area, but I think their species is really starting to grow in our area.

They are one of the cutest little owls, too! Click here   for more about Saw-whet Owls. I've never seen one in the wild, but I've heard them several times now. They have a really distinctive call, "too-too-too" and can be heard up to half a mile away. Loud for such a little thing!

Definitely one of my favorite local birds!