I hope everyone had a good October of birding and will share their results with us today. I had another great month by increasing my life list by 4 and “first of year” list by 2. Here are my additions.
First my Lifers:
Oct. 10th Nashville Warbler Oct. 10th American Pipit
Oct. 15th Eurasian Collared-Dove Oct. 20th Western Sandpiper
All of my birds were found at patches I frequent. I saw all but one at Hurricane Landing, Sardis Lake.
Terminology
- Patch — A favorite area to bird usually not your immediate backyard
- Observation — Seeing or hearing a bird that you can positively ID
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The Dove was spotted at Friar’s Point on the Mississippi River.
I had a time with my identification of the Western Sandpiper. The 2 Sandpipers I saw didn’t call and the Killdeer they were with intruded on their hunting sites. I took lots of still photos and video. When I got home I slowed down one video segment and got my best markers (upper wing design) for confirmation. I got this shot for size comparison between three species foraging together.
Here is the 48 second film that I mentioned earlier.
My first of year species were just as exciting to capture.
Oct. 20th Savannah Sparrow and Oct. 22nd Wilson’s Snipe
You will read more about Sparrows in tomorrow’s Dawn Chorus but I will show my newest photo of a Savannah.
I was very excited to see another Wilson’s Snipe. Above is my previous photo (first sighting in 60+ years) of the bird. I took this shot and it still pales in comparison to hay seed’s photos and videos.
I want to thank 2n10 for putting together the boilerplate information. Here are those helpful items.
There are no “rules” for the Bird Race beyond what you set for yourself. Some ideas for information that you might share here as part of the conversation, any combinations of:
- A total list or count of birds you have seen: monthly, year to date, life
- New birds you have seen, since the last tally
- Interesting behavior you have seen
- Any patterns or changes in patterns
- General location in the country
- Type of habitat
- Bird ID sites or articles you have found helpful, general or bird family specific
- Equipment you use, how you use it, why you got it, where you got it, how to maintain and care for it
- Photo processing tips and storage/display sites
If you move or travel during the year, it would be very interesting to compare the backyard birds you see in different settings.
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Also there are the helpful links for Birders.
The Daily Bucket (as stated below) is for everyone to enjoy. Our purpose is not to promote one natural thing over another but birds are usually the easiest to find and present. Bring any of your own interesting items to share and consider this an open thread.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
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