My First Bird Of 2019: More Of A Conglomerational Barnyard Bird Of Sorts ~ Original Photography, Doodling, and Discussion About A Bird ~

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A Bird Doggin We Shall Go

I hang out with some pretty serious bird watchers. Though truth be told, I'm not actually a true, dyed-in-the-wool Bird Watcher myself. In this group, I'm known as more of a bird LOCATOR. Yes, I CAN tell a standard, American Robin from a Spotted Towhee, bopping for bugs through the underbrush. And any time a Red Shafted Flicker wings by in their typical dipping, rise and fall sine-wave of a flight pattern, I can shout "FLICKER " with the best of them. But to be a TRUE Bird Watcher, you have to know a lot more about the various species than I do. A whole LOT lot more.

Though in defense of self, SOMEBODY has to see the birds, and point them out to the rest of the crew. And I must admit, I'm quite good at this part of the whole 'watching for birds' thing. That's why my compatriots call me The Bird Dog. I tend to see birds all over the place, even when they're too far away to identify. (I catch a lot of grief for my 'horizon birds'. The ones silhouetted on the edge of visible space, wa-aay over on the horizon. I hear it on a regular basis, "How are we supposed to identify THAT, it's twelve miles away?!!" Hey, I just spot them, YOU guys are supposed to be the ID experts. These tiny specks of birds on blue or white sky seldom make the tally sheet. But I'm STILL darn good at finding them.

A Historical Nutshell of This Birding Thing

Every January our little group takes part in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. A yearly event, going on for something like 119 years now, put on by the National Audubon Society. The idea is to go wander about in nature, on only ONE day, and count and record every bird you see. They even give you a specially designed tally sheet. This activity occurs all over the America's every December and January, and provides the science folk with piles of bird data, and a subsequent idea about how the populations of each species are doing in the travail of their daily lives. Be they local birds that just stay home, or those that migrate back and forth, forth and back, along their flyways from North to South.

Driving All Over Creation-In Search Of Birds

This is a very fun event, whereby we drive and walk all over a defined area of the county, delineated on a very special map, known collectively as 'our area'. And we look for birds. ALL the birds. As many birds of every species possible, for one day, and one day only. And I'm the Bird Dog. And official Tally'er. Two very very important jobs. Which leads us to another part of this whole bird watching shebang. The ever important, Bird Watchers FIRST BIRD of the YEAR tradition.

For a true birder, this is a very big deal. Every Bird Watcher worth their feathers notes the FIRST bird they see on January 1st of each year. Most put this first sighting in their bird book, accompanied by all sorts of other important bird information. Year, species, location, sex, habitat type, age, and any other fascinatingly pertinent details about their winged 'first see'.

And since I'm now a big part of this bird count, I've started watching around on January 1st for MY first, official bird of the year. Hence this post. My First Bird Of 2019. Yes, I'm a bit late, but what else is new? I saw 'my' bird, I just haven't gotten around to writing about it. Until now. And for those wondering, "did you really see your first bird, and is this it?" I say, yes. YES, I saw this bird on the first of the year. I'm just now getting around to TELLING you about it. I took care of the most important part. The SEEING part. Now I'm finally getting to the TELLING part.

Tell Away-My First Bird Of 2019

The Conglomerational Chicken

Wandering the neighborhood on January 1st, eyes glued to the horizon for my first bird, I noted a peculiar sighting, though much closer to the ground. In a bird bath. Far off, in someone's yard, quite a ways from the road. Excitement descended like a brisk winter's frost. I very quietly shouted to no one for miles around, "It's a CHICKEN. In a BIRD BATH!!" Not something you see every day. Let alone on First Bird Of The Year day. I was elated. "Just WAIT until my bird buddies hear about THIS first bird of the year. A chicken. Taking a BATH!"
If only I had my tally sheet.

Pulling out the trusty Lumix with 40X zoom, I zeroed in on my 'first find' for some photo proof, and my heart hit the pavement like an old used brick. It was a chicken alright, or maybe a pigeon. Hard to say. But whatever it's supposed to be, the thing was obviously cast in cement. Oh, the disappointment. Let's face it, how often can a non-farmer claim a chicken in the bath as his first bird of the year?! And I still can't. It was a complete bust in the First Of The Year Birdville corner of things.

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YAARRGGGG!

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A Close Up Of My 'Find'

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A Real LIVING Bird Would Be Much Better

Crestfallen, I continued on down the road for awhile, and finally DID see a real, live bird, flitting about in someone's tree. My first sighting of 2019. And what a cute bird it was. My first moving, breathing bird of January 2019 was a Dark-eyed Junco.

It looked like the photo below:

Bird [Example A]

This was not actually THE bird I saw. He (or she) flew away. (I should know the sexes by visual cues, but remember, I'm a bird LOCATOR, not so much a bird Identifier.) I was sad he or she flew away, before I panned my Lumix into proper view. So you will have to take my word on this. But I DID find a similar bird later on. This one was sitting in our grape arbor a day or two later, so I 'bird dogged' it, and took a photo or two. Sorry you weren't the actual FIRST, little bird, but we'll still call you number one anyway. I'm sure you folks out there will agree, this is one cute bird. (The photo is a bit flat. It was taken through the kitchen window. I think maybe it needs to be washed.) But this is what I saw, on the first of the year. A Dark-eyed Junco.

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What ARE You Up To?

I watched my place-setter Junco for awhile, and noticed it doing some odd little bird posing. Or some other activity a REAL Bird Watcher could describe to you in scientific terms. Being a mere Bird Locator, I'm just guessing he or she is stretching or doing some early AM bird aerobics. Or maybe getting rid of pesky bird bugs. Correct me if I'm wrong please, all of you professional birders out there. Though whatever this activity might be, I find it quite photogenic.

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In Conclusion

Well, that about does it for my First Bird Of 2019. I hope all of you can start this tradition next year, if you aren't doing this already. Though I suppose it IS a bit harder, if you don't know the birds by species. "I saw a bird. It was brown and white." I guess it DOES help if you know bird ID, at least a little bit. Though we all know Crows, Blue jays, Robins and other easy birds. Just hope a simple bird is what you see first, next year. If not, just write down "cool brown and white bird." That should still work.

And if interested, I highly recommend getting to know some true Bird Watchers, and joining in on the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, if you can. They're often looking for volunteers. It's a lot of fun, helps out the birds of the world, and I can guarantee you will learn a lot, even if you just 'go along'. Lets face it, anyone can be a Bird Locator. All you need is decent vision and perseverance. And binoculars, if you have them. The Bird Watchers will appreciate your help in locating the birds for them to ID. Just don't point out the birds that look like tiny specks, way way over on the far horizon.

As for eleven months from now, and my First Bird of January, 2020? I think I'll go out and buy a real bird book, so I can learn more species. Plus, get my first bird of the year down officially, in writing in my new book.

Though I'm still bummed this year's first bird wasn't a chicken, taking a bath.

Oh well, maybe next year...

~ Finto ~

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Thanks for stopping in and viewing the bird-brained discoveries of early 2019. If you have any thoughts about the first bird of the year, bird watching in general, fountainiferous fowl, birdbaths, bird SHOWERS, bird loophas, or anything else this post reminds you of, please feel free to comment away in the spaces below. I'd love to hear from you.

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_{Posted: 02/07/2019 @ 14:05}

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Excerpts From Late-Night Conversations With A Mechanical Cat

Fact Number 118

More Stinky the Cat Classics from CatFacts Of YesterYear