corvus (raven) corax (croaker)
Friday, December 28, 1979 — 8:30 am
McNaughton, Wisconsin
A friend and I were walking along a road through the woods when this raven flew overhead, croaking loudly. It passed so close to us that I could hear its wings beating.
perisoreus (to heap up food) canadensis (of Canada)
Thursday, December 27, 1979 — 2:30 pm
McNaughton, Wisconsin — West Spider Lake
We threw the remains of a turkey on the ice on West Spider Lake. Our intent was to attract Gray Jays.
Two days later, our plan worked. I watched the birds flying down to the carcass, grabbing a little piece of meat, then flying off down the shore. A minute or so later, back they came for more.
sitta (a nuthatch) canadensis (of Canada)
Thursday, December 27, 1979 — 9:30 am
McNaughton, Wisconsin
I went out by myself to look for birds, and particularly for this bird. Before I began listing, I spotted a Red-breasted Nuthatch in a tree very close to where I was now. I followed it around for a while and managed to get a good enough look that I was able to find it in a field guild later. But I still hadn’t seen one since I started listing, and that was my quest.
I walked along a road that cut through the woods. Along the road was a depression filled with small evergreens. I spotted the nuthatch in those trees in company with a handful of chickadees.
dryocopus (from drys, an oak tree, and kopis, cleaver) pileatus (crested)
Wednesday, December 26, 1979 — 2:00 pm
McNaughton, Wisconsin
In the afternoon, my fiancée and I took a walk along a narrow road through the woods. We hadn’t gone very far when a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers flew out of the trees and landed on the trunk of a tall, dead pine about 50 feet from where we stood. We slowly walked toward them and got within 30 feet of the base of the tree before they took off. When they flew, they made no noise at all. I was impressed by how quiet and inconspicuous they were for such large birds. And they looked positively prehistoric. We were impressed.
lanius (butcher) ludovicianus (Louisiana Territory)
Wednesday, November 21, 1979 — 9:30 am
Conway, Arkansas — Happy Valley
I first saw the shrike on a wire between a yard and a brushy field. It was perched on the wire, looking around. As I approached, it took off and flew to the top of a tree along the pond, then to the top of a bush out in another brushy field.
