This Saturday past, I participated in my very first Christmas Bird Count with my girlfriend Alison, and was excited to get many photos of some of the birds we spied. Our first stop was to a local woman's farm in Dartmouth. We helped out by covering ground that had yet to be covered by the owners, a mother and son team with a tenacity for birding and listing.
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| Mystery moss growing on many of the trees above. I would like to know what it might be... |
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| A late female Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrothalmus) hiding out in some briars near some old farming equipment. |
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| Milkweed (Asclepias spp.) was a common sight throughout the property. Their importance is paramount not only in healthy meadow ecology, but also to that of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). |
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| Despite looking wet, this Woolly Bear Caterpillar (Pyrrharctica isabella) might yet survive to become a moth in the spring. |
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| As prevalent as another bird with "house" in its name, these western finches were fairly easy to find on the property during the count. At points, I had a hard time telling them from the goldfinches based on their calls |
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| Two Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) graced our presence as we searched the weedy fields and briars for a Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca) that Alison thought she'd seen fly into cover. |
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After returning to the farmhouse, Alison and I headed towards Dartmouth YMCA to inspect the trails there for a few hours. While we only ended up going for an hour and a half, we started slow, but finished strong with another pair of Savannah Sparrows, a Fox Sparrow, and a large flock of American Crows (
Corvus brachyrhynchos)!
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| We were fortunate to be birding as opposed to "unting". Whatever that is... |
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| Signs of human lives past come in so many different forms. Here a spoked wheel rots in young wood behind the Y. |
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| Alison and I were amazed by the lack of the bird life within the first few minutes of the count at the Y. |
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| While we'd hoped a Snowy might have decided to take up residence in the marsh grass, we did spot a pair of Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes culculatus) and a baker's dozen of American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes). |
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| The freshly tilled field in the back had attracted some Ring-billed Gulls (Larus delawarensis) to pick through the soil for invertebrates. |
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| A lucky shot before the camera battery died, a beautiful Fox Sparrow sat for a few moments in the hedgerow surrounding the field behind the main buildings of the Y. |
An excellent day it was. I had a lot of fun contributing, not only to science but also to our continuing knowledge of bird life in general. Being able to travel outdoors to a few places nearby and experience some excellent birding is what makes this obsession so rewarding.
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