Painting bunting at pearsall park

Birding Summary, Featured

Painted Buntings and Nesting Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

Some weekend mornings it’s tempting to stay home and relax, but it can be on those days when the greatest surprises await.

I dragged myself to my favorite Pearsall Park this morning on a cloudy, slightly-sprinkly day. The clouds and cooler temperatures were a welcome break from the blistering heat of late.

yellow-billed cuckoo with grub and overay of painted bunting spectrogram

Birding Summary

Recording and photographing birds at the same time

I’m not a multitasker, I never have been. But when thinking about birding, the desire to be able to both record birdsong and photograph birds on the same trip is very alluring.

The last time I recorded at the park, I had the recorder in one hand and the microphone in the other, the…entire…time… The only exception to this was when I finagled things into one arm while adding birds to my checklist.

curve-billed thrasher on log

Birding Summary

Another Day, Another Thrasher

It’s a mild day. Cloudy. Drizzling on and off. As I walk toward the pond, I wonder what I’m going to hear today. It’s my first day at Denman Park in the rain, and I speculated the weather might change the soundscape a bit.
I wandered underneath the canopy leading to the waters edge and saw a big flock of White-winged doves take off and ascend into the trees.

denman park pond and korean monument

Birding Summary

Two familiars and one unknown

During a recent trip to the park, I got the chance to record three birds, the Blue Jay and the White-winged Dove, and one unknown bird. This mystery bird made itself known by calling out from a dense patch of bamboo. The bird could be heard from where I parked my car, so it was my final recording stop on the way out of the park. I recorded this short clip of the bird before getting greedy and trying to get closer by going around to the other side of the bamboo patch.