So Long to Blue Jays

The Blue Jays are heralding the arrival of the movers. I’m moving to Tucson, Arizona tomorrow to start a new life and have new adventures, but this week has been bittersweet saying goodbye to friends, family, and familiarity. I’ve been keenly aware of the many eastern species that I will no longer hear with such regularity: Blue Jay, Gray Catbird, Eastern Towhee, Downy Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, and even Common Grackle. These species have been a huge part of my birding life since I was a small girl and I can still remember my delight at first attracting some of them to the feeders at our house on South 15th Street.

There was a grape arbor in the backyard that had a small wooden shelf that the former owner used as a planting shelf. My mother encouraged me to put some breadcrumbs out. After a few weeks, we added store-bought variety birdseed and then sunflower seeds. The Northern Cardinals also came, as did the American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, and the Black-capped Chickadees. This started what became a life-long passion for studying birds.

There are some species I can look forward to seeing in Tucson also. Of course, the ever present European Starling, House Finch, and House Sparrow cover the country, so there’s no chance of leaving them behind. I was also pleased to see that I will find Northern Cardinal, Red-winged Blackbird, Great-horned Owl, and Dark-eyed Junco in my new surroundings. However, on the other side of this bittersweetness are the new species I can look forward to seeing: Sandhill Crane, Gambel’s Quail, Greater Roadrunner, and the many hummingbird species!

Today I will say “:goodbye” to my long-time friends, but tomorrow I will say “hello” to new ones.

Heron Day!

During our final 12 mile run before our half marathon in 2 weeks, Kim and I saw at least 4 Great Blue Herons at Gring's Mill today. Even better, we saw a Green Heron as we crossed the Mill bridge. He was a beautiful specimen in the morning sunlight.

A couple weeks' worth of posts

It’s been awhile since I updated mostly due to a ridiculous work/play schedule. Jen and I went backpacking a few weeks ago (June 16-18) on the AT from Eckville to Bake Oven Knob. The first day was brutal in its climb and the water runs at the end of the day, however we were rewarded with several species of warblers (Black-throated blue, Black-throated green, Hooded, Black and White, and Common Yellowthroat), woodpeckers, (Red-bellied, Downy, Flicker, Hairy and Pileated), as well as the typical Black-capped chickadees, Tufted titmice, Eastern towhees, Phoebes, Peewees, and Scarlet Tanagers. Most were heard and not seen, but Jen was extraordinarily rewarded for her very bad day by the sighting of her very first Pileated woodpecker! The second night was my turn to be rewarded with a gorgeous male Scarlet tanager who followed me up from the spring and made the end-of-the-day ritual most pleasant.



I drove to Cape May the next weekend to do some birding with my friend Yvonne, however, neither the weather nor the birds cooperated. I went down on Friday afternoon and it rained the entire way down, but cleared in Cape May enough for us to dine at Gecko’s (my favorite Mexican place there). Yvonne and I birded the Concrete Ship, the Meadows, and Higby’s Beach on Saturday morning without seeing anything spectacular. We eventually gave up and headed to Historic Cold Springs Village which was hosting a quilt show. The village is captivating and if you like history (even just a little bit), go. The staff gave us interesting building/ grounds history as well as information about the products made in the area. The printer, the potter and the lace maker were especially interesting. Around noon we went to Cape Orient (my favorite Asian place there) with Ron for lunch. After lunch I followed Yvonne to her new house in Stowe Creek. The house is beautiful and has a great little pond in the backyard. There we heard/saw a Belted kingfisher, Great-crested flycatcher, and several other species under the gray skies before I headed out. Once I hit Philly, it started to rain once again and continued through most of the night. The whole reason I left early on Saturday was to complete a 12 mile run with Kim, but, once again, the weather did not cooperate. It rained most of the day and by Tuesday night there was flooding in much of the area, including my place of employment as shown above.

Although I had scheduled it months ago, my trip to Tucson, Arizona on Thursday couldn’t have come at a better time! I flew with my daughter to find her a job, an apartment, and other relocation-related activities. She’s not much of an outdoorswoman (dressed mostly in miniskirts and pumps), but she tolerated a few short forays into the desert for dear old mom. At the Santa Cruz River path, we spotted Bushtits, Great-tailed Grackles, Northern Cardinals and White-winged doves. On Saturday we spotted a Greater roadrunner in the back of a shopping center (of all places!). He run in back of the car, jumped up on a retaining wall, and displayed his wings and crest for Kat. She was quite impressed, however we couldn’t get our cameras fast enough to get a picture. He was gone before I got the car in park and we ran to the wall. It was so hot there as to be almost unbearable (but I DO love the sunshine), so I didn’t get nearly the birding done as I would have like to have gotten done. I did get some really lousy pictures of Gila Woodpeckers* that I saw at the University of Arizona campus, Pima Community College’s west campus and on “A” Mountain. The trip back to Philly was unremarkable – you know the typical babies screaming and kids kicking the back of your seat the whole way. Why, oh why do people subject the rest of us to their little “angels” on cross-country flights? This particular flight had a woman with three, count them, one, two, three children ages infant (screaming), barely out of toddler (kicking my seat and talking non-stop), and not yet school age (crying because he had to sit alone). What was SHE thinking??? Sorry, enough ranting for today…

Happy International Migratory Bird Day!

Went birding in Cape May/ Stone Harbor with my best birding pal, Yvonne. It was supposed to rain all afternoon, but we only had one or two showers in the morning. The rest of the day was fabulous!

Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Kildeer
Willet
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper*
Dunlin
Short-billed Dowitcher
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Forster’s Tern
Least Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Fish Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
House Wren
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prarie Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow-breasted Chat
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Red-wingerd Blackbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow


61 species, 1 lifer, life list total count: 323

3 best birds: Yellow-breasted Chat (mimicking a duck!), White-rumped Sandpiper (best ID of the day), and Indigo Bunting (singing his heart out)

Lunch was what else but Curry Roma Tofu at Cape Orient. I’m serious, this stuff is the BEST!!!!

Two hours at Nolde Forest (or Swarming with Wood Thrushes)

I spent a few hours this morning at Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center. It’s one of my favorite places to bird (as I’ve probably said before) and I wasn’t disappointed today. As soon as I left the car I was greeted by a symphony of Wood Thrush song. In fact, as I would later realize, the place was crawling with Wood Thrushes this morning. If you ever wanted a good look at a Wood Thrush, now is the time to go! There are also plenty of Ovenbirds to go around.

As I ascended the hill toward the mansion, I encountered an Acadian flycatcher on one side of the trail and a Louisiana Waterthrush on the other side. I got a peek at the flycatcher before he flew away, but never got to actually see the waterthrush. Other birds of mention along the trail were: Red-bellied woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue Jay, Chickadee sp., Carolina Wren, Robin, Gray Catbird, Northern Parula, Scarlet Tanager, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, and American Goldfinch.

Once again, the best place to bird in the whole forest turned out to be at the mansion where I can sit on the stone pillars and watch the shrubs and fountains. I usually have to wait quietly for a few minutes, but I am almost always rewarded. Today, it was a Veery who ventured into the garden first. He made short hops from shrub to shrub and pecked at the salvia lying by the fountain-side. He took a few sips of water, fluttered his wings and took off. A few minutes later I simultaneously heard chips and saw movement in the rhododendrons behind the fountain. Short chipping and flashes of blue were the only signs of activity at first, but then I saw 8-10 Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting downward one at a time into the pool. Just when I thought they were all “butter butts”, a gorgeous Black-throated Blue Warbler male popped out onto a branch. He was quickly followed by a female and they allowed me to enjoy them for several minutes before heading off. It was right around this time that I heard the cry of a Pileated Woodpecker in the trees above me. Didn’t get to see him, but I know he was there.

My return trip to the car was relatively uneventful. The waterthrush continued to taunt me by singing very close, but not allowing me to view him. As I rounded the corner almost at the edge of the parking lot, I saw a flash of orange and black being chased by some brown blur. Must have been a Baltimore Oriole – nothing else is that black and vivid orange. Two last more birds before I hit the road were House Wren and Common Yellowthroat. All in all a very nice way to spend 2 hours.

Appalachian Trail: Shartlesville to Eckville, PA

Friday April 28, 2006: Encounter with a Tom

On making my way to Jenn's house for the first of three AT hikes, I slowed on Tilden road to look at two Wild Turkey hens that had crossed the road (right to left). As I slowed the car, a huge tom attacked my car from the right. Apparently, I was cutting him off from the hens and he was none too happy about it! He puffed out his feathers, spread his tail and waggled his waddle all the while gobbling quite loudly. I put the car in reverse to try to back away so he could cross the road, but he ran alongside the car and continued to attack it. He stretched his neck so that he could look into the car and continued gobbling. I put the car in drive and tried to drive past him, but he then ran in front of the car and stood his ground pecking at the bumper. Finally, he gave up and strutted back into the field, gobbling all the way. He was not giving up, he was walking away and I knew who the winner was!

The remainder of the day was comparatively uneventful, but yielded a few good birds anyway. We hiked from Eckville to Windsor Furnace and the weather was perfect: sunny, warm, not a cloud in the sky, with a very gentle breeze. We saw a few gorgeous Red-winged Blackbirds in the fields beyond Hawk Mountain, as well as Eastern Phoebe, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, and Black and White Warbler. Three woodpecker species made themselves heard: Downy, Flicker and Pileated. The best looks for the day came from the Turkey and Black vultures gliding just below our vantage point at the Pinnacle. They were so close we could see their eyeballs. Well, we could see the feet on the Black vultures anyway no lifers for me, but several for Jenn.



Saturday April 29, 2006: Black and White Warbler Day

This was the best birding day of the weekend. We saw a total of 24 species between our hike from Shartelsville to Port Clinton and Jenn's backyard that evening. The day was overall a little cooler and breezier than Friday. We kept our jackets (and pant legs) on for most of the day. By far the best birds of the day were the Black and White Warblers. We must have heard 15 or 20 different birds as he hiked along the trail. Many allowed us good looks at them, especially at Auburn lookout where we spent close to two hours sunning ourselves and looking down on the black and whites (yours truly managed a short nap and got a bit sunburned- ouch!). Other birds on the trail include Turkey vulture, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chickadee, Ovenbird, Eastern Towhee, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Wild Turkey, Downy Woodpecker, Mockingbird, Goldfinch, Cardinal, Field Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, and American Robin. There were 2 birds of note at Jenn’s house. First was the Killdeer pair whose male displayed every time anyone got close to the side of the house. It was a great broken wing display (I'd heard about it, but never seen it before then). The other was a Northern Flicker who sat in Jenn's yard eating ants. The sun was starting to set and the light made the color of his red cap simply pop off his head.



Sunday April 30, 2006: Port Clinton to Winsdor Furnace

Although today's hike was the shortest of the weekend, we both felt it was the most difficult, partly because neither of us had hiked that section before and partly because we were really tired from the previous two hikes. It was also quite rocky, as is most of the AT in Berks. The weather was just a bit warmer than yesterday, but for whatever reason, there were many fewer birds today. There were two really good ones as we crossed Rt 61 and began the steep incline. The first was a Blue-gray gnatcatcher in the trees just over the overpass. He seemed to be passing through. He didn't pish and quickly worked his way from tree to tree around the mountainside. The other bird was a Wood Thrush that we saw very near the top of the ascent. He was very quite and was flushed by someone’s golden retriever. Other than those two, we heard only Black and white warblers, Black-throated Green Warblers and saw more Turkey vultures.

Birds on the Run

While running along the trails near the Reading Museum, Kim and I saw a magnificent specimen of Red-tailed Hawk. He had a gorgeous rust colored tail that he displayed as he flew to a tree top carrying a large stick. As we continued along the trails behind Wyomissing toward Lancaster Avenue, we heard quite a few other species, including Flicker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Chickadee sp., Tufted Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, American Robin, Blue Jay, House Finch, Brown-headed Cowbird, Am. Goldfinch, and White-throated Sparrow.

Robin Song

Woke up to the sound of American Robins singing the rain song. A beautiful start to an otherwise crappy day.

Middle Creek in March

With the temperatures climbing to near 70, I took a half day of personal time and traveled to Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area in Kleinfeltersville. I also took an avid photographer with me who had a new digital camera to try out. We first stopped at the main building and took some pictures of the inside displays. We then headed to Willow Point where we found thousands of Snow Geese (≈ 95,000) and Tundra Swans (≈2,000). A couple of Bald Eagles caused the geese to lift off several times which resulted in fantastic displays of white, wings, and noise. Also present at the point were Common Mergansers, Black Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shovelers, Killdeer, flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, American Tree Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos, Turkey Vultures, Common Grackles, and House Sparrows.

As we headed out of the parking lot toward the dam breast, we pulled over to the side of the road where one to two hundred Snow Geese were grazing in the fields. Took more pictures and then found some shade to view them on the full-size tablet PC screen. Ah, technology - very cool! Later, we pulled around the dam breast and watched a Belted Kingfisher. He was in full breeding plumage and looking very spiffy!

Can’t remember the name of the restaurant we stopped at for dinner. It was originally just a bladder stop, but we stayed for a bite to eat. It was a diner/ dairy bar that was billed as “utter-ly delicious”. The grilled cheese was the tiniest sandwich I ever saw, but the banana milkshake was supreme!

Links for pictures: http://iwhipple.multiply.com/photos/album/3

Feeder Roving

This morning I drove up to PEEC since the northern finches are supposed to migrate from Canada in January and February. I was hoping to get Evening Grosbeak and maybe even a crossbill or two for my life list, but no such luck. It was very windy and there was ice covered snow on the ground around the feeders. There were 40-50 Dark-eyed Juncos, American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins (haven’t seen any of them since I was a child), Purple Finches (really nice species), Tufted Timice, a half dozen obnoxious Blue Jays, a pair of cardinals, American Tree Sparrow (1), White-throated Sparrow (1), and a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I waited around for something better, but eventually gave up. I must have been too early.

I then drove to Hawk Mountain and watched their feeders for a while. Additional species there included Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch and Carolina Wren. On the way home from there, I stopped at Lake Ontelaunee to catch a glimpse of the Snow Geese that have settled there. I think it’s a bit early for them, but the lake was completely open, so I guess they’re comfortable there.

Happy 2006

In my family there’s a belief that whatever happens to you on New Year’s Day will happen to you all year long and I have long believed that there’s some truth in that. I remember the year I was in 7th grade, my sisters and I stayed overnight at my aunt’s house and had pork and sauerkraut for lunch. When we got home that afternoon, mom was making pork and sauerkraut for dinner. At least once a week that entire year, I would come home to find that the dinner menu was exactly the same as the school lunch menu albeit better tasting. I don’t remember that happening any other year before that or since.

If this old belief is true, then it must be good (birding) luck to hear birds before one’s eyes are open on New Year’s Day. I pulled the shade on the window to see my very first birds of 2006: a pair of Tufted Titmice followed swiftly by a Blue Jay, a pair of Chickadee sp., and House Finches. That’s four species before my feet hit the floor! House Sparrows at the feeder and an American Crow in the crabapple tree rounded out the rest of the morning.

The trip to my aunt’s house in Allentown this afternoon (yes, still eating sauerkraut on New Year’s Day) yielded several raptors, including 2 Red-tailed Hawks, an American Kestrel and a Sharp-shinned Hawk. All were perched on utility lines or trees and sitting very still. We had some bad weather yesterday, so they were probably pretty hungry today. Also added Rock Pigeon, Slate-colored Junco, White-throated sparrow, Common Grackle, and Starling to the day list. New Year’s Day total for 2006… 14 species. OK, not stellar, but not a bad count for a non-birding day in early January. :-)

Pocono Environmental Education Center

It was very cold (29°F) this morning and the grass was covered by the first frost of the year. Yvonne and I took our “big” coats, hats, gloves and scarves, and had a pleasant 1-3/4 hour drive to the Delaware Water Gap. As we pulled into the center, we saw Blue jays, White-breasted nuthatches, Black-capped chickadees, Tufted titmice, Dark-eyed juncos, and White-throated sparrows. We secured a trail map after talking with one of the center volunteers for a few minutes. The "map" turned out to be less of a map than an interpretive guide, but it helped to make the 2 mile hike a little more interesting.

On the trail, we saw several woodpeckers, including Downy, Red-bellied, and Flicker. The chickadees, titmice, and nuthatches were our constant companions as we wove our way down through the hemlock gorges and along the little stream that runs through the park. It was crisp and cold, but the sun felt good and although there weren’t a lot of species, we agreed it was a peaceful and healing walk for each of us.

Also seen today were American goldfinch, American Crow, Turkey vulture, Red-tailed hawk, and House Finch. Not much activity at the feeders.

On our way home, we stopped at the Red Robin restaurant in Easton for swiss and ‘shroom veggie burgers (awesome!) and then shared a chocolate peanut butter dessert before Yvonne headed back to New Jersey. Another trip to PEEC is definitely in order, hopefully in December/ January when the Canadian birds migrate south - gotta see an Evening grosbeak this year!

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: "Golden Eagle Day!"

Yvonne came up for the Veteran’s Day holiday and we spent it raptor watching at Hawk Mountain in Kempton. We had made these plans months ago when we were last in Cape May after asking Pete Dunne where we had the best chances of seeing a Golden Eagle. Sure enough, as we approached the turnstile, the hourly report came through the walkie-talkie. Two Golden Eagles had been seen in the last two hours. That’s as many as the total for the entire day yesterday. Trying not to be too disheartening we trudged up the trail to the North Lookout. If you’ve ever been there, it’s not the easiest path, but the view is definitely worth the trek.

We barely got seated when three adult Golden Eagles passed by in quick succession. They we close enough to be seen with the naked eye and were an easy ID with our binoculars. Yvonne and I both got our “lifers” for the day!

As we warmed the rocks for the next two hours, we saw many, many Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, Northern Harrier, Cooper’s Hawk, a Sharp-shinned Hawk or two, 3 Bald Eagles, six Common Ravens (which, btw, are not all that common ‘round here), and 3 more Golden Eagles. According to HMS’s Website, today was the highest one-day Golden Eagle total all fall. Thanks Pete!

Among us were a bunch of kids of various ages who were crawling around the rocks. It’s nice to see kids interested in being outside and watching something other than TV. They reminded me of the little ground squirrels that live at the Grand Canyon and come up to everyone pestering for food by staring at them with big brown eyes and twitching their noses.

Before we left, we headed to the Visitor’s Center so warm up, pee, and watch the bird feeders. The feeders were keeping Slate-colored Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, a Carolina Wren and several chipmunks busy. All in all a very nice day. Tomorrow we are headed north.

Broad-winged Migration

This morning while stretching after our morning run, my running partner, Kim and I noticed a small stream of raptors traveling south along the Schuylkill River in back of RACC. As our eyes aclimated to the distance and the light, we saw it was not a stream, but a seemingly never-ending river of of Broad-winged Hawks. Our best estimate was at least a thousand. A couple hundred caught a thermal in the sky above us which was just dazzling to watch. From the height they were traveling, there was no sound at all - absolute silence - nothing to catch anyone's attention. It's weird to think that it's going on day after day and most everyone misses it just because we're not looking up, but it was a great way to start the day!

Carolinas in October

Gadzooks, I haven’t been birding in forever! It’s really hard to find the time right now between all the rain we’ve had and everything life’s been throwing at me, but thankfully with the window feeder I can do a little “birdfeeder watching” while I’m studying. A feeder first today was a pair of Carolina wrens. They’re a study in rich browns and tans, especially next to the drab House Finches who, although the males have some flashy rose color on them, are really more gray than brown. The Carolina’s feathers look sleek and clean. I could clearly see the fine barring on the wing edges and under the tail as well as the beige eye stripe. They curiously looked in the window to assure their safety and then picked around the sunflower hearts and raisins, and left. It was a definite treat on such a gloomy afternoon.

Kitchen Birding

The really great thing about birding is that some days you don’t even need to leave the house to do it. Some days, the birds come to you. Like just now as I was making a pot of veggie chili for lunches this week. I heard an unusual call and looked out of the kitchen window at the crabapple tree. At first I only saw a male Downy Woodpecker with his red crest raised, pecking at the bark, a Tufted Titmouse pecking father up the tree and a House Finch sitting nearby the woodpecker. Nothing too unusual there, but I still heard this call so I kept looking. After a few minutes I noticed some rapid flitting movement in the tree top, so I ran (literally as it seemed “warbler-ish” to me and they never hang around long) upstairs to one of the windows in my daughter’s old room that looks out into the top of the tree. There it was; a Cape May Warbler! He hung around for about two minutes before he took off over the houses.

Today Belongs to Goldfinches

OK, so even husbands can be right once in a while! If he had just told me he was talking about the Hay Creek area which I have never been able to find, I might have gone more willingly this morning. Anyway, Jody, Melissa and I decided to take a chance on this tip and it was worth it. We parked the car just before the washed-out bridge in Birdsboro (fitting place for birding, huh?) and before we were completely out of the car, a ruby-throated hummingbird popped up out of the weedy growth by the stream to look at us. “OK,” I thought “this is a good omen.”

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here the past few days. A little chilly in the early morning, but warming up nicely by mid-morning without the abysmal humidity we had last month. We walked about two miles up the road which included a second washed out bridge that we had to climb a ladder to get over, but the area yielded quite a few species, including Carolina Wren (very vocal today), Northern Cardinal, Gray Catbird, Chipping Sparrow, Belted Kingfisher, Northern Mockingbird, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Turkey Vulture and Blue Jay.

The most frequently seen bird today was the American Goldfinch. There were close to fifty in a flock chipping, fluttering, and diving near a clearing where two small streams converge. We watched them for a long time and they seemed to be consuming the tiniest gravel from the walkway and well as the sycamore and pine pods. They were in all variations of plumage (from dull brown to yellow-green to spectacular yellow and black), so it was a good opportunity for Jody and Melissa to get the gisss of them (“gisss” being the general indications of size, shape and sound). There were a few full breeding plumage males that were gorgeous.

We walked back without seeing too much more. Melissa and I stalked a Belted Kingfisher without much luck. Melissa got a wet foot and muddy pants for it! However, back at the parking lot we saw a grand specimen of a Great Blue Heron.

Forest Hills/ Nolde Forest EEC

Spent the morning with Jody and Melissa doing some very fine birding. We first went to Forest Hills for just a few minutes. Had excellent looks at Eastern Wood PeeWee, Northern Flicker, Baltimore Oriole, Chickadee sp., White-breasted Nuthatch, and Tufted Timouse. Also seen were American Robin, Blue Jay,and Mourning Dove. The bugs weren't nearly as bad as the last time, but the mention of a Scarlet Tanager made us decide to hit Nolde instead.

On the way to Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center in Shillington, we saw American Goldfinch, American Crow, and Canada Goose. Nolde is one of my very first and favorite places to bird. The forest is getting quieter now that many of the birds have raised their chicks. We didn’t see Scarlet Tanager, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, or Eastern Bluebird which is funny because I almost always see those three there. We sat in the garden for a long time with only a Gray Catbird for company. We did see/hear Wood Thrush, Northern Waterthrush, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, Brown Creeper, Downy Woodpecker, House Wren, Chimney Swift, many robins, and (best of all) a Hooded Warbler (lifer!).

Life List tally = 318

Appalachian Trail (Route 443 - 501)

We backpacked this section of the trail Friday night into Saturday without bins, so it was mostly "birding by ear." Among those most frequently heard were: Eastern Towhee, Scarlet Tanager, and Gray Catbird. At the Penn's Shelter area campsite, I got a glimpse of a Black-throated Blue Warbler and Jenny got good looks at a Scarlet Tanager to which I was totally oblivious because I was reading The Hobbitt.

Birds also heard during the trip were:
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Wood Peewee
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
Common Crow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Wood Thrush (ID'd by Jody)
Robin
Cedar Waxwing (thanks to Jenny's great ear!)
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Parula
Ovenbird

Common Yellowthroat

Chipping Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Indigo Bunting

Common Grackle

As we passed Route 625 and headed past Fisher's Lookout (where we saw a few Turkey Vultures), we heard the distinctive "pick" of a Hairy Woodpecker and were able to catch a glimpse of it at the very top of a dead tree. That's the first Hairy I've seen in a least four years.

If you go this way, be careful of the poison ivy as there is tons of growing close on the trail. So far, I've been lucky although I have a few suspicious spots on my calf that can't decide whether they want to break out or not.

If you want to know more about the backpacking adventures we had go to our Backpacking Blog: http://inezbackpacking.blogspot.com/. Jenny will be posting our antics there.

Forest Hills Cemetary

Jody and I explored a small area behind a local cemetary this morning with pretty good results. We almost immediately we saw a Wood Thursh with a huge bug in its mouth. Also saw (in no particular order) Carolina Chickadee, Red-bellied Woodpecker (gorgeous coloring!), Downy Woodpecker, Northern Cardinal (w/ young ones), Ovenbird, Catbird, Blue Jay, Northern Oriole, Robins, Chipping Sparrow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Turkey Vulture, and Common Grackles. Heard, but not seen today were Eastern Wood Peewee and American Tree Sparrow. Sixteen species in about an hour - not bad!