Eric Moore is the owner of Jay’s Bird Barn, with two locations in northern Arizona — Prescott and Flagstaff. Eric has been an avid birder for over 50 years. If you have questions about wild birds that you would like discussed in future articles, email him at eric@jaysbirdbarn.com.
Bird identification is a tricky business. To casual backyard birders—and to new field birders—learning the subtleties of bird identification can be both challenging and rewarding.
The weather this past week has been so cold and snowy! I am very grateful I am not a bird! I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to live outdoors 24/7 — weighing mere grams, enduring winter snow, wind, and freezing temperatures.
In 2012, when Arizona was celebrating its 100th year of statehood, Jay’s Bird Barn sponsored a Centennial Birding Challenge. We encouraged bird and nature lovers to get out and explore the great state of Arizona, with an emphasis on bird watching.
Every year, since 2004, I have attended a trade show in Atlanta, Georgia to shop for Jay’s Bird Barn. When our son, Jeremy, and his family moved to Virginia a few years ago, we combined business with pleasure – visiting them and attending the trade show.
In last week’s column, I wrote about my birding experience at Granite Basin as part of the Prescott Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. Just over a week later, I led a Jay’s Bird Barn bird walk to the same location and experienced very different results.
Last Wednesday, Dec. 21, was the annual Prescott Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count. My assigned area was Granite Basin, which covers a large geographical area — from the intersection of Iron Springs and Granite Basin Road, all the way to Granite Mountain.
We help our customers as they seek to learn more about the birds they are seeing in their yards and out in nature. The ability to identify birds is a skill that takes time and is aided by using a field guide.
Over the years, we have had several remarkable bird sightings at our Jay’s Bird Barn store location. One memorable event was watching a peregrine falcon eating a pigeon while perched on top of the Bank of America Building!
Last week I led a Jay’s Bird Barn-sponsored bird walk to the recharge ponds near the Prescott airport. Despite cold morning temperatures and a chilly breeze, we had a delightfully birdy morning.
Over the last few weeks there has been a pair of great horned owls in my neighborhood that have been hooting up a storm. Their behavior has been somewhat surprising to me.
