birding – Go Retire Psychiatrist

Bird Watching Stories Are Like Fishing Tales

We finally got a couple of videos of a goldfinch! It has been years since I’ve been able to catch a brilliant male goldenrod and it happened last week on the Clear Creek Trail.

In fact, we saw a few birds with the usual idiosyncratic behavior. Goldfinch are rocket fast and hate getting caught on camera.

On the other hand, robins seem to be aware of when they’re being watched and ham it up.

Catbirds also seem to know when they’re being observed and flit away just as I’m getting the camera focused. The one I caught seemed to moon me with its rusty-feathered rump as it took off.

Cardinals also show off and can sit for several minutes preening while you get decent footage.

Birdwatching is a lot like fishing. When you tell others about the whoppers you lost at the lake, it’s a lot like birders telling you about the rarely seen, mysterious birds everyone but experts almost always never see.

And I swear I saw a blue bunting while we were out that day. It flew right in front of me. You should have been there. I haven’t seen a blue bunting in decades!

I almost got the shot.

Flora and Fauna Under the Hot Iowa Sun

The other day we walked the Terry Trueblood Trail (when do we not do that?) and saw interesting sights. I finally got a video clip of a goldfinch! And a male northern cardinal either sang to us or cussed us out. It was hard to tell.

It was a scorcher out there. We started out looking for a walking trail a guy gave us directions to a week or so ago. It’s a great place for birding. We found it, but here was no parking anywhere close. He told us that we could park in a farmer’s field, but we saw the farmer out there and decided not to chance it.

While we were out doing that, we drove by a cornfield, which really impressed Sena because we could drive right up close to it. She’s never detasseled corn. I have and I don’t think she missed anything. I walked the rows with fellow detasselers and we yanked them. We were in rows right next to each other. We could hear each other collapse from time to time from exhaustion. When you pulled the tassels out, they sort of squeaked. You could hear us: Squeak, squeak, squeak, thud.

On the other hand, we had a pretty good day birding out at Trueblood. I got a better video clip of a dickcissel. We saw a couple of geese scare a turtle off a rock in Sand Lake. We didn’t notice it at the time, but saw it on the video clip after we got home (which is still the hotel, by the way).

We saw several dickcissels. We still don’t think they sound like they’re singing “dick, dick, dick.” I think that’s a load of squeak, squeak, squeak. They are pretty birds, though.

What Does a Dickcissel Sound Like?

We walked the Terry Trueblood Trail the other day and ran into a couple of other bird watchers. They said they’ve seen many birds called dickcissels on the trail.

I couldn’t remember ever seeing or hearing a dickcissel. We have enough trouble catching a clear sight of goldfinches. Both birders said the name comes from the bird’s song. They said it sounds like the bird is saying “Dick, Dick, Dick.”

I’m not so sure. As it happened, I think we saw a few dickcissels that day. We think the bird doesn’t sound like it’s saying “Dick, Dick, Dick.” I think it’s more like “chirp, chirp, chirp.”

Anyway, I think I got a video of three dickcissels, along with a few other birds. Do you agree or disagree? And what do you think of the name “dickcissel” for a bird? I read one article written by someone who had a low opinion of how the bird got its name.

What are those things in the water? I think they’re fish.

Guys and Gals Birds

The other day we went birding on the Terry Trueblood Trail. You couldn’t ask for better weather. We saw a lot of birds paired off and checking into the nest boxes or building from scratch.

I don’t know how we got so lucky. We saw male and female red-wing blackbirds, tree swallows, sparrows, and goldfinches.

The difference between the guys and gals is that the female birds tend to be drab. It’s mainly for protection. The females don’t want to attract attention from predators. The males tend to be flamboyant, as if you didn’t know that from your own experience with humans.

The red-wing blackbird male has stunning red and yellow epaulets on its wings. The female is mostly brown.

The tree swallow male is startling bright greenish-blue. The female is a bit duller.

The goldfinch male is a loud yellow while the female is kind of drab olive.

And so on.

Who’s a Hoorah’s Nest?

I asked my wife this morning if she ever got any food in her mouth, pointing to the floor under her dining room chair—where there was a small pile of crumbs and whatnot.

It was a regular Hoorah’s Nest (also known as Hurrah’s Nest). That’s just about anything (hairstyle, person, place, situation, my so-called cooking) that’s a big, disorganized mess. Don’t worry, she gave me permission to blab about this. I still have a place to live. You can send cash donations to my GoFundMe campaign if you want, though. I’ve got renovations planned.

My new digs, before renovation.
My new digs, after renovation.

My side of the floor is immaculate, of course. No Hoorah’s Nest on me.

You can look on the web for definitions of Hoorah’s Nest and the origin of the term, which includes speculations about a cryptid bird called a Hoorah. It doesn’t excite cryptozoologists as much as Bigfoot does.

On the other hand, we think we saw the Hoorah about three years ago. I have several snapshots of its nest—which was a certified mess and a sign the bird needed professional help.

We tried to assist this Hoorah. Every time it started to go wrong in the construction of the nest (which was immediately), we tried removing the mess from the spot it chose to erect it.

The site was between our house and the back porch rail. Apparently, it was unfamiliar with trees.

Hoorah!
Hip Hoorah!
Hip Hip Hoorah!
Hip Hip Hip Hoorah!

It might have been high on drugs. On the other hand, the only bird I know of who has a substance abuse problem is the Cedar Waxwing. It overeats fermented berries and gets so drunk it can’t find its way home, much less build one.

But this bird might have been from another planet—a world where trees don’t exist and nest-building skills are optional. I could get only one picture of the Hoorah—also known as a Robin. Their nests get the big Hoorah.

The shy and rarely seen Hoorah…otherwise known as a robin.

Other birds make really messy nests, though: Mourning Doves, even the Cardinals (on the right) who we might have already scared away just by staring at them through our window.

Holler if you see a Hoorah.