BwBTC Massachusetts Trip!

In this photo: Bev, Jeff, Pam (Christopher's wife), Christopher, and Steve

Back on June 13th Dawn Fine of Dawn's Bloggy Blog organized a Birders who Blog, Tweet and Chirp trip to coincide with her and Jeff's visit to Mass. Christopher from Picus Blog took the reigns and planned an exciting itinerary that included Plum Island, a Mississippi Kite nest in Southern New Hampshire, and another spot where sharp-tailed sparrows has been sighted.

I cannot possibly do the story justice, so if you are interested in a recap of the day please read Christopher's post since it is a very comprehensive one: http://www.picusblog.com/2009/06/birders-who-blog-tweet-chirp-field-trip.html

Many of the other Birders who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp wrote good recaps too so if you're interested in seeing additional pictures and points of view check out the links I've provided below. Please check out their blogs if you haven't already. I was surprised I wasn't already connected to everyone. It was a great experience meeting new local birders, and discovering new birding blogs.

Dawn & Jeff from Dawn's Bloggy Blog—Trip Recap: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Bev from Behind the Bins

John from Birding Maine—Trip Recap

Sharon from A New England Life—Trip Recap

Janet from The Plover Warden Diaries—Trip Recap: Part 1, Part 2

Steve from Shooting My Universe

Amanda from The Fledgling Birder—Trip Recap

Lauren (Lowie)from Worn Field Guide Blog—Trip Recap

Laura from The Interstitial Spaces—Trip Recap
Mark from Strack16 Blog—Trip Recap
Dan from Nature Observances by Forestal—Trip Recap

Andy from Andy's Lens—Trip Recap: Part 1, Part 2 (he met up with everyone, but got a flat and had to skip the trip onto the refuge so he could get it fixed)

Here are my pictures from the day.

Purple Martins:

Song Sparrows:

*Noisy* Red-winged Blackbird:

Kildeer:

Gadwall:

Willet:

Great Egret:

Eastern Kingbird:

Willow Flycatcher:

Greater Yellowlegs:

I also have a bunch of sandpiper pictures but I'm terrible at ID-ing them. Steve from Shooting My Universe identified a White-rumped Sandpiper (I believe that was what he said he saw), but I was absolutely clueless. Here's a picture of the group we were looking at:

And finally, come pictures of the Mississippi Kite sitting on her nest:

Oh, and I couldn't resist this adorable muskrat (I actually ran into one on a trail behind my house a few days prior, which was the first time I had seen one on land):

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 ...

Well, Here We Are — Back to Birding Girl After 11 Years

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Killdeer Chick in Yellowstone National Park

These were taken at West Thumb Geyser Basis, along the beach. It was really cool to get to watch these little chicks up close and personal. I had never seen Killdeer chicks before- only adults. These pictures are from our trip to Montana/Wyoming in July 2012.

BirdingGirl

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