Backyard bird watching

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Joe

Raven -
Your yard looks like bird heaven.

Yes Joe....exactly what i was looking for in a Rental during this time period.
The Guy showing me the property went to open the door
but i had already made my decision just upon what i was hearing.

SO I said: WAIT! we'll look and see inside in a few minutes ,
FIRST, i want to see whats out back if you don't mind
confirming what Google Earth had already told me....

Afterwards, i already knew i wanted to rent it
before even seeing the inside.

[Raven]

I'm not sure this qualifies
kinda like Boat fish don't count
i took this pic in the front yard -lol

[PRBuzz]

You need to up your shutter speed to freeze that wing action! Nice shot from a boat fisherman.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

You need to up your shutter speed to freeze that wing action! Nice shot from a boat fisherman.

my camera isn't that sophisticated i'm afraid

so i took the shot within 24 inches of my subject.

Trying to get the Ruby but he's kinda wary

[Raven]

speaking of Hummingbirds:
i saw something the other day that surprised me
a male hummingbird seemed to drive off a competitor female
and forced it to right to the ground
then it did this aerobatic maneuver flying in an arch
back and forth keeping it pinned to the ground
(think of a kid swinging on a swing over a ball directly beneath it)
it did that about 8 times then sped off with the female not moving
then slowly leaving the grass
it came over to sip some nectar and left.

[Raven]

the wren babies in the bird house i put up for them
are making lots of "feed me" noise

and a chipping sparrow with the red crown
has taken a liking to my wife's banana bread
i stuck a small piece in there that was slightly
under-cooked from the middle just to see if they
might like it...and it's getting taken to feed babies.

cow bird babies almost twice the size of the (adopting
the egg) parents are being chased around demanding food
from the host ....sort of a strange sight to see

[Saltheart]

Nice pic of the hummingbird!

[Backbeach Jake]

Spotted an Indigo Bunting in Berlin, MA.

[chrisjoe13]

Saw this exact behavior this past weekend.I assumed it was some sort of bird mating dance but not sure.

Originally Posted by Raven

speaking of Hummingbirds:
i saw something the other day that surprised me
a male hummingbird seemed to drive off a competitor female
and forced it to right to the ground
then it did this aerobatic maneuver flying in an arch
back and forth keeping it pinned to the ground
(think of a kid swinging on a swing over a ball directly beneath it)
it did that about 8 times then sped off with the female not moving
then slowly leaving the grass
it came over to sip some nectar and left.

Saw this exact behavior this past weekend. I assumed it was some sort of dance / mating ritual but not sure..

[PRBuzz]

I now have a Great Blue Heron visiting fairly regularly my small goldfish pond, won't be long before the pond is goldfish-less! Not going to try to through a protective net over the pond....nature's at play, survival of the fittest!

[Raven]

So i'm sitting there watching the two hummingbirds battle for territory over the dual hummingbird feeders
positioned at the corner of the house.... there's like ten now switching up from front yard runs to back yard runs
keeping the locals Busy
these two come flying by my head At mach one chasin each other
so fast you can't even see it...
yet i felt the wing beats and vibrations on my left ear lobe
dayamme....so i set up a ladder and hung a second one on the other corner heh heh

this should be interesting...

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

I now have a Great Blue Heron visiting fairly regularly my small goldfish pond, won't be long before the pond is goldfish-less! Not going to try to through a protective net over the pond....nature's at play, survival of the fittest!

You'll regret that very soon,put the net on.

I'll post pics at some point and show you my setup......you don't even see the net.

[Raven]

do you use dunks to prevent mosquitos from breeding
or do the goldfish eat them. coons would eat any fish
that i put in my little pond.

[jim sylvester]

dont have a lot of time to read the whole thread with family committments but what is the most versitle feed/seed to use to draw a variety of species

already have the suet out there....looking for a broadcast seed

thanks guys

[Raven]

SUNFLOWER- BLACK OILED
but, avoid the blends containing millet
because it's just a filler and Nothing eats it

[jim sylvester]

thanks raven

[justplugit]

I have a Catbird pushing his luck big time.
He/she has a nest in a rhodie 1/2 way between the front and back porch.
When I have my coffee on the front porch in the morning and sit on
the back porch at night he constantly sqwaks that annoying cat sound.
I'm thinking about letting him have it with the hose, which will prolly
tick him off even more.
If it weren't for the possibility of young being in the nest I would take some more
drastic efforts to remove him from the property.

[Raven]

Nope you go down to the Christmas tree shop and buy the no melt peanut butter suet for 1.14 a square
and make it available for him/her
to stuff the Babies but make sure he /she see's you make the offering
and then you'll be in like flint.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Raven

Nope you go down to the Christmas tree shop and buy the no melt peanut butter suet for 1.14 a square
and make it available for him/her
to stuff the Babies but make sure he /she see's you make the offering
and then you'll be in like flint.

LOL Rav, like the Bird whisperer.
He already finished off a lot of my suet and safflower seed on the other side of the house.
Worth a try, i'll put it up in the birch tree near his/her nest while he's harrasing me and see what happens.

[justplugit]

Well the fledglings left the nest and the catbird quieted down.
He came back yesterday checking out the nesting place, prolly
to have a second brood.
A few boots hurled at him as he sat in the birch tree must have
persuaded him otherwise.

Whose sittin in the catbird seat now?

[Raven]

i know what ya mean....
cute at first............-pain in the arse Later
had huey and dewey robins in lil greenhouse
i could get so close i could touch them
then three weeks later all grown up
ready to leave the nest and all that
i walk in and they explode into frightful fleeing
like i was gonna eat them signaling the parents
to attack me as well.... so i learned my lesson

f-their nests in certain spots... like this huge branch over the driveway
the mother robin would build it there
and then roll out these huge
turd balls out of the nest right onto my wifes car.... endlessly
so i removed that whole limb completely

[Raven]

on another Note i finally figured out what's been raiding my suet cages
hanging on the Nuthatch/woodpecker tree i built

it's those freaking FLYING squirrels (3:00 am) ....man are they fast
they are twice as fast as a chipmunk.....

it would run up the tree and lift the suet cage up and down
to get a better bite... pretty darn smart

i'm thinking this is what's in my ceiling

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Raven

on another Note i finally figured out what's been raiding my suet cages
hanging on the Nuthatch/woodpecker tree i built

it's those freaking FLYING squirrels (3:00 am) ....man are they fast
they are twice as fast as a chipmunk.....

it would run up the tree and lift the suet cage up and down
to get a better bite... pretty darn smart

i'm thinking this is what's in my ceiling

Rav, sounds like you could use suet as bait to catch them.
They are tough li'll guys to catch but an easy meal might undue
them?

[Raven]

that peanut butter suet will take care of them
it's irresistible and can't dry out

[Saltheart]

What the bird that is about the size of a Robin , is mostly speckled brownish but has a big black butterfly pattern on its chest?

[Raven]

yellow shafted flicker



usually seen on the lawn drillin for lawn grubs

[Saltheart]

That's it! Thanks

The one I saw must have been a female as its colors were more drab but that's the chest pattern.

[Raven]

the way to attract them is to
take a special piece of wood
one
that has weather'd several winter's
has long since lost it's bark
and has sorta petrified a bit
having become grey -darker, heavier
usually oak or some other hardwood

then you drill a series of holes in it
as if they drilled them out themselves
by pecking.... in order to hide a cache
of acorns ...any kind of nut...

like if you made some oblong wholes by
leaning on your bit a little each way
so you could bang in some Almonds
that are still in the shell
without breaking them....

to them that is irresistible
later you can push real beef suet into those holes
in the winter time

[Saltheart]

I got finches all over the backyard today. I don't know why they suddenly are back there. I don't put out seed and while that area is thriving with wildlife , its seldom finches. Today they are all over. Mostly they are down in the grass , so small you often lose them as they go in and out of longer clumps.

Fun to watch the animals!

[Raven]

eating wild grass seed i'll bet