Anybody else counting birds today?
BIrds of the Mid-Atlantic: Nature's Entertainers
Ric, when I volunteered with the Fairfax County program to remove non-native invasive plants, a boy scout troop was always there. I have been trying to get local scout troops and teenagers who need service hours to help clear our HOA land, so far without any luck.
Critter, I'm counting. I saw a Northern Flicker for the first time ever! It was looking for insects in cavity in one of my maples, but didn't seem to find any.
Robins were very happy to find my heated birdbath! I felt bad for them; there was nothing in my yard they wanted to eat and the ground's probably too frozen to peck out worms. I thought about putting out raisins and chopped apples, but there were too many Starlings I didn't want to feed. I have kitchen scraps to put out, so I'll turn my compost pile in the hope of exposing some insects for them.
Edited to add that I saw the strangest thing this morning. A very large bird of prey - probably a hawk but I couldn't ID it - was sitting on the fence, not 10 feet away from cardinals, blue jays and little birds that either didn't see it or didn't care.
This message was edited Feb 14, 2015 2:16 PM
Could the large bird have been a buzzard? They don't seem to effect the others.
It looks as though you have a round of robins there. LOL
Funny robins!
I got some peanut hearts today to see what birds come to them this time of year- or will the squirrel just hog them?
Dust them with ground cayenne.
How did the term "round robin" start, anyway? Was it because robins aren't bad at taking turns?
Ric, I think it was an adult Cooper's Hawk. Its most distinctive feature was a cream-colored chest and belly, and I see that the adults don't have the same dark streaks as the juveniles: http://gbbc.birdcount.org/learn_about_birds/coopers_sharpshinned_hawks/
Definitely use cayenne pepper, Sally; otherwise squirrels will make short work of them.
Birds in my area that really like split peanuts: blue jays, cardinals, titmice, nuthatches and woodpeckers.
Sally, coleup and others who live closer to the bay: what kinds of coastal/swamp/marsh birds do you see in your areas? Coleup has mentioned Bald Eagles and Sally has mentioned Red-winged Blackbirds, two that I probably will never see in my backyard.
Love your robin photo, Muddy. Looks like the one in the center is explaining his strategy to the rest.
LOL ecnalg! Here are a few with Starlings trying to hold court. Edited to say that the photos show different Starlings in the middle...the one with the brown bill might be a juvenile. It looks to me as if each one is being roundly ignored.
This message was edited Feb 14, 2015 6:57 PM
RWBBs are also very predominate in meadows too. They do well in marshes and mangroves but can thrive away from water, so never say never Karen. We see them all the time miles from wetlands, with just a small creek nearby. It's really neat that anything even just a little taller than the surrounding grasses, such as a taller perennial weed, or POSTED sign will be their bully pulpit to announce their dominance over their kingdom. oops, I mean territory. LOL
I'll watch for RWBB; like you said, you never know. I never thought I'd see a dozen Bluebirds in my yard, either!
Never seen a RWBB in our yard ever, but last year we were standing in the driveway and a Bald Eagle landed in one of our oaks. Sat there until I turned to go get the camera. You just never know.
That's really neat! I wonder whether it'll come back this year?! Now that their numbers are increasing, perhaps they're branching out in search of new territory.
Ric, this is a White-breasted Nuthatch; there are also Red-breasted ones that, according to my bird book, only hang around Virginia in the winter.
Critter and others who are participating (coleup?), what kinds of birds have you seen while observing for the Great Backyard Bird Count?
Only a few birds have ventured from wherever they're sheltering, mostly white-throated sparrows and juncos pecking at the millet and safflower I spread on the ground under shrubs in the front yard.
This weather should drive many of them to the feeders and water. I'm not counting but have seen the usual suspects.
Mobs of black type birds came this afternoon. First a bunch of cowbirds, now the grackles. The cowbird bunch (dozen or two) was all male, seems odd.
This message was edited Feb 15, 2015 1:53 PM
That is odd. Maybe they just want to hang out with the guys until it's mating season.
Any takers for your peanuts?
In the bunch of black birds were some Redwingers. Also we were sitting at the table for an early dinner with our elderly neighbor and Jeff jumped up and said...jane come look. Is that an eagle? He ran from the window over to the door to get a look as it flew away. Sure nuff!! White tail and head woohoo!!!! There are some in the county, but first time seeing one from our house.
Wow--Jan! That has to be exciting!
I have seen the Bald Eagles "fleetingly"--while visiting my sister who lives in AK.
Never really close-up. They are such regal birds....
Anyway--back to our humble back yards.
Now that the Black Birds seem to have discovered many of our yards, trashing everything,
we need to raise in battle and discourage them from eating everything we put out.
By "we"--I mean those of us who do not like to see them as we try to feed the
hoards of smaller birds only to have the Black ones gobble it all up.
Someone mentioned that they 'hide" their seed under tables (Pat?) scatter it under
shrubs (Muddy).
So--today--I went out in the ice cold air and looked around where I could sprinkle seed
that was nor openly visible. So--I too spread the seed under bushes, on the ground
behind my grill, under a leaning against my railing to the basement entrance, under the
plastic lawn chair that blew over in the horrendous winds of last night, etc.
Now to observe if any of the Blackbirds can find--and fit into these small spaces.
None of them would be visible from the air.....
Question----
I see two kinds of birds that I call "slate colored Junkos".
BUT--some seem bigger that the sleek, smaller ones. Both are gray with whitish
underbellies. Both like to chomp on suet.
The bigger one seems to be the "dark-eyedJunko". The smaller, sleeker ones,
are just a bit bigger than a Goldfinch--but have the same coloration.
Are these 2 different birds? Both are common at my feeders.
G.
How exciting!! It is so great that their numbers are increasing.
Gita, the smaller ones might be females, juveniles or different Junco species. One of my bird books says that "Several junco species have now been combined into one, simply called Dark-eyed Junco." You have a good eye for size: goldfinches are 5" and juncos are 5 1/2-6".
The only way to keep nuisance birds from eating everything is to stop putting out food that they like. The starlings that come to my yard are only interested in suet and mealworms, so I put both in starling-proof feeders.
I don't have grackles yet, but when they're around, I only put safflower in the tube feeder from which they can eat because they love sunflower seeds.
Grackles also love peanuts, so I only put those out when I'm in the backyard. The squirrels, blue jays and other birds aren't afraid of me, but the grackles stay away.....at least, for the most part. Sometimes there are one or two brave grackles.
Hiding food never works for long, although I've been able to sneak some mealworms to the birds eating under the shrubs.
This message was edited Feb 15, 2015 8:45 PM
I put the seed under the coffee table to protect it from the snow and rain. That is the reason also for using a tote on its side. Just something over top of the seeds so they stay reasonably dry. We have been fortunate not to have starlings and similar birds frequenting the feeding areas.
Lucky you!
I put some seed under shrubs in my front yard not in order to hide the seed, but to spread out the feeding activity. I had all of my feeders in the same location because it was easy for me to refill them, but it made it too easy for hawks to spot the activity from the sky.
The little pile of peanut hearts got buried or blown away by the first surprise snow/wind event last night.
One sole RWBB today. And three buzzards were cruising low over the yard behind me, maybe a squirrel got blown from a tree and met its maker?
8^P
Something will find the peanuts tomorrow.
I had much fewer backyard birds today. They don't seem to like the wind.
The wind certainly was strong enough to blow nests from trees.
I will try to look out my windows to see where the birds are feeding.
I really think the usual small birds will find the seed--as it is under the bushes
they all use as protective cover.
I am interested to see if they will find seed under a leaning section of picket fencing
that lays against the railings of my basement entrance 4 steps down. Hmmm...
The other location I scattered some seed is right behind my grill, which almost
touches the evergreen bushes behind it. Not a big space--will see...
Then--since the wind blew over a plastic chair last night--and it landed partially under
my big patio table--I let it be there--under the table--and threw some seed down under
the upside down chair. Fun...fun...fun....
Tomorow--I will probably curse all my bright ideas....Need to fix the tube feeder!!!!!!!
I love it--it is like playing hide and seek....I am pretty sure i will lose!
G.
We've had just hundreds of birds this year. I just went to the local Ace hardware and resupplied our seed and suet. Late season sales helped, I got 50# sunflower, 80# wildbird seed, and 12 suet cakes for about $70. Hopefully that will be the next to last trip.
As I drove out the side driveway this AM there was a whole flock of doves rose from the junipers as I passed. There must have been 40-50, they just circled an nestled back in their cover. :-}
This message was edited Feb 16, 2015 4:21 PM
I am thin on funds, but couldn't resist dragging home #40 myself of black oil sunflower seeds. It's been over a week since I put anything out, and it took a while for them to come back, but they did in droves.
I also have populations of black birds including starlings, grackles, crows, etc. While you were discussing them up above, it reminded me of the little brown bird discussion on how difficult it is to tell them apart. :)
My favorite thing to put out remains the heated cake pan full of water. It's the only unfrozen source probably in my entire neighborhood. Last season I watched Robins taking a bath in it - they were so delighted to find warm water. Heee.
This is the first year in about 15 years I've not participated in the CU bird count. Have been sick and sinus headache persists, so I'm trying to stay warm under my blankets. I hope everyone is safe and is ready for more weather.
Snow is supposed to start here in NC at any time now . . ...
Our snow started about an hour ago. I've spotted a yellow-bellied sap sucker a few times now on the suet from Sally. The regular suet seems more popular with the nuthatch. Good to see the yellow belly again. David made a trip to town before the snow to get more sunflower seed too.
Sorry to hear you have a sinus headache, Amanda. Those can be so nasty.
UGH on sinus headaches!!! Praying you feel better, soon, amanda
Amanda, so sorry to hear you're not feeling well; hope you kick it soon.
That's a lot of doves, Ric! I love the dainty little sounds doves make when they flutter away.
Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are cool looking...kind of like a masked woodpecker!
This thread is getting kind of long, so I'm going to start a new one.
We call the yellow-bellied sapsucker that frequents the suet cage outside our kitchen window the "Oil Change Bird". His front looks dingy, like he's been working on his car.
Funny!! That looks like a good, very descriptive name for it.
I started a new thread...http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1386857/
This message was edited Feb 16, 2015 8:56 PM