Addiction

I have a serious addiction.  No matter what species of wildlife I'm watching, I have a difficult time pulling myself away to do other things.  I could spend all day and night observing animals in the wild.  I would have made a good field wildlife biologist.  Today I'm obsessed with keeping my bins on the flock of Rusty Blackbirds that have visited my bird feeders in my backyard since January 3, 2014.  Today after several days of absence there are 17 eating the corn I have spread on the ground for them and the other blackbirds. There numbers have declined by 85-99% in the last couple of decades and this year there is a study being done to track their migration.  I have been putting my sightings into the data base to help scientist keep tabs on their movement.  Every time I watch one I feel like this could be the last time I ever see one.  I don't take a single sighting for granted.  For more information on Rusty Blackbirds or to participate in the Rusty Blackbird Blitz visit: http://rustyblackbird.org/

This afternoon I'm heading out to find a snowy again.  I know that each time I see one of them, it could be the last time as well.  I hate thinking that way, but with what is happening to our planet, all wildlife are in peril.  I try hard not to focus on the negatives and enjoy each and every gift of a wildlife sighting.  I feel so blessed in this life that I live in an area that I see wildlife constantly.  I don't need to even leave my house.

I forgot to mention, I am all signed up for my Naturalist weekend at the Arnot Forest!  It will take place the first weekend of June.  I will finally have my course work completed for becoming a Master Naturalist!  I still need to do my volunteer hours.  I will be starting that this weekend when I attend a workshop for Project Frogwatch.  I will be going to the Museum of the Hudson Highlands to learn frog calls and be assigned a territory to monitor.   I will be monitoring frogs by their calls in several locations during the Spring and early Summer.  I also found a citizen scientist project that collects data on Spotted Salamanders and Wood Frogs, I will be entering my data on their site as well.