July brought lots of sunshine, not much rain, and tons of growth,
especially around Spot 1 (which grew increasingly difficult to access as
the entrance became overgrown). In my personal life, I was dealing with
my mom's recent diagnosis of breast cancer, and trying to balance
family time, my relationship, school, and multiple jobs. I would say
being out here in nature was both a godsend and a detriment to me, for
my sanity and for my productivity levels, respectively. Nevertheless, I
am always at home during a walk in the woods, and the summer sun soothed
my soul. <3
Enjoy these images of the progress of
my photo journal. It can also be viewed week by week and in greater
detail on my
Little Bird Nerd Facebook page. Not much has changed this month except for more leaves, more flowers, fewer birds, and much drier ground.
July, Spot 1
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| Spot 1: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31 |
July, Spot 2
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| Spot 2: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31 |
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July, Spot 3
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| Spot 3: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31 |
Other July Happenings:
July is a notoriously horrible month
for birding around here. Birds are either up north nesting, or hanging
near their local nests, not allowing for many viewing opportunities.
Leaf coverage is more dense than any other time, making it additionally
difficult to view what is there. It's probably for the best that this
lull exists, as it provides a breather between spring and fall
migration. Instead of birding, it's a good time to focus on butterflies,
dragonflies, flowers, and other parts of nature. July is also prime
time for the part of birding that isn't out in the field- the study and
research portion. I enjoy this aspect of birding nearly as much as being
out in the field, as I've always loved to learn and soak up as much
information as I can. Finally, July gives us birders a good chance to
spend some quality time with the people in our lives, as we are often
absent on birding chases during the surrounding months.
My
only first-of-the-year species sighting (both for the county and the
entire state) came at the very end of the month, in the form of a few Sanderlings
at LSCMP. It was fun to watch them running characteristically in and
out of the waves on the shoreline, surrounded by a few other small
shorebirds for good comparison looks.
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| Sanderling (Calidris alba) |
Comparisons
Last year's January through July total species count: 181
This year's January through July total species count: 214
