The Thursday Report....

Short biking day,
I think poor Katie's bottom was a little sore from all the traveling we did yesterday. We started out excited. I told Katie we were going biking after our breakfast, and she went to the door, and excitedly patted it. When we got on the road it was a different story. It didn't take long for her to attempt a helmet and harness removal. A little less than half-way around, I stopped the bike, and we dismounted to romp around. We definately enjoyed that, although if I'da had some bread we could have fed some ducks and whatnot.
What will be, will be.
So let me give you some background, who I am, who Katie is, and what I like to call "The Usual Suspects".
I am Brandon Hoyt, eldest son of my Mother and Father. Currently, I am 28 years old (My birthday is October 26, so if you want to send me presents, keep that in mind ;), happily married, and Katie is my wife (Kelly) and I's first child. She was born May 6, 2005, and I couldn't ask for anything more precious in this world! She enjoys Lilo and Stitch, Elmo, and dancing. She does not enjoy being strapped down, so trips typically last about 2 hrs or less before stopping. I've been a birding since I was 8, in the summer of 1986 my family inherited a house in central Louisiana from my father's Aunt Jo. Included in the house were many books, one of which was a golden field guide. It was a thin book, and water damaged a long time ago, but something about it caught my eye. I remember thinking to myself, "wow, I can see birds almost everywhere!" Since my dad was in the Navy, I figured a portable hobby was a good idea. For Christmas that year, I got a pair of bushnell binoculars (7 by 35 just like I had read about in a book my grandmother had given me) Coupled with a love for small notebooks, and the outdoors in general, I stay hooked for life. Over the course of time, I've been (semi-)active in several chapters of the Audubon society, Duval (where I was the youngest member when I was 12, made lotsa meetings and field trips), Kissimmee Valley (made 3 meetings and 1 field trip in four years of college), Atlanta (never made a meeting, but made several field trips), and most recently Lake Regions (Current, made one field trip so far).

The "Usual Suspects" and "Bird of Note" (US or BN)

Sometimes I'll refer to a specie of bird as a US or a BN. The title explains the meaning. Some of the Usual Suspects around Lake Hollingsworth in lakeland are

Osprey
Purple Gallinule
Common Moorhen
Boat Tailed Grackle
Mottled Duck
Mallard Duck
Fish Crow
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Tri-Color (Louisiana always and forever to me) Heron
White Ibis
American Anhinga
Double Crested Comorant.

Some more common BN's are:

Pied billed Grebe (Especially when they have young! Been seein' a family of them lately)
Red Shouldered Hawk
Woodstork
Anything Baby. (mostly for the cuteness factor)
=)

Some of these birds I see every day, some are not, if you want me to use the four letter abreviation for the names of the birds, Lemme know. I will prolly keep it longhand for now.
Thanks for reading!
GB and KT Hoyt