Our “Wild Bird Classic” is coming up next.  This fund raiser is being presented by MSU’s Prof. Liz Minden’s Public Relations Campaign graduating class.  The event is a Four-person Golf Scramble on April 22nd.  Please see the Upcoming Events Category for details.  For all you golfers, this is a great opportunity to have a good fun golf day and support Wild Bird Rescue.

Bob

There has been a change in venue and date for the MSU PR Campaigns class four-person golf scramble.  The fund raiser will take place on Thursday, April 22nd, at Weeks Park Golf Course.  Start time is 1pm.  The entry fee is $75 per person.  Entry fee includes cart, green fees, buffet and awards.  Registration deadline is April 16th.  So, for all you golfers…a fun way to support Wild Bird Rescue.  (Upcoming Events category has been updated.)

As many of you know, I am helping out at the Humane Society (as if I did not have enough on my plate already).  They are doing a nation wide search for a new Executive Director.  But, in the mean time, they have a fantastic, dedicated staff who are taking great care of the dogs and cats and adaptions are going on daily.  Unfortunately, new dogs and cats are still coming in faster than we can adopt.  Please have your dogs or cats spayed or neutered.  You really are providing your pets with a healthier life and reducing the number of animals needing homes.  Unless they find a new director soon, I will be helping through the end of April.

Penny Miller called me to say Terry McKee had her first Purple Martin scout at her house over the weekend.  I saw Terry yesterday and she said there were two more that morning.  This morning we had three Martins sitting on the perches of the Martin house here at the Rescue Center.  They were really fussing because I had not removed the plugs.  The holes are all open and the house is extended skyward so they can start getting settled in.

I love spring.

Also, there was a self-propelled lawn mower on the front porch when I got to work this morning.  A note attached read “A gift to WBR.  Your welcome”.  There was no name.  So, if you left us the mower and are reading this blog – THANK YOU.

Foot Note:  If you would like to comment on my blog send me an email, I would like to here from you.     Do not comment here.  I was getting 75 – 100 spam messages a day so I had the comment section turned off.

Our winter birds are still with us.  The Pelicans, Cormorants, Gulls and wintering ducks of various species are still on Lake Wichita.  I still see the White-crowned Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and Juncos at the feeder here at WBR.

It is the summer birds that are telling me spring is near.  I have watched sparrows and starlings carrying nesting materials for over two weeks now.  Penny Miller told me she saw a sparrow sitting on a nest.  I have received several calls already regarding mallards nesting and one call regarding a mallard nest with eggs.  Tuesday morning I saw two Killdeer chasing a third.

When I went outside to get my newspaper this morning the Robins were singing.  Our resident (at home) Mockingbird was in the Elm tree singing his little heart out.  When I arrived at work I was greeted by a male Cardinal at the very top of a Mulberry tree singing his “come see how pretty I am” song to all the girl cardinals in the neighborhood.

Spring is just around the corner, and so will be baby season at Wild Bird Rescue.

And, so rises the need for volunteers.  We will start volunteer training in mid-April.  Check out the volunteer category.

And, so rises the need for funds.  Check out the Upcoming Events category.  You can also donate via PayPal on our home page.

Also, a very special thank you to Duckie and The Grackle for their support and fund raising efforts while they were here.  It is always good to see friends and alway nice when they want to help in our efforts.  You guys are great!

April:

April 24th:

Earth Day at River Bend Nature Center.  Noon to 3pm.  Come see our booth.

April 22nd:  (note: this was scheduled for April 24th)

MSU’s graduating Public Relations Campaigns class will present “Wild Bird Classic”.  A four person golf scramble at Weeks Park Golf Course.  The scramble starts at 1pm.  Entry fee is $75 per person and includes cart, green fees, buffet and awards.  To register, or for more information, contact Prof. Liz Minden at 940-397-4398 or email her, liz.minden@mwsu.edu .  Registration Deadline is April 16th. 

The students are doing an outstanding job of planning and coordinating this event.  It promises to be a fun day.

Austin has reported their first Purple Martin scouts of the year.  In Wichita Falls we normally see the first Martins in mid-February, so these sightings in Austin fall right in line with their usual time-frame.  Be ready to get those Martin houses up!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up February 12-15.  The reported sightings during this time frame helps add to our knowledge of bird populations.  Go to as many different places as possible and document the different species you see and the numbers of the species.  The North Texas Bird and Wildlife Club sponsors this event locally and they will forward your sightings.

There will be a GBBC at Wild Bird Rescue Sunday morning, the 14th, at 7:30am.  We will be here for a couple of hours.  Come, watch birds, stay for as long as you want, and have some fun with fellow birders.  Bring chairs and your binoculars, just remember to dress warm!  We will be on the shore of Lake Wichita so remember that breeze off the lake is going to be even colder!

See you the 14th.

We did see a couple of Great Blue Herons standing in the Red River when we drove over the bridge.  Just north of the river I saw a solitary Sandhill Crane standing in a marshy-looking stock tank.  There were numerous Meadowlarks, European Starlings and House Sparrows.  We counted 24 raptors on the way there.  Also saw Ring-billed Gulls, Great-tailed and Common Grackles and a Cardinal in OK City.

The fog had cleared by the time we started back.  We counted 68 raptors on the return trip.  Confirmed raptors were numerous Red-tailed Hawks, 2 Cooper’s Hawks, one Sharp-shinned Hawk, and 3 American Kestrels.  The rest were definately raptors but we could not get a positive I.D. on them.

Watching for birds always makes shopping a little easier.

Late yesterday afternoon I happened to look out the window and saw someone different.  I called for Marjorie and Lila to come look and between the three of us and two field guides we determined our visitor was a Harris’s Sparrow!  A first sighting for all three of us!  Very striking bird. 

Bird watching is always fun.  I get a kick out of the antics of the various species feeding from the ground.  But, everyone once in a while that new bird shows up and it gets just a little bit more exciting.

I do hope each and everyone one of you had a happy and safe New Year.  I am just finishing end-of-year reports.  We received and cared for 1,092 birds in 2009!  WBR has been in operation for 9 years, this month!  We have received over 8,500 birds in this time frame.

Our release rate for 2009 was 66.60%.  This is a 3.57% increase over 2008.  I was hoping for 5% increase.  2008 was better than 2007 and 2007 was better than 2006.  However, if we released 66.60%, this means we lost 33.40%.  Every year we review our protocols to ensure we are up to date with diets, examination proceedures, medical advances, etc.  Every year we keep doing better and better.  I think this year we will focus more on decreasing our loss rate.  The rest will take care of itself.

I attended the Master Naturalist advanced training class conducted by Penny Miller at River Bend Nature Center.  The class was open to the public and if you missed it, you missed a good training session on Bird Identification.  Penny gave some excellant tips on identifying birds in the field.  Although the majority of those in attendance were Master Naturalist, there were a few of us “civilians” there also.  Including two couples new to Wichita Falls.

Once the classroom session was complete, we gathered up our jackets and binoculars and took a stroll down the path at River Bend.  I don’t know if anyone documented our sightings, and I doubt I will remember all of them but those I do remember were;  Juncos, Phoebe, House Sparrow, Grackle, Eurasian Collared Dove, White-winged Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Chickadee (my first sighting since moving to Wichita Falls), House Finch AND an addition to my life-list.

When we lived on our 3 1/2 acre paradise in Bulverde, the Black-crested Tit Mouse was as common as sparrows in town.  However, this past Saturday I saw my first ever Tufted Tit Mouse!

WHAT A GREAT DAY OF BIRDING!