February 26th, 2007
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| Photo by Kenny Walters |
| This great blue heron was captured by Kenny Walters at East Lake Park in Birmingham, Alabama. |
As of this morning, Feb. 26, participants had counted more than 10.5 million birds in the Great Backyard Birdcount and recorded 621 species on 75,699 checklists, far surpassing the previous record of 61,049 checklists, according to today’s press release from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.
If you counted birds for the Great Backyard Birdcount during the Presidents’ Day weekend and haven’t turned your results in yet, the final day to post your results and photos online is Wednesday, Feb. 28.
http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbc
The first report on the final results will not be up until March 10, but you can explore the maps and tables of the preliminary results at:
http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/results
And don’t forget to check out the photo gallery here:
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/gallery
Paul Green of the Audubon Society and Miyoko Chu of Cornel send a “big thank you for making this a memorable and record-breaking tenth anniversary year.”
Posted in Birds of Alabama | No Comments »
February 20th, 2007
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| Woops! I spoke too soon. Just couldn’t resist posting this little tufted titmouse [baeolophus bicolor]. Also, according to Rob Fergus, senior scientist for urban bird conservation at the National Audubon Society, Alabama birders have submitted 224 checklists so far and reported 118 species, even though there are several days left for birders to report. Birmingham has submitted the most checklists, 35, followed by Tuscaloosa with 12 and Anniston with 8. The state report is available in map format at tinyurl.com/2fos5u, and the BirdSource.Org site is still taking reports at birdsource.org/gbbc. |
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February 19th, 2007
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| This is, no doubt, a Carolina chickadee [poecile carolinensis] hiding seeds in the bark of a dogwood tree near the Jefferson County-Blount County line in Middle Alabama. The mercury only made it up to 55 today, but it was the nicest day of the bird count. Unfortunately, the birds were off playing in someone else’s yard for the most part this afternoon. The robins were back, but they are not convinced its spring, yet. I chased one around the house trying to get a photo worth posting. No luck. Maybe the good folks at Cornell and Audubon ought to consider moving this bird count event forward a week or two. The spring migration will be in full-swing in a couple of weeks. Can’t wait to see those cedar waxwings and grosbeaks again. Maybe I can get a serviceable shot of that amazing, almost purple blue grosbeak |
Posted in Birds of Alabama | No Comments »
February 19th, 2007
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| Photo by Glynn Wilson |
| A male Northern cardinal [cardinalis cardinalis] visits a dogwood tree on day three of the Great Backyard Birdcount. The cardinals always seem to be the last birds to visit the feeders in the late afternoon. And they always issue their short, sharp warning call to alert the other birds when the hawks circle overhead, the cats come sneaking into the yard, or humans (like me) come sneaking around with a camera : ) But as time goes by, they seem to get used to me. Maybe they realize I’m the one keeping them in birdfeed and fresh water and making sure the bird baths stay clean. Some people may consider it cheating to put out food for the birds and then take their picture. But our philosophy is, humans have taken the birds’ habitat, fragmented it and polluted it, so it is our duty to help them out a little - especially in the cold winter months. And let’s face it. Life in the suburbs would be a dismal affair without them… |
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February 19th, 2007
Today may be President’s Day, but it’s also the last day of the Great BackYard Birdcount sponsored by the Cornell University Lab of Ornithology and the Audubon Society. It’s educational and fun.
To learn how to participate, go to Cornell’s Website, BirdSource.Org, and see that: It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3!.
It will be a few days before the results are posted and we can do a full story about it. But the photo gallery for 2007 is already up and new pictures are being posted every day.
We submitted the mockingbird and chickadee photos posted below, but they’ve not been posted on the BirdSource sight as of this morning. The male cardinal on the news page (and posted above) might also be worth submitting, along with some new pictures of the tufted timouse from yesterday.
Since the temperature is projected to reach 60 degrees Farenheit today, perhaps there’s a better chance of seeing some migrant species in addition to the “usual suspects.”
After some java and breakfast, we are go try again to see what kind of images we can capture from our new perch in the front yard.
Good birding!
And don’t forget to vote for politicians who favor policies that protect the birds and their habitat. It’s critical…
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
