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Post by Alice on Apr 24, 2006 15:21:16 GMT -5
here's another Cardinal (Male & Female)  And this one? looks like part Sparrow, and part penguin (just the eyebrow part  )  |
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Post by Cher on Apr 25, 2006 7:43:46 GMT -5
The cute guy on the bottom is a white-throated sparrow. We had a pair of cardinals that stayed at my neighbors next door all winter then soon as it warmed up, they disappeared. We've been seeing them around off and on for the past six years or so, before that we never saw them this far north. I love listening to them sing.
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Post by Alice on Apr 28, 2006 11:46:09 GMT -5
I know Cher posted up a blue jay, but this one was just sitting there forever, minding it's own business, begging to have it's picture taken.  |
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Post by Bikerrandy on Apr 28, 2006 18:30:10 GMT -5
Natures treats are all over the place, ya just gotta look down once in a while. ;D lol   |
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Post by krazydiamond on Apr 28, 2006 18:50:58 GMT -5
YIKES! "don't tread on ME"!!!
KD
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Post by Cher on Apr 28, 2006 18:54:40 GMT -5
Oh yuck Randy, that's not a treat in my book. BLECH!
Alice that bluejay looks like he's not a very happy camper. Wonder was he sick or something the way he's sitting there all hunched up with his crest down.
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Post by Alice on Apr 28, 2006 21:28:15 GMT -5
Randy I can't see your pictures. Did you post up dog poop?
Cher, I noticed he wasn't "happy" too. When it was sitting there it looked as if it was looking for something. And at the same time, just seemed very calm. It didn't budge when I showed my face in the window. Which is very unusual for any bird (except for morning doves and pigeons).
Blue Jays normally travel in pairs don't they? This one was all alone. Maybe it lost it's partner?
Or maybe it was sick. I have no clue.
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Post by joe on Apr 28, 2006 22:47:57 GMT -5
Give the blue jay a peanut. My blue jays love them. If he's not sick he'll respond to a peanut.
I'm with Randy, I like seeing those snakes. It means the rodents are laying low!
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Post by akansan on Apr 28, 2006 22:53:55 GMT -5
You know, even though blue jays are mean birds, I've always loved the look of them.
But I always feel guilty for liking them when I think of them as nest stealers. *sigh* It makes me so conflicted.
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spacemanspliff
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2006
Posts: 171
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Post by spacemanspliff on Apr 29, 2006 5:25:46 GMT -5
Great thread Cher! I love watching the birds, I saw a hawk standing on a bloody mess the other morning rite on the shoulder of the hwy, what a surprise, I didn't see it till I was rite next to it. We used to have a couple of bald eagles where we used to live and the strangest thing I have ever seen is 3 crows dive bombing one of the eagles. I was quite confused but my dad said the crows will team up on eagles. Here are a couple of pics of birds I have taken in the last couple of years first is a Blue Heron feeding in the eel grass in the Puget Sound.  Second is a woodpecker on the tree in my backyard rite after we moved in.  Peace, SSSSpaceman SSSpliff |
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Post by Cher on Apr 29, 2006 13:14:03 GMT -5
You know, even though blue jays are mean birds, I've always loved the look of them. But I always feel guilty for liking them when I think of them as nest stealers. *sigh* It makes me so conflicted. I know exactly what you mean but it's hard not to appreciate the beauty of them even though they are not "just nest stealers. I was sitting in my backyard one day watching the little chipping sparrows feeding their babies when a blue jay suddenly dropped down and started attacking one of them. I was totally shocked, I had no idea they'd do that. Needless to say, he didn't get that particular sparrow for lunch but it has lowered my opinion of them. Cool pic of the heron, do you know what the little red bird is? |
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spacemanspliff
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2006
Posts: 171
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Post by spacemanspliff on Apr 29, 2006 23:41:16 GMT -5
I think it's some kind of woodpecker, at least it was pecking like a woodpecker. I don't know much about varietys of birds, but they are beautiful!
Peace, SSSSpaceman SSSpliff
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Post by Alice on May 14, 2006 17:50:39 GMT -5
Golden Finch (taken from a distance)  |
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Post by Alice on May 16, 2006 9:37:55 GMT -5
Don't know what it is, but it sure is a hungry bugger   |
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Post by Tweetiepy on May 16, 2006 11:54:51 GMT -5
My dad had a bluejay fly into his patio door - got his neck broken - tried blowing into his mouth to resussitate him! he died within minutes.
Same thing with a hummingbird - but this one was just knocked out -my dad had him in his hand trying to feed it that red stuff - put him on a deck chair and he flew away.
Hubby's aunt had so many hummers that when she tried to feed them or clean the feeders they'd all be around her hands - must have been about 30 of them at one time - those are amazing - their mating ritual is pretty cool - my dad has to watch for them as they go for his sunburned bald spot hehe
We had a pair of woodpeckers in our yard a few years back - these suckers were about 18" high - we stared at them for almost an hour - couldn't get over how amazing they were - I can hear them nearby but I can't see them for the trees!
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greenmann
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2005
Posts: 325
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Post by greenmann on May 17, 2006 2:20:30 GMT -5
Spliff, that woodpecker of yours is a red bellied sapsucker. Look for lines of holes on the tree he ;ikely drilled. Hummers will occassionally go for the sap that oozes out of the holes, but IIRC, the sapsucker is more interested in the insects attracted to the sap than the sap itself.
As to the nest thieving habits of the jays (and crows, for that matter...) part of the problem is of our own making, I hate to say. The natural habitat of the smaller forest birds has become so fragmented, that it is much easier for the crows especially to take advantage of the more exposed nests. Natural woodland provides fewer opportunities for the corvids to find the smaller birds' nests. So plant more trees and shrubs, so the little brown birds have more nesting habitat, and more cover from the larger birds to hide their little homes in.
I do landscaping for wildlife for a living. Planting in layers (trees over shrubs over groundcovers) is a proven way to attract a diversity of wildlife. Different birds respond to different kinds of habitat. Unfortunately, the typical suburban lawn with a ring of shrubs is more attractive to starlings and crows than it is for most of the smaller songbirds. Stellar's Jays are on the rise in our neigborhood too, they seem to be able to adapt to the more open habitat as well as the more natural forest. I'm still happy to see them. Their jaunty crests and scolding voice never fails to bring a smile to my face. That dark navy coat flashing in the sun is a pretty spectacular sight too, if not so bright as the eastern Blue Jays.
We have a pair of robins trying to nest here this year. They tried a nest on top of the lights in our front patio... but those home made lanterns turn too easily, and i fear that crows found the nest and tipped it over. Now they are on the second nest, under the back deck on the sturdy beams. Hopefully that nest will prove succesful.
Brett
Brett
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Post by Cher on May 17, 2006 6:46:07 GMT -5
Alice, that is a rose-breasted grosbeak and they sing beautifully. The females look like a big sparrow, brownish gray with some whitish eyebrows. Kind of skittish birds though but they love the black oil sunflower seeds.
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MichiganRocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
"I wasn't born to follow."
Member since April 2007
Posts: 154
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Post by MichiganRocks on May 17, 2006 8:30:31 GMT -5
Hey Alice, I like the bird pics! I had soooo many gold finches here all winter, and now they are all gone now.
I had a cardinal here the other day. I have lots of them at home, but they are a little unusual here. It's been raining a lot the last few days and I haven't been able to mow yet this spring, so I could hardly see him through the grass. Pretty much ruled out taking a picture.
Can't complain about the rain though, we needed it desparately. Been waiting two years for this.
Ron
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Post by Tweetiepy on May 17, 2006 9:13:35 GMT -5
My mom has the bird book handy by the back window to ID the birds - she got a few of those GrosBecs pass by but the other day she had a small woodpecker drill on the brown downspout pipe - the kids thought he was hilarious - There's a man-made lake nearby and the ducks & geese go there
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Post by Cher on May 22, 2006 12:29:17 GMT -5
Here's a pic of one of our newest residents. This is a tree swallow. I love listening to the sing as they sit on the wire above the house.  |
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