July 7, 2019
Welcome back Backyard BirdRacers!
The Daily Kos Backyard BirdRace is a birding “competition” where, over the course of one year, participants strive to identify how many bird species - by sight and/or by sound - from their yards.
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Sounds have helped again this month for me. That Osprey overhead? Heard its utterly distinctive chirp and looked up. It circled and then headed off to the beach. I also heard a new owl at night in the dark, our Western Screech owl, which has a very different call than the Eastern. Not screechy.
A refresher on the BirdRace this year:
In January, we introduced the new and revised version of the Backyard BirdRace.
This time around, we each watch for birds in our yard — however you want to define that — and keep a list of them to share here each month in the BirdRace diary. We’ll each be keeping track of our own bird lists this time. eBird is a very easy way to do that. Or you can write them down in a notebook.
We hope to generate some conversation amongst us comparing and contrasting who we see, and perhaps find some insights into the world of birds as they intersect with our lives.
The “race” aspect is a form of gentle humorous encouragement to keep watching throughout the year…. perhaps you will see more birds than you thought, or than you saw last year or a decade ago, or your fellow regional kossacks, or other birdracers who live in the same kind of setting as yourself. It’s all a discovery, and meant to be fun.
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So if you’d like to participate, please list the birds you’ve seen, naming your general locale and type of setting. Pointing out who are the new birds since last month will be useful information too.
For me up to July:
- My general locale is coastal northwest Washington state, a mix of habitats from shrubs to woods to roadside to beach overlook.
- New birds: 5. New total for me: 65
- All but one of my new birds are summer migrants.
New birds since last tally:
Western Screech-Owl (at night, heard only)
Osprey (flying by overhead, calling)
Cedar Waxwing (in a tree)
Orange-crowned Warbler (in my blueberry patch)
House Wren ( I posted a Bucket about her yesterday)
Please add your latest Birdrace update a comment below about who you’re seeing and any interesting behavior as we move into breeding season.
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And of course as always, we welcome your notes about any aspect of nature in your area.
This diary is also The Daily Bucket for today.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge.
We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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We continue with typical early summer weather here at my place in the Pacific Northwest islands. Partly cloudy with temps in the 50s at night, 60s in the daytime. My tomatoes are dragging their heels, even those in the greenhouse.
What’s up in nature in your area?
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IT'S A GREAT WAY TO CATCH UP ON DIARIES YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED. BE SURE TO RECOMMEND AND COMMENT IN THE DIARY.
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