Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Sorry it has been almost a week since my last post, but the weather outside has been pretty dismal, and not in the Swampy NWR kind of way. Just dismal. We tried to do some birding last weekend down at Pea Island with some friends, but it was pouring rain and this week it has just been cold. Yesterday's high was 39 brrrr.

Needless to say I am itching to get out. Last night the North Banks Bird Club met at the library in Kill Devil Hills and I was excited to present. We have orchestrated a "Sparrow Roundup" with PhD student Ray Danner who is working with the avian ecology department at VT. You can read all about the project here. Some volunteers and I will be helping out Ray in mid-December to establish a baseline count of the Coastal Plain sub-species of the Swamp Sparrow. (pictured above) I am very excited about the opporutnity to participate and help further the research of these birds. If you are wondering why these birds are important, check the website!

Not to let the weather put a damper on me, I did go out for a little birding this morning. And although I only caught glimpses of some butter-butts, I took a few photos. So now we're going to institute a new challenge section to the Birding with Ben blog... Find the Bird. (See how that fits in nicely since I am incapable of taking quality photos?) Good luck and let me know if you find the Yellow-Rump in the picture below. It's not really that hard.