Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Cedar Waxings revisited

During my trip up to Seattle, mid July, I got to visit a small swampy area near Jeanne's parents house, that was home to some of the very beautiful Cedar Waxwings. I am sure they are nesting in the area, but was not able to ever locate it.

Here are a couple of images I was able to get while visiting.









Sunday, July 23, 2017

I love babies!

On our weekend trip to Cabo Pulmo, I got to watch a pair of Hooded Orioles feed their newly born babies!  It was a great morning, just sitting there, watching babies!








Friday, July 21, 2017

I bird......



I recently saw a line, by a fellow writer at 10000 Birds.com that caught my eye...I know it is nothing new and a play on previous usage, but I am going to do likewise. "I bird, Therefore I am" While Birding is something that is very important to me, and becoming much more so in the last few years, it, or at least I try to not let it, consume me. And nobody knows better than me, how someone with a personality like mine can easily become obsessed.

Up to this point in my life, I have merely enjoyed birds...watching them, reading and learning about them, and especially photographing them, it just gives me joy! Now, I get to pass that along with my guiding, showing newbies and veterans alike the birds that inhabit the southern half of the Baja.

With all this newly built energy going into my birding, comes "The Numbers"...if you have seen the movie "The Big Year" you will understand completely. How many species of birds have you seen in a day, a week, a month, a year, and of course the biggie...The Life List!

In the last few years, with the increase in computer technology, birding has seen some amazing up ticks in interest, as well as learning and information sharing. There is no doubt in my mind, but the greatest tracking and information site ever is eBird.org. This site allows you to submit every one of your observations, daily, and that information is then used by world class ornithologists around the world. They learn about population densities, growth and decline. They have an amazing tool for tracking migratory patterns and timing....the information found there is mind boggling to any bird nut like myself. It does not matter if you are occasional bird watcher, or someone who travels the world for the express purpose of finding new birds to add the that Life List, I firmly believe that you should register on eBird, and submit your observations. If you need help getting started, feel free to drop me a not at my email  focusonfeathers@hotmail.com and I will make sure you know all the ins and outs.

......and just so you know what started all this soap box tirade, was for the first time in my life, or at least the last few years that I have been watching, I have managed to see over 200 birds species in one year. The best part is I still have nearly half a year to go! I have copied and pasted my personal page from eBird, so you will get a look at the current numbers since I started with eBird.

keep looking in the trees, bushes and to the skies! Birds are all around, enjoy them!

My eBird

Manage your personal lists, observations, locations, and account settings.

Your Life List: 346 Species


Your Stats
LifeYearMonth
Total Species34620185
Total Checklists100686
ABA Area Total Ticks 2806742

Your Lists 
LifeYearMonth
World34620185
Western Hemisphere34620185
Eastern Hemisphere000
North America34620185
South America000
Central America000
West Indies000
AOU Area34620185
ABA Area2126742
USA Lower 481786742
Western Palearctic000









Thursday, July 20, 2017

Cabo Pulmo Weekend

Jeanne and I escaped for the weekend, to get a little "us" time after the death of her Mother, and being away for nearly 5 weeks to Seattle. We spent three days, doing absolutely NOTHING. I sat on the porch area of the little casita we rented, napped, visited with Jeanne and shot some bird photos. Part of that I used as a basis for my story on 10000birds.com You can check out the link here Cabo Pulmo Weekend Birds. It has some fun shots of the bird bath activities we got to watch.

If you get a chance, check out the whole story!