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Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
It feels like spring is here at last! Temps are near 60 degrees, geese are honking high overhead as they make their way north, and some of our birding colleagues have seen their first Osprey, fresh arrived from South America, Wahoo!!
As you can see above, the first small flowers have [...]
Owl Presentation on Thursday
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
For our local Anne Arundel county birders, and anyone nearby, or in town, please consider attending the Anne Arundel Bird Club’s annual lecture this Thursday at Quiet Waters Park at 8 p.m. sharp. These lectures are always fascinating. Local environmental guru Gerald Weingrad always manages to score top-rank speakers. [...]
Juvenile Detention
Submitted by Bird TLC Blog
Earlier this winter, we closed the flight center down for the first time in recent memory. We didn’t have any eagles or large raptors to put out there. Things have changed around some this year. So far we have taken in 17 eagles at the Bird TLC clinic in 2010.
The majority [...]
Looking Sharp!
Submitted by BrdPics Blog
Throughout the winter months I’ll sometimes notice that my backyard gets very quiet, devoid of the busy activity usually found around my platform and hanging feeders. Then I’ll often notice the distinctive profile of an Accipter perched in a nearby tree or on the fence. I mainly get Sharp-shinned Hawks but also [...]
KTVA Channel 11 news story on Cyrano
Submitted by Bird TLC Blog
Check out the latest story on Cyrano, our bald eagle by KTVA Channell 11
http://www.ktva.com/topalaskanews/ci_14506914
If you want to know how far around the globe this story has gone, go to Google and type in Cyrano eagle alaska.
on Friday, March 05, 2010
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Birdcouple on the move
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
With spring (hopefully) on the way, we’re sprucing things up a bit around here - starting with those sharp new license plates for our 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid, which we affectionately call “Pipit.”
We’ve also added a logo and link for Alpen Optics at the top of our blog sidebar, in recognition [...]
Hermit Thrush in Wet Snow
Submitted by Birding Notes Blog
Our front yard was busy this afternoon with soft, wet snow falling and covering much of the ground for a while. A colorful Pine Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Carolina Wren, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, one or two Goldfinches, a Mockingbird and a big Red-bellied Woodpecker went back [...]
No Words….
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
Rating 4.00 out of 5
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Snow Light
Submitted by BrdPics Blog
We’ve had a relatively cold, snowy winter around here (Colorado’s Northern Front Range) so far, which has made for some nice raptor photo opps. The combination of fresh snow on the ground and sunshine really lights up the underside of soaring birds, which can otherwise be tricky to photograph well in bright [...]
White-breasted Nuthatch
Submitted by Birding Notes Blog
Cold weather has returned, and yesterday morning was drizzly and gray when I stepped out on the deck. From a dark stand of pines just inside the woods, a White-breasted Nuthatch called ahnk! It’s not a very glamorous sound, but it’s one I don’t hear often around here, and the bird making [...]
Blackbird Flock – Mostly Common Grackles
Submitted by Birding Notes Blog
Later in the morning a large flock of blackbirds flew in and spread over the grass and trees in several yards in the neighborhood. There were maybe 500 birds – a very rough estimate. All I saw were Common Grackles and a few Red-winged Blackbirds. I could not find any Rusty [...]
New patients
Submitted by Bird TLC Blog
This Great Horned Owl was hit by a car. He’s in good physical condition, but he did hit his head hard. He’s receiving some good TLC r&r, thanks to the young lady that brought it into PET ER.
This mature bald eagle came to us a few weeks ago interrupting a lunch [...]
Where’s a Big ‘Ole Red-tailed Hawk When You Need One?
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
Pictures by Wingscapes SquirrelCam… I mean BirdCam
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Surfbirds Article
Submitted by BrdPics Blog
Mike Freiberg and I blended our recent posts on Ross’s / Snow Goose ID for a new feature on Surfbirds.com- Check it out!
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Checking Out Some New Alpen Gear….
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
Ahhh… sunny, almost balmy weather (we made it to 45 degrees!) in Maryland and on a weekend! The perfect birding weather to check out some new Alpen Optics gear for entry into the American Birding Association’s (ABA) 2010 Gear Guide issue.
We started out scanning for ducks with the Winner of [...]
Brown-headed Nuthatch and Pine Warbler – Not So Friendly Competition
Submitted by Birding Notes Blog
After what seemed like a very long spell of cold, windy days, the weather here has gradually begun to warm up. Yesterday was still chilly, in the 40s, but sunny and with lighter winds. All day several American Goldfinches were active around the two feeders on the back deck, with three [...]
Snow Birds …
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
All pictures made by our favorite photographer Louis Peterson
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Happy Lovers’ Day 2010
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
Happy Valentine’s Day, from the Birdcouple.
It is, of course, one of our favorite days. And today was especially special, because Princess and I saw a life bird:
This Varied Thrush has been hanging out in a very bird-friendly backyard in Herndon, Virginia, far from its normal climes in the Pacific Northwest. [...]
Pics from the Historic Snowfall…
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
All pictures takes with the Wingscapes BirdCam….
And some of this photo documentation was used on the McClatchy Photo Gallery of the storm…
Nope, the squirrel doesn’t care that he is a star….
Rating 3.00 out of 5
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Boxing
Submitted by BrdPics Blog
One way I get a little extra birding mileage during the slow winter months is to build and put up bird boxes when I get the chance. Luckily, a birding buddy of mine has access to a great property that seemed in need of some boxes so at the onset of winter [...]
Hermit Thrush at the Window
Submitted by Birding Notes Blog
Earlier yesterday morning when I checked out the front yard, all the usual suspects were around – Chickadees, Titmice, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpecker, two Brown-headed Nuthatches, and a Mockingbird back and forth from the feeders, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds – the male several times sitting possessively on [...]
Cyrano is getting a little well known
Submitted by Bird TLC Blog
Cindy and I spent most of the morning on the phone with different newspapers, news stations, The Discovery Channel. BE 09-31, now affectionately known as Cyrano, is getting pretty well known. With his new beak designed and put into action by Cindy and Dr. Kirk Johnson, he’s become quite the celebrity.
Unfortunately [...]
Playing in the Snow…
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
Cute Husband and I were more than surprised when one of our neighborhood friends showed up in broad daylight yesterday during the worst of the snow to make an inspection of the bird feeders.
The poor guy had a bloody foot and kept chewing the ice from between his [...]
Mixed Feeding Flock, #9
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
* Most birders probably know by now that this coming weekend, Friday through Monday, is the Great Backyard Bird Count. Please participate if you can. It’s great fun, and every checklist and bit of data helps. Birdcouple, marooned under mounds of snow here in Maryland, will probably be limited to [...]
In Preparation…
Submitted by The Birdcouple Blog
Snow shovel near door… check.
Birds food stocked…. check.
Squirrels eating birds seed…. check. Decks cleared of last 20 or so inches of snow so that they don’t rip off the house after another possible 20 or so inches… check.Emergency exit cleared in case of last minute neighborhood party…. check. [...]
