Little Rock – Memos for Me

A Sweet Bluebird Family

June 9, 2021

We currently have an Eastern Bluebird family visiting our feeders. Bluebirds are one of our favorite birds and we have 3-4 at our feeders typically year-round. (Yay!)

Today’s a state holiday and we’re snowed in. So, it was the perfect day to birdwatch. We had 23 total bird species visit our feeders today – and that doesn’t include some birds we typically see like the American Crow and White-breasted Nuthatch (both were present yesterday but not today 🤷🏼‍♀️). Here’s a few of my favorite visitors today:

Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker

No, I didn’t spend all day simply watching my feeders. There was also tax work and a walk around the neighborhood. I’ll let you guess which one was my favorite.

White Ibis

August 23, 2020

At Two Rivers Park in West Little Rock, there is a swampy section that I enjoy visiting just to see what I will find. In this visit, it was a juvenile White Ibis. White Ibises typically gather in groups in shallow wetlands in southeastern United States. They are not common in Arkansas, although they make a random appearance each year.

Walk it off

April 9, 2020

Pine Warbler3 032120 Bufflehead Bay — Pine Warbler

Recently, we took a walk at Bufflehead Bay near the Jolly Roger’s Marina to get out, enjoy the good weather and see what birds we could find. There were TONS of common loons as well as other little birds like the above Pine Warbler.

Just a note: We did practice social distancing. 🙂

Common Loon (male)

Common Loon (female)

American Crow

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Carolina Chickadee

Photos: Little Rock CBC

December 17, 2019

White-eyed Vireo1 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — White-eyed Vireo (Russenberger Road)

This past Saturday, I participated in my first Christmas Bird Count held in Little Rock. It was pretty fun, and awesome in the fact that I got paired with one of the state’s best birders. I also visited some birding areas that I’ve never been to before. We found 59 different species in the eastern section of Little Rock that included the Arkansas Audubon Center and the nearby Gilliam Park. Here’s a few of the birds we saw:

Winter Wren 121419 LR CBC_Fourche Bottoms_Borrow Ponds — Winter Wren (Fourche Bottoms – Borrow Ponds)

House Wren 121419 LR CBC_Audubon Center — House Wren (Arkansas Audubon Center)

American Kestrel, Pileated Woodpecker 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — Pileated Woodpecker, American Kestrel (Russenberger Road)

Brown-headed Nuthatch1 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — Brown-headed Nuthatch (Russenberger Road)

Orange-crowned Warbler1 121419 LR CBC_Benny Craig Park — Orange-crowned Warbler (Benny Craig Park)

Tufted Titmouse2 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — Tufted Titmouse (Russenberger Road)

Swamp Sparrow 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — Swamp Sparrow (Russenberger Road)

Pine Warbler 121419 LR CBC_Fourche Bottoms_Borrow Ponds — Pine Warbler (Fourche Bottoms – Borrow Ponds)

Eastern Towhee 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — Eastern Towhee (Russenberger Road)

Green-winged Teal 121419 LR CBC_Fourche Bottoms_Borrow Ponds — Green-winged Teal (Fourche Bottoms – Borrow Ponds)

Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler 121419 LR CBC_Russenberger Road — Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler (Russenberger Road)

Double-crested Cormorant 121419 LR CBC_Fourche Bottoms_Borrow Ponds — Double-crested Cormorant (Fourche Bottoms – Borrow Ponds)

Backyard Visitors

July 5, 2018

Baltimore Orioles.43018.1319 Northpoint 2

Baltimore Orioles.43018.1319 Northpoint 01

Earlier this year, I accepted a non-journalism job in Little Rock — a move I never thought I would ever make both in terms of leaving journalism and leaving Northeast Arkansas.

I lucked out in the housing situation, though, and one of my favorite things to do is to keep track of the various wildlife to visit my backyard. Besides the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, I think we are most excited to welcome four to five Baltimore Orioles. Above are some photos taken in late April.