Beverlybaynes
Saturday 25th January 2003, 22:25
I had to go get some bird food today, so decided to leave a little early and do a little birding along the way.
I drive out to a small locally-owned feed and grain place in the northeastern part of my county. The farmland around it is heavily Amish, and can often provide some interesting birding. I'd like to believe that it's because they generally employ more old-fashioned farming techniques, still using horses, and (I hope) using fewer chemicals on their fields. It's a real variety of land usage: grain, corn and bean fields, small grasslands, and pastures, not to mention dozens of small gardens and LOTS of martin houses!
But it's been really cold around here for several weeks, and the birds just weren't out there today. I DID see four Red-Tailed Hawks, always a pleasure, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker (female) busily working a telephone pole, and a beautiful male Kestrel hunting for breakfast.
The Kestrel was along a stretch of road where I've seen a Kestrel family for the last 2 years, so I'm hoping he'll raise another there this year. I saw them once with their babies, teaching them to balance on telephone wires, and to swoop down into the grassy shoulder of the gravel road to hunt. They were a delight to watch!
The highlight was seeing Belgians frolicking in a field to get warm! It's like seeing elephants dance! It always amazes me how many horses we have here, in a county that is home to the second-largest city (around 220,000) in the state. The county is large, however, about 600 sq mi (isn't that about the size of Greater London?), and we have a large Amish community in the more rural areas. One of my great memories of birding in this area in spring was seeing a hitch of 12 Belgians plowing a field. That's a LOT of horsepower!
The other highlight was buying suet at 79 cents each, with a 10% discount if I buy a case of 10 -- it's generally $1.29-1.79 at the stores in town. I know I could save even more by making my own, but this gives me the opportunity to support a small family-owned business.
The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the temp was reaching for the mid-20s for the first time in weeks! And tonight, an all-Mozart concert! What a good day!
I drive out to a small locally-owned feed and grain place in the northeastern part of my county. The farmland around it is heavily Amish, and can often provide some interesting birding. I'd like to believe that it's because they generally employ more old-fashioned farming techniques, still using horses, and (I hope) using fewer chemicals on their fields. It's a real variety of land usage: grain, corn and bean fields, small grasslands, and pastures, not to mention dozens of small gardens and LOTS of martin houses!
But it's been really cold around here for several weeks, and the birds just weren't out there today. I DID see four Red-Tailed Hawks, always a pleasure, a Red-Bellied Woodpecker (female) busily working a telephone pole, and a beautiful male Kestrel hunting for breakfast.
The Kestrel was along a stretch of road where I've seen a Kestrel family for the last 2 years, so I'm hoping he'll raise another there this year. I saw them once with their babies, teaching them to balance on telephone wires, and to swoop down into the grassy shoulder of the gravel road to hunt. They were a delight to watch!
The highlight was seeing Belgians frolicking in a field to get warm! It's like seeing elephants dance! It always amazes me how many horses we have here, in a county that is home to the second-largest city (around 220,000) in the state. The county is large, however, about 600 sq mi (isn't that about the size of Greater London?), and we have a large Amish community in the more rural areas. One of my great memories of birding in this area in spring was seeing a hitch of 12 Belgians plowing a field. That's a LOT of horsepower!
The other highlight was buying suet at 79 cents each, with a 10% discount if I buy a case of 10 -- it's generally $1.29-1.79 at the stores in town. I know I could save even more by making my own, but this gives me the opportunity to support a small family-owned business.
The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the temp was reaching for the mid-20s for the first time in weeks! And tonight, an all-Mozart concert! What a good day!