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Tag: project feederwatch

Project FeederWatch Week 5

December 15, 2008 • • Leave a comment

This was a busy weekend and so I only got to watch the feeders for a few minutes at a stretch, mostly as I was passing by the windows.

If squirrels were birds, I’d have a pretty high count this time, but since they’re not, I didn’t see very many and nothing unusual.

The count for Week 5:

  • Carolina Wren (1)
  • Carolina Chickadee (1)
  • Black-crested Titmouse (1)
  • Bewick’s Wren (1)
  • White-winged Dove (1)
  • Northern Cardinal (1)
  • House Finch (2)
  • House Sparrow (3)
  • Chipping Sparrow (4)

The only noteworthy thing is that I finally saw the female cardinal again for the first time in months. She and the crippled Mr. Cardinal were foraging below the platform feeder earlier in the week, but, alas, I did not see her on my count days, the only cardinal then being Mr. Cardinal.

The weather was mostly overcast, warm and humid. A front came through last night so now it’s in the thirties.

I do love Texas weather.

Project FeederWatch Week 4

December 8, 2008 • • Leave a comment
A Black-crested Titmouse
A Black-crested Titmouse

Week 4 of Project FeederWatch brought a new bird into the mix: the Ladder-backed Woodpecker. This is the first one I’ve seen since July when they were fairly regular visitors to the yard.

Mr. Cardinal also returns after 2 weeks. He’s the only one I can identify as an individual, and that’s because of his injured leg. I first saw it back in June. It was twisted behind him at a painful looking angle. I didn’t expect to see him much longer after that, but he keeps coming back. It’s been 6 months now, and he’s hanging in there.

And, now for this week’s count:

  • Chipping Sparrow (3)
  • House Sparrow (20)
  • Carolina Wren (2)
  • Blue Jay (2)
  • White-winged Dove (12)
  • Black-crested Titmouse (2)
  • Carolina Chickadee (2)
  • Northern Cardinal (1)
  • Bewick’s Wren (1)
  • Ladder-backed Woodpecker (1)

That’s the second week in a row that I’ve only counted 3 Chipping Sparrows. I wonder if it’s the same three.

Project FeederWatch Week 3

December 1, 2008 • • 2 Comments

Week 3 of Project FeederWatch was cool and overcast with occasional showers. It was a good weekend for staying in and staring out the windows.

A Black-crested Titmouse eyes the suet feeder
A Black-crested Titmouse eyes the suet feeder

The birds and the numbers:

  • House Finch (1)
  • House Sparrow (10)
  • Blue Jay (2)
  • Bewick’s Wren (1)
  • Carolina Wren (2)
  • White-winged Dove (17)
  • Black-crested Titmouse (1)
  • Chipping Sparrow (3)
  • Carolina Chickadee (1)

I didn’t see our cardinal this weekend, but all the others have made appearances in my previous counts.

What’s really interesting to me is how the birds’ behavior has changed slightly since the summer. The Blue Jays, for instance, are no longer interested in the suet feeder. They hogged it all summer and now they’ve all but surrendered it to the wrens and chickadees.

A Blue Jay watches the feeders
A Blue Jay watches the feeders

They have not lost their taste for peanuts, though, and they swoop in, grab a nut and are gone before I know it.

Unless this guy is in the way…

I’m pretty sure there were more Chipping Sparrows, but they like to poke around behind the sage bush.

The 3 Chipping Sparrows I counted
The 3 Chipping Sparrows I counted

Bewick’s Wrens come each summer to nest in our boxes, but this time of year, I see more of their larger cousins, the Carolina Wrens.

A Carolina Wren on the worm feeder
A Carolina Wren on the worm feeder

Project Feederwatch Week 2

November 24, 2008 • • Leave a comment

Since we left town for a quick trip to Orange, my feederwatching only lasted about an hour or so on Saturday morning before we left. Still, I saw a good variety if not large numbers:

  • Bewick’s Wren (1)
  • Chipping Sparrows (2)
  • Northern Mockingbirds (2)
  • Carolina Wren (1)
  • Black-crested Titmouse (1)
  • House Sparrows (4)
  • Blue Jay (1)
  • White-winged Dove (1)

The weather was cool (low 50s) and the sky was overcast. No rain.

Watching the Feeders

November 17, 2008 • • 4 Comments

Thanks to BirdingGirl, I discovered The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s very cool citizen science project, Project FeederWatch.

I picked Saturday and Sunday as my count days as those are the days I’m home. The idea is to count the highest number of individuals seen at one time that show up to partake of the delights provided for their enjoyment.

I have a dinner bell with meal worms, a platform feeder, a suet feeder, and a couple of tube feeders as well as a birdbath and a good variety of native plants.

This weekend, most of the usual suspects showed up, though not in great numbers:

  • Bewick’s Wren (1)
  • House Finch (1)
  • Blue Jay (2)
  • Northern Mockingbird (2)
  • Northern Cardinal (1)
  • Carolina Chickadee (1)
  • White-winged Dove (7)
  • Carolina Wren (1)
  • House Sparrow (6)
  • Chipping Sparrow (4)
  • Black-crested Titmouse (2)

The project runs from November up to sometime in April so I’ll be posting my counts here. Maybe I’ll think to take some pictures next time too.