Great Backyard Bird Count Results

This past weekend was the Great Backyard Bird Count. I did two counts; the first was when I took Desert Boy for a sled ride down the road. We didn't actually see the Canada geese pictured above during the count, but we saw them a little later in the day--hundreds down in the feed yard. 

On our walk we saw a bald eagle, ravens, American robins, northern flickers, and European starlings within a half-hour time span. One of the advantages of birding in the winter is there aren't so many birds around, so it's easier.

Later during the weekend I went up on the mountain and did some cross-country skiing. The snow was relatively deep, so there weren't too many birds around. But I found several red-breasted nuthatches hanging out in a white fir, eating the little seeds. There was also a mountain chickadee, a Townsend's solitaire singing its repetitive whistle, and a raven. Not too much, but they are still hardier than I am, being able to hang out so long in the cold and snow! 

It won't be too long until the migratory birds start coming through. One of the neatest things about birding is that you don't have to go anywhere to see bright and colorful birds come and visit from a whole bunch of different states and even countries.