We went to a few trails but it mainly became time with the dog. I think it’s too late in the year for me to get more involved right now. I’m looking forward to visiting places next year and trying to learn I’m really ignorant of birds. It will be interesting taking the dog and just enjoying nature more next year when the weather turns nice.
How about bird feeders? We only have one of those suet feeders hanging in a tree by our deck.
My parents got a cage feeder. Only smaller birds like sparrows and love birds can get in. Larger birds like pigeons are out of luck.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Suet feeds are good for woodpeckers and nuthatches. If you're unlucky, starlings and blue jays will poke at it too.
If you want more diversity, get a tube or cage feeder for mixed seed or black oil sunflower seeds.
I have a tube feeder with a good mix in it, a covered platform-type feeder (shaped like little house) with black oil sunflower inside and suet on the sides, and a small mesh tube for nyger. I also put a hummingbird feeder out starting April 1.
Chad
This lovely Cooper's hawk paid us a visit a few days ago. The dozens of house sparrows at my feeder wisely went into hiding pretty quickly.
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Down in Orlando, this is the first Roseate Spoonbill we have seen[emoji41]
^^
Fantastic sighting and great shots! My mom and I took a trip to Miami Beach, probably about 20 year ago now. While there we took a bus tour to the Everglades and saw a flock of Roseate Spoonbills. It was a birding highlight for me. Along with an Anhinga fishing. This was back before cameras on phones. I think I had my first digital camera back then, a whopping 4 mp, LOL! I probably have photos of the Anhinga stored in a box somewhere.
I have a Nixon Z6 now but only a 20-700 lens. Those were cropped and enhanced on the iPhone. Cloudy day.
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This looks like a hawk but not sure what kind. He was in the trees behind my house for awhile. There's was two of them actually.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Chad
Thanks Chad. My wife bought me a bird feeder for Christmas and for awhile the birds were loving it. I had nuthatches cardinals bluebirds blue jays eating on it. But the past week we’ve had swarms of starlings gathering on it and throwing the seed everywhere. The birds clean up what ends up on the ground. I filled it one day only to find it empty that afternoon.
Funny you say that. We've had several Starlings at our feeder for the last few days after not seeing them for a couple of months.
If you want to discourage the Starlings, fill your feeder with safflower. Backbirds (Starlings, Grackles) don't like it, but the other birds will still come.
When I first saw him sitting in the trees I thought I was looking at an owl. So I took his picture and brought it up on the camera and he looked menacing with long talons wrapped around the tree stump. I saw another one up higher in the trees. After they had flown away I took my dog out in the yard to do his business and noticed he was up in the tree in our back yard just looking around for food I guess. I got more pictures of him from the back with his head turned. I looked him up on bird Id and the Cooper’s hawk came up but it didn’t seem to fit Thanks to Chad for his hawk eyes to identify him. I don’t remember ever seeing them before around my yard.
An adult Cooper's Hawk will have a dark cap and red eyes.
Chad
I may have missed this somewhere in this thread and if I have I apologize but does anyone get periodicals of bird magazines? If so what would you recommend if any.
Done thanks Chad
On Wednesday while riding my bike to the train station, I witnessed a mockingbird fighting with a sparrow. The former alternated between singing to growling. I would've shot video, but that would've cause me to miss my train, and be late for work.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
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