Went to Pine Creek Important Bird Area with the parents today. Mom and I have been meaning to get up there during the fall migration for three years now, and this year finally managed it. I’m not sure why Dad goes along on bird-watching expeditions, because he spent most of the day sitting in the car. Apparently he just likes riding around in the car with us. Anyway, we had a good time. We hiked a few miles of grassland at Pine Creek (which is not currently a creek, thanks to the drought), then drove over to Willow Slough on the state line. We added a few lifelist birds and spotted some other exciting birds.
We’re getting a lot better at warbler identification, thanks to my Audubon Birds app on my iPhone. If we have a bird narrowed down but aren’t quite certain, listening to the calls always cinches an ID for us.
Our lifelist birds were:
- Sedge Wren (at Pine Creek)
- Black-and-White Warbler (at Willow Slough)
- Blackpoll Warbler (at Willow Slough)
- Black-Throated Green Warbler (at Willow Slough)
In addition, at Willow Slough we saw two Great Egrets, three Sandhill Cranes, several Great Blue Herons, two Belted Kingfishers, and one Bald Eagle! Along with the remarkable birds, we also saw the usual blue jays, catbirds, crows, and of course, lots of my spirit bird, the turkey vulture. *G*
Came home, made supper, paid bills, and read a little bit of Writer’s Digest. Now I need to sit down and get some writing done.
