Birding
[Birding (and more) in Calhoun County and beyond
May had been absolutely terrible for the for the last 2 weeks. Very few birds trickled in since May 2nd, with only 7 FOY through May 13th. It was a struggled to get above 40 species as the temps dipped well below normal. Birding required wearing the same clothes I would wear in winter. The highlight was a first for the yard, with a Blue-winged Warbler singing high up in the tree tops on 5/10.
May 14th and 15th the floodgates finally opened. 5 FOY on the 14th, and 13 FOY on the 15th. The highlight on the 15th was a Yard First of a Gray-cheeked Thrush to push the yard to 149. I thought maybe I had a Purple Martin but it flew behind the trees too fast. May 15th helped me to set a new Yard high of 68 birds (19 warblers), which also pushed me past my month high of 90, and pushed me past my previous high from last year of 117. I have sights set on hitting 100 for the month in the yard. I do think it will be hard to get to 150 for the year though. Lots of easy birds I've missed so far. I had no Hermit Thrush, Green-winged Teal or Greater Scaup. Fall/Winter will have to be better. In hindsight the absolutely terrible week of Chaos the previous week was worth giving up to get the 14th and 15th available to bird. Not really great weather for photographs, but I do have a ton of audio I need to go through at some point. I think I have some good audio of a very vocal Orange-crowned Warbler that gave me great looks. Tennessee Warblers have been very vocal, as well as more Ovenbirds then I can remember. Baltimore Orioles are also extremely plentiful in the yard. I have reported up to 7, but I'm sure there are more. They are all over the place with up to 3 males fighting it out at a time. I think I can get to 130-135 by the end of the month. A few more easy ones that I should be able to pick up. Some really good birds being seen in the area. Maybe I picked the wrong year to Yard Bird.
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AuthorMy exploits in my latest passion, Birding...not Bird-watching;-) Archives
June 2024
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