Any Birdwatchers?

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GHBWNY

GHBWNY

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Probably because of the brutal winter weather here in the northeast, but in just the past 2 days, we have seen the following at our feeder:

Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy W.P.
Hairy W.P.
Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Cowbird
White-breasted Nuthatch
Black-capped Chickadee
Goldfinch
Purple Finch
Cardinal
Slate-colored Junco
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
 
Casual birder. Currently in Panama. Lots of cool stuff here like Quetzals and Saber Winged Hummingbirds (big dramatic violet colored humming bird). Home base is in Guatemala. Lots of interesting birds there too...we get Orapendulas, Chacalacs, Amazon parrots, and lots of humming birds every day. Recently had a pair of Mot Mots drop by. Surrounded by wet lands there so get water birds too. Spotted a Tiger Heron recently...big cool looking Heron.
 
If you really want to bring out the Goldfinches try a seperate small feeder of just thistle seed. The result was really dramatic when Iived in Texas.
 
chickadee
cardinal
tufted titmouse
junko
downy woodpecker
gold finch
blue jay
mourning dove
Lately, a large flicker has been showing up at the feeder.

20150108_085305.jpg
 
Friend of mine got some good shots of Toucans here in Panama.

My guys in Guate retrieved an injured Collared Aracari from the bush, unfortunately it didn't make it, but a beautiful bird.

Hummingbirds nest a lot at my place in Guate. Pic of chic in a nest. The nest has a lot of elasticity and stretches as the chics grow.

(Aarghh, having trouble uploading pics with mobil app)

View attachment 1420848247862.jpg
 
I'm not much of a birder, but I married one so I've picked up some of his knowledge. We went to Belize twice, mainly for fishing and birding (Scarlet macaws, yellow-headed parrots, and oropendulas along with toucans and the like). We winter in S. Texas where the whooping cranes also spend the winter and we have photos of them from our deck.

I've been working on shore bird identification for the last few winters, but I'm mediocre at quickly identifying them at best.
 
My feeders today in Tiverton, RI.

House Sparrows
Female? Goldfinch
Male Brown Headed Cowbird
Male and female Cardinal
Juncos
White throated sparrow
Mourning dove
Black capped chickadees
Tufted titmouse.

Seen in 15 minutes before going to work.

Mostly a casual birder. I prefer to go looking to photograph them rather than using binoculars and listing them.
 
Casual bird watcher, my father instilled it in me as he was an avid birder, everything listed I've seen except for Curtis's.
Got to see a couple Bald eagles last summer, making a big comeback here, beautiful animals!
Probably the most memorable was a pileated woodpecker hammering on a tree just overhead, you can hear them for miles, truly amazing how animals evolved
.
 
Also casual. I get frustrated because I'm color blind.

IMGP0288.jpg

a Pine Warbler
DSC01334.jpg

An Eastern Phoebe
IMG_1460.jpg

a Barred owl

all in my backyard
 
I'm in the Appalachians. We are getting hit with the brutal cold weather as I type. Most of the birds I see are the sparrows, starlings, titmouse's. The small birds are tough as nails.
It seems anything that nature throws at them they overcome.
 
Pete_WNY said:
Probably because of the brutal winter weather here in the northeast, but in just the past 2 days, we have seen the following at our feeder:

Red-Bellied Woodpecker
Downy W.P.
Hairy W.P.
Sparrow
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Cowbird
White-breasted Nuthatch
Black-capped Chickadee
Goldfinch
Purple Finch
Cardinal
Slate-colored Junco
Blue Jay
Mourning Dove
Click to expand...

You guys get Cow Birds out east in the middle of winter? Ours have the good sense to get the Hell out and not come back until spring.

I haven't been out birding much this year, but I did get a Merlin on a work site a few weeks ago (that's a very good find here), and, in previous years, I've been frequented by a Prairie Falcon (an exceptional find).

Curtis, I have some really strong (negative) words for you.

:mug:
 
Yooper said:
...

I've been working on shore bird identification for the last few winters, but I'm mediocre at quickly identifying them at best.
Click to expand...

Coolest S Texas shorebird in my book: Roseatta Spoonbill.
 
I don't get many interesting ones, but I do try to fill up my feeder with black oil sundflower and have a fresh suet cake hanging while I heat up my water. Usually the birds have found it by the first hop addition. I figure - hey - I'm making something I enjoy, I should help them out too. Plus, it gives me something to watch besides the kettle.
 
Yooper said:
...

I've been working on shore bird identification for the last few winters, but I'm mediocre at quickly identifying them at best.
Click to expand...

Coolest S Texas shorebird in my book: Roseatta Spoonbill.
 
Barley_Bob said:
...

Curtis, I have some really strong (negative) words for you.

:mug:
Click to expand...

Hey, don't get mad, get even! I have a guest house in Guate where you can see lots of tropical species from the comfort of second floor balcony. Every early AM the Orapendulas, Chacalacas, and Amazon Parrots make a sweep thru. Various other species during day...and there is always Rufus the Green Wing McCaw to keep you entertained (hamming it up for the camera below).

Its a beautiful place, but we spend very little time there these days so I'm planning to list the whole place (main house and guest house) on VRBO, but you can get the special pre-listing price of....free! ;-) There, just try and be pissed now.

View attachment 1420895401775.jpg
 
Barley_Bob said:
You guys get Cow Birds out east in the middle of winter? Ours have the good sense to get the Hell out and not come back until spring.

I haven't been out birding much this year, but I did get a Merlin on a work site a few weeks ago (that's a very good find here), and, in previous years, I've been frequented by a Prairie Falcon (an exceptional find).

Curtis, I have some really strong (negative) words for you.

:mug:
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's actually the first winter they have been here in such abundance. Could these be the ones you're missing?

Cool re: the Prairie Falcon. About 10 miles north of us, a pair of Snowy Owls has been spotted. It's not the first time for this area. They are rare, but apparently, if during migration from the Arctic to wherever they are heading they find suitable cover and food, they'll stick around. Talk about a beautiful bird!!
 
passedpawn said:
Casual here too. I have a small wood behind my house, and a feeder. I get lots of stuff. Here's a barred owl of my own that showed up recently. I had a bald eagle back there once!

owl-in-backyard-60019.jpg
Click to expand...

That's very cool! We have had a pair of Bald Eagles nesting about 1/4 mile down the road from us, way back by a creek. The nest is about the size of a large bathtub. I saw one fly overhead this fall, but we haven't seen much of them this winter.
 
I'm not too into what my Aunt calls the "little grey birds" - chickadees and finches. She's an avid bird watcher.

We get various eagles and hawks that I look out for. We have had a pair of great horned owls nesting near town this year. I hear them at least once a week. I got this picture while walking the dog in late November.

Oh, and a couple weeks ago we had a hairy woodpecker poking around my neighbor's tree.

image.jpg
 
Beernik said:
I'm not too into what my Aunt calls the "little grey birds" - chickadees and finches. She's an avid bird watcher.
...
Click to expand...

Did a hike with a professional birding guide recently. I'm still into the big dramatic stuff too, but his perspective was that as you get more experienced you transition from that to the harder to ID, smaller, more obscure birds...don't think I gonna make that transition in this lifetime.
 
Got turned on to Niger seed last year, and we are attracting a TON of goldfinches! They're plowing through so much seed we may have to create a budget category just for them! LOL!

Also switched to a higher quality seed mix (without the red millet), and the house finches, tit mouses, junkos, etc. are really going to town. We also have the super contentious humminbirds jealously guarding the feeder.
 
Pic of injured Collared Aracari we tried to rescue recently. Spinally injury I think...legs didn't work anymore. He's still alive in pic and fiesty, still could deliver a good strong bite. Didn't make it, but a cool bird. First one I've seen on the property, would like to attract some more.

View attachment 1421032296948.jpg
 
Red belly woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker
Pine siskin
Junco
Chickadee
Blue jay
Canada jay
Rose breasted grosbeak
American crow
Mourning dove
Purple finch
Sharp-shinned hawk - after the little birds
Great horned owl - after the cottontails under the feeders at night.
 
Curtis2010 said:
Pic of injured Collared Aracari we tried to rescue recently. Spinally injury I think...legs didn't work anymore. He's still alive in pic and fiesty, still could deliver a good strong bite. Didn't make it, but a cool bird. First one I've seen on the property, would like to attract some more.
Click to expand...

Wow cool. Where in Guatemala are you?
 
flars said:
Sharp-shinned hawk - after the little birds
Click to expand...

I saw a sharp-shinned pull a blue jay out of mid-air. They tussled on the ground for a few minutes, the hawk repeatedly ripping and tearing at the jay while he held him down in his talons, feathers flying, blood all over the snow. When I got closer to the window for a better look, the hawk flew away and the jay disappeared around the corner of my building. "Poor thing," I thought, "he's a goner." A minute later, the jay came hopping back around the corner and flew away. And I thought only cats had nine lives!
 
Since we are having fun w necro posts & I have a legit question:

I currently have at least a couple hundred Robins flocking and flitting around my yard most every dusk when the weather is OK. There are usually a few pairs that nest here, but this seems to be a different crowd. I watched what I'd estimate as around 75 additional birds drop down from higher altitude to join the flock around 4'30 PM today. More Robins than I've ever seen before and exhibiting flocking behavior I'd usually associate with more gregarious birds.

Any birders here have insight?
 
Yakima 300

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