Backyard Birds's topics - tribe.net

Your backyard

xtinemac — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 01:10:02 GMT

So, I moved recently and I only re-located myself about a half mile and WHOA what a difference in bird watching! I guess it's cuz I'm on a cul-de-sac and next to a wash.

I am always curious as to what other birds people in other parts of the country see on a daily basis. Please take a moment and tell me what birds you have in your neck of the woods that you see on a regular basis.

For me, I'm in Tucson and I see the doves, sparrows and finches all the time. But I also see Gambel's Quail, Cardinals, American Kestrels, European Starlings, Hawks of all kinds...RedTail, Coopers, I even saw a Northern Harrier the other day! I did see some Eurasian Collared Doves at my old apartment. Also, Great Tailed Grackles and Curve Billed Thrashers. I went for a bird walk the other morning and ran into a Green Heron. VERY COOL! She was fishing. In the same place I saw a Phainopepla.

Can't think of anymore. What do you see at your place?

posted in Backyard Birds - 9 replies

Towhee

wayusa-warmi — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:04:48 GMT

I remember my mother talking about the Towhees who followed her around when he was gardening. Now that I am living in a place with Towhees, I understand what she is talking about. Of all the birds around my yard, the Towhees are the ones who seem really interested in my activities, as though they are watching over my shoulder as I work. They seem like "people watchers," so that bird watching isn't all one way, :-)

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

Wow! Gotta share this!

wayusa-warmi — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 16:56:28 GMT

So, the last couple days I'm hearing this bird call a lot around my house, kind of a rising whistle-squeal, kooweeet, pretty loud but I can't see the bird that is making it. So then yesterday afternoon I walk out the door, and gasp because right above me is this gigantic bird. After a second, I recognize it as a red-tailed hawk, but it is flying so low it looks monstrously enormous! Never seen a redtail flying so low before! The redtail is flying in circles and calling to another redtail that is out of sight. And while I am watching, another redtail comes swooping over from behind, so low it looks like a low-flying airplane! Like I could have touched it, practically! And the two of them head together to a nearby Doug fir and land. And then a third (smaller, juvenile) redtail drops from the tree. And then another juvenile drops out of the tree. Wow! Four redtails! The parents take off, and then that whistle-squeal sound starts coming from the tree. A third fledgling was still in the tree, and didn't want to leave. It was squealing for its parents to come rescue it. The parents flew around and called, and the hidden fledgling kept squealing from the tree. The parents came back to the tree and argued with the baby that it had to take off and start acting like a real hawk. They took off and flew around. The other two juveniles flew around. The baby in the tree kept squealing. The parents kept going back and telling the fledgling to take off. Finally it emerged and took off. I could see that the juveniles were much smaller than the adults, and of course didn't have red tails (which don't develop till they are about four). But wow! Red-tail family drama at such close range! And never seen red-tails in a tree before. So big! Wowwww!!!!

posted in Backyard Birds - 7 replies

unusual birds present or missing?

budobabe — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:57:00 GMT

Just wondering how the late fall,early winter as shaping up in folks' different areas: anything you expected to see not shown up? anything surprising hanging out?
In SF Bay Area and in Ukiah, the golden crowned sparrows arrived right on time. In Ukiah, I see a greater presence of Steller's Jays actually coexisting w/ the scrub jays while competing for choice feeding spots. Folks on the Mendo coast report greater numbers of Kites than usual.

posted in Backyard Birds - 3 replies

raptor story

budobabe — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 04:59:44 GMT

for anybody not on raptors tribe...this is NOT my own story but from the Mendobirds list and amazing to picture

September 11, 2007 - This is just for curiosity's sake ...yesterday,
here at UC-Hopland REC I observed a mature Golden Eagle swooped down
in front of my vehicle and nab a mature Red-shouldered Hawk as it
left it's perch on a large oak limb. Both birds continued to the
ground with the Red-shouldered screaming. The eagle left, maybe due
to the presence of the vehicle, and the hawk lowered itself into the
grass. I thought that the hawk was probably dying but upon
inspection it seemed rather alert & perky. I left it in an open box
hoping that it might recover and fly away ...but it perished. It is
now destined to be a museum study-skin specimen here at HREC. Good
birding - Bob Keiffer.

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

....and a Magpie wake!

Pauline — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:50:01 GMT

This event occured on the same day as the starling raid. I was in the kitchen of my house when i heard the loudest .....mega loud.....chattering of magpies which led me to investigate. I looked out the back window and saw three magpies at three different points around next doors garden. They were calling very loudly to and fro, first one, then the other. This went on for some minutes then i think my movement disturbed them and they flew off into a nearby tree still keeping up the same noise before flying off. I stayed for quite a while watching the other birds in the garden, then crow swooped in and alighted briefly on a rooftop quite near my window and looked around before taking off into the distance. That made me wonder, as it's the first time crow has come near my garden. Maybe he's after the fledglings i thought. Then i glanced to the right and saw something black and white in the grass in the garden next door. Sure enough it was a magpie lying dead on the ground, probably caught by one of the local cats, for sport - as it seemed completly intact. The magpies came back twice again over the next couple of hours and took up their posts facing inwards towards the dead one, and calling loudly in turns. The second time they had a young one with them - i wondered if it was it's parent that had been killed. The young one was on the roof looked over by two wood pidgeons who seemed to be keeping a respectful distance while watching the proceedings. The whole event
appeared exactly like a funeral wake, with each magpie coming to pay it's last respects to their lost fellow. Early evening saw a huge rainbow arched over the scene and all was quiet..........the magpies spirit had passed.

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

A starling raid...

Pauline — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 00:18:17 GMT

July saw many fledglings in my back yard. The starlings came in one sunny day (at the start of the month).......a couple of adults and about eight young. The sparrows also had a couple of young ones with them, noticable by their constant quivering. I have a pair of resident blackbirds who live in the ivy at the back of the garden, they also had a young one but rarely seen. Mrs blackbird (and it always seems to be she who is the most defensive of the territory) had shown objection to two young starlings in the past and had a tendancy to chase them off. This day with so many of them and with adults present i thought she might have the wisdom to hold her peace. She did not. As the starlings feasted on some dried fruit and grain i had put out, she started to harrass one or two of them in the vain hope that they would leave. Suddenly as if some signal had passed between them three starlings shot into ivy followed by the startled blackbird. There was a screeching and a squawking - one hell of a ruckus - with the ivy shaking up and down for several minutes, then they each shot out again just as quickly and the starlings flew off with their young. When all was quiet i went to investigate the ivy and saw the blackbirds nest dislodged and turned on its side in the thick of the green vines. Fortunately no eggs and no young seemed to be present. But a sorry lesson for the blackbird..........don't mess with the starlings!

What i found so amazing was that they seemed to know exactly where the nest was and honed right in on it in a flash. I also wondered why they were so unwelcome by the blackbird but she no problem sharing the garden with the sparrows.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

hooded orioles

budobabe — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 15:34:47 GMT

If you look at field guides from 5 or 10 yrs ago, the range map doesn't go anywhere near northern California - they are southern birds that like to nest in palms. But in inland Mendocino county folks have been planting fan palms (the only native palm in the state) and the orioles have been steadily following them. Well, this spring/summer our neighbor's fan palm hosted a nesting pair. Unfortunately a fledgling tried to fly through a plate glass window and now rests in peace under a big tree....but at least 1 or 2 others are out there with their parents.
So don't' believe the books...or, if your field guide is more than 5 yrs old, you may want to spring for a new one! (I just did, and per longstanding tradition, passed the old one along to a newbie)

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

jay mimicry

budobabe — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:37:04 GMT

well.
Just heard what sounded like a red-shouldered hawk, but way lower in a small tree than I'd expect. Waited and suddenly a small female Steller's Jay hopped out onto a branch, making like a red-shoulder several times before settling down to work the bark - eating grubs or bugs of some kind I guess, not only yelling like a hawk but eating like a flicker!
I hadn't been aware of mimicry by jays so did some googling and found a couple of references:
the birdchat archives here http://listserv.arizona.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0309b&L=birdchat&P=2379 note that "Steller's Jay imitates both Red-tail and Red-shouldered very convincingly...Ken Burton"
and
http://www.naturesongs.com/tyrrcert.html#corv notes "Steller's Jays (Cyanositta stelleri) are common residents of coniferous forests in the Western US. This one gives us a sampler of his vocalizations from his perch in an Arizona Cypress near Sedona, Arizona. (378K) Steller's Jays are famous for mimicry, especially of raptors. Here is an example of a Steller's jay mimicking a Red-tailed Hawk near Sedona, Arizona, 3/5/01. (72K) This next example shows some of their parrot-like chatter and calling - easy to see how they might slip into mimicry! (147K)"

posted in Backyard Birds - 5 replies

well, the ocean is SORTA my backyard...

budobabe — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 23:28:29 GMT

...I was sitting at the Cliff House yesterday morning, after a walk along the beach, drinking a mocha and watching pelicans, cormorants and gulls plying their trade....and a small black and white seabird with RED legs and feet kept flying into/out of the cliffs directly under my window, a site invisible from the window or from shore, safe for a nest...I checked the guides and its a bird I've NEVER seen before YAYYYYYY!!!! as pigeon guillemot. cute cute cute.
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/166/_/Pigeon_Guillemot.aspx

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

not QUITE the backyard

budobabe — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:46:10 GMT

Took a walk around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park this morning.
The great blue heron babies are fledging from their treetop nests! Tall, gangly they stand up and flap vigorously and jump. A few precocious ones are taking short tree-hopping flights then returning to the nests so they will be ready when mom and dad bring home the gophers for them. YUM!
There were also goslings and ducklings., and lots of Brewers blackbird fledglings doing the "feed me! feed me!" posture and noise. Some piedbill grebes were acting like maybe they were guarding a hidden nest, but no babies in sight. Lots of robins and sparrows singing.
And our poor hawks are still under siege by the crows and ravens.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

Dirt Baths!

Pauline — Sat, 26 May 2007 20:52:55 GMT

Hi everyone,
i recently dug over a large area of my garden ready for planting. Twice in the last week i've seen blackbirds and sparrows taking dirt baths in the freshly turned dry soil. It looks really funny. Today seven sparrows all dipped down in unison, settling on a patch of ground, raising their wings slightly and shuffling their breasts and tummies in the dirt like some crazy new dance. Has anyone else observed this behaviour. Whats it about? They seem to love it.

posted in Backyard Birds - 12 replies

Western tanagers -- see in Portland!

wayusa-warmi — Fri, 11 May 2007 23:59:12 GMT

A lifer for me! Have you seen this beauiful bird?

http://whatbird.wildbird.com/obj/196/_/target.aspx

There has been a whole group at them on a certain spot on PSU campus for more than a week. I have counted as many as four males at one time and about an equal number of females.They may be nesting, or maybe there are so many because there are young adults emerging from a nest, I don't know, but if you are in Portland and need to add this beautiful bird to your life list, catch them soon!

Go to PSU campus. Montgomery Court (student housing) SW 10th and Montgomery. In the inside courtyard, where there is ivy all over the walls, look at the SW corner of the inside of the courtyard. (If you are facing the inside of the courtyard, it will be on your left, above the sidewalk that leads to the back.) Someone come see these beautiful birds before it is too late!

posted in Backyard Birds - 8 replies

I likes yer shiny pretty loot (treasure, precious...)...Cans I play w'it 'n ye?

Zquirrwll — Sat, 26 May 2007 05:23:21 GMT

Boink!!..is that a nut bouncing off your head?

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

Project Feederwatch

Tracy — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:39:56 GMT

Hey, I've just gotten involved with project feederwatch through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and it's been wonderful. Do you folks get involved with all that? I'd love to get chatting about my backyard birds, and my certifide Bacyard Wildlife Habitat....Do you guys advocate that? it's really cool, love Idyllbirder

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

Spring

budobabe — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 15:03:10 GMT

I don't care what the calendar says, or whether the golden-crowned sparrows have disappeared yet or not (come to think of it, they may have...):
The mockingbirds are flying from perch to perch and singing.
It is by my reckoning spring in San Francisco :-)

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

Bird calls - has anyone heard this?

Mary — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:18:18 GMT

2 or 3 times now, while a whole bunch of blue jays were hanging out in the trees around my house, I heard a sound that was exactly like the sound the bead makes when you shake a can of spray paint. I am pretty sure I even saw the blue jay making the noise. Is this a normal sound they make, or was he imitating?

I am really, really new to this - I love birds, but don't know a whole lot about them :)

posted in Backyard Birds - 4 replies

Red-shouldered Hawk

tomdavis — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 23:35:40 GMT

I got a couple of decent photos of a Red-shouldered Hawk from my back deck today. I've uploaded them to this tribe's photo album.

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

yellow jackets!

Thu, 31 Aug 2006 18:59:44 GMT

They are swarming around my hummingbird feeders. Any advice? Traps? Etc?
(x-posted)

Thank you!!!! ~B

posted in Backyard Birds - 4 replies

Nest

Tue, 21 Jun 2005 19:26:07 GMT

On my friend's porch in a flower pot is a wren nest.
The other day I saw Mama bird fly out, so I went to check on it. It had 4 eggs but one was busted and smelled. yuck!
Later on I checked and the busted egg was gone. So Mama cleaned it out. Does that mean the other eggs are viable? I hope so! I was looking forward to the babies.

And..... that feeder I hung on my balcony still hasn't had any birds. I guess maybe it is to "exposed" to predators. I don't know. ~ We have thought of switching apartments to the back when one became available. (more privacy) PLUS..... it would be next to a grove of trees. A few people back there have feeders and they are active. ~~~ I wish I still had my backyard from a few years back. It stayed so active that I could sit for 2-3 hours continuously watching birds. *sigh

posted in Backyard Birds - 3 replies

Feather Identification Tribe

drunkenwaxwing — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 03:37:26 GMT

I just started this tribe, so hope it is helpful. I'll be posting some photos there when I get back from vacation in two weeks. I always see cool feathers but I have no idea which bird they are from! Maybe some of you are interested and would like to get a headstart...

http://tribes.tribe.net/featherfinders

posted in Backyard Birds - 4 replies

Magpie Diving

Louise — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:42:45 GMT

The premesis where I work is on a quiet road with other industrial units opposite. Myself and my colleague like to watch the magpies out of the window. They all congregate on top of the unit opposite and then in turn they dive straight downwards as a professional swimmer would off a diving board at the swimming pool. There is nothing much at the bottom where they land, just a car park. Is this some sort of game or are they actually hunting for food? I don't notice them do this in the summer months, only the winter. But they always dive from the same spot and I can't make out what they do when they get to the bottom. Anybody else noticed anything similar?

posted in Backyard Birds - 4 replies

Urgent: Need help with rescued wild owl

Bobzilla — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 01:29:24 GMT

So here's the story, I work on a tugboat and we're taking barges full of mud out to sea to dump. We got back to the bay and we spotted a wild owl stuck in the mud. in the empty barge. It's golden colored and has spots. It was totally covered with mud and couldn't fly. It was obviously tired and had been struggling to get out of the mud.

We made a snare and got the owl out of the mud. We have it in a cabin onboard, where it's warm. It has a dish of water and some raw red meat. We won't be back to land till Thursday night, it's Tuesday night now. Hopefully the owl will live till then and I can get it to someone who knows what their doing.

In the mean time should we wash it off, with warm water? Does anyone know who or where I can take it? I have limited internet connectivity while I'm at sea, so if someone can do the leg work and figure out where I can take it that would be great.

posted in Backyard Birds - 5 replies

Hummingbirds

SPYDER — Sun, 11 Jun 2006 22:50:35 GMT

I moved from San Fran. CA. last Jan. and I put my large Ficus Tree on the front porch here in Vail. I noticed in the last 2 week a hummingbird starting to bulid a nest in it. I think I've got a whit eared hummingbird....My question is: Is it normal for them to build 2 nest side by side ?or why did it build 2 nest ?...SPYDER

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

Ravens vs. hawk

Andrew — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 22:40:42 GMT

Yesterday I was on my roof in the RIchmond. Pristine, beautiful, sunny day. At around 2pm, I saw two Ravens chasing a hawk. The Ravens employed some very devious and strategic moves - one would give chase and the other would flank the hawk, perdically striking from the side. It was quite a sight. Have you ever seen anything like this? Do ravens and hawks fight over territory? Is that normal for two different species to do that? I know that in the fish world, fish are typically territorial against their species but not others . . .

-Andrew

posted in Backyard Birds - 6 replies

Woodpeckers versus squirrel

tomdavis — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 21:07:11 GMT

Not quite in the backyard, but just down the block I saw an amazing battle this morning between two Acorn Woodpeckers who had riddled a telephone pole with holes and crammed acorns into them and a lazy squirrel who was looking for an easy meal. The two woodpeckers were way too much for the squirrel who was finally chased all the way across the street.

I'd never seen woodpeckers mount a defense like this before.

posted in Backyard Birds - 14 replies

who's this?

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:52:17 GMT

yes, i am a complete amateur birder...and i did look in my field guide, but i can't identify this guy...i don't think he's a kingfisher...but...what do i know?! nada!
my dog flushed it out of the berry brambles at the creek when she went splashing in...it flew up to the tree and stayed there, with it's neck extended and the thing on the top of it's head...what is that called again? the comb? anyway...it stayed like that until it calmed down and realized we weren't a threat. then i swear it turned into a whole different bird!!! not really, but just looking at it i would not have thought it was the same one...once it relaxed, it was like a plump partrigde looking bird sitting there...both pics (not so good) posted in the photo album...
so i'd love to know who this one is, living down at the creek..appreciate it! thanks. :)

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

hummingbird - scrub jay connection

Tue, 17 Jan 2006 02:47:04 GMT

do they have some kind of mutual benefit or affinity to/for each other ?
i keep seeing them together...a pair of hummers and a pair of jays...previously, i'd seen them battling in the air, now when i see them they are all just peacefully sitting in the plum tree together...for a long while. never seen this before, just pairs of hummingbirds going after usually a single scrub jay...
so what's up? anyone know or have any ideas?
thanks. :)

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

First Snow Bird Listing

Govega — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 14:57:16 GMT

Woke up today to our first snowfall of the year, 3 inches! In honor of this, I did a quick assessment of who's who at our bird feeders:

Slate eyed juncos
Fox sparrows
white-throated sparrows
european sparrows
crows
blue jays
a carolina wren
pair of northern cardinals
male red bellied woodpecker
tufted titmice
house finches
chickadees

Pretty good showing I think.

Heres to happy birding!!

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 3 replies

Starlings!

sonya — Sat, 09 Jul 2005 22:46:47 GMT

How can I keep starlings off the feeders without also scaring away the little birds? Anyone have any solutions to those pesky oil-black birds? I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't for the obnoxious cackling screeches and the way they bother the other species.

posted in Backyard Birds - 3 replies

California Quail

tomdavis — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 23:55:15 GMT

Dad, mom and the kids were in my yard today. I got a nice clean shot of dad (which is in the tribe album) but mom and the kids were far too secretive and they always managed to keep some kind of crud between them and the camera lens.

There must have been a dozen babies! Mom seemed pretty laid-back about it, but dad was very aggressive in keeping the babies herded into a relatively small area. As long as I stayed 7 or 8 feet away, the parents didn't seem to care.

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

Urban birding

sharkgoddess — Tue, 24 May 2005 20:05:35 GMT

I live in a tiny apartment with my two year-old daughter. We don't have a yard, but the landlady was nice enough to let me put a window feeder on my living room window and a suet block in a nearby tree.

The window feeder hasn't seen much action yet, but we've been gettings jays, crows, and woodpeckers at the suet block every morning for several weeks now.

I open the blinds in the morning and my daughter and I watch the birds while we eat breakfast.

posted in Backyard Birds - 8 replies

Hawk!

tomdavis — Thu, 02 Jun 2005 23:58:02 GMT

There's a Red-shouldered Hawk that likes to sit buried in the neighbor's tree, and as soon as he knows I'm not looking, he comes out and flys around screaming. Or at least it seems that way.

So -- after hours of sitting on the deck, reading, with my camera beside me, I finally got a couple of photos of him that I've added to the tribe's album. He's flown a lot closer, so I may be able to do better, but at least you can get a positive ID from these.

Maybe I should start raising mice and keep them in a cage with an open top in my backyard -- no -- I guess that wouldn't be nice ...

posted in Backyard Birds - 4 replies

help id-ing

Sun, 22 May 2005 06:28:41 GMT

just posted a couple of not so great photos in the album...any ideas on what kind of bird this is? i looked in my trusty old field guide, which i just found and dusted off again, and nothing is quite right...any idears?

posted in Backyard Birds - 8 replies

one of God's creatures...

Wed, 18 May 2005 06:57:02 GMT

from egg to flight.

http://community-2.webtv.net/hotmail.com/verle33/HummingBirdNest

a woman in california took these amazing pictures. enjoy!
:)

posted in Backyard Birds - 9 replies

I wish.....

Thu, 05 May 2005 21:48:03 GMT

.....that more people would hang out in this tribe.

Anyhoo.... I recently put up a hummingbird feeder. No hummers so far. I did see a male house finch trying to drink from it the other day. They do love the sweet stuff.

posted in Backyard Birds - 9 replies

More photos

tomdavis — Fri, 13 May 2005 03:10:47 GMT

I just found this tribe. We've got our back porch loaded with bird feeders, and I like to take photos of them as well as watch what shows up. I just added photos to this tribe's photo album of four birds I recently took at home (on the San Francisco peninsula): a House Finch, a Lesser Goldfinch, a Dark-eyed Junco and a Hutton's Vireo.

For anyone in the SF Bay area, RIGHT NOW is the time to visit the Palo Alto Baylands (which is almost in my back yard :^) The Snowy Egrets, the Black-Crowned Nightherons and the Great Egrets are nesting and there are Nightheron and Snowy Egret Babies. The Great Egrets are still building nests, but there will be chicks soon. Go to the duck pond!

Although they're not exactly "backyard", here are some photos I took at the Baylands in the last couple of weeks:

http://www.geometer.org/D2x/index.html

posted in Backyard Birds - 6 replies

"Your" yard, a ceritfied bird sanctuary!

Wed, 11 May 2005 00:19:45 GMT

http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/

http://www.wcsv.org/education/generalinfo/certifyby.htm

:'-( I live in an apartment. Hurrican Ivan (Sept 2004) ruined my house and yard. ~ I was working toward this goal. Well... maybe someday soon!

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

Post Your Photos

Govega — Sun, 08 May 2005 11:55:09 GMT

I just looked through our photo album. Trina and Moira, thanks for posting all those great GREAT photos! Moira your birding reintroduction photos are awesome! Wow!

I hope EVERYONE please takes the opportunity to photo and send some over to our album. It's getting a good amount of different species.

A digital camera is great to have handy by your feeder station window. You never know when you may spot a rare migrant. Please post anything unusual you see!

Thanks again,

Penny
moderator

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

New to this forum.

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 03:19:42 GMT

Hi everyone! I am glad that I found a forum for bird lovers.
I moved recently so I haven't started feeding yet. I hope to soon. I have a list of birds that I have seen at my feeders. It's not a life list... just the ones I saw feeding, drinking, or bathing in my backyard. Does anyone else have a list like this? I have over 40 different birds on the list. Some I only saw once. A lot were frequent visitors. - My favorite birds are: Carolina Chickadee, Tufted-Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, & Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Oh yeah.... I have to add wrens.
I have a good recipe that every bird likes. I have spread this on trees, put in suet feeders, and even had a small log with holes drilled in it to fill. I haven't seen a bird yet that didn't just love it!
And..... do you feed hummingbirds? I had over 20 fledglings after hurricane Ivan. They hung around for weeks. It was a hoot watching them. I had to refill the feeders daily.
Hope to talk with my fellow bird-lovers soon!

recipe:
1 cup shortening (regular shortening)
1 cup peanut butter (smooth)
1 cup flour
4 cups yellow corn meal

Usually I melt the peanutbutter and shortening in the microwave then mix in all the rest. It gets stiff so you have to knead it.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

Need Help Identifying A Bird!!!

Govega — Sat, 08 May 2004 17:42:24 GMT

Gang

Today I saw a bird I dont recall seeing? It was about the size and coloring of a catbird, perhaps a bit browner but brownish grey. The crown was a decided rust color. I cannot find this in my bird books. Help!

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 5 replies

Hello

Sat, 05 Feb 2005 16:49:06 GMT

Hi, I just signed up with this tribe and posted a bird picture and our bird feeder after a heavy snow this past month.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

endangered birds

Thu, 10 Feb 2005 23:41:40 GMT

Howdy,

Suppose it is time for me to jump in here and make a contribution.

One of my main birding pasttimes is to monitor an endangered species of bird around here, the Golden Check Warbler. They are a beautiful little bird. Very shy. I love 'em. When I find a nest, I report its location to the state biologists. If they confirm the nest location, it helps to get their habitat protected.

Course, I don't tell the other ranchers I do this, or they would kill me. It is not good news for a land owner to have these birds found on your property. You can't sell to a developer if there is a nest.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

beep beep

Moira — Sat, 16 Oct 2004 07:12:02 GMT

saw a roadrunner in the parking lot at work this week. what a wild looking bird. while thrilled to see it, i still wish it had a better, safer habitat than the parking lot at a suburban community college.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

West Nile virus

Moira — Sun, 22 Aug 2004 13:08:02 GMT

We just disposed of what was probably our first West Nile victim. Sad and scarey. Anyone else finding dead young birds without cat damage in their yards all of the sudden?

I still feed and water our bird visitors, changing the water daily, but suspect many neighbors have stopped. Kids around here are kept indoors in the late afternoon/ evening. Much quieter.

posted in Backyard Birds - 4 replies

What do you do to prepare for fall feedings?

Govega — Thu, 26 Aug 2004 16:13:51 GMT

Hi gang

With fall soon approaching, I wondered what special things folks do to prepare feeding stations/feeders for fall? Do you alter diet/seed mix?

Along the same lines, I have been considering a heated watering station for the winter. Does anyone use these? They are a bit pricey, so before I invest, I wanted to hear your thoughts on these, if they are used by the birds or not.

Cheers,

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 5 replies

Taming birds

PandaOfEvil — Mon, 19 Jul 2004 20:48:00 GMT

Hi, I've recently put out a feeder set-up in front of my back door and now I have a number of birds regularly visiting- titmice, goldfinches, house finches, chickadees, sparrows. I have heard that some birds can be tamed to feed from your hand, such as chickadees. Has anyone here done this? Or is there a guide somewhere where I can find out how?

posted in Backyard Birds - 5 replies

At the feeders this week

Govega — Thu, 24 Jun 2004 10:17:10 GMT

Hi folks

We refilled all of our feeders this week.... a mother and her baby little boy downy have been coming to the suet feeder. The baby is waiting patiently as she shoves some suet down his beak. I am sure that before he was fledged she took him food from the suet feeder. Hopefully she also caught a few insects so he knows what they taste like, just in case the feeder is empty.

I have a few babies... what appears to be a baby blue jay because it is slightly smaller and definitely lighter in color than it's mother. A baby male cardinal that has the all-over reddish tinge interspersed between the buffy colors but nothing as blatant cardinal red as it's father.

I also have a pair of breeding goldfinches at the Upside Down thistle seed feeder. I have not seen a baby with them-- I wonder if they still have some in the nest? The fact that they are together, makes me think that their breeding is not over with yet.

We also still have our large, male red-bellied woodpecker. I see no female around so I think he may still be solitary. In fact, I have not seen a female in the nearly four years I have lived here.

Abundant visitors-- grackles to the suet, European house sparrows to the seed.

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

Nesting behaviour

sonya — Sat, 12 Jun 2004 21:14:10 GMT

I'm hoping someone who knows more about birds than I do can help answer this: we recently had a pair of house sparrows build a nest in a box near our house. From a window, we've been able to watch as they fed their babies, who seem to have finally left the next, some time in May. But now there are still birds visiting the box; they pop in and out all day long. They're not hanging at the entrance feeding babies, which activity we are used to seeing, so now I really wonder what's up.

Are they the babies, coming back to visit the old homestead? Are they a new nesting pair, building a new little family in there? Or maybe just other, unrelated sparrows, hanging out because it's a nice spot? I'm just curious - this birdhouse is in clear view of our large livingroom window, so I spend a certain amount of time gazing out there and wondering just what all those little birds are up to.

posted in Backyard Birds - 2 replies

New to Tribe

Wed, 16 Jun 2004 21:23:30 GMT

Just wanted to say hello from N. CA. I love the pics that are up in the album! I have a few I'd like to add, if that is ok?

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

Rose Breasted Grosbeak

Govega — Sat, 08 May 2004 22:44:52 GMT

Speak of the .... a few days ago Robert mentioned this elusive bird which is NJ is usually migratory....

One has been spotted here at our feeders this afternoon. First he sampled some mixed seed in the green squirrel proof feeder, and then he tried some of the suet. We managed to get a decent pic..its posted in our photos section.

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

Backyard Birds this week

Govega — Mon, 12 Apr 2004 10:10:29 GMT

Recap of Feeder action::
(species)

Suet feeder- 1 red bellied woodpecker, pair of downy woodpeckers, titmice, mockingbird, several starlings.

Mixed seed feeders on poles - titmice, black-capped chickadees, fox sparrows, dark-eyed juncos.

Ground- blue jays, dark-eyed juncos, morning doves.

Yankee Droll "Big Top" some titmice, chickadees. They are only learning how to cling onto the feeder.

Seen on fringes of feeding stations but not at feeders- pair Northern Cardinals.

Not seen: Goldfinches, purple and house finches, other sparrows.

posted in Backyard Birds - 3 replies

Greetings!

Susan — Mon, 23 Feb 2004 20:10:22 GMT

This morning I was still half asleep when I opened the living room blinds - and came face to face with a red-shafted flicker who was hanging upside down on my sunflower-seed feeder, eating the sunflower seed hearts! Now that's a good morning!

As I drank my tea, the bushtit invading force swarmed through my yard. After they left, the house finches and juncos came to fill up. Inbetween each visit, the black-capped chickadees would dart in for a peck and a nibble, then take wing when any other bird approached.

And with all that at the sunflower feeder, the goldfinches remained steady visitors to the thistle feeder - those little goons go through so much seed!

posted in Backyard Birds - 9 replies

Free Feeders

Govega — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 11:00:47 GMT

I love pinecone feeders (there is one pictured on the current main photo of the tribe). They look and work great.

Anyone else hear any ideas for some classy yet free ways to make feeders? There's got to be more ideas than the simple milk-carton style.

Cheers,

Govega

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

Smithsonian Article

Govega — Sun, 28 Mar 2004 10:49:41 GMT

Hey guys,

If anyone here gets or has access to this magazine, the April magazine has an article about "The World Series of Birding" a subject that we were talking about recently. It's pretty interesting, check it out,

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 0 replies

Neat stuff for bird feeding folks to do

mildred — Thu, 18 Mar 2004 06:57:59 GMT

look at these websites if you want...
www.birdsource.org/gbbc
thats the results from the backyard bird count
and
birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse
is there next big project, it looks like fun, i'd do it if i had a permenant home.

the bird count was fun though. i have a bird feeder instead of pets at college, so the birds that i feed and me know eachother pretty well.

who has bird feeders made out of wierd stuff?
mine is a 9 pound tahini bucket, sticks and rope + cracked corn and black oil sunflower seed.

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply

My Feeder Setup

Govega — Sat, 28 Feb 2004 19:46:59 GMT

Hi folks

Just wanted to talk about what I have as far as a set up. We live in a wooded townhouse developement with woods behind our house but our biggest enemy is squirrels!!!

We currently have-- #1 -- Suet feeder set up about 8 feet off the ground, on a tree side. #2-- A square "tube feeder" encased in green wire with a squirrel baffle above, but the squirrels hang on and use their little fists to get some grub anyway... #3- a weight-activated lantern feeder on a pole with a baffle beneath it. This is the most squirrel proof but becuase it is encased in metal it is hard for birds to see there is seed in there... #4-- glass and metal round feeder hanging from a pole (new additon, not sure how it will work out) #5-- upside-down goldfinch thistle seed feeder with a cone-shaped metal baffle above it.

We are in the process of cleaning up the yard (nice day here, 50's--) and squaring away the birding situation for the spring time. To be continued...

Penny

posted in Backyard Birds - 1 reply