Thanks for the heads-up, Althea. I ordered a copy yesterday, too late for Christmas delivery...

We recently saw a pair of trumpeter swans on Lake Monona, and there is said to be a flock of these birds living near a park on the north side of Lake Mendota, only 8 miles from here. So we will not have to drive to Monticello, MN to see these birds. They came to us!

I hope you enjoy the book Eric.

Neat sighting of Trumpeter swans. The newest bird on my backyard list is a Pileated Woodpecker. They are huge!

Those are cool Althea. I have them around my woods. They have a great cackling call - like Woody Woodpecker.

I've been watching a pair of Bald Eagles on a nest on an isolated lake edge near my house. They are recent arrivals to the lake (2-3 years ago). I don't know if they are using the nest to raise young or just hanging out there. The lake is a trophy lake (for big bass) and is open just one week a month. The lake is deserted on the weekends its closed for fishing - perfect for animal watching.

The strangest sighting lately here was a huge blue herron that landed on my roof while I was right outside. It took off for the woods. It turns out that it ate nearly all my neighbor's goldfish.

That's a beautiful book. Graeme Gibson is Margaret Atwood's husband btw - literary gossip.

This summer kayaking in a small cove off the harbour we slid up to within 10 feet of a great blue heron feeding in the shallows. Calming down enough to get that close, and then sitting for half an hour watching it be still, stride and dash its beak at the water was a meditation practice in itself - we paddled away a lot calmer than we'd arrived :).

Do you do community bird counts where you live? We have the Christmas one coming up, then one in May. Two years ago it was very exciting - four glossy ibis were around for a few weeks, far from home.

Here is a link that might be useful: Audubon's glossy ibis

KT, isn't Woody Woodpecker a Pileated, the cartoon voice accurate? How cool to have eagles nearby. Living near the Mississippi, we see eagles soaring above the river often.

Wayne, a Great Blue Heron landed on our patio two summers ago. Did your neighbor re-stock goldfish? I'll keep your story in mind if I ever want to attract herons to the yard.

Paul, I didn't know Gibson and Margaret Atwood were married until I read it on the book jacket. One of the reasons I wanted to get the book was because Atwood is listed as a contributer. Her selection was one of the first I read.

The Audubon Society has an annual bird count. I've never participated. I don't know if our local chapter has a seperate count. The Glossy Ibis is beautiful.

Last spring I saw a Scarlet Tanager for the first time in the back yard.

Yeah, Althea its pretty close I think for a cartoon voice. We never saw eagles until after the lake was built and then only in a past 2-3 years. The first time I saw one here was 2 years ago. I was hiking on the mountain and it rose up from the lake below me and soared right at eye level.

The lake is part of a power generating facility which was built in the 1980's against much opposition in the valley. It took away farming land that had been in families for generations and gutted a unique mountain plateau that I used to camp on as a teen. But, I can say grudgingly that it did at least protect some wildlife habitat development. I'm still mad at the power company though. They don't use the 6000 acre "park" for education or active wildlife management/conservation not even botanical surveys - just managed hunts, camping, and fishing. I have benefited from seeing more birds including herons, various ducks and geese, and sandhill crane flyovers.

Paul, I haven't done the community bird count either and am not sure we have a chapter in my county. I should get more involved.

Althea,
No the neighbor didn't restock the fish. Her pond isn't deep enough to protect against Blue Herons.

KT,

Were those eagles golden eagles? One reason I ask is that I read where they can be a predator on Whooping Crane nests in Florida. Some people are aiding the build up of Whooping Cranes.
Also you mentioned Sand Hill Cranes. There were perhaps 30 large cranes last spring around some temporary ponds in the field by me. In the fall during their southward migration they gather in a grassy field with water at Jasper/ Pulaski Reserve in NW Indiana. They gather in the early evening by the thousands. They forage in the fields during the day and return by clans of 6 to 20 before dark. It is an awesome sight seeing them come in from all directions with each leader honking their arrival. They remind me of an airliner landing. They glide in and throw up their flaps and drop their landing gear and stall out at the last second.

The bald eagles I'm real certain about, but there may also be golden eagles around that I haven't spotted. I heard a rumor that they were seen at the other end of the valley, but as yet I can't say for certain I've seen one athough I have seen some raptors from a great distance (beyond my binocs) that might be golden eagles. I have seen Great Blue Herons, Canada Geese, and ducks in the water and on islands very near the eagle snag perch and they don't seem too concerned about the eagles. Perhaps they are eating fish and rodents.

Looks like a good book. I love birds as well (I even like swans) and based upon the reviews, it looks like good bedside reading.

Some of the entries in the book are disturbing; a truly unusual book.

I saw the Pileated Woodpecker again. He was hammering away on the oak tree less than 10 feet from the upstairs bathroom window. Seeing him through binoculars was a thrill, but this close sighting left me in awe. A real treat for an amateur backyard birdwatcher.