Go to Conowingo in October and you might see as many as 200 Bald Eagles at time.Originally Posted by Firth
Go to Conowingo in October and you might see as many as 200 Bald Eagles at time.
Chad
Will do.
I put an orange out for the Orioles on Saturday. This little fella has come by yesterday and today. Actually, I don't know if it's the same bird each time, but since I'm not seeing multiples at the same time, I'm assuming it's the same one.
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I got word of the first Oriole sighting in the state of the Orioles, in the town of Cumberland.
Cool!
I'll try the orange and jam thing again.
Last year, only the catbirds were interested - and no orioles.
Regards,
Duncan
They love grape jelly! I haven't put any out yet because we have rain forecasted until Friday. The rain will just wash it all away.
EDIT: Just as I hit enter it started hailing like crazy!
Still neither sight nor sound of any orioles around these parts.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I've had jelly and oranges out for a few weeks. Nothing in the yard yet. However, I've seen several Baltimore Orioles and Orchard Orioles while out birding over the last week.
I've just switched out all my feeders to safflower seed. I'm trying to discourage the Grackles and Starlings that have been emptying the feeders. Also, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks should be passing through very soon and, apparently, they love the safflower.
Never heard of safflower seed. I’m all sunflower seeds in my feeder, and I had 7 goldfinches on yesterday.
A conure (parrot) I used to have absolutely loved safflower seeds.
Last edited by progmatist; 05-05-2023 at 02:01 PM.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Safflower is a white seed that looks similar to pine nuts (great in pesto! not for birds). Grackles, Starlings and squirrels don't really like it. Grosbeaks are big fans! I have a finch feeder that I keep filled with nyger seed for the Gold Finches, House Finches and other small songbirds. I generally put out safflower for a couple of weeks when our feeder gets overrun with Starlings and Grackles. They find other food sources and then I can go back to my regular seed mix.
https://www.wbu.com/products/straight-seeds/safflower/
A male Rose Breasted Grosbeak visited our feeder this afternoon. I have not seen one of these in the yard before.
Yay!
"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
^^ Nice! I've only seen them once in my yard.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Yay! Maybe they're heading north. I've been waiting for them.A male Rose Breasted Grosbeak visited our feeder this afternoon. I have not seen one of these in the yard before.
Yay!
Finally hearing orioles, as of today. Now I have to actually see one.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I follow a Toronto Birding page on Facebook and a lot of folks reported seeing Rose-breasted Grosbeaks this weekend for the first time this year. Hopefully, they'll find their way to our feeder. We had at least a dozen White-throated Sparrows in the back yard today (our feeder is in the front yard). I've never seen that many at one time.
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Edit: These photos look really grainy here. They are much higher quality than they appear.
We were visited by a female Rose Breasted Grosbeak today. It was kind of surprising to see the bright yellow under the wings.
It was cool to see another Grosbeak. I have noticed postings about sightings the last couple of days. What a treat.
FemaleRoseBreastedGrosbeak.jpg
"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
I used safflower for the same reason.
Strange but I hear these birds all the time around my house but yet to have seen one.
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I literally just saw a male Rose Breasted Grosbeak at my feeder. Second time ever, and what a coincidence. Wish it would have been yesterday when I had my camera set up.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
CBS Sunday Morning streamed a bunch of bird videos with bird songs. Look for the Rose-breasted Grosbeak
The Safflower seems to be working. Mr. and Mrs. Rose-breasted Grosbeak graced our feeder today. I have some photos of Mrs. on our lavender bush. Mr. was being camera shy. The female has been back to the feeder a few times this afternoon, but I've yet to see her handsome husband again...yet.
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For the past week I've been home sick, sitting in the living room with the windows open to our bird feeder. We have had so many Oriole visits that I have finally learned how to recognize their song before I look up and see them.
This morning I put out a fresh orange and grape jelly and had an Oriole within two minutes of refreshing the feeder. I've only seen males so far though, not one female, which I find curious.
Here's a very interesting essay on Birding from the New York Times - highly recommended.
(paywall removed)
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/26/o...smid=url-share
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