The Great Backyard Bird Count

Day:  1

          
        On the first day of the Great Backyard Bird Count, we were only seeing the common species for the first half of the day such as Song Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows, Northern Cardinals, etc.  However, I was still having fun practicing with my new Sigma 50-500mm lens.

Carolina Chickadee making a stop at our Burning Bush before coming to our window feeder.

 

Tufted Titmouse also making a stop at our Burning Bush before coming to our window feeder.

 

        So my mom and I decided to go to Peace Valley Park for a few hours with the good light to try to get a better look at a Red-headed Woodpecker that had been continuously seen there for over two months or to just see a rarer sparrow like a Fox Sparrow or a Tree Sparrow.  That was a total bust.  All of the parking lots were snowed in except for one, and from there on it was very hard to access anything else.  So we went back home and as soon as we look out our back windows my mom notices a larger and darker sparrow.  I crept over and identified it a Fox Sparrow.  A first for the year, and for our backyard!

These are all photos of the Fox Sparrow seen in our snowy backyard eating seeds from on top of our table that we scattered out there.

 

 

Day:  2

 

 

       Although the first day was exciting getting a new year and yard bird, the second day had even more excitement.  Today I woke up early to see if I could get anything different in the morning.  Sadly I did not, but later on at around 10:30 am, our new resident Fox Sparrow came back.

Fox Sparrow with his tongue out eating seeds. 

Fox Sparrow

 

 

       As I was letting my older brother try to take some good pictures with our new lens, he took the picture directly above, I heard a noise coming from the opposite direction.  I turn around and see a Sharp-shinned Hawk tumbling to the ground with a European Starling in its talons!  I tell my brother to turn around and start taking pictures.  After he takes about a dozen photos, I take back the camera and sneak over to a back door closer to the crime scene.  From past experience I know that the hawk will not pay as much attention to me because it is eating.  So I open the door slowly a quietly to get a crisper picture.

Sharp-shinned Hawk guarding his prize.

Sharp-shinned Hawk eating

Sharp-shinned Hawk guarding his prize with his back to us.

Sharp-shinned Hawk with the European Starling still fighting for his life.

 

      Over-all, so far it has been a very exciting Great Backyard Bird Count.