Bird Brained: May 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Where oh where are the orioles?

They've been spotted everywhere outside the city, but they have yet to make an appearance here. All I can say is I hope this years better than last...I didn't get them until September.

Friday May 13, 2011- the rose breasted grosbeak lands in southland park

On our even walk we rana cross a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks singing! Upon returning th svannah sparrow had landed in my yard!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

May 11, 2011 - warbler-rific day at the retention pond

Yellow rumped

Palm warbler

Blackpoll warbler

May10, 2011- the orange crowned warbler returns!

May 9,2011- warbler & sandpipers

Yellow rumPed warbler

Tern

Solitary sandpiper

Spotted sandpiper

Ruby crowned kinglet

Thrush

May 7, 2011- brown thrasher & yellow headEd BB

May 8,2011- Harris sparrow returns

May 5, 2011- clay colored sparrow

May 5, 2011 - white crowned sparrow returns

May 4, 2011- white throated & chipping sparrows return

May4,2011- a first time visitor- the Lincoln Sparrow

May 4, 2011- tree sparrow still here

May 03, 2011 - the cow bird arrives!

May 2, 2011- the juncos are still here

The juncos are still here

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

May 1st brings...a blizzard???

Yup...This past Sunday marked the turning of the calendar page and what can only be described as yuck.

I was running my 4th 1/2 marathon that morning and we awoke to snow and ice...by the time we arrived at the starting point it was a full out blizzard. Needless to say my run was terrible...the weather beat me fair and square.

The thing I couldn't get over when I got home were the birds. They were in a full out feeding frenzy. Battling the 80 km wind gusts were over 3 dozen black birds and at least 2 dozen sparrows.

Red Winged Black birds, Starlings, Grackles all battled and devoured anything in sight. House Sparrows, Trees Sparrows and Mourning Doves fought to hang on to anything nailed down.

The snows melted and here's hoping that we've seen the last of winter.

Growing up birds were all around me and I never gave them a second glance. I made fun of my grandmother for her windowsill birdfeeder, made a point of being uninterested when my father would tell us about the pine grosbeaks he had at the feeder for the first time. I was a child.

As I grew into an adult and eventually bought my own house I realized that I had a passion. Certain people in my life told me I would never have more then house sparrows in my yard as the yard was to new and I was in the city.

It became my 8 year mission to attract and keep a diverse range of birds to my yard and for the first time in 8 years I feel like I've succeeded. I've now had birds visit my yard that established watchers would be envious of.

The thing that pleases me most though is that because it took so long to attract these birds, I appreciate every one that blesses my yard. Something that many of us overlook; one person's everyday bird is another ones lifetime bird.

I write this for me, the incurable bird geek.