Red Headed Ducks and American Coot

Was by the Laurel County Library Ponds this morning and saw two male red headed ducks and an american coot on the pond.  How beautiful.   Also saw several 6 bluebirds, a mockingbird, and 20 crows.   If you're by the library they were there today and yesterday so there's a chance they'll be there for a little while.  They are well worth the time to see.   

A fellow bird lover, Ed Talbott, of Richmond,  reported for his trip to Lake Reba, in Richmond, Kentucky, a Snow Goose, Bubblehead Duck, Hooded Mergansers, Common Goldeneye, Northern Shoveler, Ruddy Ducks and Lesser Scaup as well as Canada Geese, Coots and Mallards on January 22, 2011.  

He also counted 107 ruddy ducks, 2 bufflehead, lots of coots, several mallards and 25 + pie billed grebes and a single ring-billed gull on January 25th, with 75% of the lake covered with ice. 

So if you're in the area, these are great places to stop and enjoy. 

Killdeer

With wind whistling and snow flying, I was on our way home on KY 1006, when a bird flew across the road in front of us and landed in some large gravel.   It was a killdeer, common in Kentucky yet uncommon to this area at this time of year with the amount of snow and cold we have had recently.  Shore bird, or snow bird, that was the question when I saw this poor little killdeer flying from water hole to water hole and wading into the icy cold after something to eat.  I probably watched for 10 minutes as it worked feverishly with the snow flying around it, the only thing that kept this water from freezing was that it was running slightly.  Scenes like this make me ever aware of how difficult this weather is for the birds, yet how they are also prepared by God to survive.  

People who travel south to warmer climates are called “Snowbirds”, originating from the song “Snowbird”, made popular by Anne Murray:  

             “Spread your tiny wings and fly away

              And take the snow back with you

              Where it came from on that day ……..

              So, little Snowbird, take me with you when you go

              To that land of gentle breezes where the peaceful waters flow”

I don’t know if you’re truly a snowbird, if you leave the cold, but to have a little shorebird here in the middle of winter made me think twice about how we complain about the cold.  With the prospects of  beaches, mud flats and oyster beds, verses snow, wind, icy water and more of it to come, you would think it would have moved south.   Surely it will find enough food to give it the energy to move on to a warmer climate.

Wilson Snipe

This species, an upland bird, measures close to 11" and is one of the few shorebirds that can still be hunted legally. It stays well hidden in ground cover, flushes abruptly, and zigzags sharply in flight, which make it difficult to shoot and therefore a favorite among hunters. They perform a spectacular aerial territorial display in which the feathers of the tail produce an eerie whistling sound. Although the Wilson's Snipe generally migrates in flocks at night, during the day the birds scatter and usually feed alone. They seek food early in the morning and in late afternoon, and seem to be more active on cloudy days. They use their long bills to probe deeply in the mud to find small insects such as earthworms, crayfish, mollusks, frogs and even seed.

Breeds in bogs, fens, swamps, and around the marshy edges of ponds, rivers, and brooks. Forages in marshes, wet meadows, wet fields, and the marshy edges of streams and ditches.

Cool Facts:

The long bill of the Wilson's Snipe is flexible. The tips can be opened and closed with no movement at the base of the bill. Sensory pits at the tip of the bill allow the snipe to feel its prey deep in the mud.

The clutch size of the Wilson's Snipe is almost always four eggs. The male snipe takes the first two chicks to hatch and leaves the nest with them. The female takes the last two and cares for them. Apparently the parents have no contact after that point

The nest is a neat, woven cup of grass placed on the ground, often in hummock of grass close to or surrounded by water.

"A Birding we will go"

a birding we will go,  hi- ho the dairy- o’ a birding we will go”.  That’s practically what we’ve been singing for the last few weeks.   On the 18^th of December we had the pleasure of taking part in the first official Christmas Bird Count for Williamsburg, KY.  We traveled over 89 miles and spotted 77 species.  Among the 77 species that were seen, the most favored by our crew was the Wilson’s Snipe we spotted as were looking for a belted king fisher that was serenading us, on Tidal Wave Road. We sat mesmerized and in disbelieve for about 20 minutes as they never moved from their spot, allowing us to get lots of good pictures.  I don’t know about you, but snipe hunting was always joked about when I was a kid.  The old prank was a practical joke that involves experienced people making fun of credulous newcomers by giving them an impossible or imaginary task, along with a preposterous method of catching it, such as running around the woods carrying a bag or making strange noises such as banging rocks together. 

   

On December 31^st 2010. We did the 3rd Official Annual London Christmas Bird Count, as a group we saw 66 species, and amazingly we saw and photographed two more snipe off Ky. 521.   We just feel tremendously lucky and blessed at all the species we saw.   The numbers were down quite a bit in water birds, but we had a great day in our 15 mile radius which included, Levi Jackson, some of Wood Creek, and Laurel Lake as well as many country roads, neighborhoods, and cemeteries.   We were joined by the Somerset Bird Club, a local teenager, Carlo Shivel, from London, and Dave Powell a gentleman from Floyd County.   We had several people from the community stop by Burkmann’s Backyard Birds to pick up checklist to participate in their own backyard if they lived within the 15 mile radius that we had designated.  The dead line for those checklist to be turn in to us is February 1^st 2011.

The last Christmas Bird Count we participated in was on January 1^st 2011, Carlo Shivel, Dave Powell and several other groups met in Nancy, Kentucky at 7:30 a.m. to do the count with the Somerset Bird Club, On that day the group saw a total of 88 species, no snipe unfortunately, but we did get several ring billed gulls, a gadwall, lots of great blue herons and several Canada geese.   By 5:30 p.m. it was just getting dark and we met to collect our numbers.  

What a great way to end a year and start a New Year, doing something we love and adding species to our life lists.