I have a young Blue Jay who comes to my Magnolia tree and chortles, asking for a peanut.
Then he flies down gets one and goes back into the tree to eat it. He then chortles again and flies off with the second peanut. That’s why I call him Peanuts. He also loves to swim.
I also have a frequently-visiting crow who loves peanuts as well.
Just under feeder in Bermuda Run (August 2015) (Click on photo to enlarge.)
My favorite bird is the Carolina wren and I have a lovely pair on my property. Today, as I was working on my new book, a Carolina wren flew into my study. (I had left the back door open and the little bird must have come in and then flown upstairs, because my study is on the second floor.)
I immediately closed the study door and opened the window, but the little wren flew into my adjacent bathroom. Then, I closed that door and caught her easily in my hands. What a thrill to hold her.
I quickly put her out the window and she flew off. I can see the pair safe outside now. I think that is it wonderful how curious and brave these little wrens are. And I think it it was very good luck for me to have this little bird come visit me. BTW, I have been writing non-stop for the past four months, and that’s why I have not posted on this site.
Three great days birding in Cape May. I particularly loved the Laughing gulls; they don’t call them “laughing” for nothing. They were everywhere and in breeding plumage.
More Laughing Gulls
A serious fellow, this Herring Gull
Red-winged blackbird landing
Semipalmated sandpipers
Black Skimmers being observed by a pair of Sandpipers
The mother lode rookery at Heislerville; it is so large that it will not fit in one frame. The Herons appear to occupy the bottom, the Cormorants the top, and the Egrets the middle.
Black-crowned night heron in bottom corner of rookery
Seaside Sparrow in the nearby marsh
Semipalmated sandpipers and Dowitchers
The large bird is an immature Great black backed gull
Yellow-crowned night heron
Royal Terns
Double-Crested Cormorants
Glossy Ibis at the Cape May National Golf Course
Laughing Gull
Scarlet tanager
Goldfinches
Red-bellied woodpecker
Prothonotary warbler
Double-crested cormorant
The New Jersey Audubon hosted a bird walk in Central Park with Pete Dunne. I was only able to say a short time, but I saw great birds (above), met some really terrific birders, and even watched a fight.
So, I thought I saw an injured sparrow on the ground, but …
It wasn’t alone; it was a serious fight between two males over a female
Here’s what they were fighting over …
Pinned
The Winner
Here is a statue of Romeo and Juliet. We met at the Delacorte Theater, and that’s where the sparrows were nesting under the eaves. there were actually quite a number of nests.
This is Eric Stiles, President and CEO of NJ Audubon addressing the group.
Here is Pete Dunne and me
Pat Brentano, Jamie Koufman, Joe Grillo
Since Pale Male came to New York City as a youngster in 1991 — presumably born in 1990 — some people cannot believe that this is the very same bird 25 years later. It is, and the legend of Pale Male continues. The markings are the same; this is him on 5th Ave on a windy Saturday, April 4, 2015.
We should plan a 25th big birthday party for Pale Male this spring or summer! If interested, please contact me. And if you haven’t read Marie Winn’s book, Red Tails in Love, you should.
I believe that if I were to breakdown the elements of my bird education so far, it might go something like this: Observation of birds 50%, reading books 20%, Internet resources 10%, information from other birders 10%, videos & movies 10%. Education aside, I love watching birds. For me identification is important, but I just love watching birds.
I go all over now, but the truth be known, I am a devoted and fanatic backyard birder. These days, I am trying to coax my crows to come closer to my deck with peanuts. Meanwhile, I have an adorable Carolina wren that can hammer with delight one-half-peanut into pieces for a treat. He loves ’em and comes right up to me to get his peanut.
I like to read and watch movies, and I have discovered some really great bird books and movies. I am still expanding my lists, but here are ones that I recommend in the order in which I read or viewed them. My apologies if left out your favorite book or movie that should be listed. If so, please email me your suggestions or just leave a comment here.
These links provided below are almost all Amazon simply because I do most of my shopping on Amazon. Obviously most all of the items below are available on other sites and in regular stores, too
The Owl Who Liked Sitting on Caesar
Small-Headed Flycatcher. Seen Yesterday. He Didn’t’ Leave His Name
Pete Dunne’s Essential Field Guide Companion
I am a big fan of Pete Dunne; most of the above books are his. He is a terrific writer, and we go birding together from time to time.
Movies. There is one series that is an absolute must see, The Life of Birds. It is a BBC ten-part series with David Attenborough. It is also on Netflix.
Here are some other of my favorite movies:
Birders: The Central Park Effect
A Birder’s Guide to Everything
Please send me your recommendations for books and movies!
Squirrels are clever rascals! If you have bird feeders, you probably have squirrels, and you have to take measures to keep them out. I have a squirrel baffle, and if I spray it with PAM to make it slippery, he usually can’t get up it. Clearly, I am not always successful. This particular rascal is my dominant male squirrel, Chunk. He spends a lot of time at my feeders, most of the time, under (not on) them. BTW, my NC squirrels are Eastern gray squirrels. You may click on photos to enlarge them.
Here is Chunk with his female … ’tis the season.
This pair was busy all afternoon. When they weren’t actually mating, he was chasing her all over the place at top speed. Here is a blog on squirrel mating.
She can’t run fast enough
Cool down
THE END
Barred Owl
Red-shouldered Hawk
I have always enjoyed being an amateur photographer. Above are two birds that I recently shot with a small Canon SX-50 camera on a cloudy day and from long range at Tanglewood Park in Forsyth County, NC. This Canon is the camera that I recommend for the average birder. Disclaimer: If you want professional quality bird photography, this post in NOT for you. BTW, you can click on photos to enlarge them in a new window.
The bird below, named Lola, is one of the offspring of Flitter and Maude, the birds who introduced me to bird-watching. Lola is a young, female Northern cardinal.
As a still-novice birder, photo-documentation has been very helpful to me to correctly identify species and to learn more about them, especially new birds. When I am uncertain about a bird, I just send a photo to one my experienced birder friends who promptly and properly identify the bird. And taking photos is useful just as a way to get a better look. Not long ago, for example, I saw a dimly-lit bird at dusk with a beak that made it look to me like a Kingbird — not at all likely — but when I examined the pictures in Photoshop, it became obvious that the mystery bird was a Robin.
Great Egret in flight in Bermuda Run East (15th hole)
Camera equipment? I have some expensive and some “relatively” inexpensive cameras. The expensive Sony stuff — Sony a99 camera with a 70-300mm zoom lens — can capture images of birds in flight (as above), but the relatively inexpensive camera — sorry, still about $350 on Amazon — has a phenomenal 50X zoom lens.
The Sony is very expensive and clearly has many advantages over the Canon camera, including the ability to alter shutter speed and aperture at the touch of a button, not to mention that it can shoot 11 frames/second. The light meter is built in and it has a lot of other bells and whistles. The Sony is a serious camera for someone who takes their photography somewhat seriously. (I am not sure that that person is me.)
And truthfully, for that money there may be many better cameras out there. I chose that combination of Sony camera/lens, because I felt that I could handle it, size and weight-wise. However, the 300mm limit of the Sony lens doesn’t approach the 1,200mm zoom of the Canon SX-50. So, the big Sony camera comes out for special occasions and for specific applications. For my everyday birding, most of the time, I prefer my Canon SX-50.
Using the Canon SX50 camera, you have to have a steady hand and a relatively-still bird. Most of my photos on this blog are taken with it. When shooting, I take as many shots as I can get in before my arms start to shake. This is done on the principle that one out of ten frames will be in good focus. When shooting long-range, I even control my breathing. To get good photos with this camera, it does take practice.
It wasn’t until I had purchased two other more expensive cameras that I appreciated my SX-50. Some of my birder friends are amazed at some of the photos with this little camera, as mine are often better than theirs, taken with much more expensive equipment.
Finally, I also like that the Canon SX-50 is lightweight and easy to handle. It hang it around my neck just below my binoculars. Hands down, I recommend the point-and-shoot Canon SX-50 for birding primarily because of the great zoom lens. It does, however, require a steady hand. If you disagree with my opinion and you have another best-camera-for-the-average-birder, please leave a comment.
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