Spring forward.
To delete this message, click the X at top right.

Birding

Post Reply
User avatar
fierceredpanda
Posts: 590
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:11 pm
Location: BAR Headquarters - Turn left at the portrait of George III
Occupation: Criminal defense attorney. I am not your lawyer. My posts != legal advice.

Re: Birding

#101

Post by fierceredpanda »

:lol:
"There's no play here. There's no angle. There's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor. The math on this is simple. The smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up." -Michael Clayton
User avatar
Chilidog
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:36 pm

Re: Birding

#102

Post by Chilidog »

I forwarded that to my son, the budding ornithologist.
User avatar
Kendra
Posts: 10497
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:17 am

Re: Birding

#103

Post by Kendra »

Not technically birdwatching, but I was so heartened to see a Trooper pulled to the shoulder and was walking to the onramp and slowing vehicles down so the Canadian Geese family could safely cross the road :bighug:
User avatar
northland10
Posts: 5596
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:47 pm
Location: Northeast Illinois
Occupation: Organist/Choir Director/Fundraising Data Analyst
Verified: ✅ I'm me.

Re: Birding

#104

Post by northland10 »

Kendra wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 4:58 pm Not technically birdwatching, but I was so heartened to see a Trooper pulled to the shoulder and was walking to the onramp and slowing vehicles down so the Canadian Geese family could safely cross the road :bighug:
Many years ago, when I lived in the Northland (Northern Lower Michigan), I was driving somewhere near Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore when I stopped for a group of 3 turkey hens and all their little ones. One mother had crossed but the others, seeing me approach stopped. Unfortunately, this caused confusion with the little ones who stopped in the road and went back and forth, not sure where to go. I was fine with enjoying watching but I was hoping another car would not show up. After a minute or so of back and forth, the turkey that had crossed the road (I did not ask why), spun around and ran back to the other side. All the little ones followed.

If I had needed any convincing, this was proof that turkeys are smart. I had some students and parents who could not have figured that out.
101010 :towel:
User avatar
Chilidog
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:36 pm

Re: Birding

#105

Post by Chilidog »

Wild turkeys are smart.

Domestic turkeys on the other hand.....
User avatar
RVInit
Posts: 3829
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:48 am

Re: Birding

#106

Post by RVInit »

Chilidog wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 8:15 pm Wild turkeys are smart.

Domestic turkeys on the other hand.....
:yeahthat: One of the most interesting documentaries I've seen in recent years is about a naturalist who raised a clutch of wild turkey eggs into full fledged turkeys. He had to teach them everything. But what he learned from them was amazing, too. If I can find a link, I will post it. Wild turkeys indeed are super smart, have figured out how to communicate specific threats to the rest of the group and just, in general, are super cool.
There's a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality.
--Colin Kaepernick
User avatar
Chilidog
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:36 pm

Re: Birding

#107

Post by Chilidog »

I used to belong to a farmer's market C.S.A. The farmer was from the Goshen area of Indiana. One time we were talking about his turkeys and how they were difficult to keep, because, as he put it, "Turkeys are stuuuupid!"
User avatar
jmj
Posts: 21
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:16 pm

Re: Birding

#108

Post by jmj »

RVInit wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 11:40 am
Chilidog wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 8:15 pm Wild turkeys are smart.

Domestic turkeys on the other hand.....
:yeahthat: One of the most interesting documentaries I've seen in recent years is about a naturalist who raised a clutch of wild turkey eggs into full fledged turkeys. He had to teach them everything. But what he learned from them was amazing, too. If I can find a link, I will post it. Wild turkeys indeed are super smart, have figured out how to communicate specific threats to the rest of the group and just, in general, are super cool.
I saw that. PBS Nature I think.
User avatar
RVInit
Posts: 3829
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:48 am

Re: Birding

#109

Post by RVInit »

jmj wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:21 pm
RVInit wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 11:40 am
Chilidog wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 8:15 pm Wild turkeys are smart.

Domestic turkeys on the other hand.....
:yeahthat: One of the most interesting documentaries I've seen in recent years is about a naturalist who raised a clutch of wild turkey eggs into full fledged turkeys. He had to teach them everything. But what he learned from them was amazing, too. If I can find a link, I will post it. Wild turkeys indeed are super smart, have figured out how to communicate specific threats to the rest of the group and just, in general, are super cool.
I saw that. PBS Nature I think.
Here it is!

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2101982/
There's a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality.
--Colin Kaepernick
User avatar
RVInit
Posts: 3829
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:48 am

Re: Birding

#110

Post by RVInit »

RVInit wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 1:58 pm
jmj wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 12:21 pm
RVInit wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 11:40 am

:yeahthat: One of the most interesting documentaries I've seen in recent years is about a naturalist who raised a clutch of wild turkey eggs into full fledged turkeys. He had to teach them everything. But what he learned from them was amazing, too. If I can find a link, I will post it. Wild turkeys indeed are super smart, have figured out how to communicate specific threats to the rest of the group and just, in general, are super cool.
I saw that. PBS Nature I think.
Here it is! There is a link to watch it on PBS online. Highly recommended.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2101982/
There's a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality.
--Colin Kaepernick
User avatar
Volkonski
Posts: 11587
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:06 am
Location: Texoma and North Fork of Long Island
Occupation: Retired mechanical engineer
Verified:

Re: Birding

#111

Post by Volkonski »

Wild turkey populations get smarter as a whole because the less smart ones are removed from the gene pool by predation.

Farmed turkeys get fed and protected by humans. They are bred to have meat not brains.
“If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.” ― Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace
User avatar
Tiredretiredlawyer
Posts: 7541
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:07 pm
Location: Rescue Pets Land
Occupation: 21st Century Suffragist
Verified: ✅🐴🐎🦄🌻5000 posts and counting

Re: Birding

#112

Post by Tiredretiredlawyer »

Estiveo wrote: Sun May 02, 2021 2:47 pm Estiveoshot_20210502_114446.jpg
:rotflmao:
"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.
User avatar
sugar magnolia
Posts: 3227
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:54 pm

Re: Birding

#113

Post by sugar magnolia »

Volkonski wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 6:34 pm Wild turkey populations get smarter as a whole because the less smart ones are removed from the gene pool by predation.
Then why are doves so damn stupid? Only flying bird on the planet that can get run over by a car.
User avatar
RVInit
Posts: 3829
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:48 am

Re: Birding

#114

Post by RVInit »

Owls get run over ( or at least hit) by cars all the time. I used to find them often, especially Barred Owls. Owl wings are very soft, which is great for making no sound, but awful when they are on the ground and see a car coming 70 MPH at them and they try to take off and achieve some height before the car gets them. They often are hit while still pretty low to the ground. I always hated to drive down the main road to my house on a night after a nice rainstorm when I lived in Sorrento. Invariably I would pass a dead Barred Owl on the side of the road. After a nice summer rain the frogs are crossing the streets all night long and Barred Owls get a feast. And invariably one of them get hit by a car.
There's a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality.
--Colin Kaepernick
User avatar
fierceredpanda
Posts: 590
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:11 pm
Location: BAR Headquarters - Turn left at the portrait of George III
Occupation: Criminal defense attorney. I am not your lawyer. My posts != legal advice.

Re: Birding

#115

Post by fierceredpanda »

Wisconsin Public Service has a number of nests for peregrine falcons (my very favorite bird) at their power plants, all of which have live cameras in them. The Weston camera this morning is featuring eggs hatching!



:lovestruck: :lovestruck: :lovestruck:
"There's no play here. There's no angle. There's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor. The math on this is simple. The smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up." -Michael Clayton
User avatar
Lani
Posts: 2507
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 11:42 am

Re: Birding

#116

Post by Lani »

Sometimes Twitter is great. This thread is a fun read if you love the idea of condors moving in with you. (And don't mind them trashing your deck.)



https:/ /twitter .com/SeanaLyn/status/1389745331085070343 (remove spaces)
Image You can't wait until life isn't hard anymore before you decide to be happy.
User avatar
fierceredpanda
Posts: 590
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:11 pm
Location: BAR Headquarters - Turn left at the portrait of George III
Occupation: Criminal defense attorney. I am not your lawyer. My posts != legal advice.

Re: Birding

#117

Post by fierceredpanda »

The New York Times picked up the story.
"There's no play here. There's no angle. There's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor. The math on this is simple. The smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up." -Michael Clayton
User avatar
Estiveo
Posts: 2302
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:50 am
Location: Inland valley, Central Coast, CA
Verified:

Re: Birding

#118

Post by Estiveo »

Sitting out on the back patio enjoying a fine cigar & a wee dram o' the Creature, I was pleased to see that, for the first time since last year's fires, the birds are back!

House finches, titmouses (titmice? titmeeces?) Bewicks wrens, chestnut backed chickadees, a couple gold crowned kinglets, and hummingbirds!

No goldfinches or sparrows yet, but this is great.
Image Image Image Image
User avatar
sugar magnolia
Posts: 3227
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:54 pm

Re: Birding

#119

Post by sugar magnolia »

We now have a resident catbird in the back yard and at least 2 mated pairs of cardinals.
User avatar
fierceredpanda
Posts: 590
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2021 12:11 pm
Location: BAR Headquarters - Turn left at the portrait of George III
Occupation: Criminal defense attorney. I am not your lawyer. My posts != legal advice.

Re: Birding

#120

Post by fierceredpanda »

Estiveo wrote: Sun May 16, 2021 6:19 pm Sitting out on the back patio enjoying a fine cigar & a wee dram o' the Creature, I was pleased to see that, for the first time since last year's fires, the birds are back!

House finches, titmouses (titmice? titmeeces?) Bewicks wrens, chestnut backed chickadees, a couple gold crowned kinglets, and hummingbirds!

No goldfinches or sparrows yet, but this is great.
Sounds like a great way to spend an evening. :thumbsup:

Titmice have been a favorite of mine ever since I read an article last year about how they have regional accents.
"There's no play here. There's no angle. There's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor. The math on this is simple. The smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up." -Michael Clayton
User avatar
northland10
Posts: 5596
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:47 pm
Location: Northeast Illinois
Occupation: Organist/Choir Director/Fundraising Data Analyst
Verified: ✅ I'm me.

Re: Birding

#121

Post by northland10 »

This morning, we did our outdoor in-person worship/eucharist at a local forest preserve (for Chilidog's sake, it was Old School Preserve). I will admit that at times I was distracted by listening to all of the different bird calls, and the occasional dive-bombing by some cowbirds. One of the unexpected birds was the ones called 737s and 777s. Seems the O'Hare departure route was over the forest preserve this morning (Most often, ORD approaches from the east and departs from to the west so planes overhead had departed and circled around to head toward Michigan, Canada, and the Northest).

At home, we have some tension at the feeder. There is a house nearby it that has gone unused for some time but a sparrow couple has decided to nest there and now considers the feeder their territory. The male will sit on a nearby tree branch (this is the second floor) and chirp angrily when some other birds use the feeder. They generally ignore the sparrow. The cardinals are larger, the finches do what they want, and the red-bellied woodpecker briefly looked back as to say, "whatcha gonna do tiny."

While we have had goldfinches in the area I would rarely see them. In the last few weeks, there have been 3 that have been quite active around my place. On Friday, one was poking at the corner of the window sill, not the window but the sill. I think there was an egg sack from some spider or something and the finch either was after the larva/eggs or he thought it was a fruit.

Edited to add a blurry picture of one of the goldfinches (this is what happens when you try to zoom with a phone camera).
goldfinch.jpg
goldfinch.jpg (131.99 KiB) Viewed 4766 times
101010 :towel:
User avatar
Chilidog
Posts: 1926
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:36 pm

Re: Birding

#122

Post by Chilidog »

Old school preserve is great.

Is the fitness course still there? It's getting a bit old and mangey.

I'm always amused by the fact that when it was originally built, it was dedicated in a ceremony that featured a fellow by the name of Bruce Jenner.
User avatar
northland10
Posts: 5596
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 6:47 pm
Location: Northeast Illinois
Occupation: Organist/Choir Director/Fundraising Data Analyst
Verified: ✅ I'm me.

Re: Birding

#123

Post by northland10 »

I saw something with a cargo net so that must have been it. The website says they still have a fitness trail but I don't know the condition. Because I don't get out well, it has been a while since I have been there (though I really, really, need to get there more often either by car or bike).
Edit: Some years ago when riding my bike through there on the Des Plaines River trail, I saw a scarlet tanager. Pretty bird
101010 :towel:
User avatar
FiveAcres
Posts: 243
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2021 3:25 am

Re: Birding

#124

Post by FiveAcres »

Yesterday evening, while I was driving home from a friend's house, a wild turkey flew across the road in front of me. Though in theory I knew they could fly short distances, I had never before seen one do so.
Avatar was a photo I took by Killary Fjord in 2005. Killary Fjord is in Northern Connemara, Ireland.
User avatar
AndyinPA
Posts: 9853
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:42 am
Location: Pittsburgh
Verified:

Re: Birding

#125

Post by AndyinPA »

Wild turkeys roost high in up trees at night. You should see them fly up! Graceful they aren't, but they get the job done.
"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
Post Reply

Return to “General Stuff”