Good show, Hack. You can also hear a baby begging in the background and then the sounds of it being fed.
Here's another one from the other day. I hope you can see that one has the other by the foot. If there was any pressure applied, the foot would be snapped off like a twig, but they just mouth their playmates.
Hack, your little hummer sure is skinny but cute. Thanks for finding the video on the Corellas-loved it.
Burn, how lucky you were to find the nesting kestrels! Loved that last photo of the attempted flight.
Chilly, that little wp at the feeder is sweet.
Margaret, outstanding photos of the Corellas. They're so entertaining, I can imagine how much fun they were to photograph.
I need to read up on taking videos too! Hubby helped me pack the camera and tripod to a nearby park on the lake. We found some nesting western grebes and there was lots of action as some tried to protect their nests from others. Keep in mind the nests are built on floating mats of vegetation and one reason lots of eggs aren't hatched is that the eggs are washed off the nest by the waves of passing boats.
The last photo shows 5 abandoned eggs-the parents probably abandoned the nest when they found there wasn't enough bait fish in the area to feed the little ones. In 1990 we had over 70,000 grebes on our lake and this year there are only about 5000-mostly due to the lake of small fish.
Awww, Duc. Those grebes are so interesting. Sorry their habitat is being adversely affected. Hope they'll some how rebound soon.
Brilliant shots, Duc.
Outstanding shots duc!
Hack, thanks for finding that video of the Corellas. I think Margaret has gotten us all hooked!
Thanks, Margaret for the additional pic. I doubt I'd ever get tired of watching them.
Amazing shots duc! It's a real shame about their habitat. Sadly, that seems to be happening with a lot of wildlife. I'd love to think that they'll eventually rebound or maybe find another lake with more of the fish they need to survive.
Here's some more photos from the park-
Great Egrets and a Black-crowned Heron,
Great Egrets and a Blue Heron.
Back at home, the juvenile Brewer's Blackbirds are showing up.
A female Red-winged Blackbird.
A pair of Red-winged Blackbirds along with a Brown-headed Cowbird that apparently was raised with this pair.
Beautiful pics, duc! Love the settings they're in.
I'm glad you put me on to the antics of those Corellas, Margaret. They're fun to watch.
duc, I enjoyed the pics of the western grebes. I'd hope all those missing grebes are somewhere else and not dead. AND your last pic of the pair of Red-winged Blackbirds with their "young-un", for some reason, struck me as funny. Love really is blind.
Hack
Been a little rainy here in Dixie. I have some pics to share.
#1 - I have lots of House FInches here - always do. A male and female were feeding when another female joined in.
#2 - You know, I can't recall the last time I snapped a Mockingbird. This one was all over the place.
#3 - Oh yeah, I got Mourning doves. Seems like there are one or two always moving around on the ground under the feeders. Now, and then, I'll even see one on a feeder.
#4 - I used to have this platform feeder setting on a old stump. I had the stump removed when I planted a couple of Snowball trees. So, I put it under a large cover and hung it from a young oak tree. Got a communty thing going on - a lot. Here is a female House Finch, a female House Sparrow and juvy cardinal eating from the same plate. They all got along.
I now have covers over all my feeders - drives the squirrels insane, and makes for a good show to watch - now, that could use a video, lol.
This message was edited Jul 20, 2012 6:02 PM
That would be funny, Hack.
Nice shots, Duc. Beautiful setting that the egrets are in.
Love the pics, Hack!
I find in my yard that most of the non-aggresssive birds are happy to share a feeder. We commonly see Cardinals, House Finches and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at one feeder...sometimes even more varieties. Most of the birds, though not all, will avoid the Blackbirds, including the Red-winged, unless there's food spread over a large area on the ground.
If you want to draw more Mourning Doves to your feeders, try a little Safflower seed in a tray-type feeder. They absolutely love it! Most of the time our Mourning Doves stay on the ground to feed, but it doesn't take long for them to discover the Safflower seed.
Safflower is kind of expensive, but I use it in small quantities once the Blackbirds arrive since it gives the more timid birds a place to eat without being bothered. The Blackbirds can't crack the hard shells so they leave it alone. Some birds may take a while to start eating it, but once they do, they'll go there regularly since the fatty seed is highly nutritious.
Here's a few pics from my yard and one from the nearby Fox River.
1) Red-winged Blackbird female at the river
2) Young Downy Woodpecker
3) Young Cardinal
4) Goldfinch male
Hack great pictures of your birds. Glad your mocker has returned, mine have disappeared and I really miss them. My hubby put an upside down pot saucer under one of our feeders that is outside the fence and it stopped the squirrels but now the deer have learned to stand on two feet and tip the feeder which pours the seed out onto the ground.lol
Nutsaboutnature, thanks for mentioning the safflower seeds. I'll have to get some for my doves. Great photos of your birds. I wish our woodpeckers would come to the sunflower seed feeder but the only thing they'll eat here is when I have the peanut butter log out in the colder months.
Here's a photo of "Stubby", a Brewer's Blackbird that I've been photographing on my deck since 2009, a female Red-winged Blackbird and a Black-headed Grosbeak that looks like its been eating my neighbor's blackberries.
This message was edited Jul 21, 2012 4:26 PM
Duc, wonderful shots...so clear and crisp!
That's so cool that the Brewer's Blackbird has been around for so long. We probably have long-term residents, but sometimes it's hard to tell for sure. We do have a Mallard pair that have been coming back every Spring for about 5 years. They don't stay in the yard all the time, but visit several times a day, sometimes hanging around for hours. After a while they stop coming so we figure they have a brood to take care of.
The Black-headed Grosbeak is so cute with blackberry juice all over it's face! It's certainly easy to tell who the "thief" was.
Excellent shots Hack, nuts and duc!!!
Hack and Duc - I forgot to mention a couple of things about Safflower seed.
The 1st is that Squirrels don't like it so you don't have to worry so much about where you put it, although occasionally the Chipmunks/Ground Squirrels will eat it if it's on the ground (they eat anything!).
The 2nd is if your Doves don't realize it's in the feeder, you might try also sprinkling a little on the ground around the feeder. It won't hurt the plants or grass like sunflower seed shells do.
Thanks for the info Nutsabout.
Had a Brown-headed Nuthatch land just above my head (I was sitting on my 4-wheeler and maybe could have touched it) and my 400 mm prime lens wouldn't focus (the bird was too close). It wasn't the first time that had happened, either.
So, I got some advice from others and went on Amazon and bought me a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM UD Telephoto Zoom Lens. It is supposed to be a real sharp picture taker, I guess we'll see.
Next, I'm gonna sell my non-L 70-300 on eBay to help pay for the L 70-300 lens.
ETA of the new lens is July 27th - 29th, looking forward to getting it.
Hack
This message was edited Jul 21, 2012 11:02 PM
nutsaboutnature, nice snaps, 'specially the boy goldfinch. Yep, I knew about the safflower seed, just haven't bought any more lately.
duc, I really liked the pic of the Black-headed Grosbeak, tack sharp.
Hack
Funny about the Brown-headed Nuthatch, Hack.
Congrats on the new lens! Hope you get some really great bird photos!
I'm trying to find the thread where we listed our cameras, lenses, etc, but can't find it.
Do any of you have it bookmarked?
Hack
Hack - This is the most recent one I know of, but it only goes through March, 2011. If there is a newer one, I'm not aware of it. Hope this helps.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1146178/
That's it! - thanks nutsaboutnature. Mrs_Ed even gave me a bump yesterday on the thread.
Hack
Nice shots, Hack, duc and nuts.
From the day before yesterday. A Kookaburra and a flight of Pacific Black Ducks. I also managed to get a couple of dodgy shots of an osprey as it plunged into the bay after a fish (got one, too). This is a different family to the ones I have been watching for years.
Hey Margaret, every time you post a pic of a Kookaburra I start singing that song "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, Gay your life must be", lol.
I wonder, is that a gum tree?
Hack
Too funny, Hack. Yes, it is a gum tree - an old one, too. We had a couple of workmen here today and one got a call on his mobile and he had to tell the caller to ring back as he couldn't hear because of the racket the Kookaburras were making.
Glad that's the one you wanted, Hack! I also just saw that Mrs_Ed bumped the thread.
Amazing pictures, Margaret (as always)!! That's a funny story about the workmen, too.
Hack, it's a shame we don't have Audio on DG so we can hear you sing the song about the Kookaburra!
Hack, it's a shame we don't have Audio on DG so we can hear you sing the song about the Kookaburra!
Margaret, I'll be looking up the song of a Kookaburra, soon. Can't wait to hear the racket. Gonna go a get breakfast in a few minutes.
Hack
Hack We sang that song in Girl Scouts. didn't have the guitar for help, however.
Hack, that's fascinating! It's amazing how much we DON'T know about our DG friends. That's so cool! And I hope you do know that I was only joking?
Also, Good Luck to your wife on the guitar playing. I'm sure she'll be fantastic once she gets the hang of it!
irisMA, I don't know why I know the song, I just do. Catchy little tune, too.
nutsaboutnature, I did know you were joking and you are so right about us not knowing the other talents/gifts of our DG friends.
Hack
Thanks for your comments on the Kestrels, they were a great to observe so close by.
I`m still hoping to see a Cardinal, Nuts. They are rarely seen here. My SIL had the pleasure of seeing one in her backyard, a few winters ago.
Margaret, I so enjoyed your playful Corellas. Hack thanks for posting the link to them on you tube.
Chilli, I like feeders like yours, where they make the Grackles work harder, for their food.
I love your shots of the Grebes, but am sad to see they are losing habitats. And your Brewer blackbird seem to manage very well with his short beak, Duc.
A family of Loons, swimming leisurely on the lake.
At the same lake there were a few Canada geese walking about. This is one of them.
At home a Black-capped Chickadee was calling.
Later on, I got the visit of a Yellow Warbler.
And found this Pheasant by the road, while out on a drive
This message was edited Jul 25, 2012 10:54 PM
Great variety burn, Your Black-capped Chickadee looks just like one of my Carolina Chickadees, must be a distribution thing. AND that Pheasant is one pretty bird.
Hack
Looks like the goldfinches are back.
#1 - Male
#2 - Female
Hack
Oooh...burn, such beautuful photos! The Chickadee looks so cute all fluffed out and the colors on the Pheasant are stunning.
Thanks Hack and Nuts. I`m seeing just a few Goldfinches so far, Hack, I believe soon, they will rule the yard with their young.
Hack & burn...our Goldfinches tend to come and go (all year 'round). Sometimes we have so many they're all over the place and other times only a couple. It even varies from year-to-year.
Some of the females are starting to collect the cotton fluff I keep in a suet feeder for nesting birds. Some of them are getting ready to nest, but we commonly see newly fledged Goldfinch babies in September. They're late nesters, anyway so I guess the ones that stay here in Winter aren't in any hurry.
This message was edited Jul 23, 2012 10:22 PM
I have been lurking and not commenting, but I love all of the pictures. Great shots.
Nutsaboutnature, what kind of fluff do you put in the suet feeder? Cotton balls? I saved my hair, pulled from the hairbrush and chopped into shorter pieces, and crammed it into a suet cage and the Orioles and Chippings were seen at it. It's about gone, so I wonder what else might have used it. We have plenty of thistle around here, so I suspect the Goldfinches use that, but it would be fun to experiment next year.
1. A life bird for us yesterday, Grasshopper Sparrow.
2. If this was the mated pair in our yard this year, they sure didn't act like it when I took this picture. The male kept trying to chase her off.
