Snow!

So this morning, I woke up to 2 inches of snow on the ground. 

The new snow was sticking to everything so it was really pretty outside. 

I love it right after a new snow when everything is white! 

The birds were a bit chilly this morning. 

It had mostly melted by the middle of the afternoon.  I could go for another 100+ inches this winter!  I actually was able to ski down the hill behind my house for the first time ever last year! Usually there's not enough snow to cover all the underbrush so that your skis don't get caught in it. Last year, there was! Let's hope the same for this year! 

Til next time, 

Happy Birding! 

Get ready, it's Latin trivia time!

Just how well do you know the Latin names of birds?  You're going to find out. 

Today I have 2 separate quizzes designed to test your knowledge of Latin names.  

Post your answers in the comments section. Good Luck!

Quiz 1.

Below are 10 names. Each in Latin and in English. Match the Latin name to the common name. 

Here's the catch, 2 of the names don't have a match.  Have Fun! 

1. Charadrius alexandrinus          A. White-rumped Sandpiper

2. Larus dominicanus                   B. Yellow-rumped Warbler

3. Columbina passerina                C. Snowy Plover

4. Calidris fuscicollis                     D. Boreal Owl

5. Dendroica coronata                   E. Common Ground-Dove

6. Aegolius funereus                      F. Kelp Gull

7. Myiarchus crinitus                     G. Marsh Wren

8. Cistothorus palustris                H. Great-crested Flycatcher

9. Peucedramus taeniatus             I. Botteri's Sparrow

10. Nyctidromus albicollis            J. Olive Warbler                    

Quiz 2. 

Here are ten Common names. Below them is the literal English translation of their Latin name. Match the translation to the common name. 

Common names:

1. Gyrfalcon

2. Common Redpoll

3. Red-throated Loon

4. Northern Gannet

5. White-necked Petrel

6. Violet-green Swallow

7. Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

8. Tennesee Warbler

9. Harris's Sparrow

10. Bobolink

Literal Latin name translations:

A. "The seabird who is covered with stars"

B. "The stupid one of Bass Rock" 

C. "The swift mover who resembles the sea in color" 

D. "The banded thrush who is always full of complaints" 

E. "The foreign worm-eater" 

F. "The absolute ruler who possesses scissors" 

G. "The White-collared Wing runner"

H. "The Rustic falcon of the farm"

I. "The Long-clawed Rice eater" 

J. "The Goldfinch of Flame" 

Hope you have fun and Good luck! I'll post the answer in about a week. 

Today's Blog of the Day is: 

The Drinking Bird 

Why? Refer to one of his posts here

Happy Birding! 

"Twitching" the Rufous Hummer

Yep, that's him. That's Petey, the Rufous Hummingbird. He showed up at a feeder near Madison about a week ago. Today, I finally got to go down and see him. 

I put my camera on my tripod and attached a flash to brighten things up.  As it was, I was shooting at ISO 800-1000. 

One of the problems with using a flash is that it sometimes reflects in the subject's eyes. 

Usually though, the angle and/or distance is such that it doesn't affect the subject negatively. 

I hope Petey pulls through ok. He must be using a warm air vent of some kind at night. 

He looked pretty cold this morning though. 

More of my photos of Petey can be found here

Today's Blog of the Day is:

Warbler Watch.

The blogger is Daniel Edelstein from the Oakland area of California. 

Dan is a Biologist, Ecologist and Environmental scientist. He has a Masters degree from UW-Stevens Point and a Bachelors' from Marquette university.  You can read more about him here

Happy Birding!

WI river bottom

Today, I puttered around near Spring Green in the WI river bottoms.  I quickly bagged a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at the Cemetery on County JJ. I thought that was going to be the best bird of the day until a stop at Arena boat landing saw my FOS Snow Buntings.   Then, I got lucky. As I cruised down Helena Rd, heading back towards the river, I came to the Kraemer Inc quarry.  A quick look at the water proved that there were no ducks around but as I turned to leave, I spotted my FOS. N SHRIKE perched at the top of a small pine overlooking an open field.  

After I crossed the river, I checked out the pine stands around Bakken's Pond. No finches, but I did bag a Great Blue Heron and 8 Bald Eagles.  

Otherwise, it was pretty quiet and pretty cold.  I think the high today just barely topped 22 degrees with a windchill of around 10. 

Tomorrow, hopefully I'll have some photos and a post about a special bird. 

Oh yea, today's Blog of the Day is:

Wild Bird on the fly. 

It's run by Amy Hooper from Orange County CA. She's the editor of Wild Bird magazine. 

Birds, Bins and Birders

Are you buying your first binoculars? your second maybe? or your tenth?  No matter what, have you always had enough information about your binocs? Have you always been sure that the ones you bought are the ones you really need? 

Today, I have another resource to help you decide.  The Binocular site is the all in one information center about Binoculars. whether you want them for birding or hunting, large or small, Steiner or Leica, they have all you need to make a purchase.  

So you're new to the birding world, you just got your first pair of binocs, you want to go birding. You vaguely remember some birding spot that has an obscure name that someone told you is one of the top birding spots in the USA. Can't remember where it is or what the name is?  The Binocular site has the answer again.  This page is for you! Whether it's Bosque Del Apache, St Mark's NWR, Bentsen-Rio Grande SP, Bombay Hook, Salton sea, Madera Canyon, you'll find it there. 

So you have your Binocs, you know where to go, but you can't quite ID that little shorebird with your bins cause it's too far away. You need a spotting scope. Once again, The Binocular site comes to your rescue. 

Now, do you need a place to buy your scope and Binocs? couldn't find a good price online?  

Check out Eagle Optics.  They not only have the best prices, but they have the best service. 

You've had your optics for a year or two. Suddenly an accidental bump knocks out a lens, or maybe you dropped them in the water, most optics warranties will cover this. 

But what if you've had your optics for 30+ years. They've served you well and they're your favorite binocs and one day a lens goes out. Normal warranties don't cover this. Eagle Optics does! If you bought them at Eagle Optics,  not only will they fix your optics but, many times, they will do it free of charge!  Who else out there does this?  Not many if any. 

Today's Blog of the Day is:

The Bird Digiscoping Blog. The blogger is, who else, Mike McDowell. 

Mike is a birder and is a nationally (if not internationally) known digiscoper. 

Do you have a question about digiscoping? Ask Mike! 

So what is digiscoping you say? Just holding your digital Point and shoot (or sometimes DSLR) up to the lens of your spotting scope.  It's effectively the same as putting a 1000-1500mm lens on your DSLR camera for less than half the cost. 

Happy Birding!