Thursday, February 24, 2011

Nature Nearby: The Birds Return!

I went outside to grab a package (chemistry curriculum and some other homeschool goodies), and saw a bunch of birds up on the hill. Our feeders needed topping up, so Mikro helped me with that. Then we sat in the car and watched. It was insane! We had so many birds I'm sure I must have missed some in my count, but here's what I was able to scratch down:

Thursday, February 24, 2011, 1533-1623. Cold, clear, residual snow in feeder area 0-4 inches. 40 F.

1 herring gull
2 mourning doves
3 brown headed cowbirds
5 crows
1 redtailed hawk
1northern mockingbird
1 white breasted nuthatch
1 song sparrow
1 purple finch
11 red winged blackbirds
28 grackles
152 starlings

We got to watch the crows mob the raptor and chase it off. I have seen this many birds in the park, but this was a first for my yard!







3 comments:

jugglingpaynes said...

Great pictures! I always feel sorry for the hawks when they get mobbed.

We had a peregrine falcon chase some white throated sparrows through some bushes in our yard last week. It was amazing to watch. I've never seen anything maneuver like a peregrine!

Peace and Laughter,
Cristina

Chele said...

Thanks, Cristina! Wow-- a peregrine! That must have been amazing! We see this redtail around a lot. He definitely seemed interested in the huge flock of starlings, who should be thanking those crows profusely!

Jessica said...

I love seeing your bird photos...what with being a bit of a birdnerd! The surprising thing is that your sparrows look almost identicle to the ones we get down her in Australia! It must be nice to see all tha tlife still there when its so cold:)