In My Binoculars...

So I just returned from Pittsburgh and the WBU Annual Meeting and had quite an exciting couple of days. While Kristin and Gregory remain up there to check out nw and exciting products for the bird feeding enthusiast, we are holding down the fort. We did have a chance to do a little birding up there in Steel town near the mighty three rivers. Incidentally, some of the good stuff we found were off the beaten track a bit in a reclaimed recreation area along a creek in the suburbs. It was the Wingfield Pines Conservation Area along Chartiers Creek, where the land trust is attempting to stop iron oxide from depositing into the creek. An old strip-mined area, it produces 43 tons of iron oxide a year and through a multi-pond filtration system, they are able to stop the run-off. It is VERY COOL and a great example of how land can be reclaimed and improved. There was lots of great bird life there, too, between the marshy ponds and the creek and the wooded areas full of wildflowers and wild berries! Some of the highlights included Rough-Winged Swallows, Orchard Orioles, Eastern Wood Pee-wees and Yellow Warblers. We also saw Warbling Vireos and Yellow-throated Warblers! One of the coolest discoveries was a Cedar Waxwing building a nest! That is a pretty far range point for them, so we were pleasantly surprised. We also saw Green Herons, an Osprey and some of the usual suspects like American Robins, American Goldfinches and Red-Winged Blackbirds. All in all, a nice birding outing, followed by a Kestrel showing up as we dined on the sidewalk on Penn Avenue!

The night before we had quite an exciting night as we got to see one of our very own, Ernie Miller, awarded the Sales Associate of the Year for the entire franchise, which is comprised of nearly 300 stores! The excitement continued at the National Aviary where we enjoyed South African Penguins, Golden Plovers, Screaming Pihas and Flamingos.  If only we had had a little more time there, like maybe a MONTH!  Ha! But, we had to get back to our fabulous nature store and the multitude of babies everywhere. Seriously, it seems like the outdoor area at the store is full of babies and even in my yard. Are you experiencing the same thing in your natural areas? Look for baby Gray Catbirds, baby Brown Thrashers, baby Eastern Bluebirds and baby American Goldfinches being fed. Make sure your nest boxes are cleaned out in between broods because once the babies fledge, they don't return, but the adults will and possibly build again or someone else will move in! Eastern Bluebirds can have as many as three broods in one nesting season. I'm also seeing some cool migrants nesting in my yard, like Great Crested Flycatchers! they are super cool birds with yellow on their undersides and rusty tails and a grey crest. They sound like jungle birds when they call and sing and are cavity nesters, so make sure you have rooms for rent at your house! 

Cheers and Happy Birding!

~The Bird Nerd

In My Binoculars...

Welcome to the Wild Birds Unlimited of Yorktown's first edition of the birding blog, "In My Binoculars". This will be a source of information, observations of what is going on outside RIGHT NOW, reflections on topical activities, musings and reports of recent bird outings, along with some good information, hard facts and a little humor. We hope you stop by often to check it out on those days when you're stuck inside or can't make it to the store for in-person information. And maybe it will even inspire you to reach outside of your comfort zone and look for some of your own adventures.

So I just returned from Pittsburgh and the WBU Annual Meeting and had quite an exciting couple of days. While Kristin and Gregory remain up there to check out nw and exciting products for the bird feeding enthusiast, we are holding down the fort. We did have a chance to do a little birding up there in Steel town near the mighty three rivers. Incidentally, some of the good stuff we found were off the beaten track a bit in a reclaimed recreation area along a creek in the suburbs. It was the Wingfield Pines Conservation Area along Chartiers Creek, where the land trust is attempting to stop iron oxide from depositing into the creek. An old strip-mined area, it produces 43 tons of iron oxide a year and through a multi-pond filtration system, they are able to stop the run-off. It is VERY COOL and a great example of how land can be reclaimed and improved. There was lots of great bird life there, too, between the marshy ponds and the creek and the wooded areas full of wildflowers and wild berries! Some of the highlights included Rough-Winged Swallows, Orchard Orioles, Eastern Wood Pee-wees and Yellow Warblers. We also saw Warbling Vireos and Yellow-throated Warblers! One of the coolest discoveries was a Cedar Waxwing building a nest! That is a pretty far range point for them, so we were pleasantly surprised. We also saw Green Herons, an Osprey and some of the usual suspects like American Robins, American Goldfinches and Red-Winged Blackbirds. All in all, a nice birding outing, followed by a Kestrel showing up as we dined on the sidewalk on Penn Avenue!

The night before we had quite an exciting night as we got to see one of our very own, Ernie Miller, awarded the Sales Associate of the Year for the entire franchise, which is comprised of nearly 300 stores! The excitement continued at the National Aviary where we enjoyed South African Penguins, Golden Plovers, Screaming Pihas and Flamingos.  If only we had had a little more time there, like maybe a MONTH!  Ha! But, we had to get back to our fabulous nature store and the multitude of babies everywhere. Seriously, it seems like the outdoor area at the store is full of babies and even in my yard. Are you experiencing the same thing in your natural areas? Look for baby Gray Catbirds, baby Brown Thrashers, baby Eastern Bluebirds and baby American Goldfinches being fed. Make sure your nest boxes are cleaned out in between broods because once the babies fledge, they don't return, but the adults will and possibly build again or someone else will move in! Eastern Bluebirds can have as many as three broods in one nesting season. I'm also seeing some cool migrants nesting in my yard, like Great Crested Flycatchers! they are super cool birds with yellow on their undersides and rusty tails and a grey crest. They sound like jungle birds when they call and sing and are cavity nesters, so make sure you have rooms for rent at your house! 

Cheers and Happy Birding!

THE BIRD NERD HAS LANDED

So here I am writing again on the bird blog with fervor and zest!!! It is SPRING and renewal and rebirth and energy abounds. The Bird Nerd is now fully immersed in all things bird and birding, after lighting at Wild Birds Unlimited of Yorktown, VA. As the Community Outreach Coordinator, I am reaching out to the community holding talks and classes about birds, backyard habitats and photography. It has been a wild past eight months and I have added lots of life birds to the list. Hampton roads is an exciting place for a birder and now that spring is here, it's time to start focusing on the neo-tropical birds who migrate here every Spring and call the area and many other areas along the Eastern Seaboard home for at least a few months while they breed and raise their young.

Look to the next post for some specific accounts of new sightings and tips on what to look for in your very own backyard!

Cheers and Happy Birding!