Backyard Bird Watching 2016-17 edition

[FishermanTim]

When the feeders are empty and I'm in the process of refilling, the chickadees are first to arrive, chirping up a storm as if to say "Can't you fill that any faster?"

One of my funniest events this winter was after refilling all the feeders late one afternoon, I happened to recheck the backyard that same night and found an adult raccoon standing on our deck railing attempting to pull down a suet feeder I had close to the house (on a clothes line). It didn't want to give up until I opened the door and it retreated.

I then moved the feeder out of reach.

Now only the birds can access the feeders.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by FishermanTim

When the feeders are empty and I'm in the process of refilling, the chickadees are first to arrive, chirping up a storm as if to say "Can't you fill that any faster?"

One of my funniest events this winter was after refilling all the feeders late one afternoon, I happened to recheck the backyard that same night and found an adult raccoon standing on our deck railing attempting to pull down a suet feeder I had close to the house (on a clothes line). It didn't want to give up until I opened the door and it retreated.

I then moved the feeder out of reach.

Now only the birds can access the feeders.

i put up a wooden bird house that has two holes one on the side
fun to watch the chickadee's go in the side and pop out the front
with a sunflower seed.

i also just changed out the hard as a rock suet
with a huge chunk
of beef fat so the woody's can fuel up
before the freezing rain arrives

[FishermanTim]

I put out suet cakes primarily for the woodpeckers, but I've noticed that because the suet cakes are laced with seeds, virtually all the birds (except for ground feeding birds) are hitting them regularly.

Seeing a sparrow hanging on for dear life while feeding made realize the birds will eat whatever and whenever they can!

[rphud]

bear stole the suit and cage, bent the hanger from 45 to level in process

[PaulS]

Went by the Naugatuck river in Ct yesterday and saw 2 bald eagles in trees about 25 yards off of route 8. Saw them there previously so I knew where to look. 100s of cars drive by them daily and I doubt more than a few people see them. The river use to be so polluted that it would be different colors based on what color sneaker the keds factor was using to color the sneakers that day.

[Raven]

had a good sized doe browsing in an area where i threw away
some old bagged cat food (for the turkey's) a while ago that had previously
been covered by snow. After eating she layed down to rest right there while
two other deer slept just outside the gate with the smaller one laying her head
on top of the other one for warmth.

[OLD GOAT]

Charge of robins feeding on our lawn for a few days.
Our snow storm turned to rain and the robins are happy

[PRBuzz]

FYI: the is a King Eider drake in breeding plumage swimming among about 100+ other male common eiders (play Where is Waldo) at the Herring run on CCC. Best views yesterday were as ships/barges transited the area and the flock swam right up against the shore.

[Raven]

buzz,
i have golden's (ducks) and man are they smart...
always escaping and when you try and catch them
you'd swear they know kung fu moves-lol
recently discovered is that they are more intelligent
than dolphins...

[FishermanTim]

Yeah, but do they taste like chicken or "chicken-of-the-sea"?

[Raven]

they taste like veal or liver being extremely rich

i want them for "slug and snail control" as we are inundated
with them so when it's wet and mild i walk them all five
where needed.

[PRBuzz]

Rav,

What sense(s) do Robins use in catching worms: smell, sight, hearing, feel, other?

[Raven]

Robins utilize all four ...they take three or four hops then freeze
-if they feel movement in their feet they cock their heads if the worm cannot be readily seen.

If they see it (right off) they yank it out and dismember it on the spot and swallow the pieces
which they regurgitate into the mouths of the baby robins.

i had a nest in my green house one year and thought it was cool and even hand fed them.
NEVER EVER AGAIN!!! the adults become HOSTILE ...the "little pals" fly out of the nest prematurely
and get lost as they aren't ready to fly really.

[Raven]

Crows on the other hand are a different story

they have some kind of electromagnetic sensor in their beaks
that can either smell or somehow sense freshly sprouted corn
that hasn't sprouted thru the soil. Which reminds me (note to self)
"assemble clothes to make scare crow"

i sat with binoculars and watched a crow go right up my corn row
and eat all my swollen corn seeds.

while dry they are just starch but when germination occurs and they begin growing
the corn kernel turns to SWEET and they LOVE that to no end.

[PRBuzz]

In the corn belt you can literally hear the screeching of the corn as it grows, mostly in July....

[PRBuzz]

Went back to the Herring Run on the Ditch today and got really close up to the King Eider. The drake in full breeding plumage is normally only seen above the Arctic Circle

[Raven]

excellent photo's Buzzz
so....pristine

[PRBuzz]

thanks Raven and these are the PowerPoint version....originals are 20Mb RAW files. Started using the tripod again and sunlight definitely help getting high shutter speeds.

[Raven]

vw just came out with an electric vw bus called BUZZ. 270 cruising range
0 -60 in 5 seconds w/2 electric motors you need to buy one and trick it out dude

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by Raven

vw just came out with an electric vw bus called BUZZ. 270 cruising range
0 -60 in 5 seconds w/2 electric motors you need to buy one and trick it out dude

I will have to check it out!

It is only a concept BUZZ for now:

http://www.caranddriver.com/photo-ga...nfo-gallery#23

[Raven]

fukin COWBIRDS have arrived today, hate them

[Raven]

robins singing like it's SPRING
turkey's gobbling
deer browsing and napping

[PRBuzz]

found these great egrets on West Island

[Raven]

had 8 deer in the backyard this morning.
One even peeked thru the window.
that's a new record .

i held up our maine coon cat to see them and he growled at them
thinking they were Big doggies heh heh heh

[basswipe]

Putting the feeder(s) away for now,the grackle invasion is in full swing.Was hoping to catch my local sharpie snagging one but he hasn't made a try...at least not when I've been watching.

Really looking forward to turning over some soil and getting the gardens going.Patiently awaiting the arrival of my reaper pepper seeds.

[Raven]

Have this Oriel here to sing me songs from the tree tops

he loves the suet as there is non stop rainy weather

the female must be weaving a sock nest somewhere

[FishermanTim]

Might try putting a suet feed packed with orange halves, as orioles do love fruit!
We get them here in Hyde Park just around the time our crab apple tree blooms. They are also fond of fruit tree blossoms as well.

They are most vocal and most active when wooing a mate and chasing off rival males. They perform some of the best aerial avian dogfighting I've seen since seeing jays, mocking birds and grackles dive-bombing crows and hawks.


We have 2 hummingbirds visiting our feeders regularly, and they also do some fancy bird-chasing as well!

[Raven]

the rest of the summer birds are here
have seen new arrivals of
rbg's [ rose breasted gross-beaks]
cat birds
wood thrushes