Yesterday was the first day of the great Backyard Bird Count
which is the start of my bird count for the new year. All my old sightings have
been thrown out and I’m beginning again with a clean slate. Even spotting a
very common bird will give me a feeling of satisfaction as I mark it down for
the first time this year.
My list has 262
species of birds on it. I found 149 species last year. It was not quite the big
year I was hoping for. I’ve resolved to do better this year and I’ve mapped out
40 local spots to look for birds in the coming year. I even googled where to
find some of the best places to bird in New York state. Imagine my surprise
when it listed my sister’s backyard as one of them. Her house backs up against
Sterling Forest, a designated conservation area for birds. Not far from there
are two more birding hot spots, Doodletown Road and Iona Island. Looks like my
sister can expect a visit from me this spring.
This year I’ve set my
sights on seeing a golden –winged warbler. These three areas near my sister’s
house are supposed to be some of the best places for finding them. The trick
will be to find a golden-winged warbler that is not a hybrid. The way some
ornithologists talk I may be looking for a bird that in a few years could
become extinct if their source for food becomes even more depleted and if the
birds continue to interbreed with the blue-winged warbler.
The weather prediction
for the bird count can only be described as abominable. Yet despite the bitter
cold, most of the regular birds ventured out to the feeder yesterday to be
counted. I wasn’t going to feed the birds this year because all the scattered
seed seemed to attract varmints that I could do without. Still, the poor little
birds, this unrelenting cold and the snow piled higher than my head made me
reconsider and I thought it best to give them something to eat to help them
through this rough winter.
As soon as the deep
freeze lets up a little I’ll have to go out looking for winter migrants. Maybe
I’ll get lucky and a snowy owl will wander into this area. The snowies this
year appear to be carryovers from last year’s large irruption. There aren’t as
many snowies this year, but they are still making a good showing. It looks like
everything is shaping up to be a very good year. And so the counting begins with my first bird…
a dark eyed junco.
