Winter wonders

I decided I wanted to have a look around the west end this weekend to see what I could see. After last week's misfortunes I'm much more careful about what's laying around on the back seat of the car, so everything gets brought in and taken back out every time. The plan was to ski first and then do some birding. We got to the trailhead and I looked at Matt--you grabbed the camera right? And he gives me this blank stare.....sigh. So there we are with this huge lens that comes in its own bag which we now have to lug around *with no body* while skiiing so it doesn't get stolen. Luckily the camera was not needed on the trails and there it was strangely quiet--only saw an Eastern Cottontail and few birds. However it was a great ski and we got to head out onto the river for part of it--wanted to check out the ice shacks but didn't quite get that far--and I just had my skis waxed so I was good and fast...wheeeeeee!

The geocaching has started up again so we headed to a nearby spot on Grandview to grab one, where I noticed 200+ bohemian waxwings and pine grosbeaks in a tree in someone's front yard. So back to the house it was to get the camera body--luckily it wasn't terribly far away. I'm glad since I've had such a hard time getting close to a pine grosbeak for a decent shot. I didn't get any shots of the huge flock of waxwings unfortunately--it's a really incredible feeling when so many of them swoop around over your head and do the murmuration thing. Does anybody know what that fruit is? I'm still working on my plant identification...

Waxwings kinda make me think of Rupaul. They got the serious eyeliner wings goin' on. Rupaul aside, they are so awesome.

Afterwards we stopped at Hilda on the way home where there were two snowshoe hares. We also stopped at March Valley to see if the owls were around.  There was a large convoy of cars with plates from Maryland, Vermont and New York. They'd come up and struck out at both Green's Creek and in the West End. I can't imagine coming that far and missing a bird that's been here so reliably, but of course it happens  and that's the risk you run! Hopefully they stayed over and had better luck the next day...

Sunday involved an unsuccessful attempt to locate evening grosbeaks and white-winged crossbills. However it did end in inadvertently finding Maple Hill Urban Farm, very close to home with fresh eggs, and the farmer, Don, was so friendly and invited us in to see all the awesome animals--chickens, ducks, a cow, a couple horses, a pony, a donkey, two goats, two dogs and three hilarious barn cats (including two KITTENS!), and then we got DQ to top it all off (open on Family Day...yessssss!), so all's well that ends well.

I think I'm in love... #117

Headed to Hilda again today around noon. Was it ever busy! The birds didn't seem to mind at all. I was boggled by the monetary value of the photographic equipment around me in such a small area!
Much the same spread of birds as yesterday, with the addition of blue jays and at least one downy.

I really wanted to see more redpolls, firstly because they are so cute, and secondly, because reading about the difference between commons and hoaries had me so confused and I needed a better look. I thought I did have a potential for a hoary in my pictures from yesterday. Anyways, it's still as clear as muck, but I did at least get a male common today, along with some friends:

While I am still confused, I am definitely starting to appreciate the finer skills of birding. For example, this has forced me to figure out what the heck "undertail coverts" and "scapulars" and "primaries" mean.

I left to ski for an hour and came back....so glad...there was only one birder left and a HUGE FLOCK OF BOHEMIANS! Did I not just mention yesterday how badly I wanted to see them? Ok, what a treat!!! I've been waiting for this day for a long time. I can die happy now.

#117: Bohemian waxwing; Hilda Road feeders; January 9, 2011

gorgeous and knows it.

So they aren't camera-shy, and they were still hanging out when I left half an hour later. I would say there were 30-40 at the very least. I noticed that some don't have any of the orange or yellow "wax" yet on their wings. Apparently these markings increase with age.

 Eating snow...getting some fluids!

Which brings me to a terminological issue. As it turns out I have been using "immature" and "juvenile" rather loosely (uh, as synonyms), and my bird book informs me that they mean two different things.

juvenile = bird that has the plumage in which it fledges

immature = a bird that is no longer in its fledged plumage but does not yet have adult plumage

So I'll be a little more careful with that from now on! Never stop learning with this hobby!

Matt got the money shot.

I got a little worried, thinking I might not have any new birds for a while now, since I've now seen most of the winter birds on my radar  But I checked the Ottawa checklist and there is definitely more out there. It won't be easy, but this is what I'll be keeping an eye out for over the rest of the winter: gray partridge, horned larks, lapland longspurs, black-backed woodpeckers, pine siskins, evening grosbeaks, pine grosbeaks, red-crossbills, white-winged crossbills, and owls, owls, owls. Well, that should keep me busy!

As for the software question I posed yesterday, as it turns out, if you submit your observations to Ebird.org, it will generate a variety of lists for you. I'm not totally sure that this is what I want, but I think I'll at least give it a try.

Ok, ending off an a funny note. I'm sure some of you have seen this. I've included the ones that made me smile the most.

You might be a birder if...
You might be a birder if someone yells "duck!" and you shout "where?"
You might be a birder if your vacations are planned to maximize your lifers.
You might be a birder if your neck hurts except when you're looking up.
You might be a birder if there are days when getting up at 4:30 a.m. is something you’ve looked forward to.
You might be a birder if more than half your male friends have beards.
You might be a birder if for you the "tele" is silent in telescope, despite what your dictionary says.
You might be a birder if you understand why you need to see some warblers today even though you saw 31 different kinds of them yesterday.
You might be a birder if you criticize television programs and commercials that depict a bald eagle but play a red-tailed hawk call.
You might be a birder if your spouse says, “It's either me or the birds,” and you have to think about it.
You might be a birder if preparing for trips to visit out-of-state relatives involves contacting local birders, securing local bird lists, and buying the appropriate guide.
You might be a birder if you don’t blush when you say Bushtit or Woodcock.
You might be a birder if your friends have tennis elbow, but you have warbler neck.
You might be a birder if your binoculars/camera cost more than your car.
You might be a birder if you buy 8 kinds of suet but only one kind of breakfast cereal.
You might be a birder if you lose friends, and perhaps even your spouse, from fighting over the pronunciation of “pileated.”
You might be a birder if it's a northeaster, the rain is horizontal, a small craft advisory has been issued, but it’s birdathon and you need to up the day’s list.
You might be a birder if your spouse doesn't understand why you must keep a yard list, a county list, a state list, a U.S. list, a lower-48 list, a Canada list, an ABA list (whatever that is), a world list, and an escrow list.
You might be a birder if you stop the car frequently, and your riders say "What are you stopping for?"
You might be a birder if you can say exactly where you saw a dozens of lifebirds but don't recall exactly where you first met your spouse.
You might be a birder if "nemesis bird" means something to you.
You might be a birder if you can find Pt. Pelee, Pt. Reyes, and Cape May on a map in less than five seconds.
You might be a birder if you've got better things to do than watch "the big game."
You might be a birder if you've got better things to do than attend your birthday party.