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Thursday, December 1, 2011

Mystery Birds And Other Adventures

I haven't searched for bird types for awhile so I'm having a little trouble now. I took these pictures of the bird you see here and I have no idea what it might be. I've searched several times but I can't find anything with these same colors or pattern. In these pictures it appears to be black and white, but I think the black may be a little more brown than it appears here.

The odd thing is that I think I've seen birds like these before in Michigan, and I think I may have identified them already, but I just can't seem to figure it out now. It's a fun mystery that might stay with me for awhile. And even though the pictures are a little dark, I thought they'd be fun to share.

I also have some other thoughts to share with you today. I almost didn't decide to publish my last post after I read through it. It seemed as if I was a little depressed about my new home, but that wasn't what I was really trying to say. I was trying to point out that living in the country isn't necessarily better than the city. It's just different. bioth have their good and bad points.

For instance, I just saw my second falling star in only a few weeks now! They're the only ones I've ever seen in my entire life! You won't see too many of them in the city. They are there, but the city lights hide them.

I'm also enjoying the peace and quiet very much. Most of the sounds I'm hearing are animals, not the sounds of crowded together humans. Also the people here don't seem to look at each other with the distrust that city people usually have to do out of necessity. And things just seem to move at a slower pace here, which I kind of like.

Let's change the subject a little bit one more time. I haven't really been able to get out and explore the nature parks the way I'd like to yet. It's just that I've been so very busy around my new property that I haven't had much time to go very far. So I'm glad there's plenty of nature around here.

That's all about to change. By tomorrow I hope to go in search of the closest nature park to me. It's only about 4 miles away, and it happens to be a part of the largest preserved prairie land in the entire state of Iowa. It's so big that up until now I haven't been able to find the entrance to the place. I found the right road yesterday.
 
Another thing is, I took my dog out for one of her nightly walks just before I wrote this, and she spotted an animal out there. She barked at it and it gave a squeal right back at here. I don't know what it was she was seeing in the darkness, but she wanted to eat it very badly. She didn't get her wish.

And finally, I keep looking at the bird in my pictures thinking it looks so familiar, but it's still a mystery to me. I wish I knew what it is, but I know I'll have to wait. A happy mystery that I'll still be thinking about even now that I'm done writing this post. Happy trails.


Nature Center Magazine - Your starting place for nature!

11 comments:

  1. I can't help you identifying this bird, Ratty! I'm clueless when it comes to names on many different subject.

    Have fun exploring your new nature park!

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  2. I am still following your posts although I don't comment much. I am very sorry for your loss. It has resulted in a grand new life adventure, though, which I enjoy reading about!

    The little bird looks like a junco to me. They are also called snowbirds. We usually see them around here just before or during a snowstorm.

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  3. It is my headache to identify a bird, a critter or anything.

    So I normally do not crack my head.

    Hopefully you still can sleep well while waiting for the mystery to be solved.

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  4. Looks like a junco to me. You'll often see them on the ground, which is where they like to feed.

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  5. Sooner or later i am sure you ll get used to the place and also have a better awareness of the birds and animals over there. Things seem to move slow in a place so silent like that. Whenever you descrbied the place where you live now, i get so anxious to learn more about it through your posts. I like knowing about silent, adventurous and mystry places like this.

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  6. Is that little bird a junco ? Size and colouring seem right. They are fall and winter visitors around here.

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  7. You have found a little junco. They often stay near the ground, but not always.

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  8. I know you'll figure it out sooner or later

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  9. I'm here late and I can see that everyone already told you that it is a junco. Sweet little bird--I always seem to notice them more in winter when their dark color stand out against the snow.

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  10. It looks like the mystery of the bird has been solved for you, Ratty!

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  11. Yep! That's a Junco. I have lots of them here.

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