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Monday, February 16, 2015

Scenes From The Great Backyard Bird Count

It was a good bird count this year. On a trip to Branched Oak Lake in Raymond, NE we counted 17 Bald Eagles, and a day earlier someone saw 106! They're migrating now, and the numbers are quite mind boggling for a species that was down to a couple hundred breeding pairs in the 70's. 


All photographs taken by Danny.
 Harris' Sparrow at Ak Sar Ben aquarium.
 Myrtle variety Golden Rumped Warbler. I don't like how it is looking at me!
 Bald Eagle at Branched Oak Lake
 Downy Woodpecker (backyard) Omaha
 Red Head ducks (male and female) Branched Oak lake
 Canada Geese
Immature Bald Eagle. 

Species total for the four days was 25! 
Hundreds, and hundreds of birds. 

*But wait* There's MORE!
If you like keeping track of birds, you don't need to wait for next year. ebird.org goes year-round. 
I knew you'd be excited.


I also learned that Branched Oak Lake has "Excellent opportunities for taking crappie and wipers." I guess "excellent" is subjective because all I saw by way of facilities was a hole in the ground.





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8 comments:

  1. Beth Waltz11:00 AM

    Ah, here a feathered friend or two, new to my acquaintance...! I live next to a small river banked by huge sycamores. In years past those trees provided accommodation for bats. Just last year one was homesteaded by a pair of Bald Eagles, immigrants from Lake Monroe. These guys are now the alpha predators: They eat fish, rodents, snakes, rabbits and alas! small cats. "Nature raw in tooth and claw...," said somebody.

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  2. Goody12:46 PM

    @Beth Waltz

    Danny says that since cats eat so many birds, it is just payback time.

    You try eating fish day after day, after day...:)

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  3. Curtise1:14 PM

    Well done, Danny.
    Crappie and wipers? Sounds like a firm of dodgy solicitors. Or dentists. Or gastro-enterologists... xxx

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  4. Jayne H3:41 PM

    We have Red Kites in our back garden which were successfully re-introduced to the Chilterns area of the UK in recent years. Love the photos and trust you to find the lavatorial humour :)

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  5. Connie5:27 PM

    Danny. These photos are terrific. I know how difficult it is to take bird photos. You are a true artist.

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  6. Goody7:34 PM

    @Curtise
    Plumbers. They have to be plumbers.

    @Jayne
    I asked Danny at dinner if he'd heard of a Red Kite, and he put down his fork, thought for a moment and said,
    "I think they live in the UK." He's impressed that you have them in your garden.

    @Connie
    He's really getting interested in posting them to his er...Flicker account (but is it a Northern Flicker?). Most of these photos were taken from behind windows, which is remarkable to me as I can never take a good photo from indoors.

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  7. Sue1:59 AM

    Tell Danny I loved all his photos. Especially the Bald Eagle one.

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  8. Mim9:24 AM

    Wow, I had no idea that there were so many Bald Eagles around! They must be amazing to see.

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