South American list so far

As you know I missed my opportunity to go birding in BA.  Big bummer.  But I have been plugging away it every-time I went ashore Uruguay.     There are quite a number of birders aboard too;  so we swap sightings, bird books and past travels.  They have all been to Antarctica.  I am going to seriously consider that for the near future.  Our stop in Itajai Brazil has been cancelled due to the local authorities and their interpretation of some law.  So I guess we will be another day at sea, pitching and tossing in the waves.  sigh. 

Great Grebe; Anhinga; Neotropic Cormorant;  White-necked Heron; Snowy Egret; Maguari Stork; Bare-faced Ibis; Southern Crested Caracara; Peregine; Giant Wood Rail; American Oystercatcher; Southern Lapwing; Greater Yellowlegs; Kelp Gull; Brown-hooded Gull; Picazuro Pigeon; Eared Dove; Picui Ground Dove; Monk Parakeet; Guira Cuckoo; Glittering-bellied Emerald; Golden-breasted Woodpecker; Rufous Hornero; Cattle Tyrant;   Great Kiskadee; Tropical Kingbird; Brown-chested Martin; Blue & White Swallow; Chalk-browed Mockingbird; Rufous-bellied Thrush; Red-crested Cardinal; Rufous-collared Sparrow.

MoDo in the snow

Wordless Wednesday

Unexpected guests

Have you ever looked out the window at your feeders expecting the same old, same old, when you were stopped in your tracks?  Well, it just happened to me.

I have enormous colonial windows in my kitchen.  They face the backyard were the feeders hang near a pair of oak trees.  I often sit in the comfy chairs and drink my coffee and watch the birds. (Yes, there are huge rattan comfy chairs in the kitchen, I took the table out years ago.)

Since I have been doing the GBBC, I have spent more time than usual looking out the window.  I was standing at the kitchen sink dunking my tea bag in my cup of boiled water counting the endless swirl of birds.  1,2,3,4 Tufted Titmice.  No wait; is that one over there?  1,2,3,4,5 Tufted Titmice.  2,4,6,8, Juncos on the ground by the feeders.  4 more under the arborvitae hedge.  That’s 12 plus 3 in the tree.  Wait, here comes another 1.  And then they would all shift and I would have to start over again.

I moved to the chair nearest the window, picked up the cat and sat down with my tea.  Hey, there’s a Downy, the first I have seen in months.  Then, from stage left, in flew 2 brown sparrow-like birds with huge distinctive white eyebrows.  They looked sorta big.  My first thought was that they must be Fox Sparrows, but they were not rusty at all and Fox Sparrows have no eyebrow.  I ticked off possibilities in my head.  Female Rose-breasted Grosbeak (but it was 28 degrees in Feb); female Red-winged Blackbird (possible, but the males always came first and all the water was still frozen over); it appeared to be some sort of sparrow.   Even without the binoculars, I could tell I did not know these guys.

I dumped the cat and looked around for the bins.  Crap!  They were in the car.    I dashed downstairs and out to the garage.  I pulled the bins from their bag and standing back in the basement looked out though the small ground level window.  I looked for field marks.  Huge eyebrow.  Streaked breast.  White on the tail.  Mottled medium brown.

I dashed upstairs for my camera and the Petersen’s.  Oh my God.  They look like Lapland Larkspurs.  They squabbled with the nuthatches but only stayed for less than 5 minutes.  By the time I got organized with my camera.  They had disappeared and so far have not returned.

Lapland Longspurs.  Is that possible?

Great Backyard Bird Count

I’m in. Are you? It takes as little as 15 minutes sometime in the next 4 days. AND it does not need to be in your own backyard.

So far today on my patch of turf….

6 Black-capped Chicadees

1 American Tree Sparrow

4 Tufted Titmice

1 Crow

3 White Breasted Nuthatches

2 Mourning Doves

1 Red-bellied Woodpecker.

8 Juncos

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Owl vs Sharpie

Pretty cool video. It is hard to see the owl at first, but hang in there.  The hawk is so big the owl can barely fly.

Got the Winter Doldurms?

And yet another arctic blast is coming in.  Pop over for a visit with Nick at Biological Ramblings f0r the I and the Bird # 68.  There is lots to read on a cold winter day and plenty of posts from more temperate climes to take our minds off the wind rattling the shutters.

Next great adventure

Si, me voy a Argentina, Uruguay y Brasil. I am going on a cruise and hope to be birding in all 3 countries. If you know of a guide let me know. I have not found Birdingpal useful. I have a couple of leads though. I’ll keep you posted.

Wordless Wednesday