I was anxiously waiting on the mail (for “the Beast” to arrive) and thought I’d try a different birding technique. I decided to see how many birds I could see from my garage. I started the list with the doves in the title photo. I’ll continue after the mission statement and page break.
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The day began with the neighbor’s chickens and Guinea Fowl crowing for breakfast. That blast of racket was answered by a Barred Owl which urged the Wild turkeys down the hill to gobble. That series woke a Carolina Wren and a couple of Cardinals. All that ruckus brought 8 Crows to my yard who “caw-griped” to me (as if I could do something about the noise).
This 14 second video is half of my morning’s start (even includes the same crows).
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The next hour brought new sounds. A Red-bellied Woodpecker barked to answer a pair of Canada geese that were chasing a flock of 10 ducks, all flapped furiously toward the gulf coast. A Blue Jay met the woodpecker’s challenge with a red-shouldered hawk mimic. Honking and screeching and crackly barking in double-step time.
School bus and commuter traffic forced me inside until 8 am. I returned to hear and see all my sweet singers (some had found the sunflower seeds I spread out earlier). Chickadee and Titmouse zipped between the tree limbs and the ground while a Kinglet scolded them to be careful.
A Turkey Vulture shadow zoomed toward the wood line where a Brown Thrasher was tossing leaves. A Bluebird perched above the plowing Thrasher and dive-bombed insects fleeing the ground assault.
It got cloudy and bleak making my chances at photos more difficult. I was drawn to a frenzy in the tall pines next door. Here is what I saw first.
But, then the same bird turned and jumped to another limb.
I made a choice and I’m adding an older photograph for comparison.
Several birds zipped in and out of the highest Pine needles. I zeroed in on one and got this series. I marked all the highlights after I came inside to figure out the species. Here are those shots.
Looking through my Sibley guide and the Audubon-Cornell sites kept me busy for hours. My only guess is this may be a Brewster’s Warbler — Vermivora leucobronchialis (a Blue-winged & Golden-winged hybrid).
Update: I am changing my bird’s species to Golden-Crowned Kinglet (thanks John aka 2n10).
I took the rest of day putting together this diary as I waited on the mail delivery. I would hear birds moving freely about beyond the patio door.
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After the sun set I was ready to close the garage door when suddenly the postal carrier pulled into the driveway. The beast arrived at 7 pm.
I will end this diary with that news. Please bring your own tale of a typical (or unique) day’s findings.