Backyard bird watching

[PRBuzz]

Haven't heard yet the forecast of the groundhog, but the birds say Spring is near: large flocks of robins seen over the weekend and today the house finches have returned.

[Peterjay]

Don't let the robins fool you - there's always a bunch of them that stick around all winter, congregating in wooded or swampy areas. They'll come out and forage when the weather is decent and head back to the swamp when it gets nasty again. I don't know what they've been finding to eat in my backyard, but it sure can't be worms. The ground's hard as a rock. Guess they live on seeds, dried berries, etc. until it thaws.

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

Haven't heard yet the forecast of the groundhog, but the birds say Spring is near: large flocks of robins seen over the weekend and today the house finches have returned.

Mr Cardinal is making his 'Hey Babe calls too', gotta get all the new birdhouses up this weekend.

[Raven]

bitter sweet.... in the spring

those big narley vines that strangle trees
and make bright orangy -red berries
then they fly around and s h i t bitter sweet seeds
everywhere starting the whole process again for
future generations of robins.

[PRBuzz]

Spring is surely around the corner: saw the 1st "TBuzz" soaring overhead .
Not sure why but we called them Turkey Buzzards vs. vultures in NJ. I think they are my 5,678th distant cousin, 5 times removed on the evolutionary family scale. No I am not related to "O"!

[Raven]

problem is ...the weather temps.... at least in my area
are flat lining.... wash dc is gonna get creamed on saturday
with deep snow ... and we'll see around six inches.

[2na]

suet is .88/cake at Ocean State this week

[Raven]

i am just about out.....i even stuff two halfs of a cake
into the old bluebird house to thwart the JAYS (wolf pack)
for the little guys...

[Chris in Mass]

Great day at the feeder. Working from home today and gotta great view of the back yard and woods. A couple of additions to the site. Suet log feeder has been great. Nutty feedings have gone way up with this addition, with multiple peckers able to feed at once. Also, I have been throwing dry meal worms in two feeding cups the last few weeks. Titmouse (or mice?) were the only ones partaking until today. Got my first pair of Bluebirds ever - I was so pumped. Then an hour later behind the feeders on the edge of the woods, 7 deer come into view and decide to hang out awhile.

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by Raven

problem is ...the weather temps.... at least in my area
are flat lining.... wash dc is gonna get creamed on saturday
with deep snow ... and we'll see around six inches.

This is for FAIRFAX VA
This Afternoon: Snow. High near 32. East wind between 5 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.

Tonight: Snow and areas of blowing snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 28. Blustery, with a northeast wind between 13 and 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 16 to 22 inches possible.

Saturday: Snow and areas of blowing snow. High near 29. Blustery, with a north wind between 17 and 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.


I am glad I left yesterday, not snowin alot right now down there though.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Chris in Mass

Titmouse (or mice?) were the only ones partaking until today.

Titmouse if your viewing one
Titmice if your viewing more than one

[justplugit]

I forecast snow by the appearance of Juncos on the ground feeder.

No Juncos this morning, and even though forecasted, not a flake.

[Raven]

heck no
they flew up from Maryland to get out of the Blizzard

but ->while Braving the Jacuzzi yesterday
thinking about your lack of NUTTIES

this nuthatch is eating the fresh suet i put in the cube
so i started a Nut hatch sound .....err err err
and he 's lookin all around everywhere
ok who SAID that !

and their eye sight and accuracy literally amazed me
because he dropped the teeniest little piece of suet
onto a christmas tree branch i have out there
and instantly he pecked it right back up in a half blink
of an eye like it was the easiest thing to ever do.

i was..... thinking , if only i could still see that well.

[justplugit]

Ya Rav nuthatches, at least i have one this winter without having
seen one since last spring.
Their eye sight amazes me along with that of owls, hawks, eagles and sea gulls.
Amazing how there will be working gulls so far out you can only see them
with field glasses and suddenly the gulls leave the beach to join them.
Prolly a combo of eyesight and hearing?

[basswipe]

Getting every type of bird lately.No hawks yet.

[saltfly]

N/E wind,flurries,suet cakes=Blue Birds.They don't seem to come around unless there's a storm a-brewin.4 Males 2 Females.

[Raven]

[QUOTE=justplugit;
Prolly a combo of eyesight and hearing?
[/QUOTE]

They work together and announce food sources...
and the dinner bell gets rung...

many times i have noticed when filling feeders
how the calls go out alerting others to the new cache.
~ when out in Cal....

one day i hiked way up into the mountains with a backpack
...my lunch and a quality twenty pound bag of bird seed
of a mixed variety
and carefully selected a spot... of smooth rocks and trees...
and not a single bird to be seen or heard anywhere.

the perfect conditions........

i carefully placed it in every crevice imaginable especially in trees
and then spread the rest out in the open in a circle then i ate my lunch
and took a short nap... and hour and a half passed and nothing was seen or heard.

Then one small Bird happened by...
and rather than just eat....it flew up higher in a tree and started calling
and that brought more birds and then more birds called....

soon there was more than fifty...of many different species
and they were having a ball and i listened as each type made there dinner bell call
bringing in more of the same.

I've been doing this type of experiments for my whole life.

[justplugit]

Kewl stuff, Rav. But I still wonder how the gulls can see or hear
birds on bait 1/2 mile or further out.

[Raven]

well Eagles can see at around 1.5 miles so a gull seeing a half to 3/4 mile isn't so hard to believe
...but i'll never forget the day when i heard voices from a mile away... (of course i have exceptional hearing) they were coming from the opposite shore which was about a mile across so sound travels fairly easy across the water.

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by Raven

They work together and announce food sources...
and the dinner bell gets rung...

many times i have noticed when filling feeders
how the calls go out alerting others to the new cache.
~ when out in Cal....

one day i hiked way up into the mountains with a backpack
...my lunch and a quality twenty pound bag of bird seed
of a mixed variety
and carefully selected a spot... of smooth rocks and trees...
and not a single bird to be seen or heard anywhere.

the perfect conditions........

i carefully placed it in every crevice imaginable especially in trees
and then spread the rest out in the open in a circle then i ate my lunch
and took a short nap... and hour and a half passed and nothing was seen or heard.

Then one small Bird happened by...
and rather than just eat....it flew up higher in a tree and started calling
and that brought more birds and then more birds called....

soon there was more than fifty...of many different species
and they were having a ball and i listened as each type made there dinner bell call
bringing in more of the same.

I've been doing this type of experiments for my whole life.

what about the mushroom experiments

[Raven]

Originally Posted by striperman36

what about the mushroom experiments

Birds don't eat them....but the red squirells dry them on top of the pine branch bows...

one per hundred pounds body weight

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by Raven

Birds don't eat them....but the red squirells dry them on top of the pine branch bows...

one per hundred pounds body weight

your'e consumption?

[PRBuzz]

Backyard annual bird count: anyone do this?

Welcome to GBBC — Great Backyard Bird Count

Very interesting/useful site. You can even get a listing of YOUR local birds to use as a resource.

[Raven]

i have many feeders and i always
broad cast it too
into the trees - into the christmas trees...

so the feeder shy birds can browse
the ground...

everything is a dozen or two...

that changes tho
based on quality of seed purchased.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by striperman36

your'e consumption?

2.25-3 same as Reindeer

[striperman36]

New birdhouses go up tomorrow. It's time

[Raven]

i have discovered that birds prefer two things

(now that your done building them )

one is two entrances ...or an escape hole out the back

and two.... the bottom on the house has to be curved

not flat.... harder to make -> YES... I know...

[ProfessorM]

had bluebirds in the tree above my house yesterday

[WoodyCT]

I have a group that is wintering in one of the courtyards at my school. They visit my feeders in the adjacent courtyard every day. Males are starting to get a little brighter it appears.

Saw a Northern Harrier the other day!

Anyone have any insight on Wood Duck boxes? I want to put one in a swamply little pond behind school with my kids. Was thinking of drilling through the ice and driving a cedar post down into the muck to mount it on. Would it be better to mount it on a tree? Thx.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by WoodyCT

I have a group that is wintering in one of the courtyards at my school. They visit my feeders in the adjacent courtyard every day. Males are starting to get a little brighter it appears.

Saw a Northern Harrier the other day!

Anyone have any insight on Wood Duck boxes? I want to put one in a swamply little pond behind school with my kids. Was thinking of drilling through the ice and driving a cedar post down into the muck to mount it on. Would it be better to mount it on a tree? Thx.

Wood ducks prefer it high up in a tree at around 15 feet up
saw a flick on the wood duck man.....that's all he does

quote:
he floor should be 10 x 10 inches wide, with a frontal depth of cavity at 21 inches. The height of the entry holes should run 16 inches with a diameter of 4 inches. If the box is close to the water’s edge it should be around 5 feet above it, or if over land, allow a height of around 15 feet.