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Monthly Archives: November 2008

Waiting On The Pileated Woodpecker

November 29, 2008 – 5:55 pm
male

Image via Wikipedia

Why won’t our resident (at least we think he is) Pileated Woodpecker show up on command?  My parents came down to visit us for Thanksgiving and both of them are birdwatchers.  My mom is more of a casual one but my dad has been a “hardcore” birdwatcher for over 50 years.  My Father really enjoys walking around our neighborhood with his binoculars lookinng at all of the bird activity we have.

Open Mouth, Insert Foot

Well, we told them about the Pileated that has been visiting our feeder on a pretty consistent basis most of the Fall.  My mom was excited to see it because she hasn’t seen one before.  Being the cocky new birdwatcher, and subsequent expert on bird behavior that I am :-) , I confidently said “we’ll see it, he’s almost always at the feeder, especially in the late afternoon”.  In the four days they’ve been here we have kept an eye open for him but he hasn’t showed.  What’s up with that? It’s not like he hasn’t been around.  Heck, I just saw him last Saturday pecking away at our suet feeder.  That was the first official day of my “new” birdwatching hobby and I was able to add him to my life list.  Since that day he has not been anywhere in sight, and I am getting tired of my mom ribbing me by saying “I thought you said that he always shows up in the afternoon?”

Way to go Mr. woodpecker, you’re causing me great emotional distress by not showing.  Keep it up and all you’ll get is coal in your suet for Christmas.

A Lesson In Bird Behavior

I’ve learned a valuable lesson about bird behavior this week and that is that they definitely are not predictable creatures.  That makes the whole experience of watching them that much more of a challenge.  And that’s why I am enjoying birdwatching, you never know what you’ll see.  There are lots of surprises and that’s a good thing.

Watch out you sneaky Pileated, I’ll catch you at my feeder one day….

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By Mark | Posted in Bird Behavior, Birdwatching | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Thanksgiving Bird Watching With My Father

November 27, 2008 – 11:18 pm
White-breasted Nuthatch, common in much of Nor...

Image via Wikipedia

Today was a perfect November day in Georgia with temps in the low 60’s and clear blue skies.  My parents are in town for the holiday and my Father has been a birdwatcher for 55 of his 75 years so he was more than ready to help me identify some new birds.  So, I took the opportunity to spend some time walking around the yard with him to see what I could see.

Some Skill Involved

We spent about 45 minutes walking around the yard.  All around us there was activity.  The problem for me was actually seeing what the birds were.  I’m finding that it takes some skill to be able to get the binoculars up to your eyes and be able to see what you thought you saw before you put the binoculars up.  It definitely takes some practice.

We saw a lot of birds in a short time.  My “Life List” is now up to 21 species.  Here’s what I saw:

  1. Mourning Dove
  2. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  3. Downy Woodpecker
  4. Eastern Phoebe
  5. Carolina Chickadee
  6. Tufted Titmouse
  7. White-breasted Nuthatch
  8. Brown-headed Nuthatch
  9. Carolina Wren
  10. Golden-crowned Kinglet
  11. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  12. Eastern Bluebird
  13. Brown Thrasher
  14. Pine Warbler
  15. Eastern Towhee
  16. Chipping Sparrow
  17. Northern Cardinal
  18. House Finch
  19. American Goldfinch

It was an enjoyable time walking around the yard with my Father.  He has a ton of experience and was quickly able to get me oriented as far as what birds were what and their songs, etc.  I’m getting a little better at spotting the movement of the birds and being able to get the binoculars on them but I need a lot more work at it.

All in all It was a good time.  Oh, I forgot to mention that near the end of the day we all spotted a large bird sitting on our dinner table.  It looked so good that we just ate it up.  I think it’s called Turkey or something like that.  Can I add it to my Life List?  :-)

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By Mark | Posted in Birdwatching, Life List | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Birdwatching Again After 32 Years

November 24, 2008 – 7:50 pm
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes caro...

Image via Wikipedia

This last weekend I took my first official birdwatching trip in almost 32 years and I didn’t even leave my yard!

I have finally decided to get back into birdwatching “officially”.  When I was in the Boy Scouts I earned the “Bird Study” merit badge.  And that was about it as far as “serious” birdwatching goes.  Over the years I have looked at birds but not really any more than that.  Well, I’ve decided to change that.  We have a nice wooded backyard that attracts birds year round.  The more that I watched them come and go from our feeder the more interested I became.  If I was going to be spending my hard earned $$’s feeding them I sure as heck was going to find out what they were!  Being the numbers/statistics oriented person I am I decided I would start keeping track of what we saw…And so it began, 32 years later.

Building My Life List

I have seen many birds in my life but haven’t officially kept track of them since I was a kid.  So, I need to start over.  Here is my “Life List” as it stands right now:

  1. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  2. Downy Woodpecker
  3. Pileated Woodpecker
  4. Carolina Chickadee
  5. Tufted Titmouse
  6. White-breasted Nuthatch
  7. Brown-headed Nuthatch
  8. Eastern Bluebird
  9. American Robin
  10. Brown Thrasher
  11. Eastern Towhee
  12. Chipping Sparrow
  13. Northern Cardinal

It’s not much but it’s a start :-)   I hope to add many more to the list as time goes on.  I will post updates of my list as it grows along with summaries of observations.

So far I am really enjoying backyard birdwatching and I hope to grow my knowledge of birds and their habits.  I plan on using this site as a way to share my experiences and provide a resource that anyone can use to better enjoy the wonderful birds that we have around us.  Stay tuned…

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By Mark | Posted in Birdwatching, Life List | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Getting Started Birdwatching

November 22, 2008 – 7:06 pm

Are you looking for an activity that is fun for the entire family and doesn’t require an arm and a leg to start?  How about looking out your window into your yard?  Take a look out there and chances are you will see a bird or two.  What kind of birds are they?  Don’t know?  Want to find out?  Congratulations, you are officially a birdwatcher!

One Of The Most Popular Hobbies

You’re in good company.  Birdwatching is one of the most popular outdoor activities.  According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which tracks wildlife recreation, birdwatching is now a hobby of some 47.8 million Americans.  And its not hard to see why.  Birding is a hobby that is easy and inexpensive to begin and it doesn’t require much equipment or training.  Everyone in the family can participate.  It is also a great way to get outside.  You can bird watch just about anywhere but one of the best places is right in your own backyard.

Minimal Equipment Required

All you really need to begin watching birds is your eyes, but binoculars certainly do help!  You will need to get some basic binoculars in order to be able to see the birds in your yard.  There are lots of choices but for getting started you can use just about any pair of binoculars, but 7×35’s or 8×42’s are two popular sizes.  If you don’t have a pair of binoculars or are ready to get some better binoculars, check out the Birdwatching Binoculars Section of our site.  In addition to binoculars you will want a book to help you identify what you see and a notepad to record your “finds”.  Here are a couple of suggested books to get you started:

Sibley’s Birding Basics A great introduction to birdwatching!

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America One of the best field guides out there.

The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America The Western states version.

Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America (Peterson Field Guides(R)) One of the all time classics, updated and expanded.

The Audubon Backyard Birdwatcher: Birdfeeders and Bird GardensMake your backyard a birding hotspot!

Backyard Birds (Peterson Field Guides® for Young Naturalists)Get your children interested in a hobby they can enjoy for the rest of their lives!

There are many more excellent birdwatching books.  Check out our extensive selection in our store under Birdwatching Books.

Start Your Journey Today

Birdwatching is a lifelong activity that can be enjoyed by everyone.  You can see an incredible number of birds right in your own backyard, or the local park.  All it takes is a little bit of curiosity, some binoculars, and a note book, and you are on your way to a lifetime of enjoyment!

By Mark | Posted in Binoculars, Birdwatching | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Enjoying The Birds In Your Backyard

November 19, 2008 – 8:34 pm

Nature is a wonderful thing.  Birds are a part of nature that everybody can enjoy and relate to.  There is so much variety to see, if only we would stop and actually take a look around.   Our backyard is the perfect place to do that.

Easy To Do

Most of our backyards are accessible and convenient.  All we have to do is look out the window to get a view of nature.  Over the years my wife and I have had a backyard, we just haven’t spent too much time thinking about it.  Sure, we watched the birds and other animals come and go, but we didn’t think too much about it.  We finally decided to take a bit more time and really enjoy our yard.  It’s easy to do and fits into our busy life.  Once we actually stopped to take in what was around us we were hooked.

Lots To See

Our feeder is a hub of activity all year long.  The number of birds seems to go up and down with the seasons.  But, for some strange reason, our monthly tab for seed to fill the feeders doesn’t  :-)  Now that we are paying attention I expect we will see even more.  We can sit in the living room and see the feeder in the backyard very easily.  We have also put a “birdbath” (a big terracotta pot base) on the deck and birds visit to drink and take a bath.  We can see the birds pretty well without binoculars but we do use our old Bushnell 8×42 binoculars to get a better view.

Looking Forward

Now that we are more serious about our bird watching activites we have a lot of opportunity to improve our skill and knowledge.  The first thing is to find an easy reliable way to keep track of what we see.  The second is to get another pair of binoculars so that both of us can watch at the same time.  We also want to research ways to improve our backyard environment to make it even more attractive to birds.

By Mark | Posted in Birdwatching | Tagged , | Comments (0)
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