I got up unusually early this Sunday morning, perhaps a negative side effect of Saturday's even earlier morning. I was a tad bit groggy and not ready to tackle making coffee so I took Libby outside and made sure my feeders were nice and full. To my surprise the moment I went back inside I found my feeders being infiltrated by a hungry flock of 34 Purple Finches. If that wasn't enough, shortly thereafter, American Goldfinches attacked coming in as great of numbers as 24. Good thing these species are easy to distinguish from one another or I may have been SOL for counting them.
Other birds of interest was the female Pileated Woodpecker and the Male Downy Woodpecker (below)
I still hope for the return of the Dark-Eyed Junco for my final count next weekend.
| Weather and Effort: December 20, 2009 | |
|---|---|
| When did you watch your feeders? | Day 1: morning Day 2: morning |
| Estimated cumulative time: | 1 to 4 hours |
| Daylight temperature: | -9 to 0° C (15 to 32° F) low -9 to 0° C (15 to 32° F) high |
| Daylight precipitation: | None - - |
| Total depth of ice/snow cover: | 5 cm to 15 cm (2" to 6") |
Checklist for FeederWatch Minnesota Birds
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 1 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 1 |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 1 |
| Blue Jay | 1 |
| Black-capped Chickadee | 5 |
| Red-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| White-breasted Nuthatch | 1 |
| Purple Finch | 34 Confirmed |
| American Goldfinch | 24 (0 with eye disease) |
No comments:
Post a Comment