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Does anyone birdwatch?
- Thread starter waacman
- Start date
Booko
Deviled Hen
evearael said:
I get tons of different birds in my yard. But then, our entire neighborhood chooses plants with a view of whether they will feed wildlife, so in the past 5 years we've seen a marked increase in the numbers and varieties of birds.
If you feed them...they will come.
Booko
Deviled Hen
evearael said:
Um...what does that have to do with feeding birds?
Geez, Evearael, it's late and my brain's fried...take it easy will ya? :faint:
Haha! I love to watch the birds, but I'm not so good at IDing them. I'm much better at the plant end of things.
I get a ton of Cedar Waxwings and quite a few hummingbirds in my yard, as well as the usual Cardinals and Blue Jays and sparrows. I don't get bluebirds because I don't have much lawn, but my neighbor across the street is all set up for them, and he'll get maybe 3 hatchings in his bluebird house a year. He likes to get mealyworms from the reptile pet store and sit out in the driveway and feed them to the bluebirds.
waacman
Restoration of everything
evearael said:
Does this bird have any orange on its breast? If it does its probably either a Eastern or Western Blue bird, but if it doesn't it could be a Mountain Blue bird. Then again it could also be an Indigo Bunting, Azuli Bunting or maybe even a Blue Grosbeak.
waacman
Restoration of everything
robtex said:
Are you serious? I always thought that Texas was an amazing place to see migrating species. Texas is one of the few states that get the more exotic birds of Central America. Painted Buntings, Green Jays, all the weird warblers and such. Big Bend National Park is a birdwatchers paradise, especially in April and May!
robtex
Veteran Member
waacman said:
Big bend is pretty far from every metro in Texas with the exception of El Paso. I don't know much about the birds you are talking about but I bet many of them are in East Texas, near the Dallas area or on the gulf coast/valley. Texas is kinda tough cause it is so large. For instance to drive to big bend from where I am would take about 8-10 hours. Maybe I was ambigious but more the point I was trying to get across is that central texas may not be the best spot. Central Texas housing the metros of, Austin, San Antonio, San Marcos Waco, Belton, Killeen, Bastrop ect ect.....
I don't get a great deal of variety here in my yard, but I've got the numbers. A month ago the feeder two meters beyond the window I'm looking through as I type was rarely visited. Now there are often a dozen sparrows and house finches fighting for a perch with a dozen more perched on the wall waiting their turn. I have to refill it at least daily.
In the front of the house I scatter seeds on the lawn for several flocks of rock doves (sounds so much better than pigeons) that visit daily. The silly birds will land in or across the street and then walk ten or twenty meters to their breakfast.
In the front of the house I scatter seeds on the lawn for several flocks of rock doves (sounds so much better than pigeons) that visit daily. The silly birds will land in or across the street and then walk ten or twenty meters to their breakfast.
Jaymes
The cake is a lie
Ooo, I love doves! We get lots of mourning doves here. I love to listen to them, they sound so much like owls...
I'm not sure what kind of bird it is, but there's a sandpiper-type that's decided to nest in a small tree in our yard. Once I walked up to it without knowing it had a nest in there, and immediately one of the parent birds flew up to me and did the "augh, I have a broken wing! Whatever will I do?" wobble on the ground to get me away from the nest. It does that whenever I see it, now, even if I'm a good hundred yards from the nest. Paranoid little thing.
I'm not sure what kind of bird it is, but there's a sandpiper-type that's decided to nest in a small tree in our yard. Once I walked up to it without knowing it had a nest in there, and immediately one of the parent birds flew up to me and did the "augh, I have a broken wing! Whatever will I do?" wobble on the ground to get me away from the nest. It does that whenever I see it, now, even if I'm a good hundred yards from the nest. Paranoid little thing.
QTpi
Mischevious One
I love watching birds. We live in the country and really see a wide variety here in VA. Once we even saw a pair of bald eagles! I've seen blue birds, goldfinches, killdeer, turkey vultures, and all the common birds. One morning I watched a mother quail run across the driveway with four little chicks running after her all in a line.
I don't birdwatch, although I like watching birds. In the city where I live, there aren't too many species around, but outside the city there is quite a variety. If I go too long without getting out of the city, I begin to miss the species you can't find in town. It saddens me that there are so few species adapted to urban areas.
Once, I saw a pair of eagles in what I think was a courtship flight. They would lock together and cartwheel through the air.
Colorado is on a flyway and has a lot of species pass through each year.
Once, I saw a pair of eagles in what I think was a courtship flight. They would lock together and cartwheel through the air.
Colorado is on a flyway and has a lot of species pass through each year.
PureX
Veteran Member
Birds, ... ummm, that's them things with feathers, that fly around in the air, right? (Long time urban Chicago native, here)
The grain elevator across from my loft building had hawks living on top of it. They hunted rats and pigeons. And there is a park on the south side of Chicago where a group of wild parrots live, presumably begun by pets escaping their cages. But that's about the only bird action I ever noticed in Chicago.
Now I live in Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie, and I see all sorts of birds that I have no idea what they are. Seems like we have a lot of crows around here - I know what they are - and I kind of like them. They're big and obnoxious and remind be of the city. I also see long necked geese by the lake, and lots of ducks. I've seen some blue woodpeckers, and pheasants and hummingbirds around. And it sure is nice to wake up hearing birds singing, instead of "el" trains and car traffic.
The grain elevator across from my loft building had hawks living on top of it. They hunted rats and pigeons. And there is a park on the south side of Chicago where a group of wild parrots live, presumably begun by pets escaping their cages. But that's about the only bird action I ever noticed in Chicago.
Now I live in Pennsylvania, on Lake Erie, and I see all sorts of birds that I have no idea what they are. Seems like we have a lot of crows around here - I know what they are - and I kind of like them. They're big and obnoxious and remind be of the city. I also see long necked geese by the lake, and lots of ducks. I've seen some blue woodpeckers, and pheasants and hummingbirds around. And it sure is nice to wake up hearing birds singing, instead of "el" trains and car traffic.
PureX
Veteran Member
Yes, I practically live on Presque Isle. I go down to the park and walk on the hiking trails all the time. I see lots of birds there that I can't name - it's sort of a taoist exercise to watch them without thinking "I wonder what kind of bird that is".waacman said:
That reminds me of a wonderful story told by Robert Pursig (author of "Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Lila" [sanskrit word meaning "gods at play]).
Robert and his wife had gone to an American Indian reservation out west to visit a good friend of theirs. They were walking along a dusty road on the reservation with this old indian chief friend of theirs, when a dog happened to run across the road in front of them, and Robert's wife asked in passing; "What kind of dog is that?"
The chief suddenly stopped walking and stared at her with a somewhat puzzled look on his fact, and stayed that way for a long silent moment, then finally he said, "That's a good dog", and continued walking.
Later, Robert explained to his wife that the indians didn't conceive of dogs and being of different breeds, or types. And this is why her question had puzzled the chief. In the end, the chief decided that she must have been asking about the dog's nature, so that's how he answered her.
*smile*
Both the above mentioned books are excellent, by the way.
Booko
Deviled Hen
Seyorni said:
Oh yes, finches! How could I forget? I get a lot of finches in late summer and fall. I plant coneflower (echinacea) and when the seed heads dry out they are popular with the neighbors. I had one neighbor say something about how untidy the echinacea looked, and then while I was talking to her about 6 finches flew up and starting eating the seeds.
Talk about great timing.I'm not sure what they're eating the rest of the year, but I know other neighbors who put out niger seed.