Adventures in Birding

#103-104

The weather got really amazing for two days, but now we're back to cooler temps and rain. Saturday was really nice, but I had a doctor appointment in the morning, so my sister and I went out birding in the afternoon. Birds are most active and sing the most in the mornings, but they're still around in the afternoons! We went to Landingville, and though I didn't get any new species, my sister got a few and we spotted this really cool snapping turtle  !

After Landingville, we drove to a nearby dairy farm where they have #103, a Purple Martin colony! Purple Martins are a type of swallow that depend on humans building homes for them! (According to wikipedia, the Native Americans hollowed out gourds for the birds to nest in!)

Yesterday it rained in the morning a bit, but I went out anyway. I went to a state park, but it was a bit too windy for anything. I traveled to another nearby state park and it wasn't quite as windy there (blocked by mountains, I think). There, I saw #104, Caspian Terns  . Terns are a really common bird, but usually at big lakes and at the ocean! One website I use for a lot of bird info (www.allaboutbirds.org) has a migration map that shows they don't use my area for migrating at all! My Sibley field guide shows my area as "Rare," so it was a good find! I think they might like rougher waters (maybe it churns the fish up a bit and they can catch them easier?) so the wind may have helped yesterday. They've only been spotted in my county a few times, not even once per year! (You can search by species on www.ebird.org to see where a particular species has been spotted)

I believe the Caspian Tern was a lifer for me, too. I see Terns when I go camping in NY at Lake Oneida, but those are Common Terns.

On Thursday this week, I had some excitement at my home feeder! My goal since I started birding and moved into my house, was to eventually attract a warbler to my yard. It's not easily done, but this week I had a Pine Warbler   visit my feeders! I was sooooo excited! I think my location helps (I'm on the edge of a town, near a forest). I've heard that providing water really helps attract them, and I've been thinking of getting another bird bath (my last one was plastic and cracked when I left it out in the Winter). This Pine Warbler checked out my suet feeder, then proceeded to eat some sunflower seeds. I haven't seen him since, but I'm so glad he stopped by and seemed to enjoy my offerings!

Happy Birding!