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QuikSand · 06-26-2006, 01:01 PM

Saturday, June 24

So, after a day of errands and family stuff, we manage to get out for a fairly quick walk – Mrs. Q has baby in the bjorn again, so this will be fairly quick. But it’s a pleasant evening, and the setting is pretty good to spot some birds.

Mrs. Q is unusually on board – she is out looking right away and spots several of the usual suspects, including a goldfinch, which has eluded me/us in several recent trips. So, we’re off to a solid start. We walk by the pewee tree, and despite being unusually silent, he’s there right on cue. Great.

We walk by the school, and see a few more of our usuals, including just one chimney swift overhead. We also hear a killdeer from behind us – but I won’t be fooled again, and when he makes another call right afterward, we revise that to mockingbird and move on. By the time we cross the schoolyard, we have a pretty good list going, including seeing a song sparrow for the third straight trip.

As we walk through a path splitting two homes adjacent to the schoolyard (into the next neighborhood over from ours) there are a couple of feeders, that sometimes attract good birds. As we walk by them, there’s a very loud chatter as a bird buzzes right in front of us…

A Gray Catbird! Again, not a terribly unusual species – I see them pretty regularly around here when out in the field – but not one that we see that much in this sort of setting. He’s agitated about something (possibly us, but I don’t think so) and makes quite a racket as he flashes in front of us.

The catbird is ordinarily a mimic, in the same family as the mockingbird. However, by all accounts, catbirds lack the true artistry of the mockingbird’s renderings, engaging instead in a series of semi-mimic calls resembling other bird calls, and generally interspersed with a variety of odd whistles and even a very cat-like meow that’s a dead giveaway (and, obviously, the inspiration for the common name).

On an organized bird walk, no big deal. Here in suburbia, a fairly pleasant surprise. Here on our attempt to break our record, this is a huge sighting – another bird that we didn’t expect to see! On a night when we have most of our regulars accounted for, this might be meaningful.

Mrs. Q asks for a count. I go through it mentally – and realize that we’re at 12 species already. We have yet to see a grackle – that’s probably our easiest bird left to tie the record of 13. Past that, I speculate, we probably need an overhead bird – a crow, a hawk, a heron, or something of the sort. Last night, we saw barn swallows, but that was a bit later in the evening – but they remain possible. We have options.

We round through the second neighborhood, and can’t pick up any new birds, not even a grackle. I start to think back to some earlier “heard birds” including a Carolina Wren and a Wood Thrush, and wonder if we can weave back in that direction – but mom’s carrying the baby in her pouch, and that’s not really fair. We’ll need to just earn it on the way home.

We are traversing the parking lot in front of the neighborhood pool, and I spot a bird in a treetop. I see it only in silhouette, but it looks like a flycatcher to me (same family as the Pewee and Phoebe we have seen sometimes). A phoebe would be an addition to our list tonight. This bird sits regally atop the tree, but I simply can’t make it out with specificity. My best guess is that it was another Pewee, though it might have been a Kingbird instead. We’ll never know – he gets away as we approach the tree’s base. Good news is, though, that two grackles land in the tree as we’re watching the unknown bird – so we’ve hit 13 again.

Mrs. Q is pretty excited, as she missed out on the previous trip of 13. Now she’s in the record book, and she has made several of the spots (and calls) herself, too.

We start to sense rain in the air, and that adds to our sense of desperation. One more bird! Flicker? Great Blue? Come on!

I’m looking upward, hoping for a hawk or crow, when there’s a quick flash near an overhanging tree, and a blue dart sails out. It’s a Barn Swallow, once again, and we’re at 14 – uncharted waters! Mrs. Q and I see another couple walking toward us on the sidewalk, so we celebrate with a very reserved fist-check, but we’ve topped the mark once again! She is excited… I’m pretty excited… and baby is actually awake for the whole deal! We scurry back toward home, as the raindrops are just starting to fall as we get to our front porch. Perfect timing… and getting 15 here just wouldn’t be right, anyway. That hummingbird can drop by another time.

Official Checklist:

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

Feeder Birds - Common Goldfinch, House Finch, Northern Cardinal

Nearby Woodland Birds – Eastern Wood-Pewee, Song Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird

Flyover Birds – Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow

Done, and done.

06-26-2006, 01:01 PM	#22
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Saturday, June 24 So, after a day of errands and family stuff, we manage to get out for a fairly quick walk – Mrs. Q has baby in the bjorn again, so this will be fairly quick. But it’s a pleasant evening, and the setting is pretty good to spot some birds. Mrs. Q is unusually on board – she is out looking right away and spots several of the usual suspects, including a goldfinch, which has eluded me/us in several recent trips. So, we’re off to a solid start. We walk by the pewee tree, and despite being unusually silent, he’s there right on cue. Great. We walk by the school, and see a few more of our usuals, including just one chimney swift overhead. We also hear a killdeer from behind us – but I won’t be fooled again, and when he makes another call right afterward, we revise that to mockingbird and move on. By the time we cross the schoolyard, we have a pretty good list going, including seeing a song sparrow for the third straight trip. As we walk through a path splitting two homes adjacent to the schoolyard (into the next neighborhood over from ours) there are a couple of feeders, that sometimes attract good birds. As we walk by them, there’s a very loud chatter as a bird buzzes right in front of us… A Gray Catbird! Again, not a terribly unusual species – I see them pretty regularly around here when out in the field – but not one that we see that much in this sort of setting. He’s agitated about something (possibly us, but I don’t think so) and makes quite a racket as he flashes in front of us. The catbird is ordinarily a mimic, in the same family as the mockingbird. However, by all accounts, catbirds lack the true artistry of the mockingbird’s renderings, engaging instead in a series of semi-mimic calls resembling other bird calls, and generally interspersed with a variety of odd whistles and even a very cat-like meow that’s a dead giveaway (and, obviously, the inspiration for the common name). On an organized bird walk, no big deal. Here in suburbia, a fairly pleasant surprise. Here on our attempt to break our record, this is a huge sighting – another bird that we didn’t expect to see! On a night when we have most of our regulars accounted for, this might be meaningful. Mrs. Q asks for a count. I go through it mentally – and realize that we’re at 12 species already. We have yet to see a grackle – that’s probably our easiest bird left to tie the record of 13. Past that, I speculate, we probably need an overhead bird – a crow, a hawk, a heron, or something of the sort. Last night, we saw barn swallows, but that was a bit later in the evening – but they remain possible. We have options. We round through the second neighborhood, and can’t pick up any new birds, not even a grackle. I start to think back to some earlier “heard birds” including a Carolina Wren and a Wood Thrush, and wonder if we can weave back in that direction – but mom’s carrying the baby in her pouch, and that’s not really fair. We’ll need to just earn it on the way home. We are traversing the parking lot in front of the neighborhood pool, and I spot a bird in a treetop. I see it only in silhouette, but it looks like a flycatcher to me (same family as the Pewee and Phoebe we have seen sometimes). A phoebe would be an addition to our list tonight. This bird sits regally atop the tree, but I simply can’t make it out with specificity. My best guess is that it was another Pewee, though it might have been a Kingbird instead. We’ll never know – he gets away as we approach the tree’s base. Good news is, though, that two grackles land in the tree as we’re watching the unknown bird – so we’ve hit 13 again. Mrs. Q is pretty excited, as she missed out on the previous trip of 13. Now she’s in the record book, and she has made several of the spots (and calls) herself, too. We start to sense rain in the air, and that adds to our sense of desperation. One more bird! Flicker? Great Blue? Come on! I’m looking upward, hoping for a hawk or crow, when there’s a quick flash near an overhanging tree, and a blue dart sails out. It’s a Barn Swallow, once again, and we’re at 14 – uncharted waters! Mrs. Q and I see another couple walking toward us on the sidewalk, so we celebrate with a very reserved fist-check, but we’ve topped the mark once again! She is excited… I’m pretty excited… and baby is actually awake for the whole deal! We scurry back toward home, as the raindrops are just starting to fall as we get to our front porch. Perfect timing… and getting 15 here just wouldn’t be right, anyway. That hummingbird can drop by another time. Official Checklist: Urban Birds - European Starling, House Sparrow, Common Grackle, American Robin, Mourning Dove Feeder Birds - Common Goldfinch, House Finch, Northern Cardinal Nearby Woodland Birds – Eastern Wood-Pewee, Song Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, Gray Catbird Flyover Birds – Chimney Swift, Barn Swallow Done, and done.