...is better than any day working! :-D
I finally had to take a mental health day today and get out and do a
little birding. Of course I picked the absolute worst day to head out
and tour Columbus, but I went anyway...you should have seen the weird
looks I got from some of the rangers of the Metro parks today :-)...I
think that they thought that was crazy.
Well originally I set out to try and find some owls and other raptors
which turned out to be nearly fruitless...I saw one red tailed hawk.
SO I set my sites a little lower and just decided to take what I could
get. :-) So I started hitting the Metro parks to just set back and
enjoy the birds that come to me and take casual strolls/drives around
and check out the feeder birds and scenery. (I think that I am the only
Ohioan that still likes how snow can just turn a blah steam bed into a
work of art. )
**Game time!**
To make this interesting, and to encourage you to look at more than just
the birds, I decided to test how well you know your Columbus metro parks
and other birding spots. So at my first stop I found this:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s226/sjlarue/Birds/T.jpg
and while there, I saw the before mentioned red tailed hawk and field
sparrows, Titmice and Downys.
My second stop, I didn't get my camera out however, it is a place that
caters to man's best friend, Frisbees, sledding, and an ice skating
pond. There, I stopped at the nature center and witnessed so many male
cardinals that it looked like Christmas tree ornaments had been left on
the trees. There were also house and song sparrows, Jays, gold finches,
house finches, and juncos.
My third stop I saw this lovely scenic view:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s226/sjlarue/Birds/C.jpg
While there I stopped into their center and had great views and pictures
of a N. Flicker and a Hairy woodpecker. Also there were Juncos, a couple
Cardinals, White Throated Sparrows, Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees (both
Black Capped and Carolinas), a Carolina Wren, and Titmice. I heard a
Pileated while there as well.
The final place I visited, was near a big tuning fork :-D and thanks to
the 610 WTVN's Big Bass Bros. I discovered the BEST smoked/cured meat
that I have ever had was within a mile from this location. If you go to
this side of town and have a hankering for smoked and cured meat
products as well as normal meats and cheeses, they are only open
Thursday-Saturday...the rest of the time they are restocking the cooler.
:-) I would imagine that they also have beef suet there ;-)
While at the feeders, I saw another impressive display of male
Cardinals, and Juncos. Also there were White Throat, and Song Sparrows,
Downys, and Nuthatches...
After all of this, and since I was in the area, a "quick" trip to THE
Thurman Cafe (I didn't get "Thurmanized", I wimped out and got the
Rubin.) I decided that enough was enough and made the
long...slow...journey home. Seems it snowed a couple of inches while I
was in Columbus.
So where did I visit? Go to the OOS's forum site, and post your
answers. Here is link to the forum page:
http://www.ohiobirds.org/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1319
Answers and winner (picked at random from those who answered correctly)
will be posted Sunday night sometime.
For those who are new to the area, I will email the answers later this
weekend after the game has ended.
For those that do not visit the OOS forum site take the opportunity to
go and explore the site...lots of good info there. But you can email me
your answers and I will post and add you to the pot.
Only one rule, Cols. Metropark employees can only watch...If *you* don't
know were I went, today..you need to get out more!
Pics some of the birds seen at the locations above are found here:
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s226/sjlarue/Birds
Enjoy the game and have a great weekend.
Steve Jones
(aka sjlarue)
Genesis 1:20
20And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures,
and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."
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