A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Landscape trials and triumphs Butterfly and Bird Gardens New Arrivals 2007

Continuing Obywan's thread from the old forum.

Thanks Thorny!

Here's a link to the old thread:
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/41/404.html

I just saw my first cowbird hanging out by the bluebird house. For the moment at least, the bluebirds have successfully chased it off.

I heard an Eastern Phoebe AND a Field Sparrow singing this morning.

I saw a Phoebe a couple of days ago. It was flying out of my shed. Last year, they built a nest on the handle of my fertilizer spreader which was hanging on an exposed beam.

I've been seeing a lot of Grackles, quite a few Robins, Blue Jays, many Brown Doves, Sparrows (not sure which kind) a few Cardinals (male and female) and some type of Swallow (dark blue on top, orange on bottom).

I feed with Country Pride seed- 4 lb for a dollar, and have a few trees and bushes for habitat. Still need a bird bath.

Your swallow is a Barn Swallow. That's the first one I've heard of this year. What part of the South are you in?

My Tree Swallows are back!!!!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAY! I love to watch their acrobatics. They come here every year to raise their broods in my bluebird boxes! Clap!I cant wait to see the babies fledge.

Or a cliff swallow. Like Thorny said depending on where you are.

I saw a Rufous Sided Towhee this morning.

Oh Yeah? Well I saw a erm......uhhh...... an......erm......uh....... forget it. I ain't seed nuttin' unusual today.

I just got back home from picking a load of firewood up from one of my mom's neighbors. On the way over there, I passed a small pond and was lucky enough to see 3 Wood Ducks! There were 2 males and 1 female.

Ah! Wood Ducks! They are my FAVORITE ducks.

Today I heard Field Sparrows, Eastern Phoebes, Eastern Towhees, and Eastern Meadowlarks.

North Texas. This pair of swallows have been hanging around some water at work for about 2 weeks now. Work is by a river, woods and a small wet land area. We have egrets, geese and many types types of ducks. I found a mallard nest today with eggs in it. Spotted momma not far away.

I had already seen one at my mom's place a week or so ago, but yesterday I saw "my" first Common Grackle at the bird feeder behind my house. Then, yesterday afternoon, there was a flock of 18 or more on the ground at the feeder out front.

out at "the farm" I had 25 years worth of barn swallows--each year I could not wait for them to return--I miss them alot. I guess there is no hope of getting them here in my 20 x 16 "barn" huh ???

I live in a 20 year old subdivision and we are covered up in Barn Swallows in Summer. You dont HAVE to have a barn. They like to nest on our covered porches.

I'm waiting for the barn swallows to come back to the building my store is in. It has some porch roof they like to nest under.
My neighbor gets them up on his barn. I dont know the dimensions Its like a 2 car garage.

My little friend at work


The heron is back

A chipmunk AND a Great Blue Heron? You must live in like, a billion dollar mansion!

They dont live IN my house silly! ;)
The chippy is at work. he has a doorway to his house behind the building where my back porch eith feeder is.
The heron flew over last night. He was in the flood pond down the road when I snapped him.

Yeah? Well I have a rabbit living in my house; about 10 feet from where I am sitting right now.

I love great blue heron's. We have them out here every year. It's especially easy to spot them during the salmon spawning. They know where the good food is and when.

Woo-hoo I saw an Eatern bluebird on my way in to work today!

I heard a stellar's jay (at least that's the conclusion I've been able to come to on what kind of bird it is) this morning but have not seen them yet. Saw either a hawk (looked to small to be an eagle) or falcon yesterday. A crow was trying to scare it off to no avail.

The tree swallows are back. I saw one today swooping around the bird houses in the back yard. Yesterday, I went hiking and afterward drove up by Mountain Lake. On the road up the mountain within a mile of the lake we saw a large hawk flying that appeared to be all white on the bottom. My first thought was eagle, but neither the Bald or Golden eagles are white on the bottom like that. Besides, it was big, but not as big as an eagle. Then I thought maybe an Osprey. They're white on the bottom, but this bird had big puffy white legs, unlike the pictures of Ospreys I've looked at. We couldn't see the head from the angle we had. Thornius?

Errrm, I'm NOT a Hawk person. Hawks, SParrows and shorebirds are my biggest weakness when it comes to birding. Hawks are often hard to call. To get an accurate ID of a Hawk, You have to look at EVERY body mark, as well as flight and behavioral patterns, time of year, location (local as well as National) and sex and age if possible. To further confuse Hawk ID, many species of Hawks come in more than one color form. You can have a light or dark form of certain species of Hawks in the same area at the same time. Get all of these things together and it can be FAIRLY easy to identify a hawk.

In my yard I have had Red-Tailed Hawks, Cooper's Hawks (just this week), Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, and BOTH species of Vultures and one species of Owl.

Before yesterday, I hadn't seen any newly arrived birds in quite some time, except for the hummers, but in addition to the Tree Swallow of yesterday, today I saw a Grey Catbird, an Eastern Meadowlark and an Indigo Bunting.

There was a House Wren singing in my front yard this morning, the FIRST of 2007.(And one of the ONLY House Wrens that I've had in my yard).

While eating supper tonight out at the picnic table, I had 2 new "firsts" for the year. A flock of 10 Cedar Waxwings in the locust tree in the backyard and at least 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers in the oak tree above the picnic table.

Eh. I've had Waxwings for a week or two now. BUT I never get Warblers here.

I had 2 male red breasted grosbeaks at my feeders, an indigo bunting perched on my wires and heard but didnt see a baltimore oriole. Boy they have big lung for a little ole bird!

I havent seen my waxwings yet...

I saw my first pair of rose-breasted Grosbeaks just this morning. Also, a female Summer Tanager. No orioles yet.

Grosbeaks and Orioles don't come to MY yard. I have to go to nature areas near me to see them. No Tanagers either. But if I go to Long Hunter State Park 15 miles east of me, I get Summer Tanagers coming out the Wazoo!!! along with dozens of other species that NEVER WILL come to my yard.

Last night I HEARD the FIRST Common Nighthawk of the 2007 Season.

Thorn,

Then you watch and listen both???????
Mostly all I hear are the stupid crows......Boy there are the noisiest bunch of feather keepers......

And huge.......an black.

Birders identify more birds by sound than by sight.. I feel that hearing a bird is ALMOST more important than seeing it. I spend HOURS listening to and studying bird songs. Every morn I am out on the yard swing with my camera photographing the birds that show up, but I am MORE interested in what I am hearing than what I am seeing.

Common Nighthawks make loud rasping calls at night as they circle overhead hunting flying insects.

Your a true bird lover........
I have sister who is your speed.......
She has a bird book too......Have to ask her of the sound..
b

Thorny,

I hear birds at night some times that I'm unfamiliar with. Is there any site online or a CD that has the calls or songs of night birds?