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comettose

Bird Sightings Part 2

comettose
17 years ago

Because the other thread was getting so long I thought I'd start Part 2.

Today I saw a Sharp-shinned hawk fly into my backyard and land on the ground near the feeders. All the birds that were there saw it coming and fled moments earlier. So the bird sat on the ground for a minute, then flew up to my fence, moving along the fence towards a large Leyland cypress I have next to my fence in the back. Then, all of a sudden it dove right into the cypress and swirled in and out of the tree like an expert. Tons of small birds came shooting out of the tree and took off. Mostly juncos and sparrows hang out in the tree. I watched longer and didn't see the hawk fly out after any of them. I watched longer to see where the hawk went, and after a few minutes I saw it on the ground under the tree. I think it caught one of the small birds in the tree and took it to ground to kill it. After a minute more it flew off so fast I could not tell if it was carrying anything as it went out of sight so fast to my front yard area. I ran out front to see if had a bird on the ground out front but it was gone.

Wow - I thought that cypress was a refuge for when hawks swooped in. That bird worked that tree like nothing flat, flying in and out of it in a downward spiral pattern starting at the top. The birds hidden in the thick branches had some protection obviously, as opposed to being caught out in the complete open, but thick places are not safe either. It happened so fast I was simply amazed at the speed and agility that hawk worked that tree.

CT

Comments (126)

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    sorry i missed your question, jean. i do have recording on my camera-cool!- but i was unsure how well it would pick it up.

    ct, it wasn't anything bad.
    so do i sandy!

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i was just talking about this! all i had to do was read my online newsletter.

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    FTM - I've not tried it yet but that on-line bird guide looks like a lot of fun! I'm gonna quiz it first putting in a bird I know to see what pops up! I love things like that! Thanks.

    Sandy - you want a skink you better put on your super, duper racing shoes!

    CT

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Maybe the skink was attracted to the rocks around the bog? The picture was taken on the foundation, I've also seen them skooting around the pots on the deck.

    FTM, her camera picked up the songs really well .... this is her recording of a screech owl (it's a .mov file and 804K) taken at night.

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    cool! and i just love a screech owl twitter. sounds like it was a summer night.

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I guess I don't have Quicktime on my comp! I'll have to download that thing, because I want to hear it, too! :)

    I haven't used the audio recording on our camera since first trying it out when we bought it. We record videos with it a lot, though. I can't imagine not having that now.

    Hey, I found out that what I thought was an oriole was actually a northern mockingbird! The white wing patches threw me off, since the pic in my Audubon's doesn't really show them. It visited the creek to drink at least 3 times yesterday. Now I want to HEAR it. :D

    Brenda

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Brenda - The mockingbird is my absolute favorite. I have one that sings at midnight and I'll tell you it makes me laugh he mocks other birds sounds so well. He does crows, warblers, calm and alarmed robins, hawks, you name it. I don't know how many. There are birders in my group that don't like them because they think they have an uncommon or rare bird about to come into few only to have the Mockingbird mock them. LOL And I say, go baby - that's my bird:-) How can one not love a bird that does that!

    Here is a link to many bird sounds which opens with Real Player. The Mockingbird recording is most likely just the 'real' mockingbird's song, not the mimics. I did hear one recording I found some time ago that had the mimics but I don't remember which group or link, I think Audubon.

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Brenda - I said Real Player - I meant Windows Media Player. You will just have to try and see if it works, but I have QuickTime too and it didn't need that. Hope it works! CT

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    here is my red bellied woodpecker. not a good pic, but way better than my old camera would do.

    {{gwi:163577}}

    saw another bald eagle today while i was crossing the bridge. gorgeous! oh to have slowed down time. it was barely above the window level of my car. what a shot that would have been! saw one yesterday perched adn i wished i hd my camera. of course, i take my camera today on my way to school. was it there? ha! that's how it always goes.

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the link, CT, and yes, it worked! I have no problems with WMP files. I haven't heard that mockingbird sound around here, but what I've thought was something else was probably my darling mocker. :D Very handsome bird, even though it's coloring isn't dramatic.

    I LOVE woodpeckers! We don't get the red-bellied here, though. Beautiful bird, FTM! And I've love to see a baldie! It's ok, you'll catch it on "film" eventually. Well, I hope you do, so we can see it, too! LOL

    Brenda

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love woodpeckers too! I would love to see a Red-headed woodpecker at the feeder. I don't think they like people much and stay in the deeper wooded areas. Jean - have you seen and/or photographed one yet? For me, the Red-headed is the holy grail of woodpeckers, not the Pileated.

    My hawk was back yesterday sitting on the limb between two feeders! He reminded me of a parrot sitting on his perch. A new tactic - sit on the perch real still until the birds come back. LOL He was fairly close and I thought I would run for the camera, but he flew off the next second! I didn't see him fly in and just happened to glance out the window when passing and there he was!

    Brenda - perhaps the mystery bird will make a closer appearance soon! The suspense is killing me!

    CT

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah FTM, definitely a red-bellied! They are so fun to watch, I love the way the wag their heads back and forth.

    CT, I thought I had seen a red-headed woodpecker last spring but it did not return for me to get a closer view. They are much rarer here than the pileateds. Hopefully someday I can get a confirmed sighting.

    I'm not sure why but I don't get mockingbirds very often. Had one this spring and a young one a few weeks ago. The mocker was number 90 on my yard list, I find that odd considering how common they are supposed to be.

    The white-crowned sparrow was back today but very early in the morning so no pictures. I did get a little while this afternoon to take some pictures and I was fighting strong backlighting but a couple of them turned out.

    {{gwi:163545}}

    {{gwi:163546}}

    {{gwi:163547}}

    Tomorrow we are finally getting some snow! Just a couple of inches but enough to bring the birds to the feeder. I hope the tree sparrows show up!

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    before i forget everything i want to "say"... then i will look at the pics :)

    dh and it took out the scope today, with window mount, and off the widewaters we go...saw all kinds of bald eagles. none close enough for pics, though. oh, to be in this one persons yard. an eagle was perched in a tree not far from a flag on its pole. that would have been an awesome pic. real cool if it was actually on the pole. that was waaaaaay across the river though and dh only saw it by accident. we also saw some common mergansers. others too, but we were too busy looking at the eagles. sounds like i am bragging. oh wait, i am :)

    on the way home were two red tailed hawks having territorial disputes over a road killed deer. i told dh he should have turned around and waited for one to come back. we probably could have gotten a really cool pic. red tails do not seem to be too bothered by cars or are at least accustomed to them (except where i work, they will not let you get near them in a car). i will admit i thought they were geese at first because they were walking on the ground hunched over. it reminded me of how geese chase off with the neck all stretched down and forward. one stomped back to the deer (that i didn't see) all full of itself. only when the second flew off with the other one in pursuit did i realize what was going on.

    red headed woodpeckers are my fave woody. i dont' see them often. i was so thrilled a couple of summers ago b/c we had one or two hanging around near the house and even excavating a tree barely across the fence from our backyard. they moved on though. possibly in response to flickers? are they more aggressive? they just seem like they would be. i love that prrrrp sound most woodpeckers make.

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The books say Mockingbirds are common and they used to be, but not anymore. I think they will move into the Brown Thrasher rating of 'less common' when more recent atlas work is calculated. It's strange but hardly any of the birds at my feeders dominate much over each other. The biggest numbers are house finch, junco, and this morning I had about a dozen mostly male red-winged blackbirds. Even the starlings are not plentiful (which is a good thing) with two regulars. Two is enough - they are so pushy. I'll tell ya, I don't want more RWBB either. When I lived in the country I'd get 1000's at a time and they would come down and wipe out all feeder food in a matter of minutes.

    I've not seen them in more than onesie/twosies, except in the last few weeks so the pickings elsewhere must be dwindling. Or, it could be that the latest see mix I bought has cracked corn in it and that always draws birds I don't really want at the feeders too much (crows, bluejays, crackles, and RWBB). The store where I buy feed changed to all Kaytee mixes which have too much cracked corn in the mix. I might have to stop feeding for a day or two to discourage the BBs as I know my small bird regulars will still be around.

    Red-headed woodpeckers are seen on most Audubon walks in the St. Mary's River State park. The edge of the park (and you can barely call it a park as it is almost all wild than a people oriented park) is about 1.5 miles as the crow flies, but they don't come into the neighborhoods. If I lived on the edge of the park, then maybe I would get lucky. A friend's house does back to the park but she is not a regular bird feeder. I I lived there I would try to attact the tanagers in summer as they are lots of them sighted there.

    Thanks for the pics ladies. Jean - you seem to get mostly female cardnals. I don't beleive I've ever seen you post a male photograph. I have just the opposite, more males than females. They nest nearby so sometimes I'll see them bring the young to the feeders in spring and summer. Both are very pretty.

    Hey, I noticed this morning the male goldfinches are turning yellow. It's a tad early but with this warm weather we've had all winter. The last few nights have been cold enough to cause a real thin skim of ice on my pond where the thalia sticks up in one corner. There are even berries and acorns around still, so nobody is going hungry this winter.

    CT

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Brenda - almost forgot but I did not get an email so I emailed you at the optional email adress on your GW page a few days back. Not sure if you got it or not!

    Not birds but two flowers: Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) and Hippeastrum puniceum.

    {{gwi:163578}}

    {{gwi:163579}}

    CT

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Jean, as always, I just love your photos! I really enjoy the ones with a bit of blurring in them (i.e., the white-throated image), because it makes it look like a painting. Gorgeous! I wish we got cardinals out here...and red-headed pecks!

    We've heard mockingbirds around here before, as well as in the populated areas of town. In fact, when our grandson was born, there was a mockingbird singing it's heart out right outside his mom's hospital room. :) I hope mine sings for me soon!

    Hawks are so awesome to watch! I've never seen them do that goose dance thing, FTM. I bet that was so amazing! There's a Swainson's hawk that we see whenever we drive into town. It's so pale underneath when it's gliding over the fields, looking for munchings and crunchings. We saw it dueling with another hawk (we THINK it was a red-tailed) for the first time yesterday. Such beauties!

    We have tons of the red-wings in the area (lots of farm fields), hanging out in the cattails growing in the irrigation ditches, but they don't visit my yard much. I like their smooching sounds. Reminds me of summer. :)

    The little ruby-crowned is still here! And I saw a couple yellow-rumps in town yesterday. Maybe I'll get another visit from one or 2 of the cuties. :)

    Brenda

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i love orchids! i don't dare try one though, even the "easier" moth orchids. as it is, i have kept the room with my two plants open so the frogs can get more heat. thus, frost has been grazing...including the mini rose dh got me. just the tips but it must still hve some thorns. i can't believe she hasn't puked from irritation.

    i love redwings, though i have read that in the major sunflower producing areas they can cause heavy crop loss. i never get to hear or see them in town. they can be quite defining in a fave location, but i love to listen to them anyway.

    here is something i just read, from illinois audobon: "A light coating of Bon Ami can cut reflections on windows. "

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I put a link to another link that was inside another link that I already posted. Did you get that? LOL

    I am still not sure that bird was a Philly Vireo. It has no eye stripe! LOL

    CT

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would like to try orchids too but the only place I could grow them would be in the basement where I can keep them away from Smokey. Growing seeds in the winter is always a battle with her, first she wants to roll around in the flats of peat pots and then when the seedlings come up she wants to trim them for me. She's only allowed in the basement when she can be supervised. Gorgeous pixs BTW!

    FTM, I am quite jealous of your baldies. The rare bird alert here had a posting that one had been sighted just 10 miles north of me. If they continue to report sightings, I will have to go.

    Mockingbirds are still very common here as is the brown thrasher. I always have at least one pair of thrashers mating each summer, so maybe that is why I don't get mockers.

    Brenda, I am so in warbler withdrawal. Even my yellow-rumps are hiding. There have been several reports of pine warblers at feeders in the area - but not at mine! I'm guessing they may also move on since winter arrived today.

    CT, I didn't think that was a phili either, it had me really confused. I'm going by what the local experts are saying. I believe it is a young bird, and there is a faint hint of an eyestripe. It would help too if the picture was a little clearer and it had been a brighter day.

    I do have alot of male cardinals but surprisingly not alot of pictures of them. Cardinals are actually hard to get, they twitch alot! I do have some pictures - I will post some tomorrow.

    We got snow today (aobut 3 inches), the first real accumulation of the year. I was really hoping the tree sparrows would show up - they are usually absent until we have snow cover or really cold temps. But no, they didn't show up, but of course, the starlings did. I only get starlings when it snows and then just a few but boy can they go through the suet! I have to say I am fascinated with their winter coloring.

    The white-crowned also came back so heres a new picture of the punker sparrow.

    {{gwi:163548}}

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    CT, I totally missed your message when I posted yesterday! I didn't get an email, but that's not unusual, since I have some domains blocked when I get too much spam from them. No main ones are blocked, though, so I hope it comes through. My email is csgale at yahoo dot com. This will work eventually. :D

    Gorgeous flowers! The uniqueness of orchids makes me wish I weren't scared to try them. :)

    Brenda

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    jean, do you have a major river near you? we have our main populations in the winter, but will still see one occassionally in the other seasons. also, plum island is a nesting reserve now...thanks to a lot of people and organizations hard work, and the eagles!

    thanks to brenda's positive attitude, i got pics today! one was this am on my way to school. about 9:30. i got a few more on my way home this afternoon. if i were quicker and not driving i could have gotten two flying right over me. i stuck around long enough to watch 5 soaring in a group, but way too far away.

    man its colder than a brass *** out there!

    ok, sorry i am putting so many pics in a post. i dont know how to do it otherwise other than a subfolder in photobucket. but, i already put them in the main folder and it took them forever to resize/upload as it was.

    {{gwi:163580}}
    {{gwi:163581}}
    {{gwi:163582}}

    i drove to in front, sort of, of the tree. a lot closer and the eagle obliged me. this is a digital zoom
    {{gwi:163583}}
    {{gwi:163584}}
    {{gwi:163585}}
    even more of a digital zoom of above:

    {{gwi:163586}}
    my trip from school, when the eagles left me. i believe these are common mergansers. a bit harder without binoculars or a scope. i didnt even see the canadian in the second pic until i reviewed my post:
    {{gwi:163587}}
    {{gwi:163588}}
    {{gwi:163589}}
    {{gwi:163590}}
    digital zoomed version of above:
    {{gwi:163591}}
    {{gwi:163592}}
    this eagle is closer than the group of five. may nt be visible here:

    {{gwi:163594}}

    i was giving up, drove barely down the road and got this one:

    {{gwi:163596}}
    {{gwi:163599}}
    digital zoom version again. i like this type of digital zoom. very different than the other camera.
    {{gwi:163602}}
    {{gwi:163605}}
    {{gwi:163606}}
    {{gwi:163609}}

    these are at the widewaters area. i wish i knew how far across it is here. i don't, but it is far! the shipping channel is on the other side. the side i am shooting from is the "shallows." the shallows are a long way across, though i am unsure of how deep. usually this time of year it is frozen solid (except for the shipping channel) with some open areas. when that happens, the eagles are more concentrated, standing on the ice in front of the openings. the mergansers were so far out there i didnt' think they would even show up. that is partly why there is so much blur. also, the last eagle pic was out a ways. the "unseen" eagle with the shipyard/barge silos in the pic is pointed upriver.

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Fantastic!!!!! I am so excited you are posting bird pictures, and not JUST bird pictures but EAGLES!!!!! And in flight, no less! I like the uncropped pictures too, they show the birds environment. Thank you FTM.

    We actually have 4 rivers here but none of them as big as yours. They eventually feed into the Ohio river south of us and that is where the eagles are nesting. They are also at several of the state parks around here but not on a regular basis. But the sightings are becoming more and more frequent so I can only hope.

    Aw well, back to my little yard birds :^)

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    AWESOME pics, FTM!! I'm glad that you're posting bird pics, too! I LOVE the ones of the eagle on the log and flying off. So amazing! It's almost like seeing a rock star in person, I bet. Surreal and screamlicious. :D

    Brenda

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    careful, jean. my head is going to inflate :)

    you would be surprised. one year an eagle roosted in someones yard on my route to work. no water bodies and a good 2 miles (?) from the river. when it flew off in the morning, it didn't fly in the direction of the river. it flew off toward a large creek area. kankakee river is not as large, either, but some years ago the state park had a nesting pair (1980's). they are still increasing numbers so your time is coming!

    i occassionally see them flying at work, when i work daylight hours. they either are flying b/t the nuclear plant cooling lake toward the river, or just soaring on the northern end of our area. which, with eagle eyes you can still see minnows from there. on that end we are probably a mile south of the river. one day i saw one perched on a fallen branch in the gravel pit but it flew off as soon as i drove around the corner. what a site though. i never take my sightings for granted and hope i never do.

    and when it warms up i get to watch the turkey vultures!

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great photos FTM - very exciting! I'm so glad to see you having such a blast! Good shots in flight and well all of them were enjoyable! Thanks. CT

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had a late night visitor to my feeder tonight - a flying squirrel! I thought I had seen something on the feeder a couple of weeks ago but couldn't tell what it was. He seemed oblivious to me standing at the window with the camera although he did manage to stay on the opposite side most of the time. I wasn't even sure it was a flying squirrel until I saw it leap to the tree.

    Not a great picture ....

    {{gwi:163611}}

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What an amazing sight, Jean! Are they nocturnal? I think I'd have a heart attack if saw one at my feeders. LOL

    Brenda

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Cool Jean - it likes the peanuts! You will have to keep your eye out for a flight shot - all spread out like a sheet!

    Geez - she says - CT, get a camera so YOU can lose some sleep watching for flying squirrels! LOL What, we can't expect you to stay up all night looking for a better shot (not that I think that is a bad shot at all!). Grin! I love that photograph - it is the only one I've seen up close. What a cute little guy or gal. CT

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    oh i love it!

    i have another eagle pic but no time! not even time to watch for them but i hope to tomorrow. i would have had one in flight right in front of me if i had better timing (Like not stopping to photo the two in the tree before i got to the lock and dam)

    now for something VERY exciting to me! i "think" i saw a pileated woodpecker this am!!!! never seen one, ever, ever, ever, especially around here. i was driving hills and curves through the state park area en route to school. i couldn't stop, needless to say, and it disappeared into the trees. i initially, for a split second, dismissed it as a crow. the flight caught my attention- typical woodpecker flight pattern! otherwise, all i could see was a crow sized, black bird for about a three second time span. well, i am sticking to it. :)

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I don't think I will be getting any shots in flight - the camera had a hard time focusing so it was taking seconds before it would take the picture. But the flash didn't even faze him which surprised me.

    FTM, sounds like a pileated to me, the crows around here fly above the trees not through them. So I think congrats are in order! I'm looking forward to more eagle shots!

    As promised here are some pictures of the male cardinals, not nearly exciting as EAGLES and PILEATEDS but I can't imagine not having them around.

    {{gwi:163549}}
    {{gwi:163550}}
    {{gwi:163551}}

    Here are some pictures of the starlings that came to my feeders last weekend. I know they are a nuisance bird but I only see them a few times a year and their winter plumage fascinates me.

    {{gwi:163552}}
    {{gwi:163553}}

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Way to go FTM! Next time that PWP will be there when your camera is ready!

    Jean - lovely cardinal photos and like you I think the Starling has beautiful colors. I really like your first photo where the feathers look wet. What a rainbow of colors, similar to the sheen on crackles. My favorite photo out the cardinals is the last one in the snow. Speaking of cold and snow - we are getting our artic blast right now and we are supposed to get light snow, but it is not expected to amount to much. But, because of the extreme cold I stocked up all feeders to maximum and put out extra ground feeders and several seed bells, woodpecker bars and finch bars. Socks are filled up too, and one extra suet. My birds are not used to this artic blast so I wanted them to have lots of food in the morning!

    CT

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    FTM, that's great about the pileated!! I hope you get a pic of it eventually, but mostly, I hope you just get to see it again soon!

    Cardinals are so intensely beautiful! I sure wish we had them here. And all "nuisance" birds are safe in this forum, Jean. :) I never realized how gorgeous the plumage is on starlings! I wish they would come closer and visit my feeders instead of staying in the old cottonwood tree behind our house.

    I love looking at the "plain" ol' male house sparrows, so any color variation on plumage is exciting to me. :)

    Brenda

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hey, jean. i don't care what the critics say. orange and red do not class. i just love those beaks. gorgeous pics as always!

    i have mobs of starlings. the last time there were two grackles mixed in and some cowbirds.

    i doubt getting a pic of the pileated, but look what i know! there is just no pulling over or stopping on this road. now, if it would just warm up i can park and walk. speaking of freeze...10 degrees again teh other day, 0 if you figure in wind chill. brrrrrrrrr. no wonder my hands were about to fall off when i was at the lock and dam. did they hurt! i was only out for 5 minutes.

    praise my national geographic bird field guide! i saw a hawk on the way home from work this am. i knew it wasn't a redtail..though that is usually all i see at work. it was the underside wing pattern- too much dark. then the white patched on top..which i only saw b/c it was hovering. like the crow flying like a woodpecker, that caught my eye for something that big to hover (i normally only see kestrals doing that). so here i am, it looked like a dark morph broad wing hawk but no dorsal view for the wing. moving on...hmmm anoter dark morph with the same pattern for rough legged. hmmmm, white patches, hmmm same @ size as old red rump, ...in the reading, "often hovers while hunting". shazam! i will admit it may not have been the dark morph from my distance but highly likely. it was only another few seconds gander. wouldn't that be cool? the book says the dark morph is less common.

    at work, i once saw an extremely light colored red tail. beautiful fawn color with and orangish "wash" at the tail feathers.

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    orange and red do not clash.

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I was watching a kestrel one day as I was driving down the road that borders a county park and I got pulled over by a ranger for driving TOO slow - just a touch embarrassing. He suggested I go into the park to do my bird watching - what a spoil sport!

    I'd love to see a broad-wing hawk, and maybe I have but didn't know it, but my id skills of hawks in flight are pretty bad. The red-tailed is easy!

    FTM, have you tried those hand/feet warmers? I was using them last winter when I was under my deck (as a blind) and my feet would get so cold from squatting on the ground. They really helped to take off the chill.

    Brenda, I didn't realize until a few months ago that cardinals weren't out west. I was really surprised! It's a bird we take for granted and we really shouldn't - they are such pretty birds and so well mannered.
    CT, did the cold bring in any new feeder birds? I'm STILL waiting for my tree sparrows :^(

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I had to look up the broad-winged, because my book doesn't cover that. What an amazing experience seeing the dark morph, FTM!

    Speaking of weird hawks...we've been seeing a white one between here and town. At least, we THINK it's a hawk, but DH says he got a good look at it yesterday, and none of the pics in my book seem to cover it. He said it was very pale (white?) all over, even the head, but that there was a very dark area (black?) around the eyes. Also, lines (bars) across the chest. And he said it's about crow size or even smaller. I thought maybe the gray hawk, but no dark eye area (and they're probably not in this area of CA, anyway). Then I thought maybe the northern goshawk...or Swainson's (I've always thought that)...or the northern harrier. Again, DH says wrong head color. And it likes to fly low over the fields; we hardly ever see it perching, which describes the harrier.

    I really need to get a better look, because, as much as I love him, details aren't one of my DH's talents. :D

    Brenda

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Not something I sighted myself, but two beautiful photos of a albino peacock someone sent to me. It looks like a snowflake or something from a fairy tale. CT

    {{gwi:163613}}

    {{gwi:163615}}

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    hey! its brenda's mystery bird :) nice one.

    oops! i meant to say my sighting matched the rough legged hawk! sorry about that. broad winged was the first entry i came to. you know, i do this when speaking also. my brain gets ahead of my speech.

    i have hand and feet warmers, jean, but never tried them. i couldn't squat long enough without my feet going to sleep!

    brenda, is it all white or just the underside? ferruginous hawk? too big though. oh,oh, check white tailed kite! no chest bars, though.

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh, I'd forgotten about the peacock, CT! So dreamy! I keep expecting to see a unicorn peek around that tree behind it. :)

    Ooo, the rough-legged is beautiful, too, FTM. I love the shape of the head!

    You know, just when I think we've found the mystery bird, something just doesn't match. I saw it at 5:45 this morning when driving DH to the airport. It was glowing in the headlights cast off the side of the road, flying along like it was high noon. To me, it looked bigger than a crow, though....I just have to pay more attention to the side of the road when I'm driving. I'm sure the oncoming traffic won't mind. LOL

    Brenda

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    OK, don't laugh but I tried to take some photos from my kitchen window. My darn camera is just no good for this, but you can at least tell what kind of birds they are. I just cannot get that mid-range focus with my point and shoot. I can capture up real close and this time I tried 2.5M and also distance, but as you can see the resolution is better BEHIND the feeders. They are in that elusive range of about 10 or 12 feet! I NEED a good camera - I have the subject matter popping in and out all day and with a prime lens or two and a SLR I know I could get great shots with some practice. Grrrrr.

    I wish a hawk had come in, at least they are big and hold still for more than 3 seconds. Those chickadees and wrens are real flitters. I did get one photo of a Downy woodpecker but most of him was behind the suet. A red-bellied came in and had my camera not been so slow would have had a shot of him flying away from the feeder. And to think I had to climb up on the countertop and prop both my feet in the kitchen sink to put my crappy camera on a mini-tripod. Both my feet fell dead asleep - I had a hell of a time crawling out of the sink! LOL

    Anyway - less than stellar (i.e. lame) photographs of today.

    Carolina Chickadee on a seed bell (I use bungee cords to hang the bells or woodpecker blocks, etc.)

    {{gwi:163617}}

    Carolina Wren and Carolina Chickadee together.

    {{gwi:163619}}

    Carolina Wren at suet and if you look close a goldfinch on the feeder behind the suet. I had about 50 goldfinch today, lots of sparrows and house finches, about 6 cardinals, tons of juncos, Sapsucker, RBWP, Downy, Tufted titmouse, yellow-rump warblers and others.

    {{gwi:163621}}

    Cardinal and other birds. Please excuse the large skyhook in the photo (that has another feeder on it). Blurry goldfinch in flight about to land on the feeder with the cardinal, another goldfinch at the thistle sock, and if you look at the bottom, on the fence in the corner by the fence post there is a White-crowned sparrow with it's tail in the air, and head down. It is either immature or the brown stiped phase I get here.

    {{gwi:163622}}

    4 Male Goldfinch at thistle feeder.

    {{gwi:163624}}

    OK, no crop at all shot of one male goldfinch at the feeder. He is clearer now, but small.

    {{gwi:163626}}

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    your holly makes a great backdrop! mostly, i want a pic ofyou in the sink :)

    i had a bunch of almosts today. i almost got a kestrel in hover at work, but my camera kept saying out of focus. then, it dove and i lost him. it was also snowing so maybe it just thought it was out of focus.

    those frustrating red tailed hawks at work!!!! can't get within a half mile of them in a truck, even further away on foot. not that i was on foot since wind chill brings the temps down to 0 and below.

    chickadees kept flying away, juncos kept flying away. oh, and i only saw the juncos afer the sun finally came out at 2 pm. not much activity today.

    my highlight: seeing two bald eagles on my way home from work, about a mile south of the river. it appears they were hunting the corn fields for something other than fish.

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Those are GREAT pics, CT! Chickadees are SO precious, I wish they'd visit me. :) Our goldfinches & houses (both) have been pigging out here, too, most especially since we've had such a COLD January. I love all of your feeders! I thought my paltry 3 were a lot of upkeep. :D The easiest one for me is the old fountain (girl w/umbrella poised above the water basin) I now use as a feeder. I had an old, plastic, green feeder, shaped kind of like yours where the cardinal is perched, and I decided to "upgrade" to a copper one. I waited 2 months before taking it down, since the birds wouldn't go near it! LOL

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you, too, CT! I hope you get tons of bird sightings today. :)

    Poor FTM! I've tried taking pics once while it was snowing, and the camera kept trying to focus on the flakes, too. So it's not your fault! LOL And the 2 baldies ended your day with a bang. :)

    I was out doing some watering yesterday (not enough rain this year), and the darling little ruby-crowned kinglet came to visit me!! He was checking me out from about 3 feet away (such curious cuties!), then decided to splash around in the creek. That was a truly heart-warming encounter. *sigh*

    Brenda

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Oh geez, did I miss another birthday? I am so sorry CT, hope it was great!

    As for the pictures, I love seeing pictures of what other people get at their feeders. So what is the deciduous tree where the suet feeder is hanging? I love the "rows" of branches.

    When I was using my point and shoot to take bird pictures I found it would sometimes be better to put it in macro mode. It seems to focus better on the closest subject rather than the background. I think my manual said it had to be at the shortest focal length to use macro but I found that if you aren't trying to focus up close, it would let me use macro at any focal length. Don't know if that makes sense of not.

    I got home earlier today and the birds were still active. I had a golden-crowned kinglet in the cedar tree next to the deck. And a coopers hawk in the same tree just a few minutes before. I tried to get pictures but it was getting too dark, especially since the sun was behind the tree. But it was nice to see some birds in the middle of the week.

    My husband and I watched the pileated this weekend working on a tree that is down in the ravine. Today I get home and he has created a few more holes, one is quite large. And around the base of the tree is a pile of chips! It's amazing to see them drill these holes, the muscles in their chest and neck must be quite impressive.

    {{gwi:163628}}

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    i still haven't posted my pics! oh well. i was going to go out again today, but with 10 degrees, add in wind chill, it was equal to 0 and below. and, it wasn't like the wind was calm and tolerable! i decided it wasn't that serious.

    i did notice, the wide waters are starting to freeze. this means the eagles will concentrate to the open areas adn will be more attracted to the lock and dam. those would be great pics if i can get them swooping for fish there.

    should we start a new thread?

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thank you ladies for the birthday wishes!

    The tree is a Nyssa sylvatica (aka Black Gum, Sour Gum or Tupelo). I have 9 of them growing on my property that were here when I bought the land. Many smaller ones have popped up since. Only a few of the big ones bear fruit. They like wet or dry woodland soil, will create groves over time, and are native to E. North America. They get non-messy blue fruit in late summer/early fall, neon red or orange fall foilage that stops you in your tracks, need no pruning unless you want to, summer leaves are deep green and glossy, and they are pest free. Down side, you never see them for sale in garden centers, but I've seen them available on-line (mostly native sites) as seedlings. You can start them from seed. (OK, does anybody want seed - if I can get it before the birds do - or maybe a small seedling, as I find them?) They are bird magnets in fruit and bee/hummingbird/nectar insect magnets in bloom. They do not grow exceptionally fast, but the wildlife value is high as a food source, if they turn out to be female trees.

    FTM - hope you get some great photo ops when the ice closes in - I'm excited for you (and us)!

    Brenda - lucky you - getting regular visits from a friendly RCKinglet! They are so pretty and like many little birds have a personality, or so it seems.

    Jean - those holes are huge. I've not seen them before - thanks for posting them. I wonder if any will become nest sites or are they drilling for insects and sap only? I have a pair of RBW that have drilled their nest site into the top of a broken off trunk, of what was once a double trunked oak. The big oak was hit by a small tornado or something that whipped through here a few years back and it wiped out one of the two trunks. A real big tree and so high up I can see their nest hole from afar.

    P.S. FTM - Yes, I agree - next poster please start a Bird Sightings 3 so it will be easier for Brenda to open quicker until the broadband fairy visits her home! I wanted to put my reply post here, rather than have it look out of context as a first post on a new thread, since I added no new photos. CT

  • youreit
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    CT, since I don't have any pics, either, I'll post here for now. :D Thanks for thinking of my slowness, too! It's always worth the wait, though.

    I'm SO tempted to get some of those Nyssa seeds from you. Since we don't get much fall color here in this area (some sumacs, liquidambers, hey, my native grape!), that tree sounds like a winner. Not sure if I have room for it, but maybe I could talk my mom into growing one. :D

    Those woodpecker holes are amazing, Jean! It's almost like someone took a sander to the edges, they're so smooth! My little ladder-backs don't have the pecking power of those big'uns. :)

    Brenda

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    They grow slow so by the time you might have to worry about it being too big it will be someone else's worry. Let me know - they are a challenge to propogage period so it may not be an issue either way:-) LOL

    I'd also like to add talking about planting for birds in this thread if nobody has any objections. Just here and there. I'd like to know for instance what plants everyone has that are bird or other wildlife magnets, or good for shelter, ease of growth, etc.

    No new pics for me either - so one she goes. CT

  • jeanner
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think they are just drilling for bugs at this time of the year. As soon as the pileated left, the downies and red-bellies had to go investigate. I didn't notice any new holes today.

    Here are some holes made by the yellow-bellied sapsucker. I tried to hide out in the brush and get a picture of him in the act but never did get to see him.

    {{gwi:163629}}

    I think I've become a bit obsessive with my bird feeding ...
    here is my "stash"

    There are shelled peanuts, sunflower chips, and nyger in the big tubs. Walnuts and unshelled peanuts in the rectangular containers and the smallest container has peanut chips (mostly for the suet but I also add some into the sunflower chips) and a container of meal worms.

    {{gwi:163632}}

    Here is the latest batch of suet which has raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts, peanut chips, lard, peanut butter, corn meal, flour, and oatmeal.

    {{gwi:163635}}


    Next time .... new thread!

    And now I'm going to read about the Nyssa sylvatica - I might have to plant some of those!

  • comettose
    Original Author
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Leave out the lard and that suet mix would make a healthy breakfast mix! Yes, you have a nice seed collection. I buy many different kinds but I mix them in one big trashcan, except for whole peanuts I just toss out straight from the bag. Do you ever get pantry moths? I made the mistake of forgetting about 1/2 a bag of unused sunflower seeds, in the hull, most of the summer. Ick - worms eating it and then a batch of pantry or meal moths. they are the devil to get rid of, seeing one here and there for months, inside my kitchen. The bag of them was in the garage.

    The sapsucker always lines up the holes. That drives some homeowner's to madness to see their trees drilled up like that. Those are some pretty big holes from the sapsucker holes I've seen in Maryland, they must really work it over and over. The one's I've seen are more the size of a large BB - about like that hole in your photo - third row from the left - very top hole. A very round hole, not jagged and enlarged like the others. I wonder if other birds are coming along and enlarging them or that is just a really tasty, sappy tree.

    CT

  • fairy_toadmother
    17 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    here's what i did once...blondes unite!

    i could not figure out where, oh where, did all these tiny moths in the house come from. it was like snow! well, the cats had a blast for some time. finally, a few weeks later, i am cleaning out the kitchen. ew! caterpillar cocoons all in my paper towels, regular towels, crawling in the microwave AFTER it had just been running. they were everywhere! well, i started tossing. lo and behold, on the bottom of my microwave cart that sat right next to a rather large heat duct was my bag of cracked corn i forgot about. well, duh. forget about it maybe, but give it a heat source, too? :)

    let's just say there was a lot of protein in that bag still. the corn appeared to be alive.

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