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When I was home, I did not notice too many birds! This is somewhat normal, because the weather is still too cold for many species to frequent my yard and the other areas I go around town during this time of March. In spring, the amount of birds in the area definitely picks up. However, while I was there I did see a few species I recognized....
---In my yard I saw American tree sparrows on several occasions. These birds are tiny, and have a sort of brown spotty coloring. My dad told me these birds are usually around during the cold months and like to sit in the many trees we have in our back and side yards.
These bird is one of my favorites because we have a ceramic sparrow tree ornament that sits on our Christmas tree and looks identical to the real bird! Seeing this bird brings me good feelings and memories of my family.
---I also noticed American crows in my backyard almost daily. They seem to really like the many trees we have in our backyard as well, and I always see them in groups- usually between 2 and 5. They make such an obnoxious cawing noise, but I appreciate them for what they are (just not in the morning hours!). These birds are around a lot, and I've seen them in many places around town in addition to my yard.
---In the shopping centers and more towards the inner city, I see seagulls everywhere! New Britain is not particularly close to the shore by any means so I've always been puzzled by their constant presence in these areas. I think of them as scavengers, sort of like the rats of the sky. If you can't tell, I'm not the biggest fan of seagulls. None the less, they have a constant presence in these areas of my town. Although, thankfully, not in my backyard!
---Driving on the highways and while driving to my friend's houses across town, I spotted a red-tailed hawk on several occasions. I see these hawks pretty frequently when I'm home in Connecticut. It is always fun to be driving on the highway and see one of these birds, especially because it reminds me of the great thrill my little brother got when he was younger and would identify one of these birds.
---Unfortunately, I didn't see my actual favorite bird while home- the northern cardinal!
I love cardinals for their beautiful color and coifed hair do! Or feather-do rather. Seeing these birds in my yard is always a treat, because although I get to see them in my yard occasionally, I never know when one might pop up! It is one bird even my mother, the bird hater, likes to see! I was disappointed to not have seen any cardinals while I was home- and even more disappointed to learn from my mother that she has not seen any in a while. I wonder why that may be.....
I really enjoyed reading Early Spring over my vacation. It opened up my eyes to the day-to-day changes in nature resulting from global warming. I especially enjoyed the chapters on birds and butterflies! The former had prevalence in my mind as I scouted my home for bird species this break, and I will keep it in mind as I scout my place in Burlington for the bird species that frequent it.
it's sweet that you associate different memories to different birds! It's interesting that the cardinals haven't been around lately especially since they don't migrate for the winter (I just learned that from Jenny's blog). I hope that they return from their hiding spot soon for you!
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are enjoying Amy's book on the world's changing phenology, Olivia. It will indeed be interesting to record arrival times of birds and butterflies, and see how these compare to the past and to the future.
ReplyDeleteI never really paid much attention to birds until we've started talking about them in class. Reading Early Spring is very eye opening, I never knew how much these phenology changes are messing up the birds and other animals. Its kind of scary to think what will happen in 50 or so years...
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