Mixed day in the blind. Bird action was slow and continues to slow as the birds who are migrating out leave and the birds that are due for their winter stay show up.
The positive for the day was my first blind siting of a Blue Jay. I see a few Blue Jays now and then at my house, but the habitat is more conducive to Blue Jays. Better food sources for them and more amenable vegetation. But I'd never seen one within the confines of the blind. I had noticed on my visit during the week to clean the hummingbird feeder that somebody had listed one, but to borrow a quote from one of my favorite movies, I thought somebody was pulling my lariat. But sure enough, he showed up in one of the upper branches long enough to be seen and then take off. I have a couple of images, but they're at best good for identification/confirmation purposes. I've modified the blank checklist and it is online in the resources to the right.
The laundry list is posted here. Some scattered notes:
- A couple of Northern Cardinals, though nowhere near the numbers of a couple of weeks ago. Saw juveniles, but they were fending for themselves but were squawking for Mom & Dad who were unwilling to provide additional assistance. Apron-strings have been cut.
- Titmice took forever to show up, but eventually did make it in
- The Curve-billed Thrashers (pictured) have found the prickly pears and are stained up.
For about 2 hours in the blind, it was under 100 images shot. Hope the migrants show up soon.
Image: Curve-billed Thrasher with stained beak, San Angelo State Park, ©2008 Jim Miller
2 comments:
Jim, what sort of migrants are you expecting?
Good question. The migrants that I'm most interested in are the White-crowned sparrows and the Spotted Towhees. There are quite a few more and I'll get with my birding friends to come up with a more complete list.
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