February 18, 2005
The Great American Birdcount
The wife asked me to remind ya'll that this weekend is The Great American Birdcount. Download your forms and keep an eye on the backyard this weekend.
Permalink | Comments (0)August 07, 2004
Bald Eagles, and not in a zoo!
It was 58 and sunny when I got up this morning. The high today was in the upper 70's. I love the first taste of fall. I'm sure it'll be 90 again by mid-week, but it felt great today.
Determined not to waste a 78 and sunny day in August, I poked around the web last night looking for something new to do. I decided on Bald Eagle watching at Caledon Natural Area, about 30 minutes from home. The girls didn't want to go, so it was a father-son adventure.
The park closes the trails to the river for the summer, to protect the eagles nesting area. They do take two small groups in each weekend day though. We got in on the 12 PM trip. A short van ride down a dirt road brought us to the edge of the Potomac. Even there we were a good 200 yards from the eagles. With the help of a spotting scope and binoculars, we were able to pick out several mature bald eagles perched high in the trees along the river. We also saw them diving into the river hunting for fish. We spent about an hour on the bank of the river watching the eagles. I would guess we saw about 6 separate eagles.
Seeing the national bird in the wild was a majestic experience. Our view of them as regal is probably colored by its place in our culture, but still, they are magnificent birds, large, strong, and very distinct.
We learned that less than 10% of bald eagle fledglings survive to maturity (4-5 years old). They really don't have a natural predator, but the adults do little to teach the young how to survive on their own. Once they can fly, it's hasta la vista baby. Many young die because they never master the art of hunting for fish. However, they are doing fine as a species. In fact, they come off the endangered species list this month. It seems cruel, but I guess nature works. If 90% of them lived, the rivers would probably be picked clean of fish.
They were at the closest 100-150 yards away, so I couldn't get a good picture. This was the best one I got, and it needed full power digital zoom, which tends to distort the image. That is the white of the tail feathers reflecting the sun as it flew away from me.
Permalink | Comments (0)May 07, 2004
We have babies
All 5 bluebird eggs hatched. Michelle is enforcing quiet hours in the backyard. I have no idea how bluebirds managed to reproduce all these years without Michelle's help.
Day 1 
Day 2 
Day 3
April 29, 2004
New Neighbors
(Click pictures for larger images)
These are the residents of our backyard bluebird box. The kids have imaginatively named them Mr. & Mrs. Blue. She laid 5 eggs total, over 5 days last week. According to resident bluebird expert Delaney, we can expect them to hatch between Monday and Wednesday of next week. Pictures of the baby birds will be forthcoming.
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April 05, 2004
I heard a bird so sing, Whose music, to my thinking, pleased the king
One of the coolest things about homeschooling is that we have time to follow the kid's interests in depth. Right now one of those interests is birds. What started as a simple WalMart bird feeder in the backyard has progressed to the point that Michelle is now on a first name basis with the owners of our local Wild Bird Center.
The project for this Spring is to attract bluebirds to the nest box in the yard. Sounds simple right? I thought so too.
Bluebirds are very picky about their nests. This, plus the infestation of the evil, nasty, english house sparrow, has led to a dramatic decline in the bluebird population. Our nest box was immediately checked out by a bluebird pair. (They usually mate for life.) The box also attracted the interest of a male house sparrow. The sparrow started a nest, we disposed of it. We also acquired a sparrow trap, but before we could use it the bluebirds started building a nest. We thought we were doing great until the sparrow viciously attacked the male bluebird in the nest box last Friday. The male bluebird flew away, leaving a mess of feathers and blood in the box. we haven't seen him since.
This, of course, means war. Something in my Irish blood just can't allow English aggression to stand, even among the birds. Small game pellets for my son's BB gun were obtained. Sparrows are such nasty little creatures that even the Federal Government refuses to protect them. I am free to eliminate as many English sparrows as I want. In the meantime, stringing fishing line around the box seems to freak out the sparrows but doesn't bother the bluebirds.
The weather was pretty nasty all weekend, there were not too many birds at all in the yard. So, I haven't even got off a shot yet. Also, the bird center folks gave Michelle a loaner bluebird box, which we fitted with a hole reducer so that bluebirds can't get into the box, and set it up in the yard with a sparrow trap attached. I will rid my yard of the nasty english vermin.
Update: The kids called me this morning to let me know that the male bluebird is back. Or at least a male bluebird is back. And the male sparrow is checking out the new box.
Update 4/6: The male english sparrow population has been reduced by one.
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