The Great Backyard Bird Count was forgotten about at my digs until the final day.
Too much trouble to come up with hard and fast numbers. So I didn't post guesses on eBird.
The most common bird here are house sparrows, and they form a seething mass of boiling feathers around the feeders. Very hard to count. Plus birds come back to gorge; they don't just eat and run, which means if you have a count over a period of time, say 30 minutes or an hour, you'll count the same bird several times. I think what happens is that the birds fill their crops and lay off eating for a spell and come back for more if there is any more.
But, objections voiced, here's my guestimate count.
House sparrows. A lot. 25-40.
House finches. 10-15.
Eurasian collared doves. 10 plus. There were more back in the fall than now.
White winged doves. 4-6. More than back in the fall.
Pyrrhuloxia. 3, 1 male & 2 female. 1M & 1F regulars.
Curve-billed thrashers. Saw only one at a time. Mighta been 2.
Cardinal. One, came by Saturday. Not a consistent visitor unless the weather is cold.
Dark-eyed, slate-colored junco. 1. On ground, not at feeder.
Sparrow as yet unidentified, 1-2. Gonna have to ask for help from the bird forum on ID. Heard one "churr" first time yesterday. Not chirp like house sparrows. And they scratch like chickens.
Ruby-crowned kinglets, 2 seen yesterday. In evergreen trees, not at feeders. Tiny boids, just over hummingbird size.
Starlings. Rarely come to my yard. See them perched on utility wires in alley. 2-3 this weekend.
Great-tailed grackles. Many pass overhead or perch in the hood, whistling or scraping. Saw one for the first time perched in the backyard close to a feeder. No feeding behavior observed. Don't much go for seeds.
Blue jay. One has been coming by the front yard, Heard but not seen.
Canada geese. Saw two groups fly overhead in v-formation, total 22 birds.
Mockingbird. One. Started singing this weekend from LP&L pole.
No comments:
Post a Comment