Rascal and I enjoy looking at the birds through my office. Being half Siamese, he mutters under his feline breath and twitches his tail. His viewing has murderous intent, but snow keeps him inside and harmless. Me, I watch with a small pair of binoculars and a Sibley's guide.
I start a new year long bird list in January. My goal is to reach 200 birds for the year, and with an upcoming trip this summer, that is likely to happen. This year, I'm having a slow start, perhaps because my eyes are so often on the computer as I work on short stories, novels, and essays. If I looked up more often, my list might be bigger.
At the moment, it stands at thirteen, in order of sightings:
Kestrel
Crow
Black capped chickadee
White-breasted nuthatch
House sparrow
House finch
Cardinal
Downy woodpecker
Rock dove
Mourning dove
Hairy woodpecker
Starling
Dark eyed junco
By now, goldfinches, blue jays, red-breasted nuthatches, red-bellied woodpeckers and their deadly enemy the Cooper's hawk should have visited, but I haven't seen them.
Once the weather improves, Gary and I will be out exploring again and I will be sure to add more birds. We know that there are eagles on the Fox River and there may be a snowy owl near Freedom. With wind chills below zero, it seems best to stay where we are and watch the birds through our window.
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