What I've Been Up to this Month

Okay--get ready for a big ol' game of catch-up. Although I haven't been posting, I have indeed been birding this month, and I've added several lifers to my list. I'd also like to share some of my better photos, like this one of a very well camouflaged female mallard in Island Cottage Woods on May 5th:
Oh, great news! I'll be taking the banding course offered by RIT/BBBO this coming Fall. I'm really looking forward to it.

Three weeks in a row I was robbed of my volunteer time on Thursdays at BBBO- twice because of rain, then because of finals last week. I was especially disappointed since I had just started getting instruction on how to take birds out of the nets. I hadn't actually made an attempt yet, but that was the obvious next step, and really exciting for me.

YWAR-May 7, 2009-Mendon Ponds Park

My birding records are a mess. I used to have a decent system-after each trip I'd write down everything I saw and where on an index card. Later, this would be compared with my photos and I'd neatly copy the data down into a notebook. An example of my entries would be:

December 11, 2008
Irondequoit Bay State Marine Park, 4:53-5:56 pm

• rock pigeons
• 7 long-tailed ducks (juv. + female) etc.

Lifers are indicated with red asteriks. I record the sex of as many individuals as I can and the number of each species seen that day if I can. I also record any other wildlife I see (apart from chipmunks and squirrels, that is): dragonflies, butterflies and moths, mammals, wildflowers, etc. I've gotten into the bad habit of just uploading my pictures to my computer and not writing down notes the same day of my trip. Ideally, I should take notes while I'm actually out birding, not later when I get home.

Alright, this catch-up game is going to be summarized instead of gone over in detail. Recent lifers include:

Island Cottage Woods in Greece, NY--May 12

• Wood Thrush

Island Cottage Woods in Greece, NY--May 18

• Northern Waterthrush
• Blackpoll Warbler
• Magnolia Warbler
• Black and White Warbler

Oxbow NWR in Harvard, Massachusetts--May 26

• Veery

I also added Blue-Headed Vireo and Red-Eyed Vireo to my life list at some point in May, I just need to "process" my photos and figure out when and where.

REVI-May 18, 2009-Island Cottage Woods