Sunday, May 28, 2017

SPRING BIRD COUNT.

      Spring bird count takes place sometime during the bird breeding season. Of  course, the idea is to count everything we see and hear. I've participated in this event for many years.

       I find spring bird count rather frustrating. Half the breeding birds are on a nest so you won't see them. Many of the breeding birds forage in the new leaves so it's difficult to see them in the leaf canopy. Warblers sing their little hearts out but you can rarely see them amongst the leaves. I was within 3 meters of a yellow warbler yesterday but I didn't see it. If it's windy or hot you see fewer birds . If you go in the afternoon many birds are on their afternoon nap.

       So with all this whining I'm working up to tell you that I had a lousy bird count yesterday. Yes , it was very windy. It was also very bright. So I ended up with 15 species but my numbers were small.

     I count in  ravine area which has many different habitats.There's old growth forest...spruce and poplar. There's riparian area along the stream banks. There are areas of brush. There's even a little grass in some areas.

    So I took some photos of the area but I didn't get any bird photos.