So I am starting a new thread for us here...
Please share your photos, stories, and backyard birds here with us!
Fall is here, and the little birds are hungry!
Get those feeders filled!
Karen
This message was edited Sep 27, 2013 8:45 PM
Mid-Atlantic Bird Watching - Fall 2013
Hummingbird this morning also so their still here , not much going on here.
My big 3-tube feeder is up a week already--not too much action yet.
Just some sparrows and some Doves looking for something on the floor.
Also filled my brand new Finch feeder but I don't think they have found it yet either.
Are Goldfinches active yet?
Thisfeeder is awesome--I got it at Big Lots a while ago when all their garden stuff
was clearanced at 50% off. Got all kinds of amazing stuff.
This feeder was orig. $40. I had NO qualms paying $20 for it.
Looks like the squirrels won't get anything out of this one!!..
Plus--it comes completely apart for cleaning. There is a rod that holds everything
together. it is threaded through all the feeding stations.
Pull it out--and everything comes apart.
Recycled a cake top for a baffle. Cut a slit in it and slipped it over the hanger loop.
Clever--no?
Gita
Clever - yes! :)
I gravitate towards the bird supplies but never find anything spectacular. I guess I really have all I NEED to feed the birds, though more baffles would allow them to get more than the squirrels sometimes.
I saw and identified last year a migratory bird for the first time in my experience: a female American Redstart.
We saw her again last week, just once. Her markings are very distinctive and we appreciated the visit. Didn't get a picture, but in case you don't know the species (it was new to me!) here's a link to learn more:
http://birds.audubon.org/birds/american-redstart
And an image from Audubon to boot:
What a beautiful bird Amanda! I've never seen one before.
Thanks for sharing!
We have already seen chickadees, titmouse, and the male red-bellied woodpecker at our new feeder. The cats are enjoying having their "entertainment" return! LOL!
Gita, we have goldfinch on our balcony throughout the summer, but only a pair or two. I am sure they will return in droves very soon.
Karen
She IS lovely. :)
I remember when I first identified the Ruby Crowned Kinglet in about 2002. I'd seen him for a couple of years at my condo in the winter, but it took me at least three seasons before I finally saw the "ruby crown" which is his distinctive marking!
There are several birds that have this olive drab coloring and are small-ish enough to confuse each with the other.
Here's a link to the kinglet and a photo - not mine - from Audubon:
http://birds.audubon.org/birds/ruby-crowned-kinglet
Wow - I just inspected the kinglet's range and it doesn't even belong here! Who knew?!
Amanda, according to the Audobon site, the mid-atlantic is their winter quarters. I don't think I've seen one since I was in Chicago... they came through a lakeside park during spring & fall migration. Has your kinglet arrived yet for the winter?
I'm in the Piedmont region of NC which is north central between the southern Appalachian mountains and the coastal plain.
I live closer to downtown Greensboro, more urban. My old condo was on the northwest side of the city near more open green space and wooded areas. I have not seen the kinglet since I left the condo - at least 4 years. It was a treasured moment when I finally identified that beautiful creature. :)
So the redstart is our new phenom. We live within a mile of the city's arboretum, and it's all connected via urban greenway. We have been pleasantly surprised by the variety of birds at our feeders, and I do my best to serve up what they like. ;)
Saw a Gold Finch at my new feeder this morning. YEAH!
Maybe he will bring others over.....Gita
Yay Gita!
Karen thanks for the wren updates...I agree, the dad must have been thanking you and telling the world "this is a nice place for birds!"
I saw wrens fledge once...lots of chirping all morning and yes by the evening totally silent.
Yay Amanda. the thrill of the chase for a first ever bird.
I know I have kinglets here because I found one deceased one time. A sad first.
I have HEARD the Wrens all over. Man! Are they noisy for such a small bird!
May be the same one--not many....
OK! Off to go outside. too pretty a day to play on the "C"...
G.
Does anyone here have a "life list?"
I think that's what birders call it as they travel the world looking for the next bird. :)
No, not formally, and yes
; ^)
I have few enough birds that I still know if I get a new one.
When we went to GrandCanyon, I (think) I saw a Condor...so I got all excited and told DH.''Its a Life list bird for me!!"
Got new sharp binocs for my birthday- need to follow up by looking up a local bird walk.
HA! Sally, it's like being a little kid again, the excitement and rush of a new discovery. I love it, but we aren't chasing around looking. There is a pretty well established birding club here. I'll bet there are plenty of birds that I'm not seeing at my feeders.
Maybe this year I will make it a goal to learn to distinguish the many sparrow species. One winter I studied the constellations pretty hard. Sparrows will be much more difficult to discern. We have all the guides but my brain gets all mixed up looking at the bird then the picture and back. By that time there are three more different sparrows in its place, and I am lost again.
Phew.
Little brown birds LBBs- even the guides resort to that at times.
I like to learn songs- I don't know many but I find it very fun to be able to hear a bird and know who it is.
Technology is amazing, allowing us to hear songs as well. Have long loved Cornell's recordings made even better when they teamed up with Audubon.
Does anyone/everyone participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count in February? It's like a holiday weekend for me. :)
Yesterday I heard the Bald Eagles before I saw them. How beautiful they were againgst the blue blue sky! The gentleman who lives in the condo nearest the nest said he thought it was one of the adults and a fledgling having a bit of a disagreement. I pointed out that both had white heads and he said tjat last year's juveniles were still hanging around and the parents weren't chasing them off. Last year two and this year two.
Sadly the very tall dead pine that they used to perch on fell down this Spring. Now I don't know where to look for them so listening has become more important. Wish I knew many more songs and tweets. It is amazing to me the volume some of those LBBs can muster! And I love the wake up greet the dawn songs sung from the highest roof peaks. I've imitated crows enough to get them to answer back or come and investigate which delights my Grandsons! (I do pigeon and chicken, too!)
I love the backyard bird count and compare notes with my Grandsons in Vermont. They tell me when the geese start heading my way.
Now is raptor migration time. Sallyg did you know that Ft Smallwood park is one of the premier sites for raptor migration sightings in spring and fall on the east coast? And so near!
Judy I haven't heard a response from you about the monarchs. Do you still need/want assistance?
thx I'll keep Smallwood in mind for a bird walk.
We encountered a man at the Catoctin Zoo who could do a dead-on peacock call. He had the whole flock over at the fence (they're usually scattered pretty deep into their enclosure). He said he goes turkey hunting without bringing a turkey-call -- he IS the turkey call! (He demonstrated that one, too.)
:)
I enjoy doing a good turkey call.
I have enjoyed Sap Sucker Woods on numerous trips there. It contains just about everything including water, open field, edges of all types, trails and a place to just sit and enjoy. I am hoping to get there again next summer when they say most trails will be good enough that I can use my mobility scooter. Close by are waterfalls, flowers on the college campus and one of the finger lakes with commercial marinas boats and such. Ops...It is a go to place all in the Cornell University, NY upstate area.
My alma mater, docgipe. They say it's gorges this time of year. :)
Great bird watching at the beach this year. I haven't down loaded my pictures yet hope I have some good ones to share. Josh took the big bird feeder he made for me years ago home with him to replace the top. I should be getting it back very soon.
I'm hearing different birds- I think some migrating have arrived or are moving through. Hearing warblers "sqeaky wheels" And the woodpecker reminded me it's time to get my suet out.
Sally--
Thanks for the reminder of suet. Do you think it may be a bit early?
We are still having pretty warm temps...
The premium suet cake you gave me last year is in my freezer.
I did hang it out, briefly, but there were no woodpeckers around.
It was late in the winter--and spring was nigh...(you like that word??)
so I took it back down and put it in my freezer.
Soon--I will get out my upside-down suet feeder out and hang it up.
Need a ladder to do this. May ask my young, tall back yard neighbor, Donald,
to do the honors.
It was nice to see you and Mark yesterday. What a surprise!!
Gita
Gita, I heard the woodpecker in the tree where I hang suet- so I feel like I want him/her to know it will be here. Commercial rendered suet should not melt at these temps. But the sooner you start feeding, the faster it will be eaten.
(Yes, we were 'nigh' to you at that nice park just past Ebenezer- they look to be installing fence for a dog park. We went into the woods and found a nature trail and stream- and pile of trashed slate and asphalt shingles. I'll be keeping the slate in mind maybe I can think of a project for it. Birdhouses with slate roof?
I had planned for Robin to bring bulbs, and just thought you would not mind if we popped in on the iris dig. I took four hunks of Liatris. And Mark is happy to go anywhere especially if we take Addy for a walk too.)
Back to bird watching topic ~~ good day to bleach and clean my old bird feeders, let them dry in the sun.
Sally--
It was so great to see you and mark. And--Addy, of course...
I bagged the last clump of Liatris for Karen. Happy! I don't have to pot any up!
Still will have to pot up the Frans Hals, though, for the spring Swap.
I have plenty of my own....plus a cup-full of 'seeds" from it.
Wonder if anyone would like to have some???
G.
Wow!
Hmmm--Re Birds...
I have now filled my BIG 3-tube feeder twice already--and it is empty again.
WHO is emptying it??? Hordes of sparrows! Not too many other birds--
they seem to be outnumbered.
I go out on my patio--and all these sparrows take flight. They like to hang out
in my two BIG, old Burning bushes at the end of my patio.
When I am out there--they are all, impatiently, sitting around waiting for me to
disappear. As soon as I walk away--they all converge on the feeder...
The only "good" thing about this is that they trash all the seeds they don't eat
to the floor. Then the Doves and the squirrels have something to eat...
It is empty again--and I am NOT filling it again for a while.
The sparrows can find all kinds of food around....Will wait for really cold weather
to re-fill it....THERE!!!! The other birds will need it by then more...
Have to get my neighbor's 10' extension ladder and lean it up against my Maple tree
so I can reach the hook where the upside-down suet feeder is supposed to hang.
AAARRRGGGHHHHH....
As long as I have her ladder--I also will use it to clean out the gutters along my patio roof
--which are full of leaves and debris...and--2 sections of the screen-guard have fallen down.
Just what anyone in their 70's needs to be doing.....climbing ladders to clean out the gutters.
Doing this is as close as I ever come to praying for my safety.....
G.
Hearing the white throated sparrow and chickadees...makes this chilly weather worth it.
Sally--
Yes! I have seen a few Chickadees and some Nuthatches--and a few Cardinals.
I have NO idea if the sparrows are "white-throated--pink throated--or anything...
These sparrows all live in my bushes in the front of the house--the back of the house
and who knows where else....but they are all over the place....
These are just regular, piggy, sparrows...never have seen this level of pigging
out before. It is not even winter yet!!! My mistake for putting out my feeder this early.
There is plenty of seed and stuff on the ground for them to eat!
Because my feeder was empty--there was a load of them eating something
on the ground under Olga's Fig Tree. They were really going at it!
SO! They do not need my seed yet at this time.....I shall be a miser.....
G.
I suspect those flocks are English House Sparrows. will have dirty grey throats. Same as the ones in the rafters at HD. I like the name piggy sparrows tho. I think I'll start using that name.
Nuthatches are cute.
Yes. they are!
The swoop in on the feeder--grab ONE seed--and swoop away to my Maple tree
to eat it...Love their up and down flight pattern..like waves in the ocean.
I was watching one of them as it got to my tree and i swear it was looking for
a place, on the rough bark, to stick the seed into.
Hmmmm...was that so it could easier unshell it--or was it trying to 'save" it
like squirrels dig stuff in for posterity??? Should have grabbed my Opera Glasses..
What do you think? G.
Gita,
lots of birds hide food to eat later and through out the Winter. It is called cache ing
Scientists have studied this behavior and measured bird intelligence by comparing their abilities to re-find cached food to that ability in other animals. Birds come out very smart!
http://arlingtonheights.wbu.com/content/show/66199
Link includes videos of cacheing)
Judy--
That is exactly the motions the Nuthatch was going through on my tree.
It was moving up and down and sideways on the trunk until it found
a suitable place.
Amazing! i DID NOT know birds did this! G.
Josh refurbished the bird feeder he made me a good 15 years ago the roof was rotting. It looks great almost like brand new. He replaced the roof and pressure washed and stained the bottom. We put it back up this morning and filled it. Birds are already gathering.
Here is the refurbished feeder
feeder looks fantastic