Do you keep a life list?

[PGBird]

Thursday, June 28, 2009

Do you keep a life list of the birds you have seen? Mine is rather
loose which means sometimes I'm very detailed about documenting a new
bird and sometimes I forget completely. How many I've seen isn't
really that important to me, but I do enjoy recalling the experience
of seeing a new bird. I spent the past week in Central California and
the friend I visited made sure I scored burrowing owls! More fun than
just seeing the owls, we found two families of fledgling owls learning
to pounce on insects and exercising their wings. Owls have such
expressive faces anyway and these teenagers were no exception as they
watched us back, twisting their heads to one side and then the
other.

The rice fields around Sacramento, California exist peacefully with a
network of marsh preserves that host dozens of birds -- white-faced
ibis were everywhere and I saw my first ever great blue heron
fledglings. Cinnamon teal and great egrets were abundant. We even
spotted several nests of Marsh wrens! The potential of seeing
tricolored and bicolored blackbirds had me checking out every red-
winged blackbird though I never felt comfortable definitely calling
either of them.

I had a total of 47 species for the week, many of which are western
only. Interestingly, the most common singing bird as we traveled
Highway 1 south along the coast was the white-crowned sparrow -- they
were everywhere! In looking at my Sibley's when I got home, they are
mapped as year-round residents. There were also lots of Savannah
sparrows calling and at one area we walked, there was a sign about a
dwarf Savannah sparrow which I discovered is a local subspecies.

When I wasn't tracking birds, I was enjoying the early summer
wildflowers which were in full bloom. To see lupines, thrift, ice
plant, and hens & chicks growing and blooming along the rocky
cliffsides was delightful! The conditions look forbidding with scant
soil and constant winds, but obviously it's perfect for these low
growing beauties.

That being said, we are offering two day trips this summer which will
be looking at unique habitats and all their residents -- plants,
birds, and other wildlife. There is one opening left for next
Saturday's trip with Dan and I to Wayne County (Bogs, Bottoms, and Big
Trees). This June 27 trip will visit Brown Lake Bog and Johnson Woods
-- both unique and disappearing habitats. Our preview visit last
summer yielded blooming pitcher plants and barred owl fledglings --
who knows what we'll see this summer.

On July 25, Dan and Susan will take a group to Oak Openings (Birds &
Butterflies in the Oak Openings Region) west of Toledo for a day of
exploring this habitat which is home to lots of butterflies and some
different birds than we have in Northeast Ohio. Susan will
undoubtedly be netting butterflies to help you get some terrific
closeups!! There are several openings for this trip. You can
register for either trip by calling the Registration Department at
440-358-7275.

The next weekday morning bird walk is scheduled for Wednesday, July 1
at 8 a.m. at the Schoolhouse Nature Park in Kirtland Hills. This is a
restricted park so you'll enjoy the opportunity to walk the trails and
search for summer breeding birds. Think about joining me there!

Enjoy these summer days and watch for the little birds that are coming
to your yards and feeders!!

Mary Huey
mh...@lakemetroparks.com
Interpretive Naturalist
Lake Metroparks