Birding with a microphone is exciting, but sometimes frustrating when you can’t immediately figure out what you are hearing or recording. Here are some mystery sounds from my yard in Hunterdon County, NJ. Any input into what they might be is welcome!
19 March, 6:22am
Update: Seems to be a house cat, apparently the call that lost or disoriented cats sometimes make. See comment on the NFC Facebook group.
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Backyard Big Year daily bird log. How do you keep track of your daily bird sightings or other birding activities?
Keeping track of your bird sightings is an important part of a Backyard Big Year–but it is important for all types of birding if you want to preserve a record of your efforts. I keep a daily list, which I then enter into eBird with additional numbers and notes. I don’t record as much info as I could in my daily notes, but try to enter my day’s sightings into eBird as soon as I can so that numbers and other notes about the sightings aren’t lost.
I start the day by creating a new page in the notebook. I make 30 hashmarks at the top of the page, so that each new bird I see for the day has a place for me to write its 4 letter banding code. I like doing this because it helps me easily see how many species I’ve seen so far that day.
I write additional notes about sightings, unusual numbers or anything else that I find interesting. I also record in the bottom corner the timing of my daily recordings with my OldBird21c microphone–which lately I’ve been running pretty much day and night to capture the bird activity in the yard. Who knows when I’ll have time to go through these recordings to look for additional species that may have slipped past while I was sleeping or not in the yard.
Often I will record the time of day I was outside in the yard, or how much of the time I was just listening to the microphone or watching from the windows. That stuff gets recorded on my eBird checklists–so I don’t always write it down, but if I’m in and out a lot doing other things, I try to record it so that I don’t forget exactly when I was outside or paying attention to the microphone. I also like to record what time I had interesting sightings, as well as how long it took me to find 20 or 30 species for the day.
At any rate, this is a system that works for me–mostly designed to help me keep track of my daily sightings–and Yard FOYs (circled) or other noteworthy sightings. Many people are now going to entering their sightings directly into eBird via mobile phone apps. I’m not there yet. I like writing down the birds as I see them, though even that bit of effort can take away from my time peering through the scope for those quick flyby ducks I so need to find!
How do you keep track of your bird sightings?
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Sparrow slick excavated in snow for attracting ground feeding birds.
For a Big Year birder, it’s all about finding new birds for the year–first of year (FOY) birds. For someone playing the Backyard Big Year game, the game is to find new birds in the yard for the year–Yard FOYs.
Now that ice is starting to melt in the county, birds are on the move and this morning was great with 5 FOYs in my yard–
Green-winged Teal–pair of birds quickly flying to north through trees. These are also NYBs (new yard birds). In a yard far from water, and after having over a dozen unidentified ducks flyby yesterday evening with looks that precluded good IDs, glad to get these even as a quick look.
Rusty Blackbird–at least one flyover in combined grackle/blackbird flock, calling tchek call and slimmer shape and narrower pointed wings than Red-winged Blackbird.
Great Blue Heron–three, possibly four, birds seen flying over the yard when I walked my kids to catch their bus.
When you live by the flyover for your Yard FOYS, you have to take the photos you can get!
Fox Sparrow–one bird seen on edge of tangles in side yard, then briefly under feeders, and later at my sparrow slick.
Killdeer–first detected about 6am by my OldBird21c microphone, but then heard distantly about 10:30am.
One thing I like about the term Yard FOY is that it rhymes with joy. Finding new birds in the yard, either as an all time NYB or as a Yard FOY can bring a lot of joy!
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At 11:34 last night I heard, and the Oldbird21c mic recorded, this wing whistle going over my yard. Sounds like the duck was pretty close.
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Finally the temps are getting above freezing, the snow is melting, and the birds are moving!
Geese and grackles and blackbirds are the big movers right now, and it is finally fun to get some birds moving around the neighborhood again. Today I had 29 species by 11:43am, so I knew I was going to get to 30–first time since January 15. Ended the day with 33 species. Highlights were the return of the American Tree Sparrow, and flocks of Snow Geese. A very distant flyby male Common Merganser gave hope that I’ll soon see other waterfowl from the yard as well.
American Tree Sparrow on the patio
American Tree Sparrow working the edge of my sparrow slick
Pine Siskin on nyjer feeder
Male Hairy Woodpecker hanging on the suet feeder
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Red-tailed Hawk (Code 1) 1 Jan 2015
Area: Common migrant and permanent resident across Hunterdon County.
Yard: At least one pair is active in the neighborhood, and a bird or two is usually in the yard at least a couple times a week. Other birds are seen soaring in the distance.
Observations: Often found and mobbed by crows.
Posted in Species Accounts
Red-winged Blackbird (Code 2) 10 March 2015
Area: Common to fairly common migrant and breeding species in Hunterdon County, uncommon to rare winter resident.
Yard: Uncommon. Mostly seen as a flyover during migration.
Audio: Song from male in tree 10 March 2015.
Observations: FOYYB was a pair of male birds in a grackle flock that visited the feeders on 10 March 2015. Flock flew off and the pair remained perched in a tree in the side yard allowing me to get the poor documentary shot (above).
Posted in Species Accounts
Common Redpoll, 5 March 2015. Documentary shot, heavily cropped.
I’ve been watching my feeders for months waiting for a Common Redpoll. Today we were hit by another heavy snowstorm, in which I finally got my first Purple Finches of the year. But no redpolls. There have been a few reported today in scattered spots around the county, so they are apparently moving around in the storm. This was the time to try something new. I decided to try social attraction to see if I could get redpolls to stop in my yard.
I got a recording of a feeding redpoll flock, played it on a loop on my iPad, and stuck a bluetooth speaker broadcasting the recording out near my bird feeders and put more seed on the ground in the snow.
Just over an hour later I heard a Common Redpoll call as it flew over my OldBird21c microphone (recording below)!
Flyover Common Redpoll “tchet” calls
Then a couple minutes later as I watched from the window a redpoll flew past and landed on the seed I had placed on a small conifer near my sparrow slick. It flew before I could grab my camera, but I went upstairs to see if it might be feeding under my feeders (the view from downstairs was obscured by snow banks) and sure enough, there it was feeding on the ground next to the speaker!
Common Redpoll, 5 March 2015
Common Redpoll on ground near Bluetooth speaker (under shelter box at upper right).
The bird flew up into a tree, and didn’t stay more than a few minutes. But I got a recording, photos, and was able to log it for the Backyard Big Year!
Bluetooth speaker, protected from snowfall by black box with holes in it to allow sound broadcasting
Now I know some folks are opposed to playing tapes to lure in birds. But social attraction using audio recordings is a legitimate conservation strategy to attract Atlantic Puffins to nesting sites, and has been since used to lure in other rare birds to appropriate habitat where they are more prone to stick if they think others of their species are around–such as Black-capped Vireos in Texas. Purple Martin landlords routinely play martin recordings to attract them to new colonial housing. In my case, maybe redpolls moving around the area could use a little social encouragement to check out my yard and find my feeders. The bird got a quick meal, I got the bird for my annual yard list. It’s all good. Right?
Interestingly, the other birds seemed to avoid the feeders while the recording was running–preferring to stay over by the food at the sparrow slick. After I turned off the recording, the American Goldfinches and Pine Siskins returned to the feeding station. Hmmmm. Wonder what is up with that?
Posted in Species Accounts, Yard Birding Tips
Purple Finch (Code 2) 5 March 2015
Area: Uncommon migrant and winter visitor, usually seen at feeders. Some yards will retain them all winter, while others will not see any.
Yard: Uncommon migrant and winter visitor. Sometimes several birds will stick around for a few weeks or more, other times months go by without seeing any in the yard.
Observations: First birds of the year were a pair that stopped in to the bird feeders briefly during a heavy snowstorm on 5 March 2015. I only managed a quick documentary shot of the female (above) before they took off.
Posted in Species Accounts
Brown Creeper (Code 2) 17 February 2015
Area: Uncommon and local resident, most often found during migration or winter. Most reports in the county come from areas with pine trees, including Spruce Run and Round Valley.
Yard: Apparently a fairly rare winter visitor, though expected. The first encounter for my yard was the bird seen and recorded 17 Feb 2015. It flew across the yard about 1:30pm and I was unable to relocate to photograph, but the OldBird21c mic picked up a few calls (below).
Audio: Apparent Brown Creeper call recorded by OldBird21c mic.
Posted in Species Accounts