269. Golden-winged Warbler

Date         May 7, 2016

Location    Green Lawn cemetery, Columbus, OH

My son and I were there at the Pit, not really having much luck, when we were alerted that someone had a golden-winged. We headed out toward where we were directed, but got lost, but fortunately the guy came along soon after and corrected our course.

There was a guy there looking up a two very large trees. More people eventually came. It was way up there, so he was kind of hard to spot, but I eventually got it and was able to help some other people find him too. He was singing regularly.

It was awfully nice of him to just stay in those two trees for so long.


Cornell: Golden-winged Warbler

268. Yellow-crowned Night-heron

Date         June 20, 2015

Location    field behind Ripley's museum, Grand Prairie, TX

So there are ones you plan for and investigate and seek out, like the Painted Bunting, and then there are those that just drop in your lap. Sort of. I mean, I was on the lookout, as always, and I saw something unfamiliar, so we stopped to investigate.

We were just leaving the museum when we spotted a few of these birds just hanging out in the swampy field behind the building. I didn't have binoculars with me, but we did have a nice camera, so my wife managed to get some good pictures to aid in identification.


Cornell: Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

267. Painted Bunting

Date         June 19, 2015

Location    Oak Point Nature Preserve, Plano, TX

It almost seems surreal to have this entry. Yes, I've seen a Painted Bunting. I almost feel guilty about it for those who haven't seen one.

I was in Texas for a family reunion, and this time, I didn't want to trust to luck. So I contacted the local Audubon society and someone volunteered to be my guide.

She took me to this place in Plano where eBird had had some recent sightings. We finally did see one fairly low to the ground in a tree. We saw two more, one a pretty good distance away in the grass. (She complimented my good eye. Aw shucks.)

All were males. I wouldn't have minded seeing a female too, but I'd rather have all males than all females!

Cornell: Painted Bunting

266. Common Loon

Date         May 2, 2015

Location    Prairie Oaks metro park, Madison county, OH

On the way back from the northern end, the large pond was now on my left, and I saw a lone bird well out in the middle. He was not in breeding plumage yet, and he wouldn't swim any closer. I waited a while. No dice.

Cornell: Common Loon

265. American Pipit

Date         May 2, 2015

Location    Prairie Oaks metro park, Madison county, OH

On this day I ventured to an area of the park that I had never been to before. I took the trail that went north (left) after crossing the bridge over Darby creek. This northern end offered forest trails and some nice open areas with small ponds. A larger pond was on the way there on the right as you went north.

Somehow this bird had fallen off my radar, so I when I first saw him, I was really puzzled. What was this scrubby-looking robin thing? He flew behind some boulders, so I quickly moved much closer while I was out of sight. I got a better look when he reappeared and it finally dawned on me what it was.

Cornell: American Pipit

264. Northern Pintail

Date         December 29, 2014

Location    Blendon Woods metro park, Columbus, OH

Another duck that had by now become sort of a grail bird because it wasn't terribly uncommon. (Common Merganser now occupies that spot)

Blendon Woods comes through again.

Cornell: Northern Pintail

263. Wood Pigeon

Date         June 20, 2014

Location    Alhambra, Granada, Andalucia, Spain

Columba palumbus

The last bird in Spain would prove to be one of the more challenging puzzles but with a very satisfying ending. We were eating dinner right next to the great Alhambra castle complex, and I was done eating, so naturally I escaped the crowd of people and went outside to see if I could see any birds. (Chaperoning duty was less constricting when we were all together).

The light wasn't very good, but across the way I saw a couple of large gray birds perched in the trees. I convinced myself for a time that they were a falcon of some kind. I can't remember which, but in any case, the one I was looking at didn't have the little strip of white on the neck. Moreover, these birds were just perched together in a tree, not moving much at all over a period of about 15 minutes. It seemed odd behavior for a falcon, but I couldn't get anything else to "fit." (Dangerous territory when trying to identify a bird) However, the light wasn't very good either. Perhaps the white was a trick of the light?

Then I saw the additional picture in the Wood Pigeon entry and that really locked it in. In addition to having the requisite white stripe on the neck, the birds in the illustration looked almost exactly like mine in terms of behavior, habitat, etc. I realized my mistake and exulted in the knowledge that I had the right bird, no question. I'm not sure how I would have felt later -- I might have deleted the falcon entry. A cautionary tale, perhaps.

But then again, there's always that line: how sure do I have to be? 100%? Beyond reasonable doubt? The thing is, I've been 100% certain before, but then later realize that I had missed a field mark (kind of like in this case). It's ultimately up to the individual to decide.


Wikipedia: Common Wood Pigeon