Birders

[Bungalow Bill]

I'm not actively a birder but I keep my eye out for birds in my neighborhood (northern New England) and in the course of the day I might see a

cardinal
bluejay
catbird
sparrow
finch
robin
turkey vulture
pileated woodpecker
goose
duck
crow
blackbird (plus redwing blackbird)

Every now-and-then I see a heron (or something similar) on the brook near my home. I see different raptors flying around but I don't know what they are. I've seen wild turkeys, pheasants and partridges in the past. I've never seen an owl but I'd like to.

[Bungalow Bill]

Sand hill Cranes -

When you see a bird like this, it's impossible not to agree that birds are dinosaurs!

[Duncan Glenday]

That yellow hornbill looks like he could do some serious damage with that bill!

I'm sure you're right - but I took a chance anyway, as seen below

31749677_1912398132118024_6925134289440866304_n.jpg

[Jerjo]

Duncan, stumble across any good whisky down there?

[ronmac]

I just spotted the first oriole of the season.

[ForeverAutumn]

I'm sure you're right - but I took a chance anyway, as seen below

31749677_1912398132118024_6925134289440866304_n.jpg

He's smaller than he looked in your other photos. Having you in the photo to add perspective makes a big difference. Cute little guy!

[Nearfest2]

Migration is on!

This is my list from this morning (43 species):
Canada Goose
Mallard
Common Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Acadian Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Blackburnian Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Baltimore Oriole
American Goldfinch

[ronmac]

I just spotted the first oriole of the season.

Best I can do with my zoom lens.

oriole-2018.jpg

[ForeverAutumn]

Best I can do with my zoom lens.

oriole-2018.jpg

Nice. I put my oriole feeder out last week, but so far no bites. I'll change the orange wedge as soon as it stops raining...on Saturday.

[ForeverAutumn]

Migration is on!

This is my list from this morning (43 species):
...

All of that in one morning??? That's more species than I see in a year.

[ronmac]

Nice. I put my oriole feeder out last week, but so far no bites. I'll change the orange wedge as soon as it stops raining...on Saturday.

I'm guessing it's still a bit early for you, huh? I don't use a feeder. I hear them and seek them out.

[ForeverAutumn]

I'm guessing it's still a bit early for you, huh? I don't use a feeder. I hear them and seek them out.

Time-wise it's not early, but we've had a very long winter here so weather-wise everything is delayed. I actually did notice last evening that someone is eating the orange that I put out, so I think the Orioles have arrived...I've just not seen them yet. I have a feeder that I fill with sugar-water and on top I put grape jelly and an orange wedge. The orioles love it!

2018-05-04_10-27-58.jpg

Not my photo. It's taken from the Wild Birds Unlimited website, where I buy all my birding supplies.

[ronmac]

Not my photo. It's taken from the Wild Birds Unlimited website, where I buy all my birding supplies.

Those guys aren't cheap. I get my bird seed at Costco. 40 lbs. of good seed for about 17 bucks. The same stuff would be $40.00 at WBU.

[ForeverAutumn]

Those guys aren't cheap. I get my bird seed at Costco. 40 lbs. of good seed for about 17 bucks. The same stuff would be $40.00 at WBU.

Honestly, I've tried cheaper food and half of it ends up on the ground. Too much corn and other fillers that the birds around us don't seem to like. Plus my husband prefers the "no mess" blends; there are no shells to mess up his yard. We have a feeding station with five different feeders (four in the winter when I take the Oriole feeder down). I have different feeders/seeds to attract different birds.

1. No Mess seed in a squirrel-proof feeder for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Sparrows, Starlings, Grackles, and anyone else who needs a snack.
2. Suet for everyone!
3. A seed cylinder for the Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Chickadees
4. Niger for the American Goldfinches
5. The Oriole feeder.

[Dave (in MA)]

[QUOTE=Firth;800914]Speaking of Ibis’

Apology in advance.



I had to do it.

[ronmac]

Honestly, I've tried cheaper food and half of it ends up on the ground. Too much corn and other fillers that the birds around us don't seem to like.

I don't use the filler blends. This is one of the Audubon blends. All seed. Yeah, I get shells, but really don't mind them.

[ForeverAutumn]

I don't use the filler blends. This is one of the Audubon blends. All seed. Yeah, I get shells, but really don't mind them.

I'll check that out the next time I'm at Costco. Thanks!

[ronmac]

Sunday morning, enjoying the nectar of our crabapple blossoms.

oriole-5-6-18.jpg

[ronmac]

Another

oriole-2-5-6-18.jpg

[Rune Blackwings]

When you see a bird like this, it's impossible not to agree that birds are dinosaurs!

Murder Birds

[Jerjo]

All of our birds are back but I hear more than I see. But when I'm on my morning route I do see game birds like wild turkeys and ring-necked pheasants. There's also plenty of Swainson's hawks and red-tailed hawks patrolling the rough country and pasture land. I did see one golden eagle this spring but there will be more of those as we get into summer. We do get some bald eagles but they're hard to spot.

[ForeverAutumn]

Sunday morning, enjoying the nectar of our crabapple blossoms.

oriole-5-6-18.jpg

Beautiful shot.

[ronmac]

Beautiful shot.

Thanks. I cropped way in on it.

[ronmac]

Saw one of these guys at my feeder this morning. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak (not my photo). Not very common around these parts.

[ForeverAutumn]

Saw one of these guys at my feeder this morning. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak (not my photo). Not very common around these parts.

Nice sighting!

We see these at our feeder every few years, during spring migration. They aren't very common where we are, but I used to have an uncle who had a cabin in the woods, north of us and we would see them up there more frequently.

About 20 years ago, we were in Jasper National Park on vacation. There's an organization called Friends of Jasper and every Sunday morning they did an early birding hike that tourists were welcome to join. We got up at 6:00am to go on this hike. The leader was an older fellow who wouldn't tell us his age, but told us that he'd been birding in the park for over 70 years. About 10 minutes into the hike, he stops us dead in our tracks and points. There on a tree right in front of us is a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It just sat there for a few minutes and we were able to take a couple of quick photos. When the bird finally flew away, he told us that in 70+ years that was his very first sighting of this bird. It was only the fifth recorded sighting in the park ever. He was ready to go home after that. It made his day.

On that same hike, the same man got very excited about spotting a pair of Mallard ducks, which made us laugh because they're so abundant here, they're a bit of a nuisance.