December 19, 1992
Niles, Michigan
I signed up to participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count for southern Michigan. We started out at Fernwood, and I was teamed with Fernwood naturalist Rob Venner. I arrived at the nature center before dawn, a little bit nervous and not really sure what to expect. But once we got started, I had a lot of fun, and learned a lot about the winter birds, as well. Rob is a great birder, and a nice guy, too. We drove around to various places and counted the species and individuals that we saw. Rob helped me to ID them and told me lots of interesting info, as well.
At one of our first stops, we spotted a flock of about a dozen ☆Mallard☆ swimming on the St. Joseph River. Our most commonly seen duck, at least in developed areas, and yes, I’ve seen these guys before, but this will count as my first documented sighting. An ☆American Black Duck☆ was swimming with the Mallards. If not for the expert skills of Rob Venner, I’d have never noticed the difference. Although I’ve seen ☆Canada Goose☆ before, this is my first documented sighting. I’ve actually seen LOTS of them – singly, in pairs, families with juveniles, and in flocks of several hundred – in flight, on the ground, and in the water. Very common. But pretty!
One of my favorite birds of the day was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the parking lot at one of the nature preserves we stopped at. It was a juvenile, and unusual for this time of the year. A nice bird to have so early in my birding career! 🙂 Throughout the day, I also saw birds who I’d become familiar with in my backyard, including Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, and Northern Cardinal. Blue Jay and American Crow were spotted, along with House Finch and Slate-colored Junco. Another new species for me was the non-native ☆European Starling☆. Although these birds are abundant, I’d not really noticed them much before. Rob helped me learn to identify them in flight as birds with a short, stubby tail. It’s worked ever since! The first view of them I remember was of a flock congregated on a telephone wire, moving about restlessly as they often do.
I’ve seen lots of street pigeons – feral ☆Rock Dove☆ who have taken over most of human civilization. Although they aren’t technically pure Rock Doves, which only breed in rocky coastal areas in some parts of the world, I’ve got to have somewhere to list them. This will be counted as my first documented sighting.
Believe it or not, I had yet another first documented sighting of an extraordinarily common bird. My life ☆House Sparrow☆ were seen foraging in a bush near the entry way to a local McDonald’s. Fitting. I’m not sure I’d ever really noticed them before, in terms of trying to identify them. Rob explained to me that these, along with Starlings, are not native birds, but were introduced to the US within the last couple of hundred years, and that both are dreadful pests out-competing some of our native birds. Yuck. I also learned about the parasitic nesting habits of Brown-headed Cowbird today, which makes them somewhat less appealing. At least they are natives, however, which still puts them ahead of Starlings and House Sparrows.
Species List
American Black Duck (Anas rubripes), Canada Goose (Branta canadensis maxima), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos), Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor), Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis), Rock Dove (Columba livia f. domestica), American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos brachyrhynchos), Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus frontalis), Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) (Junco hyemalis hyemalis), Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater ater), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis carolinensis), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis tristis), European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris), Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura carolinensis)
Let me know what you think!