Wednesday, November 26, 2008

At Home and at Work


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I was feeling aggrieved yesterday: People from all over our area had been reporting American Goldfinches but I hadn't spotted any, even though I'd been out and about quite a lot. Well, I'm feeling better now because I've finally seen my FOS American Goldfinch. I glanced out of our front window at lunchtime yesterday and there it was, feeding on our thistle sock feeder.

The Goldfinch wasn't the only bird in our yard at lunchtime. Dee and I had great views of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet that hovered around and finally settled on one of our suet feeders. It's probably the longest view we've ever had of a Ruby-crowned, which are normally very fidgety birds.

The most numerous yard visitors today were our usual 6-7 House Finches and a dozen or so White-winged Doves, which jostled constantly for position on our lawn and on the birdbath. Other birds that were around at the same time were a Blue Jay, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Downy Woodpecker and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

CyFair College
I've started carrying my camera and binoculars whenever I walk around the campus - and it has already paid results. Walking between buildings yesterday afternoon, I had good views of a Cooper's Hawk and then a Laughing Gull.

I also caught glimpses of my FOS White-throated Sparrow!
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White-throated Sparrow


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As I'd spotted an American Pipit on the campus in the morning, that made three FOS birds in one day.
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American Pipit


Thanksgiving


I won't be posting again until next week, because Dee and I are driving to New Orleans later today to spend Thanksgiving with some old friends. Unfortunately, our friends are not birders and so I don't expect to be able to fit in any birding while we're in Louisiana.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the goldfinch. They always brighten our days. And happy Thanksgiving!

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  2. That sparrow is a pretty bird. I don't think I've ever seen one of those.

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