Worst Photo, Best Sighting

Sometimes the worst photo you take can be one of the best birds you see. On our trip to Las Vegas a few weeks ago, the last place I expected any good birding was from the window of our 23rd floor room at The Mirage. Yet one afternoon, after a busy morning out in wilder spaces, my husband asked me what bird was outside the window - anticipating one of the ever-present grackles, I took an indulgent look, but was startled to see not a blackbird, but a raptor.

On the sign across from our volcano-view room, two raptors were calmly watching the street scene below. Through a dirty window and from that distance, I couldn't get a clear view, but the thick malar stripes, dark upperparts, and barred underparts made identification almost too easy - peregrine falcons. On close inspection, the "bloomer" leg feathers and hooked bill were also noticeable, and when one of the birds launched into flight, the sharply pointed wings were one final clue.

These raptors are one of the most successful stories of urban nesting in the world. Natural cliff dwellers, they have adapted well to the urban cliffs of skyscrapers, and the ready availability of pigeons, rats, and other urban wildlife make for easy hunting. Truth be told, I've never had an easier sighting of one of these marvelous raptors than from the air-conditioned comfort of a hotel room!

Superb Owl

It's taking me awhile to get through photos and write about my birding experiences, which have both been many recently. And while I'm not a football fan, I can certainly say that I enjoyed Super Bowl Sunday last month - though for me, Superb Owl Sunday is more correct.

On a tip from a local listserv, I had learned of a northern pygmy-owl not that far from my home, just up Provo Canyon at South Fork, through Vivian Park. I'd never been there before and was unfamiliar with the birding conditions it might present, but since our winter has been mild, I thought to give it a chance while much of the rest of the population was roosting indoors to watch the game. A lifer would be well worth any effort.

I found the parking area without difficulty, and immediately I loved the isolation of the habitat - nestled in the mountains but not mountainous itself, it was strikingly beautiful even on a barren winter day. I spent the better part of an hour hiking from the parking area further east along the road, checking the spots where the owl had been recently reported and looking for whatever other birds I might see. A Steller's jay gave me an earful for coming too close to his tree, and a flock of wild turkeys was less than impressed at my presence, but for the distance I went, I was owl-less.

Getting back to the parking lot, however, a pair of birders who had passed me driving (and stopped to ask if I'd found the owl) waved at me to hurry when I was a hundred yards away, and to my dismay, surprise, and delight, the owl was just west of the parking area - literally perhaps 15 yards west, if that. He was perched dutifully in a branch, unafraid of our presence because he was over the river and well aware that we could not approach any closer. For a full quarter of an hour or more I was able to observe him - the long tail, the clear patterns of his plumage, his piercing yellow eyes. I've had the privilege to see other wild owls before, but never so closely or so clearly.

A super day indeed, and a winning one.

At Least a Lifer

On our trip to Las Vegas last month - a getaway we typically take in winter - I was able to get in some good birding, including discovering a new park to explore. At one of my favorite hotspots - the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve - I hit a jackpot of lifers, including one that seemed least of all but turned out to be a great sighting, a least sandpiper.

A short boardwalk at the preserve leads out into a shallow pond, and along the muddy shore a single peep was busy peeping his way through every crevice and cranny, searching for the next tidbit. I was able to get quite close to the bird, which was fortunate, for it was tiny! That alone is a good field mark for this species; the least sandpiper is the smallest shorebird in North America. The buff feathers with dark cores, the bright yellow legs, and the dark, slightly decurved bill were all additional clues, and a new lifer was added to my list.

It wasn't the only bird I saw for the first time on this trip; the black-tailed gnatcatcher and orange-crowned warbler also joined my life list in Vegas, and also at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve - what a winning streak of birding! I'm always amazed at the incredible diversity of birds in Las Vegas, and I have never yet failed to get a lifer when visiting that fabulous city. I can't wait to go back!

Sock-Tastic

A feeding flock of finches is a joy to watch, and I've had much of that joy in recent weeks. I have a nylon mesh sock filled with Nyjer, and while it took a couple of weeks for the birds to discover it, they have done so - with a vengeance. At first is was just a lonely lesser goldfinch or two, but their compatriots quickly joined in. Fast on their tail feathers were the American goldfinches, and shortly thereafter, the pine siskins. Now I have a hearty flock feeding daily, but fortunately, the bin of Nyjer is a generous size and there's plenty for all.

If you want to feed Nyjer to your backyard birds, I strongly recommend a heavyweight sock specially designed to hold these tiny seeds. It may look simple, but a less expensive sock will quickly be shredded under the birds' talons, and a stronger sock not only withstands more abuse, but holds more seed as well. I also have a mesh hoop beneath my feeder to catch spilled seed, and more birds are able to feed there as well - I've had up to 15 or more birds feeding at once, with room for more to join in. I hope more will visit; I've missed these birds in recent months as they've been absent from the new yard, and I'm grateful they're absent no longer.

May you have similar sock-tastic joy in your backyard!

A Birdy Goal

I can't imagine a better topic for my 200th blog post than lifers, lifers, lifers. First, my first lifer of 2012...

On one of the very few snowy days we've had this winter, I struck out to find the famed Lewis's woodpeckers not all that far from home. I'd been warned that they could be temperamental and might take awhile to show themselves in the isolated ridge they frequented, but I was eager for a lifer nonetheless and took my chances. While clear skies were evident when I left, but the time I reached the site large, fluffy snow was falling fast and my hopes were dim. Dim only for a few moments, however, because as we drove up to the ridge where the birds were noted, a suspicious lump on the side of a telephone pole resolved itself into the dark, upright shape of a woodpecker.

Only a quick glance would have been necessary to prove its identity, what with the beautiful pink plumage of the bird's underparts and the bold gray collar on the neck, but I was instantly entranced and stayed in the snow until my hair was wet and limp, my teeth chattering, and my binns protesting the poor weather. All the same, I was rewarded with spectacular views and even clear chitterings and chatterings to listen to as the bird called to its compadres, perhaps to let them know the foraging was fine, even if the snow was thick.

It is my hope that this will be only the first of many lifers I manage to add to my list this year, and I have a goal in mind - "mopping up" many of the Utah species I've not yet seen. There are quite a few to go, but if the Lewis's woodpecker is any indication, the chase will be well worthwhile. If only all the birds could be so easily counted...

Hawks-A-Plenty

I haven't posted in the past month not for want of bird action to share, but for too much to choose from. Amid new lifers, birding travel, and new species in the backyard, though, one constant has remained my companion - the backyard hawks.

Both sharp-shinned hawks and Cooper's hawks regularly visit this neighborhood, and both have found the bounty of my backyard feeders. The larger, more taciturn Cooper's hawk will stake out a spot in the yard and sit for long periods, hoping for prey to come inquisitively, incautiously, close. The sharp-shinned hawks, and I do have more than one, are less patient and will move from fence, to tree, to feeder looking for the best vantage point for dinner. I've even seen them dive into the bushes while hunting, but the bushes are thick enough to deny them dinner.

A lot of birders prefer to shoo away hawks to safeguard their more colorful, friendlier backyard birds, but I feel much the opposite. Raptors, even small urban hawks, will not visit a yard that is not a thriving environment for birds - otherwise, they'd have no prey to find. I'm always delighted to see them visit, and in the past week I've seen a pair of courting sharp-shinned hawks in my willow tree, so it's likely I'll be seeing much more of them in the weeks to come.

I hope so.

Last Year Lifer

The holidays flew past faster than sparrows chased by a hawk, but before the year ended I managed to add one more lifer to my list, taking me to a grand total of 254. About an hour's drive to the north, at a small park with a lush pond and a thriving population of domestic ducks, mallards, and wood ducks, there lurks a trio of what I believe to be the most beautiful ducks in the world - Mandarin ducks.

While it might have taken awhile to get to the park through the I-15 construction corridor and other assorted road projects along the way, it didn't take long at all to locate the ducks as Beus Pond. There is a small dock jutting out into the pond, and just to the south, a stand of rough shrubbery. On the drab winter day I visited, a short look into that shrubbery revealed a riot of color that shouldn't have been among the gray sticks and murky mud, but there it was, a Mandarin drake nestled in for a winter's nap.

He, and his two companions, didn't stay napping for long. When another visitor arrived toting a bag of bread, all the ducks and geese on the pond, including the Mandarins, made for that dock and their share of the bounty. While I don't condone feeding ducks bread, there are no laws against it at this location and it was helpful to bring these beauties out of hiding and into a better position to see their brilliant plumage. They're smaller than I'd pictured for ducks with such grand colors, but there's no missing the rainbow they portray.

Quite the satisfactory lifer to end 2011. All told, I only managed ten new lifers in the year, what with selling a house, buying another, moving, computer difficulties, work shake ups, family crises and more, but 2012 is going to be a year I put more birding on my map. Though belated, Happy New Year to you all, and here's hoping there are more birds flying into your year as well!

Three Years Already?

Last week I celebrated my third anniversary of becoming the About.com Guide to Birding / Wild Birds, and I can't believe how the time has passed so swiftly, and how the site has grown and developed. In the past three years, not only have I provided hundreds of articles on bird species, feeding birds, attracting birds, birding travel, conservation and more, but I've also done weekly newsletters, range maps, photo galleries, weekly forum contests and now the latest addition, a monthly bird photo contest.

When I took this job three years ago, my biggest worry was that one day I might grow bored with birds and that I wouldn't be able to come up with enough new information and new ideas to keep writing about with a frantic fascination. I'm astonished, however, that today I have an even longer list of "must-dos" than I had three years ago, and without exaggeration, it seems as if each week I have more ideas I can't wait to put into practice. In the coming year I hope to add even more detailed bird identification diagrams, more comprehensive lists of related content, more highlights of birding hotspots around the world, and in general just more, more, and more about birds.

Even more astonishing, however, is that each day - whether I write an article, help a reader identify a bird, respond to a forum post, or plan out my next piece - I'm always learning more about birds. I'm so glad I started on this crazy flight, and I can't imagine ever wanting to land.

Don't miss your chance to enter the December 2011 Bird Photo Contest!