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Birding

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Estiveo
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Re: Birding

#301

Post by Estiveo »

Like I said, I've been known to be wrong.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Edit: Okay, the bobwhites DO have a short crest,
but it's often folded down.
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northland10
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Re: Birding

#302

Post by northland10 »

Chilidog wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 3:35 pm I had a blackcapped Chickadee at my feeder this weekend. That was a first. I hope I get more. I like those guys.
I have them often up here (and in warmer months when walking around outside, I hear them), though I was just thinking last week that I had not seen them in a bit. Well, they were back this weekend.

I have noticed that they have COVID lock-down feeder behavior. Instead of hanging out in groups at the feeder (like the unmasked house sparrows and house finches), they are take-out only. They zip in, grab a seed and then go to the branches in the nearby tree, or back from whence they came (I am assuming the nearby pine trees). I am on the second floor as is the feeder with tree branches nearby so I can watch them grab their seed then take it to one of the branches on the tree.

This may be why you have not seen the at your feeder that much. Since they are part of that take-only order folks, they fly in and right back out.
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Chilidog
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Re: Birding

#303

Post by Chilidog »

This one was at the suet feeder.

I get the cylinder from wild birds unlimited, but I screwed up

Normally I get the horn pepper version, but I got the regular, winter mix earlier and replaces it the other day with the same stuff.

There is a damned squirrel who figured out its not the hot pepper and hes been trying to get at it.

Fortunately I have a $10 off coupon.

:twisted:
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Re: Birding

#304

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

Chilidog- Are you perhaps a "squirrelist"? :biggrin:
"Mickey Mouse and I grew up together." - Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation checker and scene planner and one of the first women to become a member of the International Photographers Union in 1952.
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northland10
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Re: Birding

#305

Post by northland10 »

Chilidog wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 8:40 pm This one was at the suet feeder.

I get the cylinder from wild birds unlimited, but I screwed up

Normally I get the horn pepper version, but I got the regular, winter mix earlier and replaces it the other day with the same stuff.

There is a damned squirrel who figured out its not the hot pepper and hes been trying to get at it.

Fortunately I have a $10 off coupon.

:twisted:
Now you have me thinking about making the trip down to Arlington Heights to pick up some stuff at Wild Birds Unlimited. I like some of the stuff I saw on the website and would make a good addition as I could go back to different types of feeders without the squirrels going after it (maybe a suet one and something for the woodpeckers). My feeder is pretty good at keeping squirrels out, not that they don't try. Chipmunks have figured out how to lift the cage enough so I have to switch from sunflower seeds to something else when they are back. At least with the large seed, the squirrels are happy to root around on the ground under the feeder, with the juncos.

I noticed they make window feeders as well, but then I realized, if I put it on the window outside the window where I work during the day, that is right by my car. Might not be the best place for it. Still, little bird shit is quicker to clean off than big hawk shit. I know this from experience from the last year.
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Chilidog
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Re: Birding

#306

Post by Chilidog »

Get the hot pepper suet.
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sugar magnolia
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Re: Birding

#307

Post by sugar magnolia »

northland10 wrote: Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:46 pm
Chilidog wrote: Tue Feb 22, 2022 8:40 pm This one was at the suet feeder.

I get the cylinder from wild birds unlimited, but I screwed up

Normally I get the horn pepper version, but I got the regular, winter mix earlier and replaces it the other day with the same stuff.

There is a damned squirrel who figured out its not the hot pepper and hes been trying to get at it.

Fortunately I have a $10 off coupon.

:twisted:
Now you have me thinking about making the trip down to Arlington Heights to pick up some stuff at Wild Birds Unlimited. I like some of the stuff I saw on the website and would make a good addition as I could go back to different types of feeders without the squirrels going after it (maybe a suet one and something for the woodpeckers). My feeder is pretty good at keeping squirrels out, not that they don't try. Chipmunks have figured out how to lift the cage enough so I have to switch from sunflower seeds to something else when they are back. At least with the large seed, the squirrels are happy to root around on the ground under the feeder, with the juncos.

I noticed they make window feeders as well, but then I realized, if I put it on the window outside the window where I work during the day, that is right by my car. Might not be the best place for it. Still, little bird shit is quicker to clean off than big hawk shit. I know this from experience from the last year.
Our suet feeders ARE the ones for woodpeckers. They decimate them as soon as we put them out.

Slinkeys on a shepherd's hook work better than any squirrel baffle you can buy. Just make sure it isn't close enough to the bench that the squirrels can jump to the feeder from the back of the bench.
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AndyinPA
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Re: Birding

#308

Post by AndyinPA »

I always enjoyed the squirrels as much as the birds. I had a few feeders that I tried to keep them off, but mostly it was a free-for-all. Even the deer occasionally got into the action. What ended my bird feeding days were the Turkeys. Even with no sign of them around, as soon as I put feed out, they descended. Everything was gone in minutes. I tried for a few years, but finally gave up. I still enjoy the birds, but I miss seeing them the way I did.

The squirrels were very comfortable here. I had a few that I named. I remember Sheba, as in queen of, very well.
"Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears… To be led by a liar is to ask to be told lies." -Octavia E. Butler
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MsDaisy
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Re: Birding

#309

Post by MsDaisy »

Lookie who we got to see today just up the road from our house, munching down on some nice road kill with the Black Vultures... :lovestruck:
Bald egale.jpeg
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Azastan
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Re: Birding

#310

Post by Azastan »

Awesome!

It always amuses me when we drive along a soggy wet field (the tulip fields up in Mt Vernon, especially) and see mature bald eagles sitting on the ground. They are eating earthworms!
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northland10
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Re: Birding

#311

Post by northland10 »

I was watching the birds in my backyard. I'm wondering when one will start swinging a folding chair. Shit's gettin' real out there.
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Phoenix520
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Re: Birding

#312

Post by Phoenix520 »

Hoo boy, the aerial combat between the mockers here is incredible!

We have a large Sycamore that I can see all of from my kitchen window. Each knot has a woodpecker nest inside. Certain times of the day are raucous.
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Phoenix520
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Re: Birding

#313

Post by Phoenix520 »

Took the pupper to the park today. We met up with mr520. Floyd was confused to see Daddy in a kayak in the lake but he got over it.

We were near the tangled woods at the bend in the lake, talking, when I saw something glide by about 6 feet above us and land on a branch almost directly above us. It casually turned to face us. It’s partner, more shy, landed a couple of branches away. Two turkey vultures looking down at us, chatting and hoping we’d go away soon. I finally noticed the half-submerged dead squirrel 3 feet away. We moved over and they moved in. They weren’t afraid of us at all. It’s kinda shivery, being stared at by vultures.

They must have been juveniles; they were small and seemed inexperienced. There wasn’t much left of the poor squirrel. It looked like they’d been working on the carcass for a few days.
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Re: Birding

#314

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

I hope the vultures aren't an omen. :shock:
"Mickey Mouse and I grew up together." - Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation checker and scene planner and one of the first women to become a member of the International Photographers Union in 1952.
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Phoenix520
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Re: Birding

#315

Post by Phoenix520 »

:o
You and me both, sister!
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MsDaisy
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Re: Birding

#316

Post by MsDaisy »

We live on a little 30 acre patch surrounded by thousands of mostly wooded acres. Down in the woods on the other side of the bonfire field is an old abandoned barn we call the creepy barn because it's pretty creepy.
Creepy Barn.jpg
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Every spring we have black vulture babies in there. There's no nest, the eggs are laid on right the ground and rolled around from spot to spot. They usually always have 2 eggs. We have two new ones down there right now. The grandkids and I found them the other day.

The poor little things are so ugly they're cute
Black Vulture babies.jpg
Black Vulture babies.jpg (94.86 KiB) Viewed 964 times
Not quite as cute when their black feathers start coming in.
Vulture babies 2.jpg
Vulture babies 2.jpg (81.77 KiB) Viewed 964 times
The grandkids think it's cool to watch them grow up. :thumbsup:
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pipistrelle
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Re: Birding

#317

Post by pipistrelle »

I like vultures. They keep things tidy. When I see them soaring around me or the car, I don’t take it personal-like. I wonder out loud who they’ve come for. :twisted:
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sugar magnolia
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Re: Birding

#318

Post by sugar magnolia »

At my grandmother's graveside service there were vultures circling overhead. At one point, the priest looked up and said "Not yet."
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Chilidog
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Re: Birding

#319

Post by Chilidog »

Phoenix520 wrote: Sun Mar 20, 2022 3:32 am Took the pupper to the park today. We met up with mr520. Floyd was confused to see Daddy in a kayak in the lake but he got over it.

We were near the tangled woods at the bend in the lake, talking, when I saw something glide by about 6 feet above us and land on a branch almost directly above us. It casually turned to face us. It’s partner, more shy, landed a couple of branches away. Two turkey vultures looking down at us, chatting and hoping we’d go away soon. I finally noticed the half-submerged dead squirrel 3 feet away. We moved over and they moved in. They weren’t afraid of us at all. It’s kinda shivery, being stared at by vultures.

They must have been juveniles; they were small and seemed inexperienced. There wasn’t much left of the poor squirrel. It looked like they’d been working on the carcass for a few days.
Turkey vultures are impressive birds.
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Re: Birding

#320

Post by northland10 »

I think I have hit the peak stress time of year for me. I am getting mad at the birds. The house sparrows rudely dominate the area around the feeder and goldfinches are little eating machines (but still cute). How can a little bird eat so much? White-breasted nuthatches are a bit rude by flying in and causing the rest to run off, but they don't stay long.

Now the squirrels.... you'd think they'd realize that they can't get to the stuff on the feeder as it closes when they jump on it, but noooooo.. It annoys me more when other birds are on the feeder and some big squirrel leaps on it. They have also managed to knock down the suet feeder and then realized, oh, this is too spicey. It's not like the messy eater birds are not tossing a full meal on the ground for them.
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New Turtle
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Re: Birding

#321

Post by New Turtle »

Here are some barn owl nestlings. They are about ready to venture outside the nest box.

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northland10
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Re: Birding

#322

Post by northland10 »

I enjoy when Merlin says the bird I am reporting says "uncommon." It is more exciting when I remember that it was one of the birds that were impacted more by the disease outbreak last year, pine siskins. They have been at my feeder often in the last month or so, along with a bunch of goldfinches as well (and are changing into their bright yellow). Who knew such small birds could eat so much.

Interesting that the House Finches are around the feeder more when it is black sunflower seeds than when I have a mix that includes pre-shelled seeds. They like those sunflower seeds.

Is there an explanation for why it seems like many birds all come at one time to the feeder? I am not talking about a bunch of sparrows at once, which is normal, but all sorts of different types. It will set empty for a while and but then there will be 4 or 5 different types (at least) at the feeder, on the roof or porch by the feeder, or on the tree branches nearby waiting for a spot (my feeders are by a second-floor deck).
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Re: Birding

#323

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

Northland10 -Is there an explanation for why it seems like many birds all come at one time to the feeder? I am not talking about a bunch of sparrows at once, which is normal, but all sorts of different types.
It's the basic universal principle that if a bunch of truckers are parked at a restaurant it must have the best food. Now, determining the arc and mechanism of the critical mass point is something bill_g or Sam the centipede can explain.
"Mickey Mouse and I grew up together." - Ruthie Tompson, Disney animation checker and scene planner and one of the first women to become a member of the International Photographers Union in 1952.
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northland10
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Re: Birding

#324

Post by northland10 »

Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 10:08 am It's the basic universal principle that if a bunch of truckers are parked at a restaurant it must have the best food.
Funny you should mention truckers. Among the house sparrows, much like the freedumb convoys, there is a great deal of infighting this morning. They are also kind of stupid. In addition, they are rude to the other birds, but in their defense, at least the starlings deserved it.

Lots of tension here today.
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pipistrelle
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Re: Birding

#325

Post by pipistrelle »

northland10 wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 10:45 am
Tiredretiredlawyer wrote: Sat Apr 02, 2022 10:08 am It's the basic universal principle that if a bunch of truckers are parked at a restaurant it must have the best food.
Funny you should mention truckers. Among the house sparrows, much like the freedumb convoys, there is a great deal of infighting this morning. They are also kind of stupid. In addition, they are rude to the other birds, but in their defense, at least the starlings deserved it.

Lots of tension here today.
Starlings and house sparrows are invasives from Europe. If there were a way to eliminate them from the continent that wouldn't hurt anything else, I'd be for it. I have noticed high-quality habitats have lots of native songbirds and few if any invasive species.

Sometimes I check out the Cornell Sapsucker Woods Pond live feed. There are moments of lull, then there are moments where there are tons of birds. The blue jays are around as long as the peanuts hold out.

One day I noticed a woodpecker hanging off a feeder and a mourning dove sitting in the platform feeder froze for 10 minutes while everything went quiet. Froze as in not a movement. Eerie. I figured their spider sense told them a Cooper's or some other raptor was in the neighborhood grocery shopping. Just as suddenly the bird chatter started up and the woodpecker and dove went back to eating.
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