Rare or unusual visitors are always a delight, and 2011 saw drop-ins by Purple Finches, Pine Siskins, and Summer Tanagers. In fact, I had the odd day of seeing a Siskin and a Ruby Throated Hummingbird, improbably, on the same day! 2011 also seemed to be a bad year for Hairy Woodpeckers, so when I saw one late in the year, it was a special moment. I also was excited to see "Hermie" the Hermit Thrush return for a fourth winter. Added to the fun was conclusive proof that hitherto unseen Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers and House Wrens are on the property.
On the dark side, nuisance species were more obvious than ever before, but surprised us all by behaving well, to the point I didn't mind them at all. This included Brown Headed Cowbirds, Common Grackles, and Blue Jays. And I was stunned to have well-behaved Gray Squirrels for most of the year.
2011 was a spectacular year for our breeding songbirds. I was thrilled to finally see success (care of Carolina Wrens) at my four year old Williamsbirg Bird Bottle, perhaps three broods at a Bluebird box I installed for the 2011 season (shown above), and while the rest of the nest boxes were busts we saw plenty of youngsters including perennial darlings "Baby Blue" and "The Buzzard."
We enjoyed official confirmation at our achievements both by obtaining an NWF "Certified Wildlife Habitat" designation in May and through a praiseful site visit by the naturalists at nearby Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve in October. And Cary BirdCam was a very active participant in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count. And to cap off the action, I notified my friends at Wingscapes that I racked up my 100,000th photo taken on their BirdCam product(s) this fall---expecting I may be the first purchaser in the country to have done this.
BirdTech advanced here, too. I added the exciting and useful "BirdJam" product to my iTouch early in 2011 and obtained a state of the art antibacterial feeder in September.
Your correspondent had opportunities to hit the road in search of birds, and among these were a satisfactory but bone chilling trip out east in January and a delightful time with shorebirds in August. And we certainly enjoyed a surprise birder film at the theatre in October!
What a fine year! We'll soon see what delights and surprises await in 2012. I'll keep you informed. Thanks for reading!
2 comments:
T'was a pleasure...happy trails for 2012!
Had Eurasian C. doves on my porch this morning!
Now I can say, "you lucky dog!" Wow--can't recall even having ever seen a ECD in my life. I had heard that they've been slowly moving north & perhaps I'll get the pleasure in a few years. Any photos?
-very best, David
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