Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Birds Are Returning

Yesterday was a beautiful day for the last day of February. The sun shone and the temperature reached 68 degrees Fahrenheit in the afternoon. We drove up to Lake St. Mary's, a lake dug out when the canals were put in. That's a story for another day.

Birds are beginning to migrate north through our area. We saw a few American coots, Hooded Mergansers, Lesser scaups, Ruddy ducks, and Gadwalls.  We were hoping to see a Common loon.  The only time we are lucky enough to see them is early in the spring and then only for a short time.

Tom took his favorite field guide.



 

Tom likes this page when we are identifying sparrows.

And I took my favorite field guide.



I like the easy guide to the various types of birds inside the front and back covers.

We had two other books in the van as well.



This one is great because it eliminates all birds except the ones we can expect to find.



The Sibley Guide to Birds is a little larger than a standard guide, too large to carry easily in a pocket but it has detailed desciptions which are a great help when we are in a quandary about what we are seeing.




We haven't given up on seeing a Common Loon this spring so we'll be going out birding again shortly.

1 comment:

  1. It's nice to meet a fellow birder. I love bird watching. Before walking became difficult for me I used to go out birding with my field guide too. It's a great hobby. I hope you get to see a loon this spring. I am envious of your opportunity. We don't see them in my area.

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