Honestly, that does not look like any dove I have seen. I will look in my book. JB
Mid-Atlantic Bird Watching - Winter 2012-2013
Well--Doves are Pigeons too. Just a different breed than the ones people feed in parks.
And there are black and white Pigeons.
Like generations of people--you never know when a different trait shows up.
Like only your Great-Great Grandmother had red hair--and now so you you...
You are absolutely correct, Gita, in fact the tan ones are Mourning Doves and the regular pigeons are Rock Doves. But in my old age, I call the Rock Doves Pigeons. Sorry if I confused you. I have a small one track mind when it comes to doves and pigeons. ☺
I never had red hair girl.....my aunt did. I was coal black. My Grandmother was Spanish. LOL
My grandmother's sister's eyes were dark brown.
No one else in our extended family has brown eyes--just shades of blue.
Just a case in point.
I WAS going to add, since you questioned the white/black Dove being a dove,
that it defintely was a Mourning Dove--as it was walking just like the regular one--
jerking its head back and forth with each step.
Do 'regular" pigeons walk that way too???
OK OK It is a dove! I really don't give a darn what it is today. I am having a really lousy day and I am staying off the threads.
I did manage to get my feed delivery today and put the niger seed in the feeder they will not eat out of since it is fresh. Thought maybe the fresh seed will bring the finches back. I love the feeder because the seed can not blow out, but the holes are so tiny I can not believe the birds can get the seeds out.
See you when I am fit to be around people. Hugs. JB
Aww, JB
Not fun to feel that lousy! Take a rest--think flowers and spring and lots of sunshine.
We have the sunshine gloriously today, yet they are calling for, possible, snow flurries tomorrow.
I want so bad to go outside and do something--but there isn't much to do.
Hmmmmm....maybe I could cut back my Roses! Yes! I will try to do that,
if my laziness does not get the best of me.
Take care---cheer up! "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!"
Set an example of what you want all the other days to be like....
Hugs and love, Gita
Pic. Longwood gardens...
JB: What nyger feeder do you use? The seed pours out of mine (it's a Droll Yankee).
It is a wooden one, with glass front and back and on the wooden sides are the metal openings where the tiny holes are located. I think I bought it either from the Audubon Society or Agway. I have had it for two years and when I put it up yesterday I thought for sure I would have a finch or two , only the purple ones are here if any. NONE. NOT ONE DARN FINCH.
All the other birds are here at the other feeder but not the finches. I also have those stupid tubes and the wind blows and the seeds blow out. They are a mess. I stopped using them because the wind is always blowing here it seems. They love those, but you waste so much when the wind blows. Also, they get soaked in the rain and then the seed cakes in them and gets sour. JB
JB--
On the latest models of the tube feeders ( $10 at the HD) the openings have little pivoting
covers. You can either turn them to "open" and then all birds can eat out of there,
or turn them to the little slit openings--which the finches feed from. Just big enough for Nyger seeds.
I cannot imagine how seeds would spill out from those little slits in high winds???
Be patient--the Finches will come to your feeder once they find it.
if you just put it out, I don't think they would have found it by the next day.
I was in ACE hardware just now. They have the biggest selection of bird feeders
I have ever seen--but--OUCH! the prices!!!!! They are so high!
Their tube feeders were, like, $16.
Gita
the finches are super picky about their Nyger seed, has to be fresh...I loved the sock ones, until a squirrel stole it!
they do like the the wood one
thanks for the discussion, and for the pictures Jen. I'll go for that one. Might find sales on feeders soon.
Flow, you have my finiches. I am upset. Please send them back to me....maybe at least one??
☺
Here are pictures of my feeder. It is an Audubon Soc. feeder, so it must be ok. The one is to show you how small the holes are but I do not know if you can see them.
Is this like yours Flow?
very similar
Then pray tell, why do they not eat from mine? :0
lol JB maybe you need some finch decoys!
As my 6yo grandson said to me last night, "I don't have a clue, but I do have a theory"
My theory is that the finches that used to come to your feeder are dining somewhere else and they might not need to find other sources of seeds if where they are feeding has an abundant fresh supply. good shelter and a water source. Birds are pretty good at conserving their energy for eating and surviving and not scouting out the reopened restaurants in town unless their current favorite runs out of their favs. I'm thinking here of how once echinacea seeds are ripe they will be eaten by the birds in a couple of days rather than multiple visits over several months.
Seems you'd have to do a side-by-side comparison of feeders to see which ones your finches prefer, but that would have to wait for the return of the finches, or someone with active feeding finch population to hang your feeder next to theirs!
Like I said, just a theory.
Great Backyard Bird Count starts tomorrow!
Flow took my finches. I know it now. She even sent pictures. Some friend.
I think I will put up a tube again, of course the wind will blow the seed away but I will try it again and see if they return. I am going to put bands on mine from now on like I did my parrots I bred. That way I will know when Flow takes pictures. Mine will be banded. So there. Only in NJ.
ROTFL, I really didn't take them! that pic isn't from this year.... I have seen them but not like I have in years past, we did lose a tree and we took down 3 arborvitaes
Did anything change in your yard from the hurricane? Any trees knocked down, etc?
No, nothing different.
I just cleaned up two of the old tubes and filled them with fresh thistle seed and we will see. I purchase my niger seed from my distributor that I purchase all my parrot food from. I thought I could save some money. I used to get 50 lb for $45.50 I re-bag it and put it in cold storage, but this year I only got 25lb and it was $30.47. If I would have had more birds I would have gotten 50 lb and I am sure the price would be almost double now but of course the price of all seed has gone up considerably. That is one of the reasons many of the stores have cut back in their exotic bird seeds. Around the holidays I ran out of large parrot seed and went to Pet Smart and bought two pounds. I did not want to get my big order until after the first of the year. (I only have one large parrot now)...not two weeks later, the moths were flying around my house from that darn old seed.
They do not keep it in a cool place and the seed moths hatch when you open it and put it in another container. I thought for sure Pet Smart would have fresh seed but I was wrong. Now I have moth traps all over the house. blankity blank....JB
That stinks JB
i like coleups theory so much that when i get a new feeder i am only going to buy a little thistle and see if ts eaten. I too have spent good money on thistle that ws ignored for months.
OMG....HEY ......GUESS WHAT......THREE ROBINS ARE IN MY YARD HERE IN NEW JERSEY......TODAY.......WHAT A GREAT VALENTINE SURPRISE THIS IS.
They are hungry and cold. Two males and one female....I wonder where the other female is?
These are no doubt the ones who come every year and live beside my back deck in the pink dog wood tree. They are standing quiet, not moving a muscle. I think they are listening for grubs or worms. The ground is still frozen but they are near the plowed field where it is softer. Oh I hope this is a good sign.
The daffodils are also up about 3 inches, some more. I have a field of them because I cut and sell them and there are thousands out there. Everything is confused with this weather. JB
here I go again!
Interesting factoid concerning worms and therefore robins: As the weather cools towards winter, worms produce their egg cases and many are left in the top inch or so of soil/debris. Some worms tunnel down below the frost line and rest til spring thaw. Others stay near surface and remain active on warmer days. Of course, there are those that freeze to death, too. They takes their chances.
All of these worms are food for robins and the likes except the ones too deep to get to. So, on warmer winter days, Robins can forage for tiny wee newly hatched baby worms usually found on the underside of leaf litter (Could be why Gita's flowerbeds were being emptied systematically, leaf by leaf...)They can also find those worms who chanced staying at the surface and are pretty sluggish. Or perhaps a newly thawing TV dinner worm.
And, here is a mourning dove/pigeon family factoid. Their feet are specifically adapted for ground feeding. They can walk (called a shuffle) along the ground eating without having to use their wings to propel them forward like other birds who must hop, hop, hop, or bob, bob, bob along!
Birds sure are smart--aren't they?
Given that a pair of birds may produce two hutches (??) of young ones during summer--
HOW do they know the trick of finding worms under leaf litter in the winter?????
The Mamas can't teach then THAT during the summer....well--I guess there is litter and they do pick through it--
but looking under a whole row of leaves??????
Nature IS amazing.....G.
Gita Honey, a hutch is what you keep rabbits in. A clutch is when birds lay eggs and hatch them. Some double clutch , in fact I am not sure but I do believe most of our wild/backyard birds double clutch. I used to hate that when I had exotics that double clutched. We try and get just one clutch because of hand feeding them all. A bird has just so many eggs in her to lay in her lifetime. Same with chickens. The hens I had (parrots) still lay eggs even without a mate. Of course they are not fertile but they still want to sit them and cluck over them like a chicken. I had one just the other day. I allow her to sit her egg for a few days then I take it from her. Sometimes they will sit and not eat and if the egg is not fertile, that is not good for them. One time I had two little parrotlets that both double clutched on me and I was hand feeding 12 of those little guys from early on until they were weaned. I called them the dirty dozen.
To be sure I fed them all I would keep them in a basket and as I fed them move them to the other basket until all 12 were fed. This goes on every two or three hours round the clock.
The little tiny one in the center was named Rover.
Babies are a lot of work, but so cute.
Spring fever is endemic here. Cleaned and sterilized the hummingbird feeders. It is a warm day; great self control was used in not filling and hanging them.
His Royal Majesty Hawk the Second caught himself a chickadee. So fast! We are having a small, very private ceremony for poor little chickadee. Nature is sad and amazing, all at once.
This message was edited Feb 16, 2013 1:39 PM
Oh, marvinemo, it must have been awfully sad -- were you a witness to the chickadee debacle?
Gita, please do not be angry with me for telling you about the clutch not a hutch. I actually got a good laugh at it because I used to call my flock of birds a herd of birds. (of course being a horse person, a herd just seemed logical. LOL). I thought of my own funny names I give things and had to giggle. You are so funny at times and I bet you do not even try to be.
Flow....thanks for sending me a few red finches. They are eating out of the tubes but not from the wooden feeder. It is so cold and windy I would be surprised to see any birds just now.
How awful to watch those hawks do that. I saw a morning dove just disappear one time the same way and I cried out and screamed at the hawk. All that was left was a few feathers. It takes a lot to upset me but I can not even watch the discovery channel and when the lions jump on those fast running animals that look like deer, I just can't watch. To think I used to help butcher. Oh Gosh, I have really gotten wimpy.
Goodness gracious, I need warm weather very soon. I am slowly crumbling. JB
I was witness to the chickadee armageddon. I love the little guys. It is shocking at times to see the power of a predator, yet I must admit HRM H2 is still welcome here for his own unique beauty.
Your welcome JBerger ^_^ LOL
Peregrine Falcon with his eye on the feeders
Very cool since this is my son's favorite bird and they were out of school so he was able to see it
How exciting Flow.. I would love to see one of those. Do you have them visit frequently?
Do they live there ? I have never seen one here. Of course, we have nothing exciting here at all and it is so depressing when all those beautiful birds are out there and we feed and feed and all we get are the starlings, cow birds, sparrows, you know, the regulars. I did see three yellow finch this morning. They were either females or the males beginning to turn. Am i correct that the males turn yellow in the Spring?
Yes it's the males that are that bright yellow
First time seeing a Peregrine in my yard but saw 1 fly past my car about 2 blocks away over some fields where they are building new homes
They usually live in cities actually
Those are beautiful falcons. I keep watching the sky because the eagles are nesting and there are several nests within miles of here but they fly over when they hunt. So far I have not seen them. I do think it may be a bit early and they may be sitting tight on eggs or laying them.
But, the male and female both should be hunting food during the incubation period. They will take turns to sit the eggs if they have any.
I don't know about you all, but birds give me such peace of mind. They are so relaxing to watch and enjoy. What would this world be without them. My little house flock is so quiet today I looked at them several times to see what was going on. They must just be content.
Of course, the sun conure just laid two eggs the past few weeks and she was noisy then, but we took them from her yesterday so she must be pouting. I do know she is eating. So. all is well and life is good.
super puffy trying to keep himself warm
He does not look happy about the weather!
haha. that picture is ripe for a funny caption/ speech bubble. Jen have you looked at the funny caption thread in Birdwatching?
I used a website (SuperLame?) last night to add a speech bubble to my own picture.
He looks like he could use some Gas-X. ☺
Thank god and birds for fluffed up down! My sleeping bag is rated to 30 below and my comfortersare cosy year round. Couldn't imagine doing my outside delivery work in a heavy jacket, but my down vest and jacket are perfect for warmth and free movement. My bubble would say "Down, it's a good thing"!
I wear down vests most of the time to work outside and even in the GH then I do not have to bother with a heavy jacket to take off and on. Yes, thank you God and Birds.
This wind is brutal again today. I was out feeding the barn cats and the cat food froze before they could eat it. That is cold. It does not seem to be that cold but the wind chill makes me crazy. I can not stand firmly on my feet when the wind blows because I have vertigo and it makes me more off balance than usual on some days. Really difficult to work when it is like that.
I need Spring really soon. I had better get to cutting and cleaning christmas cactus. Too cold to be outside.
This wind is crazy but I did see a lot of people taking walks today
I was out in the wind this morning and I just could not stay out very long. I just turned up the heat in the GH again. The sun was so warm the heat went off and the temp in there went up to 90 deg. Just sunshine. The birds were not as busy today as they were yesterday. Maybe it is because all the seed has blown out of the feeders. I must replace it tomorrow but it seemed useless today the way it was blowing again. I am still watching for those eagles. See you tomorrow. JB