Backyard bird watching

[FishermanTim]

I was explaining to a coworker today why I stop feeding the birds in our yard during the late spring into the fall.
You keep feeding the birds and they will focus on your offerings more than what they should normally be eating.

Our birds do a nice job with weeds and bugs, and it helps when you don't want to use conventional bug sprays.

With the variety of birds that visit our yard/neighborhood, most insects take their life into their hands if they cross our "no-fly" zones.

Now if I could only keep the squirrels out of our yard, I'd be content....

[missing link]

no Blue Jays at all since B-4 winter in my back yard Wareham ,ma

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by 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!

In my backyard, we have a couple thistle plants that look like they've gone to seed. This heat is when a lot of the weeds seem to drop their seeds.

[Raven]

yeah,
i have a huge bush of catnip growing thats gone to seed
little tiny black ones the size of poppy seeds
and they seem to love that stuff....
i'm trying to harvest it tho, so since i bought expensive
finch mix at the feed store...i shoo them away often

[Slipknot]

I never realized our territorial humming birds are.
they fight each other off for the feeder and hog it.
I don't know what kind these are but the males are cool looking.

[Striperknight]

Eastern Goldfinch in my yard eating the flower seeds.

[Striperknight]

Turkey Vulture that was by my car at work.

[ProfessorM]

he must be waiting for the meat raffle info from you .

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

I never realized our territorial humming birds are.
they fight each other off for the feeder and hog it.
I don't know what kind these are but the males are cool looking.

usually ruby throats

i sometimes sit in the back yard and this ruby throated humming
bird is doing LAPS around the house at mach1
to keep any intruders from pilfering his stash.

when i sit in the front, the hummbird comes down to me and hovers
right in front of my face doing facial recognition i suppose
and stays there for a full 30 seconds before jetting back to his spot
almost as if to say.... thanks.

[Striperknight]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

he must be waiting for the meat raffle info from you .

He was eying me up like I was the prize from a meat raffle. lol

[Striperknight]

I came into work the other day and this hawk was sitting on our smokestack screeching.

[Saltheart]

Lots of hawks near me now. Route 295 has become their buffet now. Some days there are half a dozen patroling a 3 mile stretch from Lincoln to Attleboro.

[Striperknight]

Close up of the young hawk at my office.

[PRBuzz]

Must have 1000's of starlings in the trees surrounding the house! Send over the hawks.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Raven]

they're not native to this country

that there were only two....yep just 2 here in 1954

until some dumb as dirt biologists let them escape

in Texas: flocks are so big they block out the stars

[Dick Durand]

Rather than deadhead my coneflowers, I let them go to seed, because goldfinches definitely enjoy the seeds.

[justplugit]

I was trimming shrubs early yesterday morning. Birds were singing, then the
Blue Jays started sqwaking and it became dead quiet.
I looked up and there were between 35-40 Hawks migrating south, high up on the thermals, just circiling in 100yd circles without moving their wings just riding the NW wind. Too far up to identify them, but one of the coolest things I've seen.
Nature is unbelievable.It was quiet for a long time afterwards.

[Raven]

very interesting

i didn't know hawks mass migrated

i've seen turkey vultures in large groups but
never hawks.... hmmmm

[justplugit]

I had never seen it before either Rav, but there they were just
like I said. Wished I could of identified them, but they were way
up there. They looked to be about Redtailed size.
No they were not turkey buzzards for sure.

[FishermanTim]

A couplke of years back we had a massive crow roosting migration pass by our house. the trees were bare, except for the hundreds and hundreds of crows perched in them.
They would pass in waves, cawing loudly as each wave passsed.
There were probably well over a thousand in all.

Reminded me of the movie "The Birds".

The crows still pass by our house as part of thier seasonal migration, but nothing like that one time.

[justplugit]

Whatever migratory bird that flys in groups has to start the journrey
somewhere. I wonder where they all meet to start the flight or do they
just pick up hitchhikers a few at a time?

[justplugit]

I looked up some info on Hawk Migration and it is not uncommon
to see what they call a "Kettle", which is a group of Hawks migrating by
circiling tightly on an air thermal.
Some types of Hawks migrate as far South as Peru.

[justplugit]

Found out some more info from a guy who counts migrating Hawks.
He told me these Kettles can be as large as 100 to 1000 Hawks. He said
there hasn't been enough Nortwest winds yet to push down the broad wing
migrators in really large numbers , but they will come,followed by the
smaller Kestrel hawks etc. and lastly the Golden and Bald Eagles.

I found 4 Hawk Watch areas and hope to take my Grandsons to see them
the next time we get a nice clear NW wind day.

[Raven]

a Kettle of hawks
a murder of crows

everything else is just friggan flocks

[striper50trout]

Originally Posted by Raven

a Kettle of hawks
a murder of crows

everything else is just friggan flocks

And a gaggle of geese

[Striperknight]

Great Horned Owl. I saw this at a outdoor expo.

[PRBuzz]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Found out some more info from a guy who counts migrating Hawks.
He told me these Kettles can be as large as 100 to 1000 Hawks. He said
there hasn't been enough Nortwest winds yet to push down the broad wing
migrators in really large numbers , but they will come,followed by the
smaller Kestrel hawks etc. and lastly the Golden and Bald Eagles.

I found 4 Hawk Watch areas and hope to take my Grandsons to see them
the next time we get a nice clear NW wind day.

Great source of info and place to watch, hawk mt PA:

Hawk Mountain Raptor Count | Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Raptor Conservation, Education, Observation & Research

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by PRBuzz

Great source of info and place to watch, hawk mt PA:

Hawk Mountain Raptor Count | Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Raptor Conservation, Education, Observation & Research

that's my old hood. It was also was a great place to do teenager-type things

[Raven]

Originally Posted by striper50trout

And a gaggle of geese

ya got me!

[Raven]

now ya notice the color of that great horned owl's eyes _RED

maybe that's why the unknown creatures have those
to see better in the NIGHT to eat you