Bona Dea was very overcast and cloudy in anticipation of the incoming ice and snow event tonight. However this day was the most productive in terms of viewing wildlife this winter. Photos showing White Tailed Deer, Mockingbird, Winter Wren and Barred Owl. The trip started out seeing a pair of Canadian Geese and a Great Blue Heron on a private pond right next to the park on the southeast side. Shortly thereafter the Mockingbird that stays in his very own cedar tree was hopping on the ground next to the trail. Very numerous flocks of Robins were all over the park. Mallard Ducks were in Black Water Swamp and Prarie Creek. There were hundreds of Turkey Vulcher flying high and low over the park and Lake Dardanelle. Never have seen that many anywhere before. They must like the worst of days to fly. A Great Blue Heron also flew off from Goose Pond. Also all over the park were groups of White Troated Sparrows and other woodland Sparrow types and the quaint Winter Wren. The Wrens and Sparrows seem to group together. Also heard a Black-capped Chickadee. Two supprises was a White Tailed Deer just looking at me and not moving beside Bullfrog Pond. I got real close to it. The last thing was a Barred Owl that was calling for its mate. Hope they got together cause its gonna get cold tonight. It was in the woods close to the parking lot. Flocks of Canada Geese where flying to their overnight spot as usual. Squirrls for some reason or other were not seen. They must have enough acorns packed away for the bad weather. Photos of the creatures mentioned here not seen in the post are found in recent previous posts. Also saw some Black-eyed Junco birds.
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9 comments:
I can see you're a serious birdwatcher. Never imagined there would be many species staying on through the winter. I live in the tropics and when it's winter in the northern hemisphere, we see a lot of migratory birds here.
Oh, and you mentioned chickadees. I had a picture book about birds when I was a kid and chickadees were my favorite. Could post a photo? :)
Thanks AJ, look at the Jan. 27th. post and there is a photo of a Chickadee.
We are a homeschool family. Studying about nature is a big deal for us. I want to teach my kids about bird watching 'cause we have a wonderful courtyard with lots of old, tall and thick trees and bushes (including evergreens). I also would like to start recording the bird songs, which are some of the most beautiful and unusual I've ever heard.
Do you have any tips on how to get started bird watching without spending a grip on equipment?
(BTW, We're in Atlanta.)
Just wanted to let you know that the red text is very hard on my eyes against your green background. Is it possible to change it to a lighter red or maybe even just to white?
I agree that the bright red color is glaring. I compared it with the gold I used in some posts and there was a big difference. Look at my newer posts and see what you think. I used even a softer gold. You might be able to purchase and bird field guide for the children. Then maybe you could take some photos of your own and look in the book to ID. You can get a camera for this that won't cost an arm and leg. Also I found a couple of websites that I use all the time. Actually 3: http://www.picsearch.com/ and http://identify.whatbird.com/ and http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/search Search these 3 out and the whatbird one is a step by step guide to bird identification. Hope this helps. Thanks for the info. on the text color of the posts.
I forgot something. Since you live in a location where you will have birds, try putting out bird feeders. I have some at home and that will attract birds and if you do get a camera, you can get close ups and then use the bird guide or websites to ID. I think I am going to start taking food out to the sanctuary so I can get closeups and more variety of birds. Later!!!
You're so awesome. Thanks for taking time to give me some great feedback and tips. We'll be checking out those sites and coming up with a plan that fits in our budget, and still gives the kids a memorable "scientific" experience with studying our neighbor birds. I know they'll love feeding the birds, and think that we can probably find a project on how to make our own bird feeder, too. Youtube may have some good videos...will probably post whatever I do find on my FB page.
Have a great week!
Hoped that helped. It's good that children learn about nature at a young age. Later!!!
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