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Another 2020 Challenge: 1 Day, 1 Kilometer!

Posted: Aug 08 8:33 pm
by stumblingpiper
Hi Everyone, I'd thought I'd put another challenge out for everyone -- finish out the summer strong.
Here's the rules: 1) Pick one (1) day between now and August 15th ... (2) Record how many birds you see within 1 Kilometer of your home on that day. (3) Try to capture them in photos if you can; if not, ok! (4) Post your numbers for the Day and your two favorite pictures from the activity! I look forward to seeing what you see, what you photograph, and any anecdotes you may have from the challenge! Let the Game Begin!
James

Re: Another 2020 Challenge: 1 Day, 1 Kilometer!

Posted: Aug 10 6:13 pm
by jewill
Now here's one I can get into since about 95% of my birding is from home now. All of this was recorded on Sunday, August 9th, 2020 from my patio. Nothing out of the ordinary (for South Surrey) in the way of species but this is the first time I've made an attempt to count them. Some of them are just estimates since they come and go so fast it's hard to get an accurate count.

American Crow – 60 or more heading south to roost just before sunset
American Goldfinch - 1
American Robin - 2
Anna’s Hummingbird - 2
Barred Owl – 1 (Okay, it was 10 pm so I didn’t actually lay eyes on him, but he was there hooting away!)
Bewick’s Wren - 1
Black-capped Chickadee – 10 or so
Black-headed Grosbeak - 1
Bushtit – 15 or so
Chestnut-backed Chickadee – 5 or 6
Downy Woodpecker - 2
House Finch - 2
Northern Flicker - 3
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Red-tailed Hawk – 1 (soaring high above the trees)
Song Sparrow – 5 or 6
Spotted Towhee – 5 or 6
Steller’s Jay - 1

The American Goldfinch is a common bird but I hardly ever see them! Maybe 3 or 4 times a year I get 1 or 2 checking things out in the back greenspace.
ImageAmerican Goldfinch (Male) by Jewill on Flickr

This is a young Steller's Jay and he certainly made his presence known by loudly squawking and chasing the other birds away from the feeder. I finally relented and gave him a peanut, but that wasn't enough! In the end I probably gave him 10 or more and each time he would take off and stash it somewhere for later consumption.
ImageSteller's Jay (Juvenile) by Jewill on Flickr

I hope others will contribute to this thread. While I haven't been able to add anything new to the 2020 Big Year Challenge, I sure have been enjoying the recent photos that have been posted.

Re: Another 2020 Challenge: 1 Day, 1 Kilometer!

Posted: Aug 12 8:34 am
by stumblingpiper
jewill wrote: Aug 10 6:13 pm I hope others will contribute to this thread. While I haven't been able to add anything new to the 2020 Big Year Challenge, I sure have been enjoying the recent photos that have been posted.
Excellent post, Judy! I'm doing mine today ... James

Re: Another 2020 Challenge: 1 Day, 1 Kilometer!

Posted: Aug 12 10:02 pm
by stumblingpiper
Well, today was my day, but I wasn't able to put as much focus on it as I wanted ... However, I did see quite a large number of birds! I was able to get over to a pond (within a kilometer) and that helped. Here's my list: 20 different species today ...

House Finch = 20+
American Goldfinch = 15+
Red-winged Blackbird – 30 +
Eurasian-collared Dove – 10+
American Robin – 15+
Mountain Chickadee – 4+
Starling – 4+
Northern Flicker – 1
Seagull (sp) – 5+
Mourning Dove – 5+
California Quail – 50+
House Sparrow – 2
Song Sparrow – 1
Great Blue Heron – 1
Spotted Towhee – 2
Pygmy Nuthatch – 3
American Coot – 5+
Ruddy Duck – 5
Mallard – 10+
Brewer’s Blackbird – 5+

My favorite two birds today were the Ruddy Duck (a couple of shots of this juvenile):
(A cute little puffball).
Image

Image

The other one was this juvenile red-winged blackbird:
Image

Actually, neither was my favorite, but they were the best photos I took all day. haha. Good luck, everyone else!
James
(P.s. - What I meant to say in the challenge was the total species seen not the total bird count ... but thank you Judy for not calling me out on it and participating! haha).

Re: Another 2020 Challenge: 1 Day, 1 Kilometer!

Posted: Aug 13 11:14 am
by jewill
stumblingpiper wrote: (P.s. - What I meant to say in the challenge was the total species seen not the total bird count ... but thank you Judy for not calling me out on it and participating! haha).
Huh? Actually I was the one that got it backwards! Mine should have said 18 species seen and 1 heard but counted anyway since he’s always out back in the greenspace hooting ‘who cooks for you?’ (Not that it matters, but I cook for me :lol: ).
Anyway, nice list James. I love that Ruddy duckling - his bill is almost as big as he is!
I like to see the different species from each area - ones that you may see all the time (like the California Quail) are quite unusual here. That’s why I’m hoping more people will participate and add their lists.

Re: Another 2020 Challenge: 1 Day, 1 Kilometer!

Posted: Aug 16 3:06 pm
by stumblingpiper
Hi Everyone! If you would still like to participate in this challenge -- please do! Extended until the end of August! :) (like you need a deadline to post something. haha)