I took the first step on a new project today. 5 Mile Radius (5MR) is a project to encourage birders to get more familiar with birds and nature in general close to home. Its a great way to connect to my local environment and save gas as well.
My 5MR patch includes several of the local hotspots which at first overwhelmed me. I was hoping to get more familiar with a smaller area but my patch was the places I go most often already! 5 miles can actually encompass lots of different terrain. Eventually I made peace with this bonanza of riches and picked one area to focus on. Will Rogers Gardens. Its 1.5 miles from home! I could walk/bike there if traffic wasn't so treacherous and there were sidewalks or bike lanes. Sigh......
Will Rogers Gardens is 30 acres of gardens and trees. Today I spent 45 minutes there and felt like it was a good start. I saw a crow's nest:)
Species
5 Robins 2 Mockingbirds 2 small and fast flying birds TBD
12 Canadian Geese 2 Scaups - Lesser I think but TBD
8 Domestic and Pekin Ducks 6 Robins
5 Mallards 2 House Sparrows
2 Crows 1 Cardinal