It appears that Mom and Sherry have found that reward which encourages Nancy's participation in birding outings (a stop at the local area winery). But, that isn't totally fair to Nancy. Nancy has reported four sightings without any prompting from anyone else. Well, okay. One of those four was Little Bit's sighting. Little Bit sighted a wild turkey in the back yard while taking care of her business.
Bird dog
Little Bit's sighting
Team Crane saw a rough legged hawk on the way home to Colorado after New Years. Pretty impressive that they were able to identify it as they barreled down the interstate. I wonder if birding while driving is legal in Nebraska? Birding while parked near someone's farm house with binoculars is apparently suspect. Mike was quite startled by a highway patrolman, whose approach was not noticed by Mike as he intently watched an eagle while pulled off to the side of a road in the middle of nowhere. "Sir, are you okay?" Translation, "sir, what the heck are you doing?"
Speaking of hawks, Wendy turned in a birding report at which, I am sorry to say, I initially scoffed. And I quote, "I have been spotting and watching lots of birds over the last few months ( falcons, eagles, cardinals, ravens, and of course, Seahawks). Sadly, most of the birds have dropped out of sight except for the famed Seahawks." I am no longer scoffing. I think Wendy's Seattle Seahawks sighting counts.
Since none of us who have seen bald eagles have been able to get a picture (i.e., Team Peltier first eagle sighting, Mike multiple eagle sightings, and Mom/Sherry/Nancy immature bald eagle sighting) Nancy generously provided a picture that friend took at the Spearfish fish hatchery. (Or, is she just making sure that what we saw is what we think we saw?)
Mike has attempted to find bald eagles in order to capture said photograph. But, when he tries to find them, they elude him. On one such outing he did find a gaggle of geese (near Eagle, Nebraska - I'm not making that up).
Gaggle of Canadian geese near Eagle, NE
While we are all freezing up north, we have high expectations of our Florida team. MJ's recent report, however, clears up the misconception that only because it's cold out are the birds hard to find. We are all quite relieved that the largest-they've-ever-seen alligator wasn't interested in them during their last birding outing. Another common birding theme, regardless of location, is topping the day off with a meal out. Since MJ's phone had died, I tried to find a picture for her on the Internet, but I unsuccessful. See FAQ #5.
Birding can be dangerous! Stumbling upon humungous alligators that share the same walking path. Becoming distracted by seeing a bird out the window while preventing small children from going down the staircase. Just as no birders were eaten by alligators in Florida, no Crane children gained unauthorized access to stairs during Ashley's most recent sighting of a Northern Flicker outside their window.
Day: 47
Species: 21
Bird sighting reports: 32
Keep those bird sightings coming. I think we are all waiting for spring, and not just because we can expect to see more birds!
FAQ
1. Can cute, adorable dogs substitute for bird sightings? No. (Sorry, Winston)
2. Can I report the same bird more than once?
Absolutely! We will report every bald eagle we see. Maybe every woodpecker. Probably not every robin, cardinal and house sparrow. But, each species will be counted only once.
3. Can I report a bird someone else reported first? Absolutely! We will report every bald eagle we see. No matter Team Peltier saw one first. But, each species will be counted only once.
4. Do I have to use that stupid, hard to remember where I put it, form? No.
5. Where do birds sleep? Apparently, not in their nests.
(Web address compliments of Dene'.)
6. How many times can I use the "couldn't get a photo because my phone had died" line? Safely, at least twice. After that, we may start doubting. (Especially since my Google search for 'grayling pictures' so I could provide one for MJ brought up a web site for fish. When I added grayling bird pictures, I got birds, but too many that looked nothing alike. So, no grayling picture for this blog.)
