Hello all! I apologize for how long it's been since I've posted. I
was taking as much time as possible to pass Chemistry 111 at Missouri
Western State University, and it all panned out well in the end! After
that, I spent the rest of the time with family, working, and catching up
on some reading. I'm currently in the middle of Jacques Cousteau's
final book, "The Human, The Orchid, and The Octopus". It's absolutely
fantastic.
Great news though! All the winter Finch forecast came to fruition! After the St. Joseph, MO Christmas Bird Count, I birded gingerly, meaning I basically stuck to feeder watches and hung around town seeing what was coming in. On the morning of Jan. 1, I decided to get up and see what I could find, as my total species count from last year was 214. I started around 9:00a and went up to Mt. Mora Cemetery in town to check out the old Hemlocks. Nothing thinking I'd find anything, I struck a gold vein... in the very same tree were not only Pine Siskins and Purple Finches, but RED CROSSBILLS!! I immediately called Jack Hilsabeck (Adjuct Professor of Ornithology at Missouri Western) and Dr. John Rushin (Professor Emeritus of Biology, Missouri Western), and within minutes, both were standing there verifying both species with me. Here's a picture of both Male (in red) and Female (in yellow).
Great news though! All the winter Finch forecast came to fruition! After the St. Joseph, MO Christmas Bird Count, I birded gingerly, meaning I basically stuck to feeder watches and hung around town seeing what was coming in. On the morning of Jan. 1, I decided to get up and see what I could find, as my total species count from last year was 214. I started around 9:00a and went up to Mt. Mora Cemetery in town to check out the old Hemlocks. Nothing thinking I'd find anything, I struck a gold vein... in the very same tree were not only Pine Siskins and Purple Finches, but RED CROSSBILLS!! I immediately called Jack Hilsabeck (Adjuct Professor of Ornithology at Missouri Western) and Dr. John Rushin (Professor Emeritus of Biology, Missouri Western), and within minutes, both were standing there verifying both species with me. Here's a picture of both Male (in red) and Female (in yellow).
After looking for a few minutes, Dr. Rushin noticed something a
little different about one of the females... We all got a better look,
and it ended up being a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL!
The next day, my wife & I were out driving in the country and picked up a Merlin, Eastern Red-tailed Hawk, and this morning, we got Red-breasted Nuthatches, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker female, and a lone Yellow-Rumped (Myrtle) Warbler!
I hope to be back soon so to share more! Feel free to email me at mascot2cheer@hotmail.com with any questions, or if you're in the St. Joseph, MO area, I'm always up for birding trips!
Take care!
- Jake
