December 27, 2008 – 5:51 pm
Today we loaded up our binoculars and field guide and took our first “official” birding trip away from our backyard. OK, we didn’t go to South America or anything, just to the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, GA. The center is 127 acres in size and is along the Chattahoochee River. It’s about 10 miles from our house and looked like an interesting place to go visit.
Misty And Cool
We arrived a little ofter 9AM with the weather cloudy and cool. It was about 50 degrees and there was a very light mist/drizzle in the air. We stopped in the visitor center and got a map of the grounds. The center has a variety of exhibits including a number of large birds including owls, hawks and a Bald Eagle. The birds are unable to live in the wild due to a variety of injuries or other problems.
Let The Birding Begin
We spent a few minutes looking at the caged birds then headed out on the many trails to see what we could see. Here’s the list. Most of the birds are the same as we see in the backyard. But we did see some new species (Bolded) It’s easy to see new birds when you have seen so few 
:
| Species |
Number reported |
| Canada Goose |
20 |
| Mallard |
2 |
| Great Blue Heron |
1 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk |
1 |
| Mourning Dove |
10 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker |
1 |
| Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
1 |
| Downy Woodpecker |
1 |
| Blue Jay |
6 |
| American Crow |
10 |
| Carolina Chickadee |
15 |
| Tufted Titmouse |
6 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch |
7 |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch |
3 |
| Carolina Wren |
2 |
| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
3 |
| American Robin |
10 |
| Northern Mockingbird |
2 |
| Chipping Sparrow |
5 |
| Northern Cardinal |
12 |
| American Goldfinch |
1 |
The birds that we were most excited to see were the Red-shouldered Hawk, and the Great Blue Heron. Were hoping to see more water birds but the marsh boardwalk was closed due to the wet weather (too slippery). We’ll have to go back and try that out later.
We’re Getting Better At This
Both of us really tried to improve our “binocular handling” skills. One of the hardest things for both Pam and I is to be able to put the binoculars to your eyes and follow the movement of the birds. We had lots of opportunities to practice and I think we’re getting better at it.
A Nice Way To Spend A Morning
We finished up around Noon. I total we spent a little over 2 1/2 hours actively birdwatching. It was a nice way to spend some time together. We saw a lot of birds including some new ones, and got to practice our birding skills. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday morning!
December 10, 2008 – 5:25 pm
Image via Wikipedia
Sometimes, out of the blue, you are hit with a realization or observation that impacts your life in some way, however small. That moment happened to me a few weeks ago when I noticed a bird doing something we had seen it do many times in the past but this time it was different.
The Significance Of A Bird
Birds are all around us but we usually don’t notice them. But, every once in a while we catch a glimpse of one and it has some significance to us, for whatever reason. I thought it would be interesting to write a short post about significant birds we have seen as we see them. So its fitting that the first bird to make an “impact” on me in my recent incarnation of birdwatcher was a woodpecker, specifically the Pileated Woodpecker.
Seeing Woody The Woodpecker
For both Pam and I the Pileated Woodpecker reminds us of Woody The Woodpecker, the famous cartoon character that originated in the 1940’s and remained popular through the 60’s and 70’s. It is a fairly large bird and it is easy to notice, especially as it hops down the trees in your yard. That’s exactly how I noticed it a few weeks ago. It was inching its way down one of the Sweet Gum trees in our backyard heading for our suet feeder. Once it got to within 10 feet or so it made the short flight over to the feeder where it immediately began pecking away at the suet. What was funny was how the suet was literally flying all over the place as he pecked at it. I don’t know how much he actually got but it sure was fun watching
Since that Saturday we haven’t seem him again. I’m sure he’s still around we’re just missing him. Hopefully he stops by our feeder soon.
Making An Impact
I don’t know what it was about seeing that happen on that particular day. Over the last two years we’ve lived in this house both of us have seen him do that same thing multiple times. Maybe it was the way he went about doing what woodpeckers do or maybe I was just more receptive to the nature that is all around us. Whatever it was, it made an impact on me and I was much more interested in it than the other times. I guess that’s when the spark went off and I became a birdwatcher again, and the Pileated Woodpecker became the first bird on my life list.
What About You
If you are a birdwatcher, what was your first bird and how did it impact you and motivate you to take up watching birds? If you aren’t yet a birdwatcher what would it take for you to become one?
November 29, 2008 – 5:55 pm
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….
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=158ff9c2-d9ec-424e-ab91-ec75bfb9226e)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=354b4e68-c815-458d-95af-9d6253f8c005)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=81c37aa4-e8dc-4149-9004-db5bcbbb1bd4)
