A strange chirping woke me up this morning. It was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak — a first at my house. However, he wasn’t alone. It was joined by another first, three White-crowned Sparrows, and eventually a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. The sparrows and hummingbird returned throughout the day. Not a bad start to the week.
I hate cooking. I’ll just let that be known from the start.
With that in mind, it wasn’t really that hard for me to decide to eat out last night and to choose my favorite fast-food place: Subway. It turned out to be a great decision.
Not only did I have a great meal, but I also found a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. It was sitting on a pole just as I got back in my car. Naturally, I had to get closer. I ended up feeling like a stalker as I drove around the parking lot of Subway and a next-door gas station to get a better picture.
Still, I got my picture. All’s well that ends well (at least in this case).
A Stuttgart woman called my newsroom this morning to report that a pair of American Robins had a nest in her backyard and were feeding their babies. Did we want to go take a picture? She didn’t have to ask me twice.
Spring, which officially starts today, is my favorite season. To celebrate, I spent my early Tuesday evening working in my backyard. OK, it was mostly lazy yard work. I cleaned up, made plans for a proposed project and put up new hummingbird feeders.
After I finished, I just happened to glance over in time to see a bird leaving my hummingbird feeder. I. Was. Excited! Could it be a hummingbird, already? Nope. I sat by my window for an hour watching house sparrows, northern cardinals and American robins come up to feed. I’m now positive that it was a sparrow that went to the wrong feeder.
Whatever happened, I enjoyed my time outdoors and watching the birds. It’s not a bad way to pass the time. Here’s some of my visitors:
Short-eared OwlThe Great Horned Owl sighting left me so excited that I decided to try spotting a second owl: The Short-eared Owl. The common open grasslands bird is a winter resident of the Stuttgart Municipal Airport. Past trips yielded no results so I finally got my hands on a map of where exactly to look and headed back out.
The trip lasted less than an hour and was a complete success. First, the trip started off on a great note when I discovered an airport employee was back at work after a long bout of illness. After signing in, I immediately stepped out of the airport’s office to find Northern Harriers, Killdeer and Red-winged Blackbirds.
My next stroke of luck came when the below-pictured plane took off, stirring up the owls. I counted about eight in all. According to the National Audubon Society, Short-eared Owls are in serious decline over much of its range with the primary threat being the destruction and degradation of open habitat. I think the owls are fascinating because you can find them easily throughout the day.
The Stuttgart Municipal Airport was originally prime farmland the U.S. government bought for an air force training site during WWII. After the war, the property was handed over to the City of Stuttgart for use as a municipal airport. Today, the military still uses the airport for training exercises.
The airport also remains busy with agricultural-, business- and hunting-related flights as well as birders. Audubon Arkansas and the City of Stuttgart previously started a 252 acre prairie restoration project for grassland birds. There are now prescribed fires, non-native plant control and rubble removal to benefit 13 prairie bird species of great conservation need. According to Audubon Arkansas, the project “continues a landmark collaborative working towards the long-term goal of a 2,000-acre core of contiguous native grassland suitable for the reintroduction of the Greater Prairie-Chicken to Arkansas.”
I ended the visit sighting an eastern meadowlark and the above pictured Wilson’s Snipe.
I was taking pictures for work this afternoon when I happened to notice these House Sparrows near a nest above me. The two would sit for a while, peek at each other and, then, take turns chasing each other from the nest. It was funny and cute to watch.
I’ve wondered all year where my Cedar Waxwings were since I usually have a flock that stays in my backyard for a few weeks. I’ll admit that I was very disappointed especially when other Arkansas birders kept reporting seeing Cedar Waxwings in their own yards.
Well, they have finally arrived. I was about to leave for work when I looked over and found more than 30 Cedar Waxwings in my front yard. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Arkansas birds were out in force this past weekend when I participated in my first Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). I’ve just completed entering the 26 bird species I viewed into the GBBC database.
The GBBC only calls for at least 15 minutes of birdwatching. Well, I decided to spend my birdwatching time on Saturday in Wynne at Village Creek State Park. Later, I visited my grandparent’s farm to walk their woods. I got lucky in both spots, however, my best find was when I drove from Wynne to Stuttgart on Hwy. 306. (See pictures below).
I say Hwy. 306 was my best find because I discovered the above Greater Yellowlegs and the below Northern Pintails. I also discovered a lazily circling Northern Harrier (third picture below).
In all, my weekend list had American Kestrels, American Robins, blackbirds, Blue Jays, Canadian Geese, Crows, Downy Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, Gadwells, Greater Yellowlegs, Hermit Thrush, House Sparrow, Mallards, Northern Cardinals, Northern Harrier, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Red-tailed Hawks, Slated Juncos, Tufted Titmouse, White-Fronted Geese, White-Throated Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Woodpecker and Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Here’s some more pictures:
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
We preserve, conserve, and study the native plants of Arkansas
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Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Think left & think right & think low & think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" -Dr. Seuss
I previously worked as a news and sports photographer. Recently I have been enjoying wildlife photography. My approach toward bird photos is similar to sports photography. I attempt to capture mostly action and hopefully a unique perspective.
Urbanites in the woods, doing all our own stunts.
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Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
Rediscovering Arkansas with a few detours.
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