Last night, to distract myself from a raging thunderstorm, I updated the BirdCam logbook with latest photo and species counts going back to July 23rd. One run of days (7/27 - 8/4) saw BirdCam in operation in my southwest corner station, one that is actually invisible from the house. Lately I've seen considerable food consumption there. But I missed the big story: in that location, with a mere four feeders, in hot July and August weather afoot, I racked up some impressive species counts on the BirdCam. Some of this was due to dumb luck: the BirdCam was aimed "badly" enough to see all four feeders to some degree. But that has happened before, and I wouldn't see even ten species a day. On July 30 I scored 16 species -- one of my five best days ever, and came nearly as close on 8/1 and 8/2. Not only were there usual suspects like Catbirds, Wrens, Cardinals and House Finches, but also Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, Brown Headed Nuthatches and White Breasted Nuthatches that prior photography hadn't seen out there all that often. This little corner has proven very attractive to the birds even in the hottest weather. I can see why: well stocked, out of the sun yet free from ambush points, near a bird bath, and out of the view of the guy in the yellow house.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Surprising Shoot Counts
Last night, to distract myself from a raging thunderstorm, I updated the BirdCam logbook with latest photo and species counts going back to July 23rd. One run of days (7/27 - 8/4) saw BirdCam in operation in my southwest corner station, one that is actually invisible from the house. Lately I've seen considerable food consumption there. But I missed the big story: in that location, with a mere four feeders, in hot July and August weather afoot, I racked up some impressive species counts on the BirdCam. Some of this was due to dumb luck: the BirdCam was aimed "badly" enough to see all four feeders to some degree. But that has happened before, and I wouldn't see even ten species a day. On July 30 I scored 16 species -- one of my five best days ever, and came nearly as close on 8/1 and 8/2. Not only were there usual suspects like Catbirds, Wrens, Cardinals and House Finches, but also Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, Brown Headed Nuthatches and White Breasted Nuthatches that prior photography hadn't seen out there all that often. This little corner has proven very attractive to the birds even in the hottest weather. I can see why: well stocked, out of the sun yet free from ambush points, near a bird bath, and out of the view of the guy in the yellow house.
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