Newman Wetlands

  • May 14, 2008 11:25 PM

We finally got our photos posted from the last birding class field trip to Newman Wetlands

This park has a beautiful boardwalk trail that is maintained by the Atlanta Audubon Society. We didn’t see as many birds as we’ve seen in the past, but we saw a lot of reptiles and amphibians – turtles, snakes, lizards, and frogs.

Turtle

We also saw a few Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, a Common Yellowthroat, and Purple Martins. That’s a Barn Swallow in this photo – I found out how pretty they were at the last field trip, but I couldn’t get a decent photo with them flying. This little guy sat still for quite a while though.

Barn Swallow

Afterward, we headed over to the water maintenance facility and looked for waterbirds. We saw a few sandpiper-sort, but they were too far for our cameras. The land around that area was gorgeous though, with purple and yellow flowers.

Newman Wetlands Colors

Bird Class Bookmark

  • May 10, 2008 4:01 PM

Today was our last field trip from our Birding class. If you’re interested in birds, and in the Atlanta area, I totally recommend it. I learned a ton, saw a bunch of new birds, and discovered some really great locations. I’ll post the photos from today’s trip later this weekend.

Bird Class Bookmark

I haven’t posted any crafts recently, but I quickly made this last night to give to our birding teacher as a small thank you. It’s a bookmark with some favorite photos that Thomas and I took on the class trips. It was pretty easy to make – here’s how:

  1. Arrange your photos in a photo editing program to be a 6×3 inch graphic. (I used Photoshop Elements.)
  2. Print the photo at 6×4 inches. (I used the instant printer at Target.)
  3. Trim the photo down to 6×3 inches.
  4. Spray-glue some paper to the back to make sturdier. (This is a great place to write a brief note.)
  5. Hole-punch the top and thread some ribbon through it.

It took me two hours and most of that was at Target – of course, I had to browse a bit. :) Anyway, it was quick, easy, and cheap, and would be a great craft if you need to make something small for a large group.

On another note, I just went upstairs and this is what I found – Thomas is napping on Clover’s birdwatching bench, so she just climbed right over him to keep watching.

Naptime

Birds All Around

  • May 6, 2008 11:00 PM

I am amazed how much more we notice birds around us now that we’re taking this birding class. It’s kind of like VW Buses – I often hear people comment that after meeting me, they spot VW Buses all around. Anyway, this week, we’ve spotted two new species in our neighborhood that we’ve never seen before – the Rose-colored Grosbeak, and Cedar Waxwings. Actually, Thomas saw these, but he took photos for me. And this afternoon, we discovered a Chickadee nest inside our neighbors fence post with two tiny Chickadee babies in it.

I’ve been taking a ton of photos of birds in our yard, and I found an album I forgot to post – my favorites are below.

Here’s some fun facts we’ve learned in the class:

  • Blue Jays are actually black-colored birds, but the light refraction from their feather structure makes them look blue. (Thomas says: If you find a feather it will look blue, but if you step on it and crush the feather, it will look black.)
  • Starlings were introduced to the US when they were released during a Shakespearing performance in Central Park.
  • Cowbirds lay their eggs in other birds nests to be raised by adopted mothers. Still they learn the cowbird song rather than the adopted mother’s song.
  • The knocking sound that woodpeckers make can be a call, not just to get insects – that’s why they knock on metal too.
  • The Phoebe was the first banded bird – by John Audubon, actually. (I didn’t know Audubon was a name, I thought it was another word for bird.)

Purple Finches
Purple Finches
Cardinal
Cardinal
Blue Jay
Blue Jay
White Breasted Nuthatch
White Breasted Nuthatch
Titmouse
Titmouse

Birding at Johnson Ferry North

  • May 6, 2008 10:28 PM

The birding class field trip this past weekend was to Johnson Ferry North – not too far from our house. We’ve been to this park before, but never saw as many birds as this time. It was another rainy Saturday, but Thomas and I were able to check off a couple new species for our life list – Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, American Redstart, and Prothonotary Warbler.

I’ve been a little disappointed with my photos on these field trips, so Thomas and I switched equipment to see if that helped . I used his Nikon D300 with an 80-400mm, and he used my D50 with the 50-500mm on a tripod. He still got the better photos. I guess the saying is right – it’s the photographer, not the equipment…

Here’s our albums, and my favorite shots are below.

Red Winged Blackbird

Indigo Bunting

Indigo Bunting

Brown Thrasher

Brown Thrasher

Birding at the Monastery

  • April 28, 2008 9:53 PM

For our second birding field trip on Saturday, we went to the Monastery of the Holy Spirit. This was a really beautiful location that we only got to go to because our teacher is friends with the abbot. I didn’t get that many great shots, but we saw several new-to-us birds – Blue Grosbeak, Orchard Oriole, Eastern Meadowlark, Kentucky Warbler, and the first hummingbird of the year. After checking out the gift shop where the monks sell handmade jams, honey, and olive oil, Thomas and I stopped by Panola Mountain State Park. It had a great birding site with hides setup, but we decided to check out it out closer when it’s not raining.

Here are our albums:

P.S. Hello to any of our classmates that stop by my site – feel free to leave a comment.

Ready for Takeoff

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