Birders of a Feather...

This past weekend, feeling guilty from all the hours I've spent weekend mornings running, I invited the whole family to come birding with me. Two things helped seal the deal: donuts for the kids and leaving out the part that we were headed to a smelly waste-water treatment plant.

One of the reasons I wanted to go to this location was to try and see any wintering ducks still hanging around, but I also wanted to try and get a decent photo of American Coots running on the water. Unfortunately, the day was windy and overcast, but you can see the series of photographs in the previous post. Interestingly, The Birdwatcher's Companion states that there may be some relationship between their name and the pejorative for the elderly--a slow and awkward head-bobbing.

In addition to the coots, I was also able to get this poor photograph of a Loggerhead Shrike. I have not seen one in almost a year after seeing a bunch last year. These guys are also referred to as butcher birds, I believe, due to their habit of impaling bugs on barbed-wire in order to more easily devour.



When I went back to check the Loggerhead reference in TBC I was interested to find that the word also can be used to refer to a "dunce". In the case of this bird, I think it more likely refers to the size of its head. Hopefully, I can get a better picture of one soon.