#birddex

Still have some exams I'm studying for, but what's a life lived without lifers? Was that heat lmk

Tracked and found a wonderful Eastern warbling vireo, he was very patient with me... It took me 15 minutes to finally spot him! I accidentally watched another bird for a few minutes during that chase, and I still don't know for certain what it was ,, but that vireo was a darling! He looked like a vanilla macaron. :)

Somehow stumbled across a Red-breasted nuthatch ON my campus! My birder professor told me they were leaving, so I was under the impression I wouldn't be seeing one--then I see this weird little guy scurrying around a tree in nuthatch fashion, but not the white-breasts I'm used to .. I stopped to look at him a little closer and he basically crawls down to my eye level to peer back. I hope he knows he made my whole day.

Nuthatches are genuinely cocaine pallets in songbird form. I get enough dopamine from hearing/seeing one to last me a week.

Chased Killdeer again. Did not fucking find them. I actually heard them very nearby on my campus this morning, but of course I wasn't equipped to spot them. These birds avoid me like the plague. Why do I love them so dearly.

I think I had an odd run-in with a juvenile Peregrine falcon! I was walking on a trail when a MASSIVE brown hawk/falcon swooped low to my left and vanished into the trees... I was in awe because of how big it seemed. I was convinced I saw a Great horned owl. As I continue walking, I look down at what my Merlin ID has picked up--a Peregrine falcon!! I do a little Googling and find out that baby Peregrines tend to be browner, which fits. It totally may not have been one, but I feel pretty safe thinking it.

I got visited by a banditry!! :) All the chickadees were so cute, it's always a joy to see them.

Followed a Carolina wren, but it started pouring as I got closer... I'm fine with it since those little shits are so loud for their size. I won't miss them.

Chased a Northern yellow warbler, but my binoculars were too busted to help me find him. There were a lot of birds in the tree I thought he was in, which made things harder.

The Northern cardinals around here have been a bit brave, one landed on a tree a foot away from my face! I also got to see a husband and wife pair bathing in a puddle together.

I've heard a few Cedar waxwings, but I want some new binoculars before I spot them. I find them too beautiful to waste my naked eyes on..

I FOUND A NESTING KILLDEER COUPLE!!! I DID IT! I got screamed at while walking across a patch of grass, and saw a very squeaky brooding parent. It genuinely took everything in me to walk away ,, I've never wanted to get screamed at by something so badly... I knew its mate was nearby, and the fucker was speeding around a parking lot at mach 11 when I spotted it. I don't know why it was doing that. There's something incredible about the Killdeer's ability to look like it has somewhere it needs to be. Their red eyes are stunning; what a treat to see them up close!

Pleaaaseeee let me see my Blue-headed vireo pleaaaase I sat and waited for it and it flew awaayyy..... pleaasseee I need thiiis...

Gray catbirds are in!! I adore them! They really do sound like cats. There's an audio clip in my Merlin that consists of me hearing a catbird and going, "Holy fuck it DOES sound like a cat".

I found a Common yellowthroat at random, I just decided to look in a bush and I saw him hopping about. What a cutie pie. He was so round.

I want a Rose-breasted grosbeak pleaaasseee... please I want... why... Pileated woodpeckers... Where are the red-black-and-white birds at? My 1980s retro diner birds?

Yesterday, I found my beloved Black-capped chickadee! :)) Something I think is really cute about these birds is that they're named after their alarm call; chick-a-dee-dee-dee! Researchers have actually found that all birds, regardless of location, recognize the chickadee's alarm call!

The number of dees indicates the severity of the threat that triggered the call ,,, I actually found my chickadee by looking in the direction of its alarm call! I assume it was alerting its flock to me, and it assessed that I was approximately 4 dees dangerous. :)

I’ll be venturing further out from concrete jungles to hopefully find birds that’ve pushed up from SA, but actual birding posts will probably be pretty sparse outside that. :(

Good notes:

RWBBs and crows are sparse down here, the main parking lot birds are actually Great-tailed and Boat-tailed grackles. Grackles with large and massive tails, with equally expansive vocal ranges compared to their northern counterparts. This just might have been an interesting discovery only for me. The Boat-tailed grackles are slightly larger and their tails bow under its own weight ,, they also have this puffy defense display that helps ID them.

Lots of Northern mockingbirds. So many. I truly love to see it, they’re thriving down here. They also make my job a hell of a lot worse, I watched one fool Merlin a few times this morning.

Finally, Carolina chickadees… finally… also Killdeer aplenty. So I’m still having a good time.

No more finals!! Until next semester!! I will be flying south for the summer, so my birding prospects over the next few months will be changing.. I actually had some amazing moments a few days ago, though; it just seemed to be a PHENOMENAL migratory day...

Had the wonderful honor of viewing some Yellow-rumped warblers flitting about a small marsh. :) I'd been hearing them for a few weeks now, so finally seeing them was great ,, they are so so cute! One got particularly close to me and my heart just about melted, who knew birds named after their asscheeks would be so adorable!!

While watching the warblers, a flight of swallows joined us with their wonderful acrobatics! It was a mixed group of very chatty Barn swallows and Northern rough-winged swallows, which was a joy. It must have been a great day for our flycatchers!

Finally found that Northern yellow warbler... little guy looked like he'd been touched by Midas ,, HOT GIRL SUMMER IS SO HERE !! Thank you for letting me meet you!! :)

Spent some time with some Eastern phoebes ,, I'd been watching them at a puddle from afar (wonderful day for the flycatchers!!) and they eventually decided to perch on some roofing right above me! Phoebes are precious and adorable and what else can I say..

>> ALSO! Maybe a fun fact? I knew I was looking at some phoebes by the way they were perched above a puddle and thrashing their tails, but I hadn't stopped to think why they do this.. Apparently, they pump their tails to let predators know that they've been spotted, so trying to chase them would be a dumb idea! If this really is the case, then those phoebes were telling me I wasn't slick. Smart birdies. :)

I chased some Eastern bluebirds (still can't believe I haven't found them), but I got sidetracked by the phoebes.. I will see them soon..

Baltimore oriole gloriole!! That does not sound good at all!! But there were multiple that finally decided to visit, so I finally got to see these lovely birds. They were like vibrant streaks of fire amongst the blossoms.

INCREDIBLE UPDATE for anyone who had seen my previous post.. I ran into that 'juvenile Peregrine falcon' again ,, definitely not a Peregrine. I saw it circling overhead when I was listening for a Gray catbird, and I eventually heard it chirp in a nearby patch of trees. I sat and waited for a few minutes, but when I looked up to my side randomly... this bird was looking right back at me. Getting a closer look at it, I couldn't ID it on the spot.. it had large, piercing amber eyes with centered pupils, and a (seemingly?) small beak.

Compilation of incidents:

Found the body of a White-throated sparrow outside a window. :( The only thing that quelled my sadness was hearing the others sing away about Canada.

Successfully tracked & found an Eastern towhee! I was looking for him in the treetops before I remembered I wasn't looking for a finch, but for a sparrow. Pretty quickly saw him in some underbrush after that. He was very good at singing!

Heard an American kestrel! I was very excited, but I decided to leave it for another day since I don't know them too well.

American goldfinches shouldn't be this hard to spot. They shouldn't be. But oh my GOD they hate being visible.

Found Rock pigeons. This is so New York.

Swallows and swifts everywhere!! Barn swallows and Chimney swifts and Northern rough-winged swallows and 💥

Went out for about 3 hours today, and I'm happy to report some interesting stuff!

My first hour was relatively quiet, and I felt a bit sad that I wasn't hearing much birdsong. :(

Thankfully, there was SO much activity in this one little patch next to my campus (it consistently houses a lot of birds for some reason, so I'll dedicate a trip to it later!!): I heard so many amazing songs, but I chased a Baltimore oriole for 30 minutes. Did nawt find him...

Was fortunate to stumble across a pair of Hermit thrushes!! I was looking for them! :) They hadn't sung for me, but they weren't all that scared. I got to watch them run around in front of me for a bit, they have this cute little ninja run they do.

Broke my neck trying to look for warblers and finches....

Titmice continue to evade me.