Confessions of a Beginning Birder - The Great Backyard Bird Count 2015

 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.