PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Laughing Gulls and Ring-billed Gull

This photo won second place in one of my school's photography contest categories. I titled it "Social Outcast."

I'm back from college finally. It has been a very busy few months: I ran 19 credits and somehow still managed to get out to the bush every weekend but two (for Finals and Midterms). That being said, it has been a very significant year. It was one of the coldest springs ever documented in Florida as we braved an ice storm and, later in the semester, flooding was severe enough to kill at least two people in a Pensacola hurricane. As for birding, here is the updated (and correct list) for this whole year. After reading a post on Greg Miller's blog (http://www.gregmillerbirding.com/), I set up an account with eBird, an online database where I could submit my observations from each weekend. For only going out for about two hours each week, I think I did pretty good.

January 1st
1. Chestnut-backed chickadee
2. Varied thrush
3. Dark-eyed junco
4. Northwestern crow
5. Glaucous-winged gull
6. Trumpeter swan
7. Bald eagle
8. Northern flicker
9. Spotted towhee
10. Song sparrow

January 2nd
11. Red-breasted nuthatch
12. Fox sparrow

January 3rd
13. Downy woodpecker
14. Pileated woodpecker
15. Common raven
16. Pacific wren
17. Golden-crowned kinglet
18. Hermit thrush
19. American robin

January 4th
20. Canada goose
21. American wigeon
22. Mallard
23. Harlequin duck
24. Surf scoter
25. Bufflehead
26. Common goldeneye
27. Common merganser
28. Common loon
29. Great blue heron
30. Hairy woodpecker
31. Eurasian collared-dove

January 5th
32. European starling
33. House sparrow
34. Northern pintail
35. Green-winged teal
36. Black-bellied plover
37. Killdeer
38. Sanderling

January 7th
39. Steller's jay

January 12th
40. Black turnstone
41. Eared grebe
42. Double-crested cormorant
43. Pelagic cormorant
44. Dunlin
45. Black oystercatcher

January 16th
46. Bewick's wren
47. White-winged scoter

January 17th
48. Red-tailed hawk
49. Rock pigeon

January 18th
50. Ring-billed gull

January 19th
51. Northern mockingbird

January 20th
52. Mourning dove
53. Red-bellied woodpecker
54. Blue jay
55. Pine warbler
56. Yellow-rumped warbler
57. Yellow-throated warbler

January 25th
58. Brown-headed nuthatch
59. Eastern bluebird
60. Palm warbler
61. Eastern towhee
62. Northern cardinal
63. Red-winged blackbird

January 27th
64. Pine siskin
65. American goldfinch

February 1st
66. Turkey vulture
67. Belted kingfisher

February 5th
68. House finch

February 8th
69. Redhead
70. Red-breasted merganser
71. American white pelican
72. Brown pelican
73. Great egret
74. Osprey
75. Willet
76. Ruddy turnstone
77. Laughing gull
78. Herring gull
79. Forster's tern
80. Loggerhead shrike
81. Savannah sparrow

February 15th
82. Red-shouldered hawk

February 26th
83. Cedar waxwing

March 11th
84. American crow

March 12th
85. Bonaparte's gull

March 15th
86. Fish crow
87. Ruby-crowned kinglet

April 5th
88. Least bittern
89. American coot
90. White-winged dove
91. Yellow-billed cuckoo
92. Ruby-throated hummingbird
93. Eastern kingbird
94. Gray catbird
95. Prairie warbler
96. Bachman's sparrow

April 10th
97. Clapper rail

April 12th
98. Common grackle
99. Brown-headed cowbird
100. Green heron

April 25th
101. Common nighthawk

May 3rd
102. Brown thrasher
103. Bay-breasted warbler
104. Scarlet tanager

May 8th
105. Black vulture
106. Spotted sandpiper
107. Cliff swallow
108. Carolina Chickadee

I will be leaving for home again on Sunday. The question is, can I nail two more birds in Florida for a total of 110 in just one day? Not likely, but I will try. Thanks for reading!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Burrowing Owl

This little guy was hanging out at the New Zoo in Green Bay, Wisconsin back on August 18 of 2010 - it was my birthday. He looks pretty determined and, no wonder, he was missing his left leg.

I'm sorry to say, but this week was a bit of a letdown as far as birding was concerned. I added two more birds to my list; black turnstone and Steller's Jay. The jays were around the local forest and neighbourhood and I never did get a good look at them. I know them by their call. The black turnstones turned up on a failed attempt to add some gulls to my list. There was a flock of the birds on the beach, poking among the rocks.
Now, as I mentioned, my real reason for going down to the beach for birds was to see gulls. I certainly saw a lot of them, but anything that wasn't a glaucous-winged gull was pretty much impossible for me to identify. I guessed at herring, Thayer's, mew, ring-billed, but I couldn't make a positive identification. Just when I thought I was getting close, all but the glaucous-winged disappeared. So, a potential of two or three more birds (which would have topped me at over 40 species) was lost in the hands of inexperience. I think I need a professional! I told my dad I was going to call up Mike Yip and ask if he would be my gull identification coach. Just joking, though, so Mr. Yip can rest at ease. Instead, I think I'll wait until the rain lets up and then try again with my camera. With pictures, I'll have all the time in the world to make an identification (let's hope that time helps).
So my list has expanded to just 39, one short of forty, for this week. And things don't look too bright for the future. I'm off to college in Florida again for the next few months and, while I may be able to get off on weekends to do some birding now and again, posts on this site will be rare. Don't expect weekly photos; they may not happen at all. It's going to be a brutally busy semester.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Beaver Pond

One of the pools, created by beavers, up Woods Creek near Campbell River, Vancouver Island on June 20th of 2010.

Update on my First (Little) Big Year:

The first week of my little Big Year is coming to a close. Over the four days, I was able to identify 37 species of birds, which was very disappointing considering only three more species would have tipped me into 40. Oh well. I guess there's improvement pending for the future.
Taking the number for what its worth, however, 37 is a great count for just four days of my first big year, and I'm confident I can get at least two more for the list tomorrow, if the weather is still clear. And that seems to be the ticket. We've had a few beautiful (freezing) sunny days and the birds have been out in droves. It seems that things are really working out for this big year. The weather brings out other wildlife too, and walking along the Oyster River estuary trail, we saw some gorgeous sea lions cruising down the coastline. We also had an unexpected encounter with a group of friends and relatives so, even if I hadn't seen any birds, it would have been worth it.
So here is the list up to date, with habitats. I put the common name first, with the habitat occurrence in parentheses. All species listed have been seen at some point this week, but many of the occurrences are listed from voice identification alone. All were seen between Campbell River and the Comox Valley.
1. Varied thrush (suburban backyard)
2. Dark-eyed junco (suburban backyard, clearcut bush)
3. Chestnut-backed chickadee (suburban backyard, forest trees)
4. Northwestern crow (urban roadside, suburban coastline, forest treetops, ocean mudflats)
5. Glaucous-winged gull (suburban coastline, river estuary, ocean shoreline, urban field, ocean mudflats)
6. Northern flicker (suburban roadside, forest trees)
7. Spotted towhee (suburban backyard, forest bush)
8. Song sparrow (suburban backyard, clearcut bush, forest bush, beach driftwood, suburban roadside, urban roadside)
9. Trumpeter swan (suburban overhead)
10. Bald eagle (suburban backyard, forest treetops, ocean shoreline, ocean mudflats)
11. Fox sparrow (suburban backyard)
12. Pileated woodpecker (forest trees)
13. Common raven (forest treetops)
14. Pacific wren (forest bush, clearcut bush)
15. Golden-crowned kinglet (forest treetops, forest trees, forest bush)
16. Hermit thrush (clearcut bush)
17. American robin (clearcut bush)
18. Varied thrush (forest trees, clearcut bush)
19.  Mallard (river estuary, ocean mudflats)
20. Surf scoter (river estuary, ocean shoreline)
21. Harlequin duck (ocean shoreline)
22. Common goldeneye (river estuary)
23. Bufflehead (river estuary, ocean shoreline)
24. Common merganser (river estuary, ocean shoreline)
25. Canada goose (country field, open ocean)
26. Common loon (ocean shoreline)
27. Great blue heron (ocean shoreline)
28. Hairy woodpecker (forest trees)
29. Eurasian collared-dove (suburban backyard)
30. European starling (urban roadside)
31. House sparrow (suburban backyard)
32. Northern pintail (ocean mudflats)
33. American wigeon (river estuary, ocean mudflats)
34. Green-winged teal (ocean mudflats)
35. Killdeer (ocean mudflats)
36. Black-bellied plover (ocean mudflats)
37. Western sandpiper (ocean mudflats)
So there you have it. All 37 species and the habitats I observed them in. There were some ducks, sandpipers, and woodpeckers I saw as well but, because my identification could not be 100% certain, I had to omit these names. It is very tempting to include a name when you are 99% sure what it is, but such is life. So downy woodpecker and ancient murrelet were not included, among others.
Of course, I would love to describe exactly how many of each I saw, what they were doing, how they interacted with other animals, the kinds of plants that were around, and more, but this is just a weekly post. Maybe check the PROFILES page (click the FIELD NOTES link above) in the far future for a post on a specific bird's biology. That natural world is so amazing! Have a great week and don't forget to get outside.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Royal Gramma

Gramma loreto is a stunning saltwater fish native to Caribbean reefs. This one belonged to my brother, and then to me after he left for college. I took this picture on the 26th of September, 2009 when the aquarium was still in my brother's room. Royal grammas are relatively easy to care for and have a fairly spunky attitude. This was one of my first photographs of the fish through the glass of the aquarium. Aquarium photography isn't as easy as it sounds because, in most cases, a flash cannot be used. It creates a nasty white spot in the picture from reflecting on the glass.
Aquariums are very healthy things to have in the home. They are a great place to just go and think for a while and the darting little living jewels seem to have a therapeutic affect on the mind. After I graduate, I hope to get another fish tank. We had five of them in the house at one point, but college has changed that.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Sun Sea Star

Photographed at Stories Beach in March of 2010.

PACIFIC SPRING

The steam rises from rocky shore

Where sea-lion voices growl o’er the distant bay

A sea duck dines on mollusk store

As the fog lifts to let in dawns first golden rays

The silver cold droplets roll down

His glossy black back into the chilling flat sea

Which pushes on shore without sound

And rests ripple-less far as restless eyes may flee

Suddenly up a dark fin glare

And then breaking the silence of unbroken glass

A vapor plume rises in air

The sound crisp in the cold air of energetic blast

Mist pulls its tail over bent trees

Warming shore begins to cough and sputter with life

From gasping creatures tide recedes

And finds new tiny wonders of struggles and strife

To see such lively mystery

The soul of man delights in finding these unknown

The sun now full and blistering

Man grows fond of ways of life that are not his own

CMB ©2013

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: California Bighorn Sheep

They were the first Ovis canadensis I'd seen in the wild. It was May 12, 2012 and a herd was moving adjacent to a highway in Oregon. There were many bulls in the herd and this fellow meandered close enough to make a nice photo in the high light of the mid-day sun. Readers will be glad to know that I have arrived back home in Canada. That being said, I now have access to my old photo archives so pictures can go far back. This one is just from last year.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Hoary Marmot

This little guy was standing at the roadside near Columbia River Gorge on May 12, 2013. It was growing dark, as dusk deepened, and he appeared to be fairly young and inexperienced, even lacking a normal dose of fear for man. When we stopped the car and started chattering at him, he merely wiggled his nose and blinked. Sometimes I wonder if they operate more on instinct than free-will. Marmota caligata is the largest of the marmot species and has a decent range throughout the northwest. Another name for this species is "whistle pig," for which the town of Whistler in British Columbia is named.