0comments Presentation at Beckham Bird Club

Hello all. I wanted to make everyone aware that I will be the speaker at the Beckham Bird Club meeting in December. The meeting is on Tuesday, December 14, at 7:00PM at the Clifton Center on 2117 Payne Street. The presentation will be on Powerpoint and will include two parts: my job as a landfill bird biologist, and the birds I see at the landfill. There will be plenty of pictures so the presentation promises to be entertaining.


The Beckham Bird Club is located in Louisville, KY and was founded in 1935 by Charles Wickliffe Beckham. The club holds weekly field trips to the area's best birding locations and also participates in nationwide group counts such as the Big Sit and the Christmas Bird Count. If you live in the Louisville area and are interested in birds or nature, you should consider joining the Beckham Bird Club. There are many people in the club who have years of experience and knowledge and they love to share with new birders their bits of wisdom. I know I would not be anywhere near my level of expertise (I'm good at everything besides shorebirds :P ) if it wasn't for the great people in the club who are so enthusiastic about birding and helping others. So come on out to the next meeting and learn about the birds seen on the landfill and meet some of the best birding minds around!

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0comments Bird-a-thon Results

Despite seriously windy weather, I was able to find 55 species of birds at the landfill yesterday for the 2010 Beckham Bird Club Bird-a-thon. We raised $82.50 that will go to bird conservation and education. All donations came from donors whom have never pledged before and will go a long way to help Kentucky birds. Thank you to all who donated.

With the windy weather it was difficult to even see birds let alone photograph them, but I was able to get a few shots of those that cooperated. Barn Swallows were quite numerous yesterday and found a spot where they were coursing for insects and collecting mud to construct or repair their nests. Several were perching on a piece of rebar jutting out from the garbage. It made a rather nice place to rest from the busy work of catching insects buzzing over the trash.


A rather common bird but nonetheless beautiful is the American Robin. This guy was standing on a concrete post next to a gas well head yesterday.


Several Baltimore Orioles were seen and heard singing from the treetops. These birds construct nests that look like baskets hanging from the branch. The female builds the nest by weaving dead plant material together with her beak like a seamstress uses a needle. If you wish to attract orioles to your yard you can slice an orange in half and impale it on a stick. This will entice the birds into your yard as they enjoy the juicy treat.


The only sparrow I was able to photograph was this Savannah Sparrow. These birds usually winter in KY but a small part of the population stays in Kentucky around Lexington year round and actually breed in the state.


The following is a full list of the species seen on the Bird-a-thon at the landfill. Thanks again to those that participated.


Number of species: 55

Canada Goose 1
Mallard 3
Blue-winged Teal 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Great Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
American Kestrel 1
Killdeer 8
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Ring-billed Gull 1
Rock Pigeon 1
Mourning Dove 20
Chimney Swift 6
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Willow Flycatcher 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
White-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 2
Horned Lark 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 40
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 2
Carolina Wren 3
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 2
American Robin 30
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 3
Brown Thrasher 1
European Starling 125
Yellow Warbler 5
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 6
Vesper Sparrow 1
Savannah Sparrow 1
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 12
White-throated Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 4
Blue Grosbeak 3
Indigo Bunting 15
Dickcissel 5
Red-winged Blackbird 100
Eastern Meadowlark 12
Common Grackle 40
Brown-headed Cowbird 25
Orchard Oriole 1
Baltimore Oriole 3
House Finch 2
American Goldfinch 20
House Sparrow 1

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0comments Beckham Bird Club Birdathon

This year I will be participating in the Beckham Bird Club Birdathon, an event that raises money for local organizations involved in bird research, rehabilitation, education, as well as for purchasing prime bird habitat in Kentucky. Below is a list of organiztions that will be benefiting from this year's Birdathon:

· Operation Migration

· Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission

· Kentucky Natural Lands Trust

· Kentucky Resources Council (KRC)

· Raptor Rehabilitation

· The Louisville Nature Center

· Kentucky Conservation Committee (KCC)

· Bob & Judy Peak (Bluebirds)

· Woods & Waters Land Trust

· The Museum of the American Printing House for the Blind

· Wingspan of Kentucky


I will be counting birds at the landfill on Saturday May 8th for the Birdathon. Donations are usually made by pledging a certain amount of money for each species of bird observed. Hopefully I will find roughly 60-70 birds, but possibly more if I am lucky. If you are interested in donating, please email me at ryan.ankeny@gmail.com. I thank you, Beckham Bird Club thanks you, and most importantly, Kentucky's birds thank you.

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