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altivoNo, not the ancient Greek play by Aristophanes, nor the weird but classic Hitchcock film.
I, utterly amateur "birder" that I am, was talked into joining a group doing a survey count of birds in the western part of our county today. I'm glad I went. I actually was able to help somewhat, not so much by identifying birds as by finding them once we heard them.
I learned the songs and calls of several species new to me, and actually saw quite a few of them, including the great crested flycatcher, the blue winged warbler, the Tennessee warbler, the black and white warbler, and the gnatcatcher. We also saw a pair of scarlet tanagers, only the second ones I've ever seen, and I learned (I hope) to recognize the song of the yellow throated warbler and the ovenbird. Many more common birds were seen and heard as well, including cardinals, red winged blackbirds, starlings, wrens, robins, grosbeaks, and more.
We also saw a Cooper's hawk sitting on her nest, or at least, we saw the nest and her tail sticking over the edge. ;p
The weather was dreary and threatening at first, but it cleared up somewhat and became sunny by mid-morning. I left the group to their chore at noon so I could go home and work on my own chores, including stacking a load of hay. Now I have sore feet, because I pulled out some old hiking boots I hadn't worn in years figuring we'd get into mud. We did, but the boots are hardened up and too tight for me now.
I, utterly amateur "birder" that I am, was talked into joining a group doing a survey count of birds in the western part of our county today. I'm glad I went. I actually was able to help somewhat, not so much by identifying birds as by finding them once we heard them.
I learned the songs and calls of several species new to me, and actually saw quite a few of them, including the great crested flycatcher, the blue winged warbler, the Tennessee warbler, the black and white warbler, and the gnatcatcher. We also saw a pair of scarlet tanagers, only the second ones I've ever seen, and I learned (I hope) to recognize the song of the yellow throated warbler and the ovenbird. Many more common birds were seen and heard as well, including cardinals, red winged blackbirds, starlings, wrens, robins, grosbeaks, and more.
We also saw a Cooper's hawk sitting on her nest, or at least, we saw the nest and her tail sticking over the edge. ;p
The weather was dreary and threatening at first, but it cleared up somewhat and became sunny by mid-morning. I left the group to their chore at noon so I could go home and work on my own chores, including stacking a load of hay. Now I have sore feet, because I pulled out some old hiking boots I hadn't worn in years figuring we'd get into mud. We did, but the boots are hardened up and too tight for me now.
