Could you lead a bird tour this Saturday????

I was down at headquarters this morning checking over the box with supplies in it for the bird banding education station which is a part of the Bridges to Birding school program that we offer in the spring.  I will be teaching the teachers about this station later this month, so I wanted to be sure everything was in order.  As I was finishing up, a fellow volunteer came in to inform me that Rob, the volunteer coordinator, wanted me to take a phone call.  Who could possibly be calling me here, and not on my cell phone?  It turned out to be a member of the Balcones Canyonlands NWR Friends Group. 

It seems that the Hill Country Bird and Wildflower Society, and the Friends of Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery, are sponsoring a Winter Bird Fest in Burnet, TX, this Saturday.  It also seems that the person that was to lead their bird bird tour had suddenly cancelled, and Rob suggested that they ask me to step in.  I'm sure you can guess my answer to their request.  :)  So, I'll be leading a bird tour all day Saturday, and will even receive a small stipend.  You can't beat that....getting paid to do something I enjoy.

Since I've never been to Burnet, TX, I felt it was necessary to scope out the places where I'll be leading the tour. I knew that Peggy has been cooped up inside doing office work for the last month,  so, I asked if she'd like to come with me tomorrow as I go take a look.  She, at least, has been to Burnet.  I also told her that we would probably have to eat lunch out during our journey.  ;)  So, off we'll go on a little adventure tomorrow.  I hope the roads aren't icy.  The weather forecast is for a wintry mix of precipitation all day tomorrow.

This afternoon, after I got back to the rig, I was able to get a few more shots of some of my avian neighbors.

Northern mockingbirds are common throughout much of the US.  While they don't frequent bird feeders, they do often run along the ground searching out tasty insects.  The males do tend to sing many different songs and will mimic other species.

I finally got a pic of a tufted titmouse that wasn't just a complete blur.  They are so active that it is hard to get them to sit still long enough for a photo.  This is the black-crested variety that is found in this part of Texas, and southward.  They really like the oil seeds at the feeder, and, like the chickadee, only take one seed at a time and then find a perch to crack the seed open on.

It only took overnight for the American goldfinches to figure out I had put a Niger seed feeder up!  I haven't had such busy feeders in some time.  Looks like I'll have to go to town for more bird seed on Friday.

Thanks for stopping by....talk to you later,  Judy