Early Birds
29 July
Slowing down and getting back to normal. Our guests are leaving and my legs are aching. Counting “healthy steps” while they were here has averaged about 14,000 a day which, at my age, is a lot … I am mentally putting several in the bank to compensate for days like today when I don’t plan to move much.
Anyway, this strolling-only day is off to a great birdy start with the daily garden 7-8am bird count racking up 20 species of birds by the end of the hour. That’s a record for the hour this year. We are starting to see/hear a couple of warblers recently, which I guess is indication of early movement southwards … or at least preparation for it. It’s remarkable what you can see and hear if you just sit still with a mug of tea.
Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) 1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) 2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 4
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 1
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 3
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 1
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 1
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 1
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) 2
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 1
Black-throated Green Warbler (Setophaga virens) 1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 3
That’s 20 species between 7 and 8am today, 43 in the garden for July and 74 for the year to date (all times). Not bad, at all, for a suburban garden. I wonder what I will be able to report on 31 December?
And yet another far too hot day lies ahead.
It is indeed amazing all that you can see and hear just by sitting still and observing, isn't it? I had a similar experience last week, while we were having a get-together with several friends in our suburban back yard: 13 bird species in 25 minutes. Activity at the feeders is up here in northern Arizona this time every year; I figure the birdies must be fattening up before migration later on. Is that a thing?
Very good! We get 12 of those species plus Red- and White-breasted Nuthatches on a regular basis, but never any warblers in our yard. I think that might be because one neighbor has no vegetation except for a giant cedar hedge behind the pool, plus they have their yard sprayed for mosquitoes; and unfortunately our mature trees are not native (honey locust and Japanese lilac); and our other neighbor has Norway Maples, and poisons his perfect lawn; while his neighbor has AstroTurf.🙄 Behind us we have a soccer field. Luckily though, we have a beautiful forest and a creek beyond that.