THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

This year was going to be my first time taking part in "The Great Backyard Bird Count" and I was pretty excited about it. For weeks leading up to that weekend Rob and I talked about where we would go and what we hoped to see.

You don't have to have a backyard to take part, you just have to commit to a minimum of 15 minutes to count the birds you see in a certain area. We planned to visit a few different areas and parks over the first three days and leave our backyard counting to the last day.

Two days before the count I came down with a horrible cold. I was devastated. Friday and Saturday while Rob was taking part I was home on the couch resting and taking medication.

I did gather myself together enough to go out for a couple hours on Sunday and I'm so glad I did! I ended up having a "hat trick" day. Meaning, I saw three birds for the very first time. It was an exciting couple of hours.

Below are pictures of the three birds I saw for the first time on Sunday, February 20th. I borrowed pictures from Google images, except for the last one, so you could see them better. I really must work on getting Rob a 400mm lens!

Enjoy!


Horned Larks


White-winged Scoter


Northern Shrike


Rob captured this shot of the Northern Shrike just yesterday, Feb. 28th. I love this shot as this bird looks so beautiful. You'd never know that this bird is a meat eater and will sometimes pierce his prey (mice, voles, small birds) on long thorns to help hold it in place to achieve his kill and eat it, as he doesn't have talons.

Oh isn't the world of birding amazing!?