Birding

#501

Nice action shot of a Red-tailed Hawk!

Annrc · #502

Beautiful hawk take off.

#503

#504

Mrs. C says good morning

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#505

And from a week or two back:

A charm of goldfinch (apparently charm is the proper term for a group)

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And Mr. C unfurled

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#506

#507

Note to self. Don't do your Great Backyard Bird Count during the mid-morning nap time. I sat for 45 minutes and it was pretty sparse. Not even squirrels were around. I had a moment with more than just sparrows and starlings when a woodpecker and a few juncos showed but not even my regular finches came by.

#508

northland10 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 12:56 pm Note to self. Don't do your Great Backyard Bird Count during the mid-morning nap time. I sat for 45 minutes and it was pretty sparse. Not even squirrels were around. I had a moment with more than just sparrows and starlings when a woodpecker and a few juncos showed but not even my regular finches came by.

You know that the break of dawn is the best time for backyard birds. Even Owls can be heard (and counted!) in that pre-dawn time. I almost always hear Barred Owls in the morning when I am feeding the horses.

#509

Oh, yeah. The break of dawn would have been perfect. However, Saturday is my sleep-in day, and Sunday, I am already off to the church at that time, so I do what I can. Maybe Monday will work (now day job).

I watched later and this time it started stronger, then empty again. I was about to hang it up and turned around and realized one reason why some were staying in the trees. A red-tailed hawk was sitting on a pole across the street.

#510

My twin and I are going to count at her house tomorrow. She has an active feeder.

Last year at Hubby's Mom's house I didn't see a bird even though all the feeders were usually busy - even at noon the cardinals fed. I heard one cardinal and reported it.

#511

I may have cheated and added a chickadee that was by 10 minutes earlier. This year, I went to using eBird and not just Merlin so I could make counts of the birds (well as best as possible). Starlings are easy as you need only turn to the power line and count them. Smaller than usual today. A couple of them have started partaking at the feeder lately, especially the suet. They have hung around in the past but did not actually eat until recently.

I think I am starting to be able to identify specific male house finches. I have noticed enough difference to identify about three on sight including Enel. Enel was the one who ended up as my avatar briefly and can be seen in this prior post. Now how did I come up with the name Enel?

I look forward to hearing updates from our resident expert Childog and his son, the future ornithologist.

#512

And so, here is today's hawk. It was quite a distance. I think I need to clear stuff from the window so I can use the tripod.

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Ever have one of those days you think you have your head on backward?

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#513

Also, we had a singing cardinal on Monday, ish. 2 shots of looking around and then, one of singing, though the twig got in the way.

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#514

We have a newbie at Cafe Northland. Tufted Titmouse

This is the first time I have seen one at my place.

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#515

All nice photos!

#516

#517

https://ebird.org/news/global-big-day-2023

(The links are highlighted at the site.)

Global Big Day—13 May 2023

Be a part of birding’s biggest team! Global Big Day is an annual celebration of the birds around you. No matter where you are, join us virtually on 13 May, help celebrate World Migratory Bird Day, and share the birds you find with eBird.

Participating is easy—you can even be part of Global Big Day from home. If you can spare 5 or 10 minutes, report your bird observations to eBird online or with our free eBird Mobile app. If you have more time, submit several checklists of birds throughout the day. You never know what you might spot. Your observations help us better understand global bird populations through products like these animated abundance maps brought to you by eBird Science.

Last year, Global Big Day brought birders together virtually from more countries than ever before. More than 51,000 people from 201 countries submitted 132,000 checklists with eBird, setting new world records for a single day of birding. Will you help us surpass last year’s records?

How to participate

Get an eBird account: eBird is a worldwide bird checklist program used by millions of birders. It’s what allows us to compile everyone’s sightings into a single massive Global Big Day list—while at the same time collecting the data to help scientists better understand birds. Sign up here. It’s 100% free from start to finish.

Watch birds on 13 May: It’s that simple. You don’t need to be a bird expert or go out all day long, even 10 minutes of birding from home counts. Global Big Day runs from midnight to midnight in your local time zone. You can report what you find from anywhere in the world.

Enter what you see and hear in eBird: You can enter your sightings via our website or download the free eBird Mobile app to make submitting lists even easier. Please enter your checklists before 16 May to be included in our initial results announcement.
Watch the sightings roll in: During the day, follow along with sightings from more than 200 countries in real-time on our Global Big Day page.

eBird Trip Reports on Global Big Day

eBird Trip Reports are a great way to share where you went and the birds you found on Global Big Day. Simply create an eBird Trip Report for 13 May 2023. As you submit lists and upload media throughout the big day, they’ll be added to your report automatically. Send the trip report link to friends and family so they can follow along. (Learn more about eBird Trip Reports)

Create an eBird Trip Report for 13 May 2023 to share your locations, species lists, and media from this year’s Global Big Day. You can also create eBird Trip Reports for past Global Big Days, similar to Peter and Magen’s Bicycle Global Big Day 2022 (above).

Global Big Day Pro Tips

If you’re new to eBird or want to make your checklists more valuable for science and conservation, take our free eBird Essentials course.

The Cornell Lab’s free Merlin Bird ID app can help you to identify the birds you see and hear on Global Big Day.

Use eBird Mobile Explore to find recently reported species or new places to go birding nearby.

Take photos and sound recordings and add them to your checklist—they might end up on the Global Big Day page!

Make your sightings more valuable: submit complete checklists, keep counts of the birds that you see, and keep multiple checklists throughout the day.

Share what you’re seeing on social media with #globalbigday!

#518

Maybe I should go to one of the preserves around here and not just enter the same crowd I see around my place. Even at my place, I expect the junkos will be gone by then, and the robins will be out and about more. There may be some catbirds and cowbirds showing up.

I have reported a few birds I did not see but heard. There are sometimes you can tell the call easily (like Blue Jays) but they don't tend to show themselves around my place. I would need to walk around and try to spot them among the many trees.

#519

Hearing the bird call counts!

#520

I don't want this to sound sexist, but what's with the female birds being yappy at the feeder?¹ The female woodpeckers, cardinals, and others all seem to yap away when they are at the feeder. The dudes only do it when getting pushy or territorial with others (which is a big thing right now, being spring and all).

¹ I'll show myself out now.

RTH10260 · #521

African bird blown off course lands in Ireland – with a rockin’ hair-do, photos show

Irene Wright
Mon, April 10, 2023 at 8:01 PM GMT+2

At the end of March, photos started circulating on social media that shocked bird enthusiasts across Northern Ireland.

One birder, Alison Livingstone, went to see for herself.

Hoopoes are an iconic bird, native to grasslands, savannas and woodlands in parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, according to the National Audubon Society.

Mentioned in the Quran, according to the National Audobon Society, hoopoes make an annual journey from regions across the African continent to Europe to breed, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said.

Rarely, a hoopoe can be blown off course.

This hoopoe was spotted in Comber, County Down, Northern Ireland, Deadline News reported, over 500 miles north of where the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds said they are sometimes seen in the U.K.

Livingstone shared photos of the hoopoe, catching its iconic white strips and head plumage, mimicking a member of a rock band with a large mohawk.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/african-bird ... 47442.html

(original: Miami Herald)

#522

#523

Every time a I see a bird photographer post a hoopoe in their feed, comments are about how happy they make people feel.

Chilidog · #524

northland10 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 16, 2023 2:48 pm Maybe I should go to one of the preserves around here and not just enter the same crowd I see around my place. Even at my place, I expect the junkos will be gone by then, and the robins will be out and about more. There may be some catbirds and cowbirds showing up.

I have reported a few birds I did not see but heard. There are sometimes you can tell the call easily (like Blue Jays) but they don't tend to show themselves around my place. I would need to walk around and try to spot them among the many trees.

Head down to Montrose Point in a few weeks. It's worth it.

#525

This handsome guy visited my feeder this morning

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