Hundreds of Blackbirds!

Hundreds of Blackbirds showed up in the yard today during their migration. I got some video footage. Unfortunately the sound of them ended up sounding like a dull, pulsating roar. Mostly Common Grackles.

Last Friday Walk Down the Road

Ehh, just a simple species seen list:

Black-capped Chickadee
Gray Catbird
American Robin
American Goldfinch
Turkey Vulture
Blue Jay
House Wren
American Crow
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Finch
Chipping Sparrow
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Northern Cardinal
Cedar Waxwing
Mallard
European Starling

My Favorite Stretch of Road and In the Yard Today

View Larger Map

Above is a map of my favorite stretch of road, on 30 Mile Road/Calhoun Road between D Drive North and H Drive North. It is right on the border between Calhoun and Jackson County. Especially where Rice Creek meets the road, there is some beautiful things to discover. For example years ago there used to be Yellow Ladyslippers by the edge of the road. A couple of pictures:


Some of the plants near the bridge


The Bridge over Rice Creek

In the Yard Today:
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Northern Cardinal
Gray Catbird
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
American Crow (heard)

Basically I got a new set of small speakers, took my mp3 player outside and played a chickadee scold. Immediately a couple of Black-caps and White-breasted Nuthatches came to investigate. As an experiment I actually played a Carolina Chickadee call. Anyway, some catbirds were mad at me again for some reason, and there were some Cardinals chipping again, but I didn't see any warblers.

What's in the yard today

Species in yard today:
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Cardinal
Canada Goose (heard)
Red-tailed Hawk (heard)
American Crow (heard)

Not much going on today, except mosquitoes! I tried to phish in some warblers, but I couldn't find any. In the spring before, I was able to find 12 species or warbler in the yard in one day!

The Problems with Outside Cats

I live with relatives that keep outside cats. It's a huge problem. First, it's the perfect place to hang bird feeders, but the cats make it impossible for the birds to eat in peace. I'm glad they didn't find the hummingbird feeder yet. Outside cats kill millions of birds a year.

Second, outside cats are more likely to get killed. Two, yes, I said two cats around here got hit by cars today. I loved those cats and it was sad to see them go. If you love your kitties and the wild birds, please keep them inside!

Also spay/neuter your pets and make sure if you get a new pet to rescue one from a local shelter.

Fastest Job Responce Ever

Okay, so not nature related, but I applied for a job today via email and got a request for a phone interview 5 minutes later... craziness! Anyway, yeah, I'm looking for job still, but wow seriously 5 minutes!

I had nothing else to talk about today, except I did some job testing stuff all day.

Soon, I hope to get more Hummingbird footage and make a longer video.