Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Tibb's Eve Birding

I decided to take the better part of the day to indulge in the great outdoors. What better way to spend Tibb's Eve. Now, sipping on a glass of wine, I decided to share a little of the experience.
 It was a perfect day! Although the temperature was low, the absence of winds made for ideal conditions to get out and walk a lot. Not to mention, that is a great thing to do before the other Christmas indulgences.
 It's too bad the Christmas Bird Count didn't happen today. The woods were filled with birds on the ground, in the trees and in the air. Robins, juncos, chickadees and finches were plentiful.
 Is it any wonder? Nature has provided a great bounty of berries and cones to get many of the birds through the winter.
 Then, I encountered two Christmas fools hunting. I didn't see any ducks on the water, but they must have been there because these two were firing their guns regularly. There must have been eider flying off shore.
 Blackhead Village hosted many juncos and more Chickadees than I have seen in quite a while. There were even two Red-breasted Nuthatches visiting the feeder at the bus turnaround.
I was standing near the feeder watching the hungry birds zoom in and out, when out of the blue this Sharp-shinned Hawk whizzed into the trees in the hope of also having a good breakfast. Eating was the focus of the day as all birds were downing every morsel in sight. Unfortunately or fortunately, this guy came up empty-handed.

Tibb's Day Jingle:

Twelve Juncos Flitting
Eleven Pipers Flying
Ten Crossbills Calling
Nine Goldfinch Waving
Eight Eagles Soaring
Seven Robins Singing
Six Nuthatches Yaking
Five Chick-a-dees
Four Cawing Crows
Three Purple Finch
Two Christmas Fools
and a Sharpie in a Bare Tree.

No comments:

Post a Comment