Saturday, May 30, 2009

Damn Squirrels!

I put up 2 bird feeders to see what is around the campground. Damn Squirrels!

Yes, it's hanging upside down enjoying the sunflower seeds.

Belted Kingfisher flew down the creek yesterday. Another PA bird. Just need to find some lifers. Feeling rather sassy because I know all the birds around here.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rain rain go away!

It's rained all week. It's cloudy and humid during the day and then rains like crazy at night. We've even had a thunderstorm or two. The poor dogs haven't been able to get to Grandma's house to play in the yard all week. We're going to need to build an ark soon. It's just plain dreary.

Added an American Kestral to my Pennsylvania bird list. It was sitting on a fence post looking like it would like the rain to stop too. And we added another goose family to the pond.

May your next bird be a lifer!

And may it not be raining when you find it.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Birding the campground

We've been here at this campground (it is a campground, NOT an rv park or resort), for a tad over 2 weeks and the birding has been good. I even got one lifer, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The coolest bird that I've seen so far was an Osprey that flew around the campground and tried his hand at fishing in one of the ponds. didn't get to see if it got anything out of the pond, but it probably did.

Speaking of the ponds here, there are 2 families of geese here. One pair has 5 goslings and the other pair have 3. They share the pond with 2 bullfrogs who like to make noise all night long.

Other birds in the campground:
Baltimore Oriole
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Robins
Mallard
Common Merganser
White-Breasted Nuthatch
American Goldfinch
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Eastern Bluebird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Black-capped Chickadee
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Gray Catbird
Spotted Sandpiper

Not a bad haul for sitting outside watching the water go by (see previous post for picture of said serene scene).

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Our temporary new home

The view from our place these days. This is Roaring Creek and it runs directly behind the RV.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Made it

Approximately 18,000 miles, 25 states, and 3 countries later, we've made it to Pennsylvania. We're currently settled in at our campground in Elysburg. We made it here a week ago and finally settled in, except the laundry still isn't done due to the fact that it has RAINED almost every day since we got here. Yesterday was a nice day, and this morning is looking good.

I've started my job search, and it is a wide search, reaching from Sunbury to East Stroudsburg to Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton. Somewhere out there is a job for me. I hate looking for a job.

I'll have to take some pictures of the area when the sun finally comes out. And hit some of the local spots to show you all what's here in the middle of nowhere.

On the birding front, the birds are migrating through in large numbers now. Since we hit Pennsylvania, I've got 30+ birds and actually added a new one to my life list, a Rose-Breasted Grosbeak!! There are a lot of Robins here and plenty of Baltimore Orioles. Yesterday an Osprey flew over looking for lunch in the pond, a pair of Common Mergansers went floating down the creek (or "crick" as the locals pronounce it. Did I actually say that when I was here? UGH!), and a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird stopped by my new hummingbird feeder yesterday! The swallows are starting to show up too. Hopefully when the rain stops and the weather clears up, there will be more. The big difference between birding in Pennsylvania and birding in Alaska is the trees. It's really hard to see a teeny tiny bird in a 40 foot oak tree. Going to have to learn to bird by ear a little better.

Going now.

May your next bird be a lifer!