This is a very detailed snapshot of continental bird distributions. Imagine scientists 250 years from now being able to compare these data with their own. Already, with more than a decade of data in hand, the GBBC has documented changes in late-winter bird distributions.

-John W. Fitzpatrick (2012)

Today was the second day of the GBBC, and the first day I was really involved in it. I got up this morning (late) at 8:30, and went to the Paideia Bird Club’s meeting at 10. We got lucky and it didn’t rain, so we birded around the campus, while making sure all birdhouses had been completely cleaned so new birds could nest. We got lucky and saw a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. We also saw a flock of about 60 Cedar Waxwings. I took a few photos, but the opportunity did not present itself too often. second and third- red winged blackbirds, first- American Goldfinch, and fourth- White-Breasted Nuthatch.

Next, I went birding with one of my mom’s friend. We walked around her neighborhood, and saw about 20 species. The most notable was a Blue-Headed Vireo.

I wish you a fantastic GBBC, and may your birds be plentiful.

I’m back from my weekly long period of inactivity during the school week! This weekend will (try) to be extra special. A weekend completely full of stories from this weekend’s birding! Also, there will be an extra article out on Monday (who knows what that will be about)! My challenge to you is to go birding as much as possible this weekend, and upload all of your findings here: http://gbbc.birdcount.org the Great Backyard Bird Count website. Please consider doing this. On top of this, you can also convince a non-birder to try it out. If you are a non-birder reading this and you want to do this but can’t ID birds, I would strongly encourage you to use the free Merlin Bird ID app.

So first you have your feeder fillers, and they just want a bird feeder so they can attract a bird like a Cardinal. And then there’s Listers like those guys over there. Now listers, they like the numbers and the data so they record everything on these very meticulous life lists, so if my dad was a birder, he’d be a lister. There’s one more. The watchers. They want to achieve a transcendent connection between nature that erases any distinction between humans and bird souls.

– David Portnoy from “A Birder’s Guide to Everything”

Just to make it clear to any non-birders who read this blog, listers, although much more complex to categorize than this quote might make you believe, are a category of birders that enjoy keeping lists of the birds they have seen in a certain area and/or length of time. For example a birder might have a life list that has every bird they have ever seen anywhere on it, while also having a few county lists and a year list. Although the word lister might spark thoughts of crazy birders driving halfway across the country just to find a small brown bird (or LBJ in birder language), these could also be people who specialize in one particular county or city and try to see as many birds as possible in this area. In the movie “A Birder’s Guide to Everything” listers are portrayed as Birders who are in it for the ticks and don’t care about birds. I believe you could argue that this is only true in a small portion of listers. To make this true, the birders would have to not be able to enjoy birding unless a new bird or a rarity popped up. This simply isn’t true for most people. I don’t know one birder who wouldn’t be happy after a good day of seeing common birds. The obvious problem with my statement is competitive birding. I love competitive birding and indulge in this once every year at the Georgia Youth Birding Competition. I love being able to go around the state seeing birds, going to out of the way places that I would have never been to otherwise, and meeting other teens who share my passion for birds. I even love spending hours looking through Ebird checklists to make sure our path will insure a fantastic trip. The one regret about the GYBC I have is the lack of time spent stopping and looking at birds. I hear that a lot from listers who participate in birding competitions. They do care about the birds, it’s just a fun excuse for a day (or month or year) full of travel and birds.

I am a lister, and I still love to stand near a feeder and watch the tiny Brown-Headed Nuthatch grab a piece of suet or watch the beautiful Eastern Towhee scratch at the dirt hoping for a meal. I think it is pointless to not like one type of birder simply because they keep or don’t keep a list. This goes both ways. Plenty of listers think you can’t be serious about birding without keeping a list or two. That is complete crap. There aren’t very many birders in the world, so try to except every one you can.

-Phillip

However, just because a local migration spot is popular doesn’t mean it’s the only place to go. 

-Nicholas Lund (the birdist)

I went birding earlier today with my mom. She has just recently gotten a pair of binoculars and started casually bird watching, but it was very fun. We decided to chase the Canvasback that has been seen in Echo lake recently. We had never really tried to go to Echo Lake, so we didn’t realize how difficult it was to see the actual lake. It was surrounded by houses, and if you didn’t have a house next to the lake, good luck even looking at it. We drove around the area looking for a place to stop and bird, and eventually we settled on two locations. One was a barely constructed house that still didn’t have a no trespassing sign up, and another was an empty lot. We started with barely constructed house and tried to watch the huge raft of Ring-billed ducks from far away. It was not working. We eventually decided to move to the lot, which they had just flew in front of. We had barely any luck, as we only saw more Ring-Necked Ducks as well as Chipping Sparrows, a Pine Siskin, and a Red-Winged Blackbird. Eventually my mom was about to turn around, and I was going to follow when I saw it. It was a female, and the shape of its head had given it away. We had to leave and go to Sam’s Club for my mom to do some shopping, but the birding hadn’t ended yet. After shopping we decided to try to find the Sam’s Club Pond that there was a Redhead at last April. After about ten minutes of searching, we found it around the back of the Sam’s Club. When we parked we ran into another birder who was much more familiar with the hotspot. She showed helped us find a lot of birds, including a Blue-Headed Vireo (first of the year), a Red-Shouldered Hawk, and some Common Grackles. Unfortunately, there were no Killdeer or Wilson’s Snipes as she hoped there would be, but it ended up being a productive day for birding.

Edit- I dipped on the Canvasback. I lied to myself when I said I found it. I thought I did, but I was not 115% sure of it. Plus, they are now in another location.

Sorry I am getting this out so late, I had a full day and didn’t plan too well yesterday.

Owls! I don’t appreciate them enough. They’re ninjas of the bird world, silently stalking their prey under cover of night

-Nicholas Lund (the birdist)

Owls are pretty fantastic. Seeing or hearing one is always a delight. Sadly, it’s difficult to find any in Atlanta (except Barred. They’re all over the place). Because of this, whenever I do see one it’s extra special. For example, last year at the Youth Birding Competition my team was running around in rural Georgia listening for owls after midnight. It was pretty terrifying. There weren’t too many lights in this tiny town, and you always have to watch out for someone who is angry. We walked for a while before we heard the first “who cooks for you, who cooks for you all” calling from somewhere in the dark. We expected this. It was no surprise, but we still were happy to check off the barred owl. After a bit of walking we heard the whinnying of an Eastern Screech-Owl. This one was more unexpected. It was a lifer, and that was the only Eastern Screech-Owl I have ever heard.

What’s up with diurnal Barred owls? There seems to be so many. Just three weeks ago (before I started my blog) I saw one a Lullwater President’s Grounds with the Paideia Bird Club. It was beautiful, but strange. Please comment if you know for sure why there are so many more Diurnal Owls!

-Phillip

There’s nothing like the excitement—and dread—that comes from driving across multiple states to possibly see a rarity.

-Nicholas Lund (the birdist)

The bird that captivated a nation of birders died two days ago. After being found in a blizzard about nine days ago, he began to get frostbite on his legs. The conservation group that found him tried to save him, but there was nothing they could do but cut off its legs. Doing this would have made the Hawk have no quality of life, and no way to sustain itself. The agency decided the most ethical thing to do was to euthanize it.

The Great Black Hawk was originally found in August (I believe) of 2018, but this was on the Rio Grande river. It was a juvenile which reflects on a slight trend of juvenile raptors from Central America being found in the USA (like the Hook-Billed Kite in Florida earlier in 2018). Soon afterwards, it was not found for three weeks. Then, someone found it in Portland, Maine. How does that happen? How? It moved around a lot, before settling on Deering Oaks Park, where it “terrorized the local squirrels.” It stayed there for a very long time, before the events mentioned in paragraph one took place.

I never saw the bird. I have never even been to Maine, yet I still felt a connection with this Hawk, and was sad when it died. May there be plenty of squirrels for it to terrorize in wherever it may be. In memory of the Great Black Hawk, here is a terrible parody of “Mad World” by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews, that I made. Here it is.

All around me are familiar birds

Fluffy birds, little birds

Bright and early for the daily birding

Finding the one, finding the one

The frostbite is now spreading fast

No way he’ll last, way he’ll last.

Euthanasia is its only sorrow

No tomorrow, no tomorrow.

And I find it kind of funny

I find it kind of sad

The dreams where I am freezing are the best I ever had

You found it hard to survive

In negative degrees

When birds fly too far north

It is a very, very mad world, Black Hawk

Birders waiting for the day they feel good

Code 5 vagrant, Maine’s first record

I feel the weight that any good birder should

The frostbite spreading, frostbite spreading

Stayed indoors and I was very nervous,

Blizzard freezing up my bird bath

Looking up for the latest bird news

What did I see, what did I see?

And I find it kind of funny

I find it kind of sad

The dreams where I am freezing are the best I ever had

You found it hard to survive

In negative degrees

When birds fly too north

It is a very, very mad world, Black Hawk

Travel the world,

Black Hawk

I think he will grow into birding since he runs

-Paraphrasing of what my friend Nicholas, a fellow runner and a squirrel expert, said to me once.

People who know me know that although I am not the best runner, I enjoy running for my Junior High Track and Cross Country teams. Both of these are difficult and physically demanding sports, but both of these are extremely fun. I have never been a huge fan of sports that involve using a ball (in elementary school I used to flock to the tetherball court only after the ball had fallen off and disappeared). Running is just so simple compared to Soccer, Baseball, or Ultimate (don’t get me started about Ultimate). In a way, there is a very real beauty to this simplicity, the way someone might enjoy a haiku for its simplicity or a nonbirder would take a hike to escape from “the hustle and bustle of the city life.”

Not only is running a fantastic form of simplicity, but it also greatly increases your time spent outside. As a result, you tend to see a lot of cool birds. Here is a list of lifers I got this school year because I run.

Common Nighthawk

Killdeer

American Kestrel

Northern Harrier

I know this is a slightly underwhelming list, but these were just new birds. There were so many more interesting sightings and cool birds I saw while running. In addition to this, birding while running is a natural predecessor to birding by car. You are constantly moving, meaning you have to make fast IDs, but at the same time, you’re moving slower than in a car, and you have a 360 view. This can help greatly increase your skill as a birder and teaches you to look for the GISS of a bird instead of the color.

I know this is unrelated to birding, but I think it is worth mentioning. While running, you meet so many nice people. You have so many great experiences, and you go to some really great places. Maybe that’s not so unrelated to birding. I’ve heard so many people say the same things about birding, and writing this down right now, I am beginning to realize how similar the effects of running are to birding. They take you out in nature, send you to out of the way places, introduce you to new people and a new community, give you amazing experiences and a sense of accomplishments, they keep you active, and make me love life even more. Hope you have a great day and may your birds be plentiful.

-P

We became a community of birders, with all of the complications that human societies always have, and although it was the birds that had brought us together, our story became a human story after all.

-Kenn Kaufman

This is a small blog, and it’s been open for about 3 days (as of when I am writing this) and already I have people reading it. I want to thank all of my viewers and readers for taking a chance and reading and viewing my blog. If you enjoy the blog, tell a friend about it. It would be very much appreciated. Anyways, I hope you have a good day, and may your birds be plentiful.

-Phillip

Birding is not considered nerdy in a Dungeons and Dragons kind of way (no judgement from me that game looks fun as heck)

-Nick Lund (The Birdist)

I went to a camp in North Carolina last year, and made a friend who was basically a genius. This meant that not only were we able to have interesting and intellectual conversations I so desperately longed for while my comrades at the all boy camp were off screaming about who knows what, but he also taught me a lot. One major topic in these educational moments was Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). For anyone who does not know what D&D is, it is basically a fantasy tabletop role play game. Their is one Dungeon master (DM) who creates a story with many paths a player may choose. The players have different classes and races, such as wizard and Dragonborn, and they go on adventures in the story the DM made to try to survive. This is most likely not the best explanation, as I have barely played. Anyways, this friend of mine, let’s call him H, was telling me ideas for characters. One interesting one was a human monk who’s goal is to be the fastest possible person in the game. He was naturally named Sanic. While this seemed like a lot of fun, the character that really caught my attention was some sort of elf character. He was 900 years old. He was a world famous ornithologist, and his one goal was to see all of the birds in the world. This led to obvious questions. What birds are in the D&D canon? I felt too lazy to do research about it, and even if I wasn’t too lazy, that wouldn’t be fun. Instead I will speculate about what birds would make since in the D&D canon. The top 10 are below. Feel free to comment more.

10: Philippine Eagle

I think this is obvious. It can crush monkey skulls with its talons. Imagine having to fight an oversized one. That would be pretty terrifying.

9: Cassowary

A large, dangerous, and odd looking dinosaur-emu hybrid. What more do I have to say?

8: Sunbittern

It is world famous for its beauty. Its wings look like works of art. If this was in the game, it would make for some interesting illustrations on the books and guides.

7: Canaries

I’m kind of serious with this one, kind of not. I was thinking about basing it off of the saying “the Canary in the coal mine” since this was the only bird I could think of that is synonymous with caves and other underground areas. Since you spend so much time in these areas. It could be cool to include a few in them. Another reason why this would make since is the constant representation Canaries have in popular media (like Black Canary from the CW tv show “The Flash”)

6: Ivory-Billed Woodpecker

Too soon

5: Brown Creeper

Imagine a dangerous Brown Creeper that could hide in plain sight by sitting on a tree and the jumping out and stabbing you with it’s super long beak. (Pretty surreal, I know.)

4: Wandering Albatross

You are soaring through the sky over the ocean on the back of a bird. The wind blows your hair back as the sun rises. In front of you is the remote island, barely accessible, where you will see the Inaccessible-Island Rail, your last bird you need before you can Rest In Peace knowing you saw every bird in the world. If you hadn’t gotten the Albatross as a pet, you wouldn’t have made it here.

3: Giant Hummingbird

In reality the giant hummingbird is not too huge, but in the game it could be

2: Peregrine Falcon

Has anyone read Rosemary Mosco’s (Bird and Moon) story about the Peregrine Falcon that tried to kill her? The Peregrine could be a potentially dangerous foe.

1:Swallow-Tailed Kite

Is this really a surprise? It is beautiful and majestic. To quote Crossley “It would not be out of place in the movie Avatar.” It is so beautiful it is the cover of the new bird board game “Wingspan”

I hope you enjoyed, and may your birds be plentiful

-Phillip

“The truth of the matter is, the birds could very well live without us, but many — perhaps all — of us would find life incomplete, indeed almost intolerable without the birds.”

-Roger Tory Peterson

Today the Paideia bird club went birding in Paideia school and the Candler Wetlands. It was a beautiful sunny day, but it had rained recently. This led to perfect conditions with even more perfect birds. I saw a Brown Creeper, uncommon in the area, before losing it. There were two Northern Flickers, one Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, a few Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, and a ton of Downy Woodpeckers. There was a huge flock of Red-Winged Blackbirds, with a few grackles possibly mixed in. Bluebirds are looking for the ideal spot to nest already, and some Goldfinches are getting their breeding plumages back. At the end, we saw something strange. There were two Eastern Bluebirds fighting for about five minutes. There were times when we thought one was dead, because it was lying on its back, but it would hop back up. Some pictures of the trip (mainly the Bluebirds) are below. The strange ducks are the Indian Runner Ducks (a type of domestic Duck) that Paideia takes care of. Have a great day, and may your birds be plentiful.

-Phillip

update: the bluebirds were most likely fighting over a mate.