GBBC 2011, The Olive Plants' 1st Report

Today I awoke at 3 a.m. sick with a cold that has been passing through our house this week.  My turn!  I had planned to take the boys birding in the morning today since that is usually when birds are most active; however, it took me until lunchtime to muster up the energy to take them out.

We went to three different locations, the first of which was a park on the lake in our county.  Mostly we drove through the park, stopping at two different docks to get out and take a look around.  The area is forested, mostly pines.  Here is what we saw or heard:

• 5 cedar waxwings
• 2 Canada geese
• 3 pileated woodpeckers
• 1 mourning dove
• 4 fish crows
• 2 red-winged blackbirds
• 1 European starling
• 9 American crows
• 4 killdeer
• 3 belted kingfishers
• 1 blue jay
• 1 white-breasted nuthatch
• 2 Carolina chickadees
• 5 tufted titmice
• 1 eastern phoebe
• 2 downy woodpeckers
• 1 American robin
• 3 eastern bluebirds
• 1 BALD EAGLE! (It swooped down so close to us we did not need binoculars to i.d. it!)
• 2 ring-billed gulls
• 1 eastern meadowlark
• 7 pine warblers
• 4 brown-headed nuthatches
• 1 red-bellied woodpecker
• 1 great blue heron
• 2 red-shouldered hawks
• 3 Turkey vultures

Then we met my husband at the high school where he teaches.  We saw these birds in the trees surrounding the school:

• 1 blue jay
• 1 mockingbird
• 2 house finches
• 2 northern cardinals
• 2 song sparrows

We made a quick stop at a church with a pond in front.  It is surrounded by pine trees and is located on a major highway.  Here is what we saw there:

• 2 killdeer
• 2 Muscovy
• 6 snow geese
• 8 mallards
• 3 Canada geese
• 2 American black ducks

Next we drove through the subdivision where my parents live.  It is a new development and is mostly forested.  Here is what we identified there:

• 2 American crows
• 10 field sparrows
• 1 pileated woodpecker
• 1 Carolina chickadee

We took note of what we saw as we drove from place to place, too.  We spotted these birds along the roadside in town:

• 13 American robins
• 3 American crows

Tomorrow we plan to bird watch at our feeders and in our neighborhood.  If everyone in our family feels well, we will go to another spot along the lake.

Happy Birding!
Dawn