Most migrating birds gave the CyFair campus a miss this fall, and most of our winter residents haven't arrived yet. So there hasn't been a lot to see on my walks around the campus. However, this has given me an opportunity to focus on common birds that I don't usually pay attention to.
Over the summer I saw Mourning Doves on every walk. Since then some Mourning Doves have remained but they have definitely been outnumbered by White-winged Doves.
Although we don't seem to have anything like as many Northern Mockingbirds as we used to have, it is still impossible to walk anywhere on campus without hearing or seeing several. This one greets me every time I start walking along the nature trail.
Lately the chipping of the Mockingbirds has often been punctuated by the "fee-bee" call of Eastern Phoebes.
Great-tailed Grackles appear in groups all over the campus and particularly in and around the parking lots. Females have been particularly numerous.
Like most people who live in our area, I tend to take Northern Cardinals for granted. However, this week I just had to stop to look at a male Cardinal whose plumage positively glowed in the early morning sunlight. What a stunning bird!
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Great post Jeff .... we all take some of our birds for granted and yes when we take a backward step and reflect it brings it all home as to how very special some of these are. Of course the Cardinal is a no brainer
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dave. We who live here tend to take the N Cardinal (the "Red Bird") for granted but it is usually the bird that most impresses visitors we get from the UK.
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