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Post by gardendmpls on Feb 3, 2021 23:56:43 GMT -5
New bird in town...yesterday head and back was brown/black with possibly a red sheen to the feathers. The belly was the most intense red/scarlet/orange, and when he flew off, there was a big flash of red color. You might want to look at non-US birds. Occasionally one gets blown in from across the ocean. Here is one (brown head and back/red belly and tail base) from Asia that ended up being spotted in California (scroll down a little past the two maps to see it): smbasblog.com/2018/04/01/malibu-lagoon-hosts-extremely-rare-asian-bird/
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Post by Wheelgarden on Feb 4, 2021 18:44:28 GMT -5
Many mockingbirds are about, scoping nesting places. I can't wait to hear them sing in the spring. I could close my eyes and listen to them comically sing all day ... except I wouldn't close my eyes 'cause they're such an acrobatic sight to see in flight. My favorite bird.
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Post by Wheelgarden on Feb 11, 2021 15:11:19 GMT -5
So I see that February is "National Bird-Feeding Month". Here, it's year-round. Wrens, Finches, Robins, Jays, Mourning Doves, Crows, Geese, and Hawks all about. Overseen from high above by the occasional Sandhill Cranes.
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Feb 11, 2021 15:57:26 GMT -5
A couple days ago I was walking out my back door to bring my dog in. I stepped out on the stoop and I believe a redtailed hawk was swooping down and then took right off. It didn't land, didn't see what it was going after....rabbits and squirrels certainly pass through here. I doubt it was going after Jesse....she is 30#. And I am also not sure it was a red tailed hawk but I think so. It really happened suddenly.
Otherwise, here at the feeders are very many Juncos, Starlings, Blue Jays, and Titmice
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Post by gardendmpls on Feb 11, 2021 23:27:42 GMT -5
February is "National Bird-Feeding Month". I believe it is because they are getting ready to migrate and can use the extra energy boost. Usually they say not to feed them in the late fall so that they don't hang around, but move down south. If they haven't migrated by now, they aren't going to, so I start feeding them with the first heavy snowfall. Heard that there was a "crop failure" in the Canadian forests this year, so some birds that would winter over in Canada moved farther south. Must be why I am seeing more birds of more varieties at the feeder.
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Post by armjr on Feb 12, 2021 20:12:46 GMT -5
This fellow came to eat the Foxtail Fern berries. Then he flew up and knocked the top off of the fountain so he could sit more comfy! Alan
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Post by Mumsey on Feb 14, 2021 8:43:45 GMT -5
The birds are ravenous! We can tell when snow is imminent, they flock by the dozens at the feeder. This cold weather keeps them nearby as well. Junco, bluejay, cardinal, sparrow, starlings and a few giant crows once in a while. The squirrel does a good job of dropping seed for the ground feeders.
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Post by gardendmpls on Feb 14, 2021 9:17:13 GMT -5
This fellow came to eat the Foxtail Fern berries. Looked in my Kaufman bird guide and found an identical picture- the Great Kiskadee. It was on the page of distinctive flycatchers, listed as a "south Texas specialty, common in riverside woods, trees near ponds" and the description fits. "Brash, noisy, may perch in the open. Feeds on insects and berries, sometimes plunges into water to catch minnows... Unmistakable in our area." The map shows it in a narrow band extending from an area around Corpus Christi straight down into Mexico. There is another narrow band in Western Mexico. It is also found in Bermuda, where it was introduced. If you hear it, it makes a loud gweeap! and a slow kiss-kah-deee! I don't remember seeing one when I grew up in Corpus, but that was a long time ago. Here it is on Cornell's site: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Kiskadee/id#
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Post by James on Feb 15, 2021 11:28:31 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing your birds stories and pictures.
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Post by armjr on Feb 15, 2021 22:12:49 GMT -5
gardendmpls, Thanks for looking that one up for me (us). I had seen it on a few other occasions. About a month ago #1 wife and I had watched "Penguin". The story about the young mother who had a fall and was a paraplegic and they adopted a Magpie. Anyway, I was walking through the yard and heard that loud gweeap! and it startled me because it sounded so much like that magpie in the movie. I looked up and saw the "Great Kiskadee"! I had seen it once last year and had kinda written it off as a variation of our greenjays, and that's what I thought it was at the birdbath the other day. Now I know he is the "Great Kiskadee" and so he shall be called throughout my domain! From the article he'd probably like some strawberry preserves from "The Great Dollar Store"! I may make a feeding station just for him. He kinda struck me as confident enough to hold his own with the squirrels. Alan
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Post by James on Feb 16, 2021 11:01:08 GMT -5
8:54 AM 36 degrees and snowing.
Bird feeder: Eu Doves, Starlings, RW Blackbirds, E Sparrows, Juncos.
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Post by James on Feb 16, 2021 11:11:33 GMT -5
E Sparrows = Passer domesticus. Or as Sibley would say, House Sparrow.
They are pretty widespread. Found most anywhere there are people, from the farm to city streets. Here we call them "Spugs".
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Post by pondgardener on Feb 16, 2021 15:26:20 GMT -5
Neighborhood watering hole after -20˚F temperatures yesterday morning formed a 2" thick layer of ice. Water is circulating under the ice 24-7 to add aeration to the water for the koi. I open a small area for the birds and a large hawk stopped by yesterday. But it was more interested in lunch, than water...
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Post by James on Feb 17, 2021 19:03:21 GMT -5
Ya I guess -20 should bring on some ice. Stay warm.
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Post by binnylou on Feb 18, 2021 12:11:47 GMT -5
There’s two hen turkeys cleaning birdseed from under the feeder, right out in front of our house. The Blue Spruce is full of Cardinals and Blue Jays, waiting their turn. The Jays swoop in, but go back to the tree. Even the resident tree rat left with no encouragement from hubby.
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