All you bird brains.
Sat, 2008-10-11 18:27
#1
All you bird brains.
Sat, 2008-10-11 18:27
#2
I don't consider myself a "birder" but I guess I am sorta. If "birders" are the type of nerd that keeps lists of birds they see, I guess I am.
Maybe there are others here.
Anyway, many years ago, I got a Audubon Field Guide. It's not bad for quick reference in the field, but not as detailed as a Peterson's field guide. Did I say many years ago? Twenty, to be exact. On one page, I listed all the different bird species I have seen in my backyard. I was able to add to it just yesterday, with the sighting of a Swainson's Thrush. Difficult to identify because it looks so much like a lot of brown birds at casual glance.
Here's my backyard list, from the common to the not so common:
Robins
Starlings
House Finches
White throated sparrows
Blue Jays
House Sparrows
Kinglets
Black Capped Chickadees
Cardinals
Downy Woodpecker
Dark Eyed Juncos
White Breasted Nuthatch
Morning Doves
Crows
Red Tailed Hawk
Red Breasted Nuthatch
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker
Brown Creeper
Chipping Sparrow
Gold Finches
Hooded Warbler
Common Flicker
Song Sparrow
Wood Thrush
Peregrin Falcon
Turkey
Blue Heron
Swainson's Thrush
I remember the Kinglets were maybe the toughest ones to pin down as to species. I was only able to deffinately identify them when the males displayed the red patch they have on the top of their heads. However, that was many years ago.
After we lost the big willow in the back yard during a windstorm, where the Kinglets used to gather, I lost the Kinglets too, it would seem. I have not seen any since.
The Peregrin Falcon seems a fantastic claim-- until you realize that they nest in downtown London, probably about a mile (as the Falcon flies) from my place. And a neighbour a few houses over keeps pigeons, which attracts the Falcons.
The Common Flicker isn't so common in cities, with their niche kind of taken up by Robins, and no dead trees to nest in.
There's probably many I missed, as I tend not to go for the field guide that much anymore. The Swainson's Thrush caught my eye because it's behavoir and appearance didn't fit with other birds, so i knew it was something different. It's not even native to the area-- just passing through on migration, as were the different warblers I saw years ago, I think.
I''m just wondering if it's an interesting list, considering my rather urban setting here.
My secret nerdyness now exposed, I will leave off.
Sat, 2008-10-11 19:49
#3
M. Spector
I love birdwatching, but I'm so very bad at it!
I can't remember bird's songs or their physical descriptions, so I have a hard time identifying them. I still don't know whether the red finches I see in the back yard are House Finches or Purple Finches. I've lost count of the number of times I have made very careful observations of a new bird and then scoured my field guide before concluding that the bird I had seen was hitherto unknown to science.
BTW, I believe the best bird guide is the [url=http://www.amazon.ca/National-Geographic-Field-Guide-America/dp/07922531... Geographic[/url]. But hey, what do I know?
[img]confused.gif" border="0[/img]
Sun, 2008-10-12 06:36
#4
I guess the most serious birders memorise bird song, and do most of their identifying that way. For small song birds like warblers, I think I've probably only identified them in very specific conditions. Namely, that first warm blast from the south that brings up air from the Gulf of Mexico, usually in mid to late April. The birds come with it, and they are easy to see because the leaves aren't out on the trees at that time.
To be honest, I couldn't tell-- even with binoculars and the field guide beside me-- whether the finches I see are house or purple. I assume house because they are more common according to my guide. Occam's razor helps too. And species get adjusted when more observation is made. It could be, for example, that what are called purple and house finches interbreed, and are therefore just sutle variations of the same bird. It's happened before.
My Audubon guide is good for the field, when you want a quick reference. But when you are trying to tell the difference between one variety of Thrush from another, for example, the Peterson's guide will show you exactly what to look for. And, oddly enough, the hand drawn and coloured pictures can sometimes better match the bird you are looking at than a photograph.
Sun, 2008-10-12 11:04
#5
Did you know that every bird has his/her own name? Trying to figure out the syntax and whistling it back to them is the hard part.
Sun, 2008-10-12 11:30
#6
bagkitty
quote:
Originally posted by peskyfly1:
[b]Did you know that every bird has his/her own name? Trying to figure out the syntax and whistling it back to them is the hard part.[/b]
I didn't realize they had individual identifiers in their songs, but I have been working hard to translate what the songs actually signify. I have been able to decode two of the messages. The first I decoded this spring, it is a solo message and goes:
[insert voice of drunk guy leaning against a wall for support][i]Hey baaaybeeee, want some, got some right here for you![/i][/insert voice of drunk guy leaning against a wall for support]
the second (sometimes solo voice, sometimes paired) goes:
[insert voice of very aggressive drunk guy leaning against a wall for support][i]Hey asshole, get the fuck out of here. This is MY turf. Get any closer and I will peck your fucking eyes out![/i][/insert voice of very aggressive drunk guy leaning against a wall for support]
It's amazing how sentimental some people get about song birds, or bird songs in general. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
Fri, 2008-10-17 18:43
#7
I picked up a book of Northeastern North American birds. It has their calls in a little thinger on the side! It is really neat. and I really like it.
This summer I spent a lot of time listening to grackles and really came to love those birds. A lot of people argue with me, but I think that they are awesome. They are very vocal and have a whole lot calls.
Plus, ravens, gorgeous and smart birds. Really personable. I wish I could get one as a pet.
Sat, 2008-10-18 07:15
#8
Somewhere around London, years ago, there was a gas station owner that had a pet raven. They can be trained to speak, like minah birds and parrots. I suspect they might even be able to construct sentences like a few parrots have.
Of course, if I had such a pet, I'd train him to say "Never more".
Chickadees have quite a varied repitoir of calls, too. There's been a few times I've gone outside to investigate a call I haven't heard before, only to find it was a chickadee.
We get grackles here, of course. I don't mind them. I even appreciate the starlings, at times, because they are great grub control. On the other hand, if they take up roosting in the big Maple out front, they can be a pestilence.
I have found tailoring bird feed and feeders to the species you like keeps down the numbers of birds like house sparrows and starlings.
Now, I have two metal silo feeders. One with holes large enough for peanuts, the other small for thistle seed. That keeps the woodpeckers, chickadees, gold finches and nuthatches happy. But it tends to thwart the squirrels, sparrows (not so much) and starlings ( completely).
The neighbour a block over just tosses out bird mix, bread crusts and peanuts on the ground beside his house. Not good practice.
Sat, 2008-10-18 09:57
#9
bagkitty
quote:
Originally posted by Tommy_Paine:
[b]...The neighbour a block over just tosses out bird mix, bread crusts and peanuts on the ground beside his house. Not good practice.[/b]
Unless, of course, s/he is a cat watcher rather than a bird watcher. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
Sat, 2008-10-18 10:12
#10
He does throw it close to the road-- which makes him a bit of a squirrel hater like me, maybe. [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]
Sat, 2008-10-18 16:34
#11
quote:
This summer I spent a lot of time listening to grackles and really came to love those birds. A lot of people argue with me, but I think that they are awesome. They are very vocal and have a whole lot calls.
They are most easily identified in flight, with the young of a nesting songbird in their beak.
They are smart, and easily learn to stay out of range of a slingshot loaded with BB. And sometimes they forget. [img]wink.gif" border="0[/img]
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Sat, 2008-10-18 19:46
#12
My absolute favorite blog is bogbumper.blogspot.com
It's a nature photo blog by an english woman named Katie Fuller. Right now shes got a lot of butterfly photos and shore scapes from cornwall. but check out her archives because she has a huge collect of bird photos. It can be a very good suppliment to a bird.
She also links to lots of other interesting nature bloggers. Like to US marine who did a wild life survey of Iraq (I kid you not.)
Sun, 2008-10-19 05:02
#13
Boom Boom
I live on Quebec's Lower North Shore just below Labrador, and we have an abundance of seabirds, although in some cases you have to know where there are and how to get to them. Local birds - not just sea birds now - include gulls, crows, ravens, robins, goldfinches, sparrows, Mourning Dove, swallows, and a few others - my complete list is back home in Kegaska (right now I am in Blanc Sablon with my laptop).
Information on our birds is available [url=http://www.lowernorthshore.ca/birdwatch.asp]here[/url], and that page also has several intersting links. When I get home tomorrow sometime I'll post my complete list. The crows are the noisiest, and I'd like to scare them away, but sadly they rest on the scarecrow I made, which completely infuriates me!!!
Sun, 2008-10-19 07:33
#14
Boom Boom
Just back from a walk to sight-see around Blanc Sablon where I am for the weekend, and came back to see a dozen geese and ducks outside my motel room - the motel owners have a duck and geese pond behind the motel, which also acts as a sanctuary. The birds walk across the highway, which has "Caution - duck crossing" signs posted all over, and drivers stop for the birds. I watched about three dozen ducks and geese crossing the road from the motel restaurant earlier. Amazing!
My brother south of Ottawa had ducks, geese, chickens, hens, roosters, and some of exotic species, on his farm for almost 25 years. I haven't been there in a while, and don't know if he still has them.
Sun, 2008-10-19 07:36
#15
Boom Boom
For bird fanciers in Quebec, [url=http://www.pqspb.org/feeders.html]this[/url] is a guide to feeding birds in your yard all year long.
Sun, 2008-10-19 07:52
#16
M. Spector
What's the best way to keep squirrels off the bird feeder?
For years, we had a running battle with squirrels. Not only did they eat the bird seed, but they chewed the plastic and destroyed several feeders in succession. We tried using baffles, but that didn't work.
Finally we found success with the type of feeder that is pressure sensitive - if a squirrel stands on the feeding ring, the seed hole closes up. Ours needs to be adjusted, because although it has four feeding holes only two birds can feed at a time. If a third bird lands, the combined weight is enough to shut off the holes.
It makes for some interesting bird behaviour; did you know birds can count up to three? And have you ever seen a three-bird standoff, where three birds sit patiently, waiting for one of the other two to give up and fly away, so the remianing two can eat?
Sun, 2008-10-19 07:55
#17
Boom Boom
I used to have a feeder just for the squirrels and chipmunks, but the birds raided it as well. The squirrels have taken up residence in my woodshed, and I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to get them out. After all, they're Mother Nature's creatures, too.
Sun, 2008-10-19 07:59
#18
M. Spector
Squirrels are basically rats with good PR.
Sun, 2008-10-19 09:05
#19
Maysie
M.Spector: To keep squirrels away from bird feeders there is special bird feed, on the pricey side, that the squirrels hate and won't eat. Try it and watch the lovely birdies sans squirrels.
And squirrels don't need PR! So cute! Such lovely fluffy tails!
[img]http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r137/maysiewaysie/best-squirrel-shot....
[ 19 October 2008: Message edited by: bigcitygal ]
Sun, 2008-10-19 10:25
#20
Boom Boom
I'll have to google to find out once again the difference between squirrels and chipmunks - I knew once, but have long since forgotten (one of the downfalls of my getting older is that my memory ain't what it used to be). The squirrels (or chipmunks?) here are adorable little things, and come right up to me and start chittering away. I don't mind them at all, as long as they stay their distance from the house and my garage, and the garden. So far, so good.
Sun, 2008-10-19 10:36
#21
quote:
Squirrels are basically rats with good PR.
As anthropocentric a statement as you'll find coming from any church fundamentalist. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
Sun, 2008-10-19 10:57
#22
bagkitty
quote:
Originally posted by George Victor:
[b]As anthropocentric a statement as you'll find coming from any church fundamentalist. [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img] [/b]
In that case, a big [b]amen[/b] to what brother Spector said.
Sun, 2008-10-19 15:45
#23
M. Spector
[url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/squirrel-just-good-Decorated-Mouse/dp/B001DUS0E4... what I found![/url]
Sun, 2008-10-19 16:16
#24
N.Beltov
At my new address, we have the following:
American Crow
American Robin
Anna's Hummingbird
Band-tailed Pigeon
California Quail
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Common Redpoll
Cooper's Hawk
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
European Starling
Fox Sparrow
Hairy Woodpecker
Merlin
Northern Flicker
Pine Siskin
Purple Finch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Rufus-sided Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Starlings
Stellar's Jay
Varied Thrush
I've also seen Ospreys and, of course, dozens and dozens of Bald Eagles and the seagulls who try to mimic, without success, the big birds as they get the updrafts to the top of the mountain.
[ 19 October 2008: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]
Sun, 2008-10-19 16:22
#25
But don't crows threaten Homo sapiens as carriers of west Nile virus? (To continue the creationist theme of superior/inferior creations?) [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
[ 19 October 2008: Message edited by: George Victor ]