Backyard bird watching

[basswipe]

Anybody here into it?

Jane has really turned me onto it.We have many feeders along with the fish pond so we have quite the little eco-system going.I've learned to identify many species.

The reason I post this now is that we've a very special visitor the last three days,a Cooper's or a Sharpshinned Hawk.We're not sure which yet.

The battery for the digital camera won't take a charge so I can't get a pic to post.Hopefully it comes in the mail today as I really want to get some pics of this hawk.

Cool stuff to say the least!

[thortum]

Yes I like watching them. We put feeders out but get 90% sparrows and pigeons [rock doves to you serious watchers]. Very relaxing when we get other birds. I'm checking out all their feathers for fly tying.

[justplugit]

Great fun, BW, having breakfeast and seeing the regulars come, and from time to time a rarey

. I get a Red Tailed Hawk who makes a good fly by at the feeders from time to time, but rarely connects as the feeders are set up near escape bushes. Cooper's are smaller and alot quicker.

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Great fun, BW, having breakfeast and seeing the regulars come, and from time to time a rarey

. I get a Red Tailed Hawk who makes a good fly by at the feeders from time to time, but rarely connects as the feeders are set up near escape bushes. Cooper's are smaller and alot quicker.

Yes it is.Coffee while sitting on the stool by the back window and the binocs right there.It fills the void when I'm not fishing in the off season.

He(or she) didn't show today but we were out and about today and the activity kept the birds away.I really want to get some decent pics so we can figure out if its a Cooper's or a Sharpie.

[Raven]

the cooper hawk is most anxious to score a small bird to eat during a very windy storm approaching....and thats when to look for them.

so when the flurries start blowing sideways they are sure to appear.

My parrot would square off with him in the tree and shriek sometimes being chased around from tree to tree (in summer) with the cooper hawk 1 foot away from sinbad the parrot's tail feathers ...with him screaming bloody murder the whole time even though they were equal in size.

i go thru 50 pounds of black seed per month...but i have found i attract more birds offering suet than seed and i buy both types;
the natural beef suet thats white and pink and the suet cakes
you can buy at most stores although the cheapest source is the christmas tree shops at 79 cents each and never pay more than a buck each.

i like feeding the red belly wood peckers and of course the nuthatches and the downy woodpeckers too.
cardinals love safflower seed the most........

i have cardinals every day( two pair) ...and if you have thistle seed you'll get the purple finches and the gold finches by the dozen.

i attach boards to my deck railing with a lip on the edge so they have a landing perch but they favor the branches i screw down to the railing to land on the best.

[justplugit]

Rav, have you reproduced that outragous feeding system you had on Pleasant Mountain on your new farm.

That was awesome.

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by Raven

the cooper hawk is most anxious to score a small bird to eat during a very windy storm approaching....and thats when to look for them.

so when the flurries start blowing sideways they are sure to appear.

My parrot would square off with him in the tree and shriek sometimes being chased around from tree to tree (in summer) with the cooper hawk 1 foot away from sinbad the parrot's tail feathers ...with him screaming bloody murder the whole time even though they were equal in size.
i go thru 50 pounds of black seed per month...but i have found i attract more birds offering suet than seed and i buy both types;
the natural beef suet thats white and pink and the suet cakes
you can buy at most stores although the cheapest source is the christmas tree shops at 79 cents each and never pay more than a buck each.

i like feeding the red belly wood peckers and of course the nuthatches and the downy woodpeckers too.
cardinals love safflower seed the most........

i have cardinals every day( two pair) ...and if you have thistle seed you'll get the purple finches and the gold finches by the dozen.

i attach boards to my deck railing with a lip on the edge so they have a landing perch but they favor the branches i screw down to the railing to land on the best.

We go through a fair amount of seed ourselves.Jane has started to show me how to make homemade suet(bacon fat and peanut butter!)

We have three pairs of Cardinals I can certainly id by pair.We also get a Downy woodpecker too.Lotsa tufted titmice and black-capped chickadees.Nuthatches and blue-jays and of course sparrows,starlings,doves and finches.And other seasons bring a whole host of other birds which in Spring brings the damn grackles!

There really is nothing like seeing that hawk though.It really is awesome.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Cooper's are smaller and alot quicker.

the thing about Cooper hawks....is their ability to cork screw thru
any type of cover
because of their wing design........ sand sharks of the air....

like a larger version of the barn swallow and due to their smaller wingspan they can maneuver between branches and still grab their intended target .

in Spring:
i'll be building several Owl boxes out back until i get a nesting pair... including one inside my barn (make six inch holes)

that and the bat boxes (anti mosquito plants) will help alleviate some of problems.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by Raven

i'll be building several Owl boxes out back until i get a nesting pair...

I had a pet Screech Owl and a Crow at one time. Natural enemies, but they tolerated each other.


Kept the owl in a nice large cage and fed him, along with the crow who was free but never left the neighborhood, hamburger meat.

The crow became a real menace as he would find anything shiny,

along with picking clothes pins off the neighborhood clothes lines and drop them

in the gutter spouts. Neigbors weren't too happy.

When i left home i gave them both to the County Park where they had an aviary and the Screech Owl lived for at least 20 years.

Cool birds.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by justplugit

Great fun, BW, having breakfeast and seeing the regulars come, and from time to time a rarey

.

i'd call this Indigo Bunting a rarey i think...

been trying to photograph one for many many years

and today was the day.

[justplugit]

Nice shot Rav. That sure is a rarey, last time i saw one was at least 30 years ago. One i could never forget.

The other rarey i haven't seen since that time was a rose breasted grossbeak, another i'll never forget.

[zacs]

my favorite part of this thread is when Raven said titmouse. hehehehehe...

[mackenzie]

We used to have 7 feeders at the back of the house. Have a wooded lot behind us.Had to fill them morning and afternoon. In the mornings all the tube feeders were on the ground-empty-from raccoon raids. We started to get rats"visiting" on a regular basis so we had to stop with the feeders. Think they came from an old school that was demo-ed in the area. We really miss the crew that used to congragate out there, squirrels included. Feel guilty about it but the wife won't tolerate the rodents with the bare tails. Read in some bird watching pamphlet that if you've got hawks/falcons showing up for a meal you've reached the pinnacle of backyard habitat.

[ProfessorM]

I enjoy it. I also watch the flying squirrels at nite come to the feeders. A good 6 to 10 of them, but my neighbor had a logger come in and cut down all the large trees in her yard, a good 5 acres of them, so I have not seen any rocky's lately. To far for them to glide to my property. Kind of screwed up our little ecosystem

[ProfessorM]

She is making more room for her pets

[basswipe]

We had a real crowd at the feeders today.The snow really brings them in.

[basswipe]

We're now sure its a Cooper's,but two.The kicker is both an adult and a juvenile.They took three shots at grabbing birds at the feeders over the past hour.Very cool to see!!!!!!

You want something to do when you can't fish?Put out feeders,a water source and get set of binoculars.I'm absolutely hooked on backyard birdwatching!!!

[thortum]

You must have been in the"TWILIGHT ZONE" when you took those pictures. 8/1/08 [Aug.1,08] hasn't arrived yet.

[justplugit]

Originally Posted by thortum

You must have been in the"TWILIGHT ZONE" when you took those pictures. 8/1/08 [Aug.1,08] hasn't arrived yet.

P. is always waaay ahead of us, waaay ahead.

[ProfessorM]

WTF , never noticed. That being said I am in the twilite zone most of the time

[ProfessorM]

So far ahead I'm coming up behind yeah

[Raven]

then this means......


that Paul has come full circle


eeee gads...

[FishermanTim]

In addition to cardinals, yellow finches, chickadees, slate colored junkos, tufted titmice, nuthatches, starlings, purple finches, sparrows, red headed woodperkers, common flickers and one turkey.
During the spring we await the return of the Baltimore/orchard orioles.
I've made a number of simple birdhouses over the years, and we have a number of returning birds from a number of generations over that same timeframe. We love listening to the birds and by keeping them fed during the winter, they return the favor by revouring mosquitos by the truckload. If you have the chance, watch the sparrows during the nesting season, and you'll see them fly back to the nest/birdhouse with their beaks loaded with bugs for their young.

[Raven]

especially when you tell them they are related to dinosaurs

i often marvel at the way nuthatches hide seeds

similar to the way squirrels hide acorns


this one nuthatch would tuck a sunflower seed up under the roof shingles at each cut in the shingle until every space was occupied
for leaner times.... fairly ingenious if ya ask me...

[Raven]

when i find these huge wood eating grubs
as i split wood...
i take them and put them right into the log feeder
out on the back deck




I waited like 5 minutes thinking a woodpecker was gonna get happy
then a titmouse grabbed it (the worm) and flew off before i could snap a pic. lol
he was a little faster than the man with the camera today

[ProfessorM]

Craig you drinking tequila again

[RIJIMMY]

I love watching Bird

[Raven]

at least....you'll have a close source of manure for your garden

for horse manure i bury it in trenches so that its

around 8 to 12 inches beneath the topsoil

that way, the non broken down weed seeds from the hay

the horses eat.... won't be able to germinate

[basswipe]

Saw a rat around the feeders today.Followed his trail to under my pond bridge.

Been patiently waiting to get a shot at him but no luck so far.

[basswipe]

Its that time of year again.

I was surprised the last two days as a large blue heron has showed up at my fishpond,usually they're gone by now.He ain't getting anything because of the net.

Getting all the usuals at the feeders now.No hawk yet though.