Juvenile Bald Eagle

This juvenile was spotted in Grayling, Michigan too!

Bald Eagle Sighting in Grayling, Michigan

Today we passed a bald eagle and a juvenile feeding on some deer carcasses on the side of the road in Grayling. This is the 3rd time I've seen an eagle in the past 30 days, but I still feel the same thrill!

Great Backyard Bird Count Tallies

Me, Eddie, my mom and Freddie have a bet to see who will observe the widest variety of birds during the Great Backyard Bird Count. I haven't received my mom's or Eddie's yet - but here's Fred's & Mine. Fred had much better day!
Fred - Sat. Feb. 16 - Oakland County, MI

• 1 Coopers Hawk
• 6 Mourning Doves
• 1 Downy Woodpecker
• 2 American Crows
• 3 Red breasted Nuthatches
• 4 Juncos
• 1 Cardinal
• 2 House finches
• 7 House Sparrows

Shelley - Otsego County, MI

• 9 Black-capped Chickadees
• 1 Tufted Titmouse
• 2 White breasted Nuthatches
• 1 Hairy Woodpecker

Great Backyard Bird Count Starts Today!

The 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count starts today! It runs from February 15th through February 18th. To learn more and submit your checklist, please visit: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/ . Last year Michigan was one of the top ten states to submit the most checklists. I received a beautiful certificate which I framed. We're heading up north to Gaylord today to check on the progress of our log cabin, so I will be counting from there. I already have suet cakes and bird feeders set up with black sunflower seeds. Last weekend we had quite a few Black-capped Chickadees flying about so I expect more of the same this weekend. My mom is hoping she gets a better variety than her usual "10,000 sparrows." I bought her a heated bird bath this year so hopefully that acts as a good attractant.

White-breasted Nuthatch hits the window!

Eddie had a White-breasted Nuthatch hit his window today and knock himself out. He went to check it out, snap some photos - and then it flew away. Poor little bird! I suggested he buy one of those bird decals you can put on the window to prevent such accidents. I bought some this week after a Mourning Dove hit my kitchen window. The experts say if your bird feeders are too close to the window, the higher the likelihood of a window accident. The birds will see a reflection of themselves in the window and sometimes want to attack the "other bird." Apparently over a millions of birds die this way each year! Here's a link to Bird Watcher digest that provides tips on how to prevent this from happening:

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/backyard_birds/top_ten/bill_top_10_strikes.aspx

Save the birds!!

Bald Eagle Sighting

Today at 1:35 p.m, off Interstate 75 at the Grayling exit, I saw my first Bald Eagle! When Greg & I first viewed it up in the trees at the side of the highway, we couldn't believe it. I consider the Bald Eagle to be the "holy grail" of birds and to get photographs of it just made my day. I just wished I knew how to use my Cannon Rebel XTI camera better - the photos did not come out as well as I would've liked. I was able to snap about 20 photos while the Bald Eagle was looking around. After about 5 minutes, it flew off . It was such an awesome sight to see its massive wing span and the Eagle's large yellow clawed legs dangling in the air - looking ready to grab some prey. (Click on the photo to view a larger version. You can see the Eagle has been banded on its legs.)