I took Josh (the nest camera guy) and my assistants into the park for the first time since we've been here. Our field house is technically in the Mankota community pastures. The park is a few kilometers down the road. I was really excited to show them around a bit, because I love the park and I think it's absolutely beautiful.
We rope dragged one of my nest plots, but found no nests. Just walking around beforehand, though, I found a Western Meadowlark nest, and Amy found what we think was an abandonded Sharp-tailed Grouse nest with 13 eggs in it. Neither of those are species I'm studying, so the data isn't very useful. I think we'll wait another day or two before dragging again. In the meantime, we'll probably practice more bird ID out in the field.
Meanwhile, the birds have discovered our feeder with a vengeance! In just a few short days, we've gone from no birds to over a dozen at a time.
I've never seen so many White-crowned Sparrows before. They're only migrating through, but there have been dozens of them hanging around the shelter belt and the feeder.
Even more exciting, there have been several Harris's Sparrows hanging around. I had only seen one before this, and that one was in winter plumage. A Harris's in full breeding plumage is a stunning thing to see.
There has also been a Lincoln's Sparrow or two, a Spotted Towhee, a House Finch (apparently very rare in this area), a Brown Thrasher, and oodles of Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds, and Red-winged Blackbirds. Here you can see the cowbirds on top, the blackbirds (all females) on the bottom.
I hope the snow is gone for good, and look forward to more beautiful days like this. I just hope the nesting picks up soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment