Likely mixed flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings, or come combination thereof.
Likely mixed flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Brown-headed Cowbirds and European Starlings, or come combination thereof.
Last edited by Nearfest2; 03-05-2020 at 04:19 PM.
Now that you mention it, I haven't seen one in months.
We have a hawk hanging around our house. I've seen it sitting on the fence watching our feeder a few times (feeder is in the front yard), and my husband has seen it hanging out in the back yard. We're still undecided if it's a Sharp-shinned or a Cooper's. I think a Cooper's, hubby thinks Sharp-shinned. We need to get another good look at it.
RWBL will be back in Canada soon. Spring is coming!
Cooper's Hawk - Dark cap, flat head, rounded tail when perched, tail also has a white terminal band, head protrudes out from the shoulders in flight
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Dark cap and nape, rounded head, squared-off tail when perched, head does not protrude much from the shoulders in flight
Cooper's Hawks are larger, but you can't go by size along unless you have something else nearby to compare it to.
Get a pic!
Chad
It won't be long before I'm already sick of the red-winged blackbirds, especially during mating season when they are dive-bombing and pecking at my head!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
The last couple of years our house has been a stop-over for Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks during spring migration. We had about eight of them, both sexes, for about two weeks last year. I've bought a better camera since last spring so I'm hoping to get some good pictures this year.
I've tried. He doesn't want to still long enough for that to happen! Birds are very annoying that way.
Regards,
Duncan
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
That would be me!
The migrants are on the move! I had a Palm Warbler this weekend! Keep your eyes peeled.
Chad
One of the most haunting sounds you'll ever hear:
The African Fish Eagle. It's like a first cousin to the American Bald Eagle - the main differences:
- Bald eagle is about 3 inches taller
- Fish eagle's white extends part way down its chest and back.
Their habits and behaviors are almost identical.
But for those who've spent time in Africa, the Fish Eagle's cry in THE sound of Africa, and once heard, rarely forgotten.
Regards,
Duncan
That African Fish Eagle call is cool - not too dissimilar to our Bald Eagle - but it's nothing compared to a Barn Owl from a haunting/terrifying standpoint!
Chad
Mama duck and ducklings in one of the many canals snaking through the Phoenix area. This canal path happens to be the shortest route to the nearest grocery store by bike.
Pardon my foul language.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
My neighbor's son's wife has been posting pictures and video of this robin going nuts at her house. The bird pecks at the windows. She has been blocking the windows with with cloths and colored papers but just going to another window. Now the bird is knocking on the front door. I know we raised a female cardinal years ago and it would come back to the house at night and I would let it in until we decided it was better off just staying out.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF STUPID PEOPLE IN LARGE GROUPS!
Caught this pileated woodpecker pecking away this evening.
A bit blurry. Hand-held with a zoom lens.
pileated-woodpecker.jpg
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
We have a red headed woodpecker that has chosen our metal chimney cap for his noise maker. Hey Baby! Hey Baby!
It makes a strange noise in the living room.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
Mark, odds are you have a Red-bellied Woodpecker not a Red-headed. RBWO are much more common than RHWO.
Red-bellied Woodpeckers have a red cap that extends down the back of the head. They have bellies with a red-orange wash, but that is usually up against a tree or whatever they are perched on, so it's hard to see. They have black backs with thin white horizontal streaks. They are very common in neighborhoods and wooded areas.
Red-headed Woodpeckers have a completely red head all the way to the shoulders. They have all-white bellies and black backs with large white wing patches. They like wet areas with sparse dead trees.
Take look here:
http://lafayettepark.org/border-battles/
Chad
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
We love the fact that our back yard is attractive to woodpeckers of many types; we see downies (almost daily), red-bellied (frequent), red-headed on two occasions, and one pileated. Being in a subdivision carved out of a nursery's acreage in the 60s/70s helps, as there are tons of old-growth trees.
This week we're especially enjoying the goldfinches' return to their glorious color.
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
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