Birding

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Just add some bacon to the eggs and everything will be fine for breakfast

You are so wicked!!!! I love it!

[pipistrelle]

I don't think of them as nasty but as invasive, affecting populations of already declining native birds. I'd discourage them from nesting. If I had property, time, money, and health, I''d get a falconer's license and keep my hawks and falcons in sight during the day.

[pipistrelle]

Also, when I see photos of a Cooper's or sharp-shinned with a bird, it's never a starling.

[Shizzle Popped]

Well, bacon and eggs is kind of my standard breakfast.

I find it odd that we feed the birds at all. My wife contracted histoplasmosis when she was 18 and has scarring on her lungs and lost all but peripheral vision in her left eye (along with her pilot's license). It's a fungal disease that's generally contracted by exposure to bird feces in the soil or elsewhere and can be triggered by renewed exposure, so keeping it out of the pool and grill were actually serious issues. We didn't feed birds at that house and the feeders are kept well away from the house here. She doesn't go anywhere near the feeders. However, she really enjoys watching the birds so we take extra precautions and continue to feed.

[pipistrelle]

Press release so quoted in full:

https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/ ... -Died.aspx

New York City, Feb. 23, 2024 – The following statement was released by Central Park Zoo:

We are saddened to report that Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl discovered missing from the Central Park Zoo after his exhibit was vandalized just over a year ago, is dead after an apparent collision with a building on West 89th Street in Manhattan.

The downed owl was reported to the Wild Bird Fund (WBF) by people in the building. Staff from the WBF quickly responded, retrieved the non-responsive owl and declared him dead shortly afterward. The WBF notified zoo staff who picked up the bird and transported him to the Bronx Zoo for necropsy.

The vandal who damaged Flaco’s exhibit jeopardized the safety of the bird and is ultimately responsible for his death. We are still hopeful that the NYPD, which is investigating the vandalism, will ultimately make an arrest.

Flaco frequently had been seen in and near Central Park and other locations across Manhattan since Feb. 2, 2023. Our staff monitored him throughout the year and were prepared to recover him if he showed any sign of difficulty or distress.

We appreciate all the support and concern over the well-being of Flaco throughout the past year and the many people who contacted us with updates. We especially appreciate the quick response by the staff of the Wild Bird Fund in their attempt to help Flaco.

We will provide additional information once a necropsy is performed and further testing results are in.

###

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

[AndyinPA]

[New Turtle]

Barred Owl?

Great Grey? Chilidog?

concur barred

I thought barred, assuming it’s dark eyed, and it’s clearly not a barn owl. I was confirming there aren’t any other likely dark-eyed candidates and as a side note found out there have been some dark-eyed burrowing owls. This is the first I’ve seen them.

https://www.dpreview.com/galleries/2542 ... os/3902076

Spotted owls look similar to barred owls, but spotted owls are rare, mostly they would be nesting in protected areas like national forests.

[northland10]

I was driving back from shopping/lunch and noticed some gulls harassing a large soaring bird. I initially assumed it was one of the hawks when I noticed the tail was white and the wings appeared too dark for our hawks. I believe it might of been a bald eagle. They are uncommon here but have been seen previously, just not by me.

I pulled off when the light turned green but they moved too far away.

I could be wrong given the distance and lightening but generally confident it was.

I think I saw a Cooper's Hawk last week though it was not visible for long (I have seen them here from time to time).

[jcolvin2]

During the last week, a Cooper's hawk has been hanging out in our backyard. Based on how it perches on one of our Japanese maples, we think it may have an injured foot. We have seen it make several attempts on our backyard birds - including a flicker who is almost as large as the Cooper's hawk, but have not yet seen a successful predation.

[pipistrelle]

During the last week, a Cooper's hawk has been hanging out in our backyard. Based on how it perches on one of our Japanese maples, we think it may have an injured foot. We have seen it make several attempts on our backyard birds - including a flicker who is almost as large as the Cooper's hawk, but have not yet seen a successful predation.

A rehabber may know how to get hold of it to do an exam.

Most of the raptors our local rehabbers have have been hit by a car, ingested lead, or ingested rodenticide.

[Chilidog]

I was driving back from shopping/lunch and noticed some gulls harassing a large soaring bird. I initially assumed it was one of the hawks when I noticed the tail was white and the wings appeared too dark for our hawks. I believe it might of been a bald eagle. They are uncommon here but have been seen previously, just not by me.

I pulled off when the light turned green but they moved too far away.

I could be wrong given the distance and lightening but generally confident it was.

I think I saw a Cooper's Hawk last week though it was not visible for long (I have seen them here from time to time).

We saw a bald eagle over Glenview yesterday.

[AndyinPA]

Our closest bald eagles laid their first egg last week.

[northland10]

I was driving back from shopping/lunch and noticed some gulls harassing a large soaring bird. I initially assumed it was one of the hawks when I noticed the tail was white and the wings appeared too dark for our hawks. I believe it might of been a bald eagle. They are uncommon here but have been seen previously, just not by me.

We saw a bald eagle over Glenview yesterday.

I guess I should do some walking up and down the Des Plaines River trail soon. The one I saw was in close proximity of the river.

[Foggy]

Ol' Wifehorn and I saw two bald eagles flying (and screeching) along the mighty Neuse River the other day. We see lots of herons, too also.

[MsDaisy 2]

Ol' Wifehorn and I saw two bald eagles flying (and screeching) along the mighty Neuse River the other day. We see lots of herons, too also.

Magnificent beasts in fight Unfortunately we have more black vultures overhead than eagles, and every spring we get babies down in the creepy barn. They don't make a nest they just roll the eggs around on the ground from time to time until they hatch. The grandkids love to make bets on how many eggs they will lay each spring and watch for them to hatch.

Baby Vultures.png (389.14 KiB) Viewed 269 times

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

Baby vultures are CUTE!!!!

[MsDaisy 2]

They are that!

[rossgw]

Hatching emu eggs

[AndyinPA]

[northland10]

This morning, I awoke to this sound.

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[AndyinPA]

That's a sound we used to hear a lot. We still do, but not very often.

[northland10]

People who use the phrase "when pigs fly" to illustrate that something will never happen have not seen the birds at my feeders.

[qbawl]

People who use the phrase "when pigs fly" to illustrate that something will never happen have not seen the birds at my feeders.

In my neck of the woods Flying Pigs are held in high regard. We even have a weekend festival including feats of endurance (Marathon and shorter races). Oh and the Statuary, why at one time in the not too distant past you couldn't walk a block downtown without encountering a posed pig. Many sprouting wings.

[pipistrelle]

People who use the phrase "when pigs fly" to illustrate that something will never happen have not seen the birds at my feeders.

Gotta fatten up and grow nice feathers for the breeding and feeding season.