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Monthly Archives: January 2009

Where Do You Buy Your Bird Seed

January 9, 2009 – 11:12 am

Just in time for the weekend, here’s another exciting survey to complete.

Bird Seed Ain’t Cheap

Since we started feeding the birds with more regularity we have seen our “seed budget” increase quite a bit.  One thing is for sure, bird seed is expensive!  To keep from going broke we’ve been scouring the different places to buy seed to see if we can get quality seed at a little lower price. That got me thinking (always a dangerous thing), where do all the other big time backyard bird feeder types get their seed from?

After the last poll, How Many Bird Feeders Do You Have (final results soon), I know some of you must be buying a lot of seed since you have over 7 feeders in your yard!  So, go ahead and complete this little survey and then, if you don’t mind,  tell us in the comments where you have found the best bird seed deals.  Maybe we can help each other save a little $$$ by sharing our favorite bird seed buying places.

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By Mark | Posted in Polls and Surveys | Tagged , | Comments (2)

Is The iPod touch The Perfect Birding Tool

January 6, 2009 – 6:20 pm
1st Generation iPod Touch

Image via Wikipedia

To me, birdwatching and technology seem like a perfect match.  It seems that I am not the only one to realize this.  There are many tools available to the tech inclined birder.  Over the last couple of weeks I have joined that group with the purchase of an iPod touch.  Based on my initial experience with it, I have to wonder if the iPod touch could be just about the perfect birding tool.

A Music Player And Much More

The primary reason I got the iPod, at least at the beginning, was to upgrade my 4 year old mp3 player.  But when I was researching the options the touch stood out as a way to do much more than just play music.  With a decent sized screen and wifi I quickly saw the touch as a way to have  a portable computer capable of accessing the internet while on the road (at least wherever there is free wifi).  Then I saw that there were a number of birding applications that could be used on the touch, including birdJam and iBird Explorer.  That was all it took, I decided to get an iPod touch 16 GB (1st Generation).
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Loading It Up

I purchased birdJam and loaded it up on the touch along with a bunch of music and I still had plenty of room left.  So, I decided to get iBird Explorer from the iTunes store (the full version was $19.95) and install it as well.  I now had a comprehensive list of 800+ North American birds along with their songs available to me instantly.  There is some duplication between the two applications when it comes to songs but that’s OK.  I bought iBird more for the pictures and search features than the songs. I’ve had some time to play around with both applications and I’m impressed so far.  I’ll do a more extensive review in a later post once Pam and I have actually used it in the field.  Stay tuned for those…

Accessorizing

I want to protect my investment from scratches, drops, etc.  So I purchased a Marware Sport Grip Backwinder Case for iPod touch 1G (Clear).  There are a ton of other choices as well for protective cases.  At some point I will also want to get an “all in one” case/speaker to take the touch in the field with us.  So far the iMainGo2 Portable iPod Speaker System and Case is the top candidate.  It acts as a protective case as well as a high quality, portable speaker system, all in one compact package.  It has gotten good reviews from other iPod toting birders.

The Future Of Birding

Are devices such as the iPod touch, iPhone, and other compact multi-function electronics the future of birding?   They certainly seem to be making inroads and I think they will only gain in popularity, especially for younger and/or newer birders who aren’t intimidated with technology or set in their birdwatching ways.  There seem to be many advantages to having an electronic directory right in the palm of your hand.  New applications should be coming along soon as well.   For example, iBird Explorer is looking to add observation logging capability that will allow you to upload your bird checklists to your e-bird account.  Only time will tell how these tools are accepted by the birding community but my guess is that the impact will be significant.

As for us, we will report our experiences with our iPod touch in the field as soon as we get some time.

Do you use an iPod or similar device in your birding?  How do you like it?  Tell us about those experiences in the comments.

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By Mark | Posted in Birdwatching Software and Tools | Tagged , , | Comments (17)

Attack of The Pine Siskin

January 3, 2009 – 11:25 am

It is a rainy, misty morning here in Atlanta.  Pam and I got up a little late and noticed a huge number of birds in the yard. We weren’t sure what they were but our thought is that they are Pine Siskin.  What do you think?

Swarming The Sweetgum

The birds were all over the seed pods of the big Sweetgum trees we have, hanging upside down on them and pecking away.  I tried to get some pictures but they were too far away and the camera didn’t focus too well, at least on full auto.  Then, all of a sudden they all flew to the platform feeder and began eating.  I managed to get a couple of pictures before they flew off.  Now the question is, what were they?

Bird Identification Time

Pam thought they might be Pine Siskin right off the bat.  I wasn’t so sure.  I uploaded the clearest picture I had to flickr.  here it is:

Pine Siskin? at the feeder

After looking at the picture and our Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America we both settled on them being Pine Siskin.

Are We Correct

What do you think?  Are these Pine Siskin, or maybe a bunch of Goldfinches?  They seem to have too much streaking on them to be Goldfinches.  But, we’ve only been birdirs for 4 weeks so we very easily could be wrong.   My guess is that once again, Pam’s intial guess is right and I was wrong (as usual) :-)

By Mark | Posted in Bird Identification, Bird Pictures | Tagged , | Comments (17)

New Life List Bird And The Bird Bath Bluebirds

January 2, 2009 – 10:54 am

The first day of 2009 was a nice relaxing day with a little bit of birding and exercise tossed in for good measure.  Both Pam and I rode our bikes to get our exercise.  Then we refueled and did a bit of birding along the Chattahoochee River and came home to find some Bluebirds in our new bird bath.  An action packed day all around :-)

Birding On The River

After we got our New Years bike rides in and ate some lunch we drove a few miles to where Peachtree Parkway (aka Medlock Bridge) crosses over the Chattahoochee River and parked at one of the many sections of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area to do some quick birdwatching.  We walked along the trail for about 45 minutes or so and saw a lot of the same birds that visit our feeders.

A Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) p...
Image via Wikipedia

But we also saw a new bird that we can add to the life list and that was the Yellow-rumped Warbler.  Pam and I saw a few of these flitting about in the trees next to the river.  We forgot our Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America so we noted the colors, etc. and checked as soon as we got home.  We’re getting a little better at least in identifying birds.  Both of us narrowed it down to either a warbler or sparrow without the guide.

Activity At The “Bird Hot Tub”

When we got home, around 4PM, we noticed some visitors to our new “Bird Hot Tub” (as my co-workers called it when they saw I was getting Pam a heated bird bath for Christmas).  There was a pair of Eastern Bluebirds hopping along the edge of the bird bath.  I had the camera nearby and snapped a couple of pictures:

Eastern Bluebirds At The Birdbath

Eastern Bluebirds At The Birdbath

They seemed to be enjoying the fresh water. It was neat that the first birds I saw at the bird bath were the same as the 1st bird I saw for 2009 earlier in the day.  It’s funny how things work sometimes.

A Nice Start To The Year

It was a nice way to start the New Year.  We are hoping to see many more birds this year and we are looking forward to sharing our experiences with you through this blog.

We hope all of you have had a good start to 2009!

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By Mark | Posted in Bird Pictures, Birdwatching, Life List | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

The First Bird Of 2009

January 1, 2009 – 9:07 am

Happy New Year!

It’s the first day of 2009 and Pam and I hope it will be a great year for all of you!

We also hope it will be a year of many new birds for both of us.  But, we all have to start somewhere each and every year.  So, as I posted yesterday, I thought I’d start off 2009 with a post about literally the 1st bird each of us see, whatever it is and wherever it is.  I think this bird qualifies as a significant bird for us because it will be the 1st bird of the first full year of birding for us.  It will hold the cherished spot atop our 2009 list and will be seared into our brains forever because of the circumstances in which it was seen.  The bird should be very proud of itself :-)

And The Winner Is

Pam woke up a bit before me and spotted a female Northern Cardinal as her first bird of 2009.

I got out of bed and stumbled into the kitchen to make some coffee and as I was walking back to the living room I saw a male Eastern Bluebird, all puffed up against the cold, eating some suet.

Here’s a picture I took a while back that shows the Cardinal and Bluebird hanging out together:
Eastern Bluebird and Cardinal

How About You

So, the Cardinal and Bluebird were our first official birds of 2009.  What was yours?

Please participate and post a comment about the first bird you saw today.  It will be neat to see what everyone found as they opened their eyes on January 1st, 2009!

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By Mark | Posted in Birdwatching, Significant Birds | Tagged | Comments (5)
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