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QuikSand · 06-07-2006, 10:46 AM

Monday, June 5

Okay, this week. Baby is enthused. Mom is not. It will be a two-man venture, if you’ll pardon the expression.

Walking across the open area toward the schoolyard that we circle during our usual walk, we make a nice spotting. Actually, it’s a loud, clear call from the nearby woods:

tiny MP3 of Bird Call

This bird is a frequent caller from woodland edges across the Eastern US, and one we hear regularly from our yard. It’s an Eastern Wood-Pewee, a fairly nondescript member of the flycatcher family. One of many, many birds more or less name for their call sound, the Pewee is a great start for birders trying to start with the task of “birding by ear.” Very distinct call, pee-weeeee, and they often perch out in the open enough to be seen once you identify the source of the call.

Thus is the case here – our pewee was right at the top of a nearby tree, very visible (even without field glasses) in silhouette against the dimming skies. Check the box, our most interesting bird of the evening. I put it on the list of ones we expect to see sometimes, but getting this good a look (rather than just hearing one in the distance) will be a rarity.

Along a residential roadway on the way back toward our house, I heard a very clear call of a Mockingbird. Mockingbirds are mimics – they pick up the call of other birds that they hear, and imitate them – often in rapid succession. This guy was in full display, quickly rotating through a pretty impressive variety of calls – for me, I
it was a little bit like having a “lightning round” of calls to identify – song sparrow, red-winged blackbird, starling, cardinal, and so forth. The mockingbird generally makes each call five or six times, and then suddenly shifts gears to another call. This guy was on his game, every call was very, very sharp.

Enough so that as I walked past him, and started looking forward again, I was alarmed to hear a Killdeer calling from behind me. The killdeer isn’t a rare bird, but it’s not one that I’m going to see regularly around here – so I was excited to add it to the list for today. Alas, I looked toward the killdeer cal just as the mockingbird rotated past that imitation and on to his next performance of a goldfinch. Fool me once…

Official Checklist:

Urban Birds - European Starling, House Sparrow, Common Grackle, American Robin, American Crow, Mourning Dove

Feeder Birds - Common Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird

Nearby Woodland Birds - Eastern Wood-Pewee

Flyover Birds - Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture

Not a bad day – but our count of 12 is only good enough to tie the record for the year. A better assortment, and the pewee made it a better overall experience, but in terms of raw numbers, you can’t set your goal to land right on Bob Beamon’s line, right? We’ll keep striving.

06-07-2006, 10:46 AM	#4
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Monday, June 5 Okay, this week. Baby is enthused. Mom is not. It will be a two-man venture, if you’ll pardon the expression. Walking across the open area toward the schoolyard that we circle during our usual walk, we make a nice spotting. Actually, it’s a loud, clear call from the nearby woods: tiny MP3 of Bird Call This bird is a frequent caller from woodland edges across the Eastern US, and one we hear regularly from our yard. It’s an Eastern Wood-Pewee, a fairly nondescript member of the flycatcher family. One of many, many birds more or less name for their call sound, the Pewee is a great start for birders trying to start with the task of “birding by ear.” Very distinct call, pee-weeeee, and they often perch out in the open enough to be seen once you identify the source of the call. Thus is the case here – our pewee was right at the top of a nearby tree, very visible (even without field glasses) in silhouette against the dimming skies. Check the box, our most interesting bird of the evening. I put it on the list of ones we expect to see sometimes, but getting this good a look (rather than just hearing one in the distance) will be a rarity. Along a residential roadway on the way back toward our house, I heard a very clear call of a Mockingbird. Mockingbirds are mimics – they pick up the call of other birds that they hear, and imitate them – often in rapid succession. This guy was in full display, quickly rotating through a pretty impressive variety of calls – for me, I it was a little bit like having a “lightning round” of calls to identify – song sparrow, red-winged blackbird, starling, cardinal, and so forth. The mockingbird generally makes each call five or six times, and then suddenly shifts gears to another call. This guy was on his game, every call was very, very sharp. Enough so that as I walked past him, and started looking forward again, I was alarmed to hear a Killdeer calling from behind me. The killdeer isn’t a rare bird, but it’s not one that I’m going to see regularly around here – so I was excited to add it to the list for today. Alas, I looked toward the killdeer cal just as the mockingbird rotated past that imitation and on to his next performance of a goldfinch. Fool me once… Official Checklist: Urban Birds - European Starling, House Sparrow, Common Grackle, American Robin, American Crow, Mourning Dove Feeder Birds - Common Goldfinch, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird Nearby Woodland Birds - Eastern Wood-Pewee Flyover Birds - Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture Not a bad day – but our count of 12 is only good enough to tie the record for the year. A better assortment, and the pewee made it a better overall experience, but in terms of raw numbers, you can’t set your goal to land right on Bob Beamon’s line, right? We’ll keep striving.