American Tree Sparrows
After several consecutive days of gray skies and rain, I opened my blinds to a fresh sunny morning. Though I've not been to the prairie in a few weeks, I plan on making a visit sometime this weekend. Now the russet fields of Pheasant Branch are decorated with American Tree Sparrows. They'll conspicuously perch and feed atop goldenrod and other wildflower seeds. These particular sparrows won't return to Canada until March, and to their fortune there's plenty of food to last them the entire winter (but they are also food to the shrikes and kestrels).

Operation Migration hangar vandalized
From Operation Migration's on-line Field Journal...Date: November 25, 2009 - Entry 2 Reporter: Joe DuffSubject: STEALING FROM A CHARITY Location: Livingston Co. ILKeeping a small non-profit afloat is never easy and in this economic climate it is considerably more challenging. When times are tough, people understandably have other priorities dema

Return
As other bird bloggers I've confided in know, I've been thinking about retiring my blog for sometime, primarily due to lack of inspiration and "blogligation." However, the straw that finally broke the camel's back and temporarily sapped me what little inspiration remained was a particularly nasty and insulting anonymous blog comment. My knee-jerk reaction was to retire my blog and block future anonymous comments. The latter will be permanent policy, but after mulling it over for a few weeks, I’ve decided to continue blogging. As William Blake said, "There is no mistake so great as the mistake of not

First Fifty
Here are the first fifty bird species observed from my 'new' apartment since March 30th, 2009:Canada GooseMallardGreat Blue HeronTurkey VultureBald EagleSharp-shinned HawkCooper's HawkRed-tailed HawkSandhill CraneKilldeerSolitary SandpiperRing-billed GullMourning DoveGreat Horned Owl (atop my roof!)

Retirement
After almost 5 years, I'm retiring this blog.Thanks to all who have enjoyed my photographs and stories!Mike McDowell