Sunday, August 28, 2016

Photo Journal 2016: July

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

Spot 1: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31

July, Spot 2

Spot 2: July, 2016, Weeks 27-31

July, Spot 3

 
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.

 

Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Comparisons
Last year's January through July total species count: 181
This year's January through July total species count: 214