Getting ready for Hawaii

I haven't had much time to post lately since all of my free time lately has been devoted to getting ready for Hawaii (we leave the 25th). However, now that all of the flights and rental cars are booked I can start to relax a little. I'd like to do some research in the next couple of days on the types of birds I can expect to see so I can spot them while we're out there. We're traveling to the Big Island for my friend's wedding that will take place in Volcanoes National Park. After the wedding my boyfriend and I are going to Kauai for the last two days of our trip. We'll be in Hawaii for 10 days total- can't wait!!

My friend and her fiancé live on the North Shore of Oahu and he has been really helpful in sharing his birding knowledge with me. He gave me a list of birds I can expect to see and I've already started referencing my Audubon book to see what they look like and on what islands they are found.

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Difference Between Grackles and Starlings

I saw a sad sight today during my lunchtime jog—a dead grackle. Or was it a starling? I'll get to that in a minute. I was making my way down to the trail along the Charles River when I saw what I thought was an injured bird in the middle of the road. It was just sitting there and I figured it was just stunned or maybe had an injured wing. The bird probably didn't have much of a chance, but the least I could move it out of the road. As I got closer to the bird I saw it had its mouth open and then I realized the gruesome truth—it was dead and was frozen in that position. I just got shivers thinking about it. The poor thing. Anyway, so it got me to thinking 'What is the difference between grackles and starlings?' I use the two interchangeably and haven't really made an effort to sort it out. Until now. I like to use All About Birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as an online resource. The site is comprehensive and easy to use. (I also really like the 'Cool ...

Killdeer Chick in Yellowstone National Park

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Indigo Bunting at Mt. Auburn Cemetery- Lifer!

I was so excited to see my first Indigo Bunting today. I quickly ran over to Mt. Auburn during lunch to take advantage of peak warbler season before it's over. I'm going to be in San Francisco for work all next week so I fear by the time I get back the birds will have moved on. There were a lot of birders there today and of course lots of activity around the Dell. That's where I saw a flash of blue fly into the undergrowth at the edge of the water. None of the other birders with scopes set up were bothering to look at it. I'm assuming they had already seen it and were focusing on other more exciting birds- such as the pair of screech owls that have been reported at the Dell recently. Here is where I first sighted him at the edge of the water. There was also a female cardinal there splashing around trying to cool off. He then flew up into the bushes on top of the wall behind the Dell, where I got a better picture. I was very pleased with the day! It's addicting tho...

BirdingGirl

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