27 February 2009

2 birds, tales from Meridian State Park

This is surely a small segment of what could turn into a full novel if given the chance. Matt and I spend a very late Thursday morning/early afternoon at Meridian State Park. It was my first time there and one of Matt's familiar haunts - I figured we were a full 2-3 weeks early for Golden-cheeked Warbler. So trekking the path where GCWA would be expected, the first notable butterfly we saw was Henry's Elfin, a life butterfly for me and Matt's second observation opportunity for the species.

Matt just posted the juicy details for our *** Golden-cheeked Warbler (expected there, but the earliest record on the books! ...2008 had one on Feb. 29th, 1950-something was the other early record of March 2nd)

So the next juicy segment will be about our VERY unexpected Long-eared Owl - a life bird for Matt, the first live one for me. I collected my first LEOW as roadkill in mid-March of 2008. <- by all means, click at the pics for a bit more LEOW appreciation!

Location: Meridian SP (PPW-W 044)
Observation date: 2/27/09

Bugs: henry's elfin, southern dogface, american lady, sleepy orange, red admiral, question mark, juniper hairstreak

Pied-billed Grebe 1
Great Egret 1
Black Vulture X
Turkey Vulture X
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Killdeer 1
Greater Yellowlegs 1
***Long-eared Owl 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
American Crow 10
Carolina Chickadee 20
Tufted Titmouse/Spp 1/X
Carolina Wren 1
Bewick's Wren 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 5
Eastern Bluebird 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 10
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
***Golden-cheeked Warbler 1
Dark-eyed Junco 30
Northern Cardinal 20
American Goldfinch 10

Number of Species: 24

...as you can see, we definitely got the quality, if not the quantity! More juicy details to follow at some point, I'm sure.

*note, to celebrate this excitement, we dinnered at Buzzard Billy's with Matt's sister, Melody and her husband, Jose. It's all about the bread pudding.

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