Here comes spring...

The last two days have been very gloomy and getting pictures have been quite difficult. I have a few but I have to edit them, crop them, and delete lots of throwaways. So I went to El Franco Lee... It is very easy for me to bird here because it is about 5 minutes from my apartment. Well I took a different path on Friday and it played to my benefit. I found a flock of these guys...

Eastern Meadowlark

I then went around and picked out a few sparrows. These are very hard to identify but with the camera it helps to freeze the little brown job to identify later.


Savannah Sparrow

Then today (Saturday) I went back out there because I wanted to get a look at the merlin. Did not find. But I did see lots of woodpeckers; pileated, yellow-bellied, downy, and even this guy... (Thanks to Pam for identification)

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

I also needed some help with this little one...

Come to find out that it is a female common yellow throat. I thought it was an orange crowned warbler but it isn't. They look almost exactly the same.

As you can see they look very similar. I am constantly learning my birds. Everyday is a new experience for me. Not even a semester of ornithology could prepare me for all the different species/morphs of birds. For example one look at this guy and you would think "oh that's a snowy egret." Once I looked closely I realized that it actually is a juvenile little blue heron.


Juvenile Little Blue Heron

There is one bird that I recognize a mile away. The state bird of Texas. The Northern Mockingbird is named as such because of their song that mimics other birds. I have even heard them copy car alarms. One sign of spring is them claiming their territory. They will fly to the top of the tree and just sing. You will actually see them occassionally fight each other out of their area. One today actually sat about 2 feet from me. They aren't the most spectacular birds but a picture can say alot about them.


Northern Mockingbird

It is slow getting to 102. I am just waiting patiently for another 20+ day... and until next time happy birding!

Current moderate year count - 102
Recently added species - Eastern Meadowlark, Neotropic cormorant

100!!! and lots of snakes...

So I had a few hours to take up out at El Franco Lee and was able to add number 100 to the list. It was quiet day that I wish was a little more exciting. So when I first walked out there I almost stepped on this guy...

Broad banded water snake

Initially I thought it was a water mocassin. It does a very effective job of mimicing it. After getting some help from a fellow birder he informed me that it definitely was a water snake. The poor guy was missing an eye.

Missing eye

Here is a good picture of it slithering into the water.

So after sitting there and talking the usual bird talk. What have you seen around? Where did you see it? etc. I did get a good look at a purple martin. And yes folks that is number 100. Martins are migrants and they are on their way back up to the midwest and northeast. I did not get a picture of it since it was high and away from me.

I am a little saddened that the one hundredth isn't more exciting. It is almost anticlimatic... But yay 100!

My birding friend and myself walked around the the lake and didn't see anything too cool except for this little guy.

It is a baby banded water snake. Very colorful!

I might have some really good pictures this weekend. Going birding on Sunday along with all of the other things that I have to do. And until next time happy birding!

Current Moderate Year Count - 100
Recently added - Purple Martin

GBBC day 2

So this was the second day that I went out and counted on the Great Backyard Bird Count. I wanted to get as many good pictures as I could to submit to the photo contest. Keep your fingers crossed for me. If you want to see the pictures I submitted you can see them here.
https://plus.google.com/photos/114674467201835308051/albums/5711345381745492993

I decided to hit up El Franco Lee in the morning. I got an early start and I was able to get a picture of this guy.

Common Yellowthroat

He was really hard to get a decent picture of him. I sat there for about 30 minutes hushing him just to get one decent picture.

I also heard a pileated woodpecker while I was out there but I could not call him down to where I was. It sounded like he would follow me around but never got a decent look of him.

I saw the usual ring necked ducks, phoebes, kinglets, cardinals, and yellow rumps. But I did wander off the trail a little bit. When I walked around there was this one bird that let me get real close.

?

Maybe a little closer...

Oh hello... What are you?

A few steps more... maybe...

Nap time?

Come to find out it was a very tired female brown headed cowbird. Maybe she was busy fostering out her eggs. Yes, cowbirds are renowned for laying their eggs in other birds nests. The foster parents don't realize they are raising an adopted cowbird. So here's to adding one more bird... to the list.

Current Moderate Year Bird Count - 99 Species
Recently added - Brown headed Cowbird

GBBC

This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Since the weather was poorer than expected we had to cancel on Saturday. I did go out during one of the breaks... During one of the break I heard what I have been searching for for about 4 weeks. I heard the palm warbler. It winters in this area but is somewhat rare. I didn't get a good look at it so Meghan and I decided to come out today and get our bird on.

I did get a good look at the palm warbler but couldn't get a decent picture. I also got a good look at a common yellowthroat. That's a few added today. I did get a decent picture of a ...

I did meet a few characters while birding and was able to show off the Say's... Which I did get a good picture! This guy is not shy at all.


Say's Phoebe

After a short break Meghan and I decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather. We took a trip down to Seabrook. While we were down there we took a nice walk down the creek and saw some very active roseate spoonbills.


Roseate Spoonbill

Once it was starting to get dark we decided to head home. Not a very eventful day but I did get my numbers up. Since I have the day off tomorrow I am going to take a trip and try to get some new birds. Hopefully I will have a more exciting post. Only two away from 100.

Current Moderate Year Count - 98 Species
Recently added species - Common Yellowthroat, Palm Warbler

Bald Eagles

So after Meghan got off work today we decided to go on a field trip. Dan (fellow birder) informed me of where the Eagles nest was and I had to get a better look than what I did at El Franco Lee Park. A better look is exactly what I got.

So it was around 5:30 when we finally broke through the molasses called Houston traffic. We arrived in Pearland and had to walk through puddle after puddle. Along the way we saw these guys. Meghan "tried" to work on her bird calls. "Killdeeer, Killdeeer".

Killdeer

While we were walking along I didn't want to disturb them so I walked about 15 feet and looked through the binoculars and repeated, walked 15 feet and repeated. Finally one saw me before I saw him/her. It flew up and made a pass then returned to their perch. I was able to get a few pictures of the national bird.

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagles were removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28, 2007. They were highly effected by the pesticide, DDT. DDT reduces the metabolism of calcium. Therefore it messed with the reproduction of the eagles.

In that moment, just as it started to soar, I couldn't help but think about how everything is connected . We have a larger impact on the planet than most people realize. Everything is connected. It brings me to ask the question, "If a butterfly flaps its wings in South America does it cause a tornado on the plains of North America?"

Bald Eagle

Until next time Happy Birding and watch where you step because that might be someone else's home!

Current Moderate Year Bird Count - 94 Species

The BIG 94!

Suprisingly enough I found time to go out today. I figured I could stop by El Franco Lee Park. Since birding hasn't been to exciting lately I figured I would work on some photos and try to get a good picture of the Vermillion Flycatcher.


Vermillion Flycatcher

 After walking the trail I ran into a few fellow birders. *Side Note- Birders have to be the nicest people in the world. I was referred to many sites and ideas to increase my bird count. (Thanks Judy and Ron)* I also found the usual birds. I walked about fifteen feet and that "je-ditt" sound kept following me. A ruby crowned kinglet just wanted some attention.


Ruby Crowned Kinglet

 Well not much happened until I got back to the gazebo. I sat there for a while and talked to Judy about http://lists.texbirds.org/texbirds.html (which a Snowy Owl has been spotted near Dallas). After Judy left I turned around. I noticed a bird soaring above. I thought to myself, "Wow, that's a large hawk. Wait! That's not a hawk." I quickly grabbed the camera took a few quick shots. It was a Bald Eagle. Hello, 94!


Bald Eagle

 I think tomorrow Meghan and I might take a quick trip out to Pearland to see the nest. Maybe I can get some better pictures. Happy Birding!

Moderate Year Bird Count - 94 Species
Newly added - Bald Eagle

Bad News...

So while I was checking the ABA rules on certain birds I have learned that exotics that are more of a public show are not to be considered on the main count. Since I am planning on sticking by the rules I have to drop my numbers down two... I'm loosing the Egyptian Goose and the Helmeted Guinea Fowl...

Happy Birding!

Only 7 more till I hit the 100 mark...

Current Moderate Year Count - 93 Species
Recently REMOVED species - Helmeted Guinea Fowl, Egyptian Goose

The Great Kiskadee Escape

This morning I brought Meghan (the girlfriend) with me. She is a trooper. It was probably about 36 degrees outside not including wind chill. She loves joining me but sometimes doesn't have the patience to sit in the cold for hours with the hopes of catching a glimpse or flash of something rare.

Meghan in search of something cool... (maybe a great kiskadee)

So we set out early in hopes of adding to the list of birds that I have seen so far this year. So early that the state park hadn't opened yet. :( So I decided to meander down towards the Trinity. There was an RV park that seemed to be fit enough for some birds. We decided to check it out. These little guys felt we weren't too harmful.

Carolina Wren

Ruby Crowned Kinglet


We really didn't find anything too rare. February is a horrible time to bird in Texas. Only about 3-4 more weeks until the Spring Migration hits us. Fingers crossed for a fallout. Since there wasn't anything too exciting and the park was now open we decided to go back to the park. We left this goose egg behind...



Egyptian Goose

Sheldon Lake State Park is very nice. We spoke to the park ranger and she informed us of a few common birds and the Great Kiskadee. The Great Kiskadee is not common to the Houston area and since I am trying to increase my bird count... I was very eager... Not even 50 yards down the path I heard it. "BEE-tee-WEE" and an almost cat call. I decided we are going to find this bird and I am going to get a picture. If you read the title of this post you probably already know the end of the story and you are correct. We didn't hear it again and could not find it. I did get a good look at a Redhead and a Cedar Waxwing. Both on the list so far this year.


Cedar Waxwing

 Next weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Myself and a fellow teacher are taking some students out to El Franco Lee Park. So here I am patiently awaiting the next time I can go birding. Happy Birding!

Bird Count - 95 Species
Newly added birds - Egyptian Goose, Greater White Fronted Goose, Great Kiskadee

The first...

After reading some blogs and starting my "moderate year" I decided to join in... We'll see how this goes as I am not the type to... well, type. No worries, here's my best shot.

My wonderful girlfriend has helped my passion by giving me a curse. A camera. It's a curse because all I want to do is shoot birds. Figuratively speaking of course. My technique has gotten much better. Here is one of the first few shots...

Carolina Chickadee

Of course it's of the common Carolina Chicka-dee-dee-dee. These guys are very common around the Houston area. After some of my students started to see my shots they gave me some pointers. (It's wonderful how much your students can TEACH YOU.) Here are some newer shots...

Say's Phoebe

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

You can see these and more of my progress on my Google+ page. Happy Birding!

Moderate Year Count - 92 Species