Big Day Bust

Day 211: That, my friends, was the absolutely worst Big Day I have experienced in my long years as a birder. Let me enumerate the species, and trust me, this won't take long to read: Evening Grosbeak, Steller's Jay, Band-tailed goddamn Pigeon, American Robin, Tree Swallow (exactly one), Purple Finch, Mourning Dove, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-headed Grosbeak and finally, right before dinnertime, a solitary Crow, bringing my Big Day total to 10. No Rufous hummer (one showed up this morning, doesn't count), no sparrows of any sort, no blackbirds or starlings. Terrible, horrible, no good very bad Big Day. But why? The weather has been good this week, so they weren't put off by that. There was food out, although admittedly not in the quantity I have laid on board in previous years. The only factors I can consider as possibly leading to the paucity of birds are avian influenza and/or climate change and the associated devastation of vast forested areas by fire. Ten species, when I should have had two dozen or more. Ten. That's all. And damned few of each.

Global Big Day

Day 204: You can celebrate Star Wars Day if that's your thing, or I might have been inclined to join you in observing World Naked Gardening Day if the weather hadn't turned both wet and cold, but what we're really excited about around here is that Global Big Day is only a week away! Yes, May 11th is circled on my calendar, and I have my checklist printed out. No, I won't be travelling to the far reaches. I'll just be standing at my window ticking off species at the feeders. I don't expect this year to break the record of 29 due to the fact that few of the migrants have arrived yet, but if I'm lucky, I might see twenty. When it comes right down to it, that's pretty respectable for a backyard bird-a-thon.

Chipping Sparrow

Day 186: "Oh, who's the redhead?" I said, standing at the back door with camera in hand in the hopes of snapping a quick picture of the Golden-Crowned Sparrows beneath the feeder. "Is that Chipping?" I don't see Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) every year, and their topknots always take me by surprise. I made note of the eye stripe and other facial features, and headed straight to Sibley to confirm my identification. Then I looked at the "Birdcast Migration Dashboard" for my county, and sure enough, Chipping Sparrows have just begun passing through. Will they stick around long enough to me to count on Global Big Day (May 11)? I hope so!

A Little Big Day

Day 213: Well, I didn't break my record of 25 species, although if everyone in my crowd of "usuals" had shown up, I could have done. As it was, the three species of sparrow who were here on Friday failed to drop by, as did the Sapsucker and the Northern Flicker, both of whom are here almost every day. My grand total for 2023 was 21. Even odder was the fact that there were no Red-winged Blackbirds to chase away. Any other day, I'd have been shooing them off every fifteen minutes. There were no major surprises in my backyard Big Day unless you cound a few Barn Swallows who were the first I've seen this year. Temps near 90 kept bird activity to a minimum. In fact, there were long periods throughout the day when there were no birds anywhere in sight, and that in itself is worthy of remark. Still, I suppose many people would envy someone who can chalk up 21 species from the comfort of their chair at the window. It took me thirty years to reach this point.

Osprey, Pandion Haliaetus

Day 212: It is only appropriate that the subject matter of today's post should be a bird, but because it is Global Big Day and I'm in the midst of my own "backyard bird count," the Lake St. Clair Osprey will have to suffice. Lake St. Clair contains half a dozen or so small islands, the largest of which is probably close to an acre. Regardless of their size, most have a house or cabin on them. Having humans around has not deterred a family of Ospreys from nesting on one of them, for their nest is built at least 100' above lake level. It is a magnificent edifice of sticks, probably big enough for me to curl up in, stuck in the very tip-top of a Doug-fir. It's been there for as long as I've been visiting the lake, and sometimes I've been lucky enough to spot the chicks' heads when mom comes back from hunting with a gorge full of trout. I was not so fortunate this week, but I could hear the mewing of the younglings as the parent made repeated trips to feed them, and when she'd emptied her gullet, she would return to her perch in this ancient pine to survey the water. If a fish strayed too close to the surface, she would stoop on it with a great splash, sometimes missing her prey but for the most part, being successful with the grab. Soon, there will be more Ospreys in flight over Lake St. Clair.

Global Big Day

Day 208: You don't have to be as crazy about birding as the characters in the movie "Big Year," but being a little bit cracked on the subject helps. Basically, this project helps document bird species worldwide through the eBird website. For full details, go to https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-2023. I do not submit my species records to them because you must give a location, and of course mine are all from my yard. If I should happen to spot an anhinga, I don't want Bostick showing up in my garden!

Checking my records, last year I tallied up 25, the last visitor of the day being a single Goldfinch, a species I had expected to see throughout the day. Over the next 10-14 days, several other notable blanks were filled in, but of course they didn't add to my count because they showed up late for the party. I made a master list last night, showing 52 possibilities, all of which I have seen from my living room window at some point in the last 30 years. Admittedly, the Snow Geese were in the pasture across the road, but since I didn't need to leave my property to observe them, they count as a "yard sighting." Temperatures in the upper 80s may swing the tally either way. Can I beat last year's count? Given the current number, I think I'll be lucky to hit 20.

Big Day Collage

Day 214: First, a disclaimer. These images represent some (but not all) of the 25 species observed from my yard on Global Big Day. All but one of the photos (Anna's Hummer, female) was taken over the two-day period of May 13-14, but each represents a species/sex observed on my Big Day. I knew I'd be busy birding, but even so, I processed over 400 pictures yesterday. The quality is poor in some of these (notably the Raven, taken at 95x zoom and the Violet-green Swallow, taken at 75x zoom), and I would have liked a better representation of the male Red-winged Blackbird, but the males know to fly off when they see me. I'll be posting larger versions of some of the better photos over the next week or so.

There were some notable absences on Big Day. The Varied Thrush declined to put in an appearance, as did the Golden-crowned Sparrow. Song Sparrow didn't show, nor did Northern Flicker. I haven't seen a Red-breasted Sapsucker yet this year, and didn't expect one. Species seen but not photographed include Canada Goose (heard, unmistakably, in numbers) and Black-capped Chickadee, who persisted in hiding deep within the branches of the contorted filbert to eat his seeds. The male Goldfinch presented himself last of all, capping off a pretty darn good backyard Big Day.

Identification key (left to right, top to bottom):
Row 1: Anna's Hummingbirds (male and female), Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco, Rufous Hummingbirds (male and female)
Row 2: American Robin, Purple Finch, Evening Grosbeaks (male and female), Mourning Dove, Band-tailed Pigeon
Row 3: Northwestern Crows, Spotted Towhee, American Goldfinch (male and female), Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Raven
Row 4: Pine Siskin, Steller's Jay, Black-headed Grosbeaks (male and female), White-crowned Sparrow, European Starling
Row 5: Brown-headed Cowbirds (male and female), Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Red-winged Blackbirds (male and female)

Global Big Day

Day 213: You don't need to travel to have a Big Day! It's only 7:30 AM and already I've counted 16 species in my yard. The weather is abominable (another reason for enjoying a Big Day from the comfort of my home). I doubt I'll see anything rare from my perch in the living room or from my back porch, but I can still enjoy a Big Day. So far, my biggest thrill was that the Red-Breasted Nuthatch showed up for breakfast, and I've ticked off both our local chickadees. Some of the more common birds have yet to put in an appearance. The Rufous Hummingbirds arrived with the dismal dawn, but the Anna's hummers (male, above) aren't out of bed yet. I'm getting as many photos as I can. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some serious birding to do, and I'll post the results tomorrow.

Black-headed Grosbeak, Pheucticus Melanocephalus

Day 212: Collectively and colloquially (at least in the argot spoken in my yard), they're Parrots. Not Porch Parrots, just Parrots. "Porch Parrot" is a phrase reserved for Evening Grosbeaks, and if you've been following along for any time, you will have heard the story of how they earned their nickname several times. Nevertheless, the beaks alone are enough to stipulate that Black-headed Grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus) are also Parrots, but I have never assigned them a further distinction. Yard Parrots, maybe? That seems too bland for such a striking bird. They are seasonal here, as were the Porch Parrots in the dim beginnings, although now a few of the latter stick around all year, recognizing that there's a good thing going in terms of a reliable diet of black-oil sunflower seed even when three feet of snow covers the ground. The Black-heads haven't figured that out yet, but they have learned the trick of coming to the window to glare at me when the feeder goes empty. Even if I'm involved in needlework or on the computer, I can feel that stare on the back of my neck, and yes, I respond accordingly. Currently, the vast majority of birds at my feeders are Evening Grosbeaks and Black-headed Grosbeaks, with a liberal sprinkling of Pine Siskins, Goldfinches and assorted sparrows for spice. But there are others, and tomorrow is Global Big Day. I probably won't have to leave my living room to get a count of at least twenty species.