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#89738
Here is the second Days/Kilometers challenge ....
The rules: 1) Between the 20th to the 30th of August ... (2) Record how many species of birds you see within 10 Kilometers of your home. (3) Try to capture them in photos if you can; if not, ok! (4) Post your numbers and your four 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 Games Continue!
James
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#89749
I finally got around to doing some birding from other than my back patio. I went to 2 local parks, Elgin and Blackie Spit (I only walked the spit and didn't go into the park), but for the most part was disappointed in that neither was very birdy. Mind you it was not the best time, being late in the morning, but it was about an hour before high tide so I was hoping for some more shorebird action. The birds had other plans though. For what it's worth here's the list, from memory so there's a good chance that I've forgotten a few:
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Great Blue Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Gulls (lots of those but they were distant so I couldn’t accurately ID them)
House Finch
Western Sandpiper

Wow, now that I see it in writing that really is a dismal list! I'm going to try for Brydon Lagoon tomorrow, but I think that falls out of the 10 km range.

ImageWestern Sandpiper by Jewill on Flickr

ImageGreater Yellowlegs by Jewill on Flickr
#89755
Well it seems that I didn't read the challenge in it's entirety (What? You're supposed to read the instructions first! That's no fun.) I now realize that we were supposed to count all 10 days together, not just 1. No matter though because the only trip I made was the aforementioned to Elgin Park and Blackie Spit. I just don't go out very often anymore due to Covid19. I find too many people are not practising social distancing and I have more than 1 risk factor for the disease. 95% of my birding is from my back yard and I'm fortunate enough to live next to a green space with a creek so there are lots of birds and other critters around.
Anyway getting back to the challenge - for my 10 days, 10 kilometers list I have the following:
(from my 1 outing)
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Great Blue Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Gulls (lots of those but they were distant so I couldn’t accurately ID them)
House Finch
Western Sandpiper

And from home, most of the regulars made an appearance:
American Goldfinch
American Robin
Anna’s Hummingbird
Barred Owl – this time he graced me with his presence (see photo below)
Bewick’s Wren
Black-capped Chickadee (included above)
Black-headed Grosbeak
Bushtit
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Downy Woodpecker
House Finch (included above)
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Steller’s Jay

The grand total is: 22 different species in the 10 days (again I didn't write anything down so may be missing 1 or 2).

Just this morning the Juvenile Barred Owl paid a visit and very close to me too! When I went out on the patio to have a morning coffee he was perched on the fence less than 12 feet away. I didn't notice him at first and he wasn't at all concerned about my opening the door, walking around and getting my mug, iPad & camera in order. It was when I sat down that I noticed him sitting there staring at me. He stayed about 5 minutes looking around and not finding any mice he flew off to do Barred Owl stuff I guess.

ImageBarred Owl (Juvenile) by Jewill on Flickr

There are many different species that are breeding in the green space and it's fun to watch the babies go from hatchling to fledgling to juvenile.

ImageBlack-headed Grosbeak (Juvenile) by Jewill on Flickr

I hope other birders will participate in this challenge too. (BTW James - good idea, keep 'em coming)
#89765
It's funny -- I knew the rules but I kept forgetting to identify birds when I was out! haha. I did make it out one day to four sites within 10KM of my house ... the Dump, Robert's Lake, Chichester Park, and Munson Pond. They all are great locations--the birding was good ... from 20 to 30 August, when I remembered, I counted 32 species ...
Blackbird, Brewers
Blackbird, Red-winged
Chickadee, Black-capped
Coot, American
Dove, Eurasian-collared
Dove, Mourning
Duck, Ruddy
Duck, Wood
Eagle, Bald
Finch, House
Flicker, Northern
Goldfinch, American
Goose, Canada
Hawk, Red-tailed
Heron, Great Blue
Kingbird, Eastern
Kingfisher, Belted
Magpie, Black-billed
Mallard
Nuthatch, White-breasted
Osprey, Northern
Quail, California
Robin, American
Sandpiper, Spotted
Sparrow, House
Starling
Swallow, Barn
Swallow, Northern Rough-winged
Towhee, Spotted
Vulture, Turkey
Warbler, Wilson's
Waxwing, Cedar

I was thrilled to see a pair of Kingfishers at Munson Pond in Kelowna. That place really produces nice results for such a small park. Here's one of them hunting (the female, I think) ... sitting on the branch, fishing.
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There was a pair of Osprey hunting as well ... different type of hunt ...
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This pond also hosts Wood Ducks through the summer ... I snapped this guy in his fall colors:
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At Robert's Lake, I saw this beautiful Killdeer.
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Finally, at the house we have a rock with a frog on it. It gets many visitors a day ... here are a couple:
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Enjoy!
James
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