Crazy Like a Fox...

 While a fox's actions appear arbitrary and foolish......



 A fox's main goal is to...

 catch dinner.  Not so crazy, non?

Thanks to Vencka for snapping some pics of our neighborhood beauty.

Happy President's Day...

Abraham Lincoln's Sparrow

Piping Plover Cleveland

And, then there is ....
George W. Bushtit
Chuck-will's-widow Wilson
Hairy Woodpecker Truman
Barack American Oystercatcher
Chester A. Anhinga....

Don't forget ... it's GBBC time

    In fact, GBBC has already begun. We always try to call it Greater Backyard Bird Count, as if it were a bird species, to be compared with the Lesser Backyard Bird Count, and the Intermediate ... oh well, never mind.

   It's great, alright. All the information you need, including tutorials, FAQs, and place to enter your sightings is right  here.

   As of 6pm-ish this evening, here are the stats so far:

  _ Total Checklists Submitted: 4,064

  _ Total Species Observed: 409

  _ Total Individual Birds Counted: 349,166

Gotta go. Time to go Great(er) Backyard Birding...

Peter, Peter, Peter...

I love the Tufted Titmouse's song this time of the year...

No matter how much snow is still on the ground..his echo of "Peter, Peter, Peter",  seems to say... spring is just around the corner

Hmmm.. I suppose I am the only bird that sings "Warren, Warren, Warren..."
Anytime of the year....

Happy lovers' day!

Darling....

... I otter be known as the luckiest guy on Earth. Life with you feels like we are always playing and splashing and swishing our tails...

 

You are my bluebird of happiness....

I'd be a Hermit Thrush without you!

  

Happy Valentine's Day 2011, Lisa!

Batwoman and Penguin(s)

   Princess and I went to the monthly meeting of the Anne Arundel Bird Club on Friday evening, something we don't do nearly often enough due to our hectic schedules. The topic of the evening was not birds, but bats, and boy did we learn a lot from listening to Nina Fascione, the executive director of Bat Conservation International.

   We learned how essential bats are to our way of life - who knew? - because of their role in controlling insects and pollinating plants. We learned that there are roughly 1,100 species of bats worldwide, or about 1/5th of all mammal species. And we learned, sadly, about White Nose Syndrome, a fungus that has spread rapidly since it was discovered in a New York cave in 2006. Mortality rates for infected colonies can be a staggering 90 percent.

   We are glad "BatCon," or Bat Conservation International, is there to help. Their cool website is here.

   There's no Robin in this post, and we're going to move straight from Batwoman (sorry, Nina) to The Penguins in the form of the Anne Arundel County Bird Club's annual, and always excellent, Heise lecture. This lecture attracts first-rate speakers, and this year's event, on March 10, will feature conservationist and penguin expert Steven Sorro. The flyer is below. If you live anywhere in the DC and suburban Maryland area, and are interested in conservation, you won't want to miss it.

Must-watch video: "I Saw A Rare Bird"

This animated video, from writer/blogger Laura Kamemrmeier, is hilarious, and reminds us of too many interactions we've seen between birders arguing over a bird ID!

Weekend Rarities...

Cute Husband and I found ourselves without electricity last Friday at 3PM until sometime Saturday afternoon.  We built a raging fire and slept under loads of blankets and woke to a 42 degree house.  

But, the car had heat!

Warren captured this Northern Shrike which we had missed earlier in January to add to our big January total.

Pine Siskins continued at our home feeders.  A lovely thistle mix from the Wild Bird Center has been our ticket to finally attracting Pine Siskins to the yard. 

Oh, and of course, the raccoons like it too!

Sunday morning (only 2 days left of January!) called for a 5AM wake up to visit this lovely fellow in St. Mary's County.  This guy should be in Mexico this time of year, not in Maryland, so the early wake up was worth it.

Plus, the Yellow-headed Blackbird selected one of the sweetest people in the birding world to visit. 

Thank you, Patricia, for letting us invade your kitchen, look through your amazing photography and sit in comfy warmth waiting for our 116th bird of 2011!