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jal_ut
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About Birds

My guess is that many of you gardeners are also birdwatchers?
Do you watch the birds?
Do you have and maintain a birdfeeder?

I ask because I have noticed an absence of birds here.
The Robins that were hanging around are gone.
The little House Finch is MIA. There was around 30 of them hanging around a year ago. I don't think they migrate.
No Juncos. Usually this time of year we have Juncos.
There are a handful of Starlings in the trees out back. They do not come to the feeder, but where there is 5 or so, usually we have 30 or more. Big bunches. Not so this season.
I am seeing a handful of House Sparrows and a few Eu doves and of course the ever present Magpie.

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digitS'
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The robins have been gone for about a month. The juncos showed up then but it has been so warm (record high, yesterday) that they probably feel comfortable over lots of their range, right now. So, they may be mostly at higher elevations here.

There were plenty of English Sparrows, starlings, magpies, crows, and goldfinches this year. Those first 2 are invasive species as is the House Finch, in a way. It's a native bird but it's range must have been confined by the treeless parts of North America. My understanding is that they lived in Southwest forests and in Mexico until towns and urban forests allowed them to show up most everywhere on the continent. They were in good numbers here until about 5 years ago. I just don't see them anymore, but I don't have a feeder with their preferred seeds out for them.

The Song Sparrows frequent my gardens. They must be quite territorial but there are always a few there. The quail were around in greater numbers than I have ever seen, this year.

Steve

imafan26
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No shortage of birds here. The Pacific golden plover winters here till around March. They migrate from Alaska every year. The other birds are here year round. Most of them are alien and many are released pets. Cocatoos, society finches, bulbuls (# 1 bird pest #2 mejiro), cardinals, sparrows, mynah, sharma thrush,mourning dove, spotted neck dove, zebra dove, peacock, turkeys (Big island), occasionally a pheasant, hawaiian owl (rare), mejiro (white eye), java rice birds, pigeons, feral chickens, and cattle egrets are common. The native honey creepers are the ones that are rare. Some native birds have established themselves in some of the botanical gardens. Most of the endangered birds are tagged and living in conservation areas that have been fenced off to keep predators out.

gumbo2176
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There's a variety of birds in my city, but like most cities, it is not wise to put out a feeder unless you want to draw the winged rats known as pigeons.

I've seen blue jays, cardinals, mockingbirds, tons of sparrows, starlings, grackles, wild parrots that have had their population explode over the years and of course, the aforementioned pigeons in and out my back yard.

Every once in a while I'll see a hummingbird hovering around the flowers in the garden and the wife did put out some of those hummingbird feeders a few years ago, but after they were overrun with fruit flies, she took them down.

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digitS'
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imafan26 wrote:No shortage of birds here. The Pacific golden plover winters here till around March. They migrate from Alaska every year...
There was once a plover in my dahlia garden. When I arrived, it lifted itself above the tall plants and departed, flitting slowly between the neighbor's house and fence. It was surreal!

I believe that they are Semipalmated Plovers and I see them now and then along the shores of the river. But, the river is about 1 mile away. There are plenty of homes, trees, etc. between that garden and the river.

There are constantly killdeers around my other garden, in the country. I never saw a plover in or near the dahlia garden in over 20 years there.

Oh, and hawks - mostly Sharp-shinned and Redtail - are usually to be seen. Ospreys will drift up from the river and, sometimes, a Bald Eagle.

Steve

ButterflyLady29
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Another birdwatcher/feeder here.
A few nights ago I was thrilled to hear Great Horned Owls calling across the creek.
Normally we have chickadees, titmice, wrens, robins (especially around berry ripening time), various woodpeckers, cardinals, and various species of sparrows. Occasionally I'll see a red-tailed hawk or a blue jay. All through spring, summer, and fall we see the resident vultures circling overhead or roosting in dead trees. And this summer we had catbirds in the berry bushes.
I had to take the bird feeder down yesterday so we could do some work on the house. I heard the birds scolding me until the work started.
Then there are the mourning doves. The numbers crashed just after ODNR set up a dove season, but they've been rebounding.
The only pigeons we had were domestic pigeons. Those have been gone for several years now. There's too many hawks here for them to survive unless they are kept in a coop.
I forgot about the hummingbirds. We have had as many as 3 females at the feeders at the same time. Those ladies sure are territorial about their feeders and flower patches.

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KeyWee
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I feed the birds year round, and with the exception of hummingbird nectar, put out black oil sunflower seeds only. Lately, I have noticed fewer birds but I think it is because of the abundance of natural seed now available in the wild. Once that is done, they will be back at the feeders.
As for robins, we have them all year, but they don't visit the feeders, although I can hear them in the woods. Goldfinches are here, but no longer gold as they have taken on their gray winter color. Cardinals, wrens, doves ~ never seen a pigeon around here!
So ~ nothing unusual for us.

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digitS'
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jal_ut wrote: ... I am seeing a handful of House Sparrows and a few Eu doves ...
The Eurasian Collared Doves must be everywhere in the US by now. James, you might be old enough to remember when the starlings first showed up. I do ... strange birds - I thought.

I'm very pleased that the collared doves don't seem to be displacing our Mourning Doves. The invaders arrived about five years ago. A family of Horned Owls moved into the neighbor's hay barn about then. There were dove feathers everywhere in there as momma owl fed the babies. The owls are around but that may have set some limits on the doves.

I do see them in cities. Okay, fine ... maybe those doves are just competing with the pigeons. I'm not olde enough to remember seeing the pigeons show up :D.

Hummingbirds? Yep. But, they are long gone ... No Monarch Butterflies this year but they don't often come this far north. However, there have been few butterflies the last few years. That has been disappointing, even a little worrisome.

Steve

pow wow
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I have three feeders going and I toss seeds into the blue spruce every morning. These days I have sparrows, chickadees, juncos, nuthatches, blue jays, magpies, grouse and I think some pigeons are roosting in the eves of the tall duplex built next door. YIKES!

imafan26
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I used to keep a bird feeder to keep the cats entertained. They would watch them from the window and try to catch any that flew near the window. The birds were quite safe from the indoor cats. I stopped feeding the birds though, because the Java rice birds pecked through the screen in the house bird hole vents and started nesting in the attic and the walls. It is very hard to clean out the debris in those areas.

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jal_ut
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Some Magpies and a few robins around. House Finches, House Sparrows and Eu. Doves Missing in action. Guess some dumb farmer put out poison grain?

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jal_ut
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Quote: "James, you might be old enough to remember when the starlings first showed up. I do ... strange birds - I thought."

Yes, I do remember the starlings showing up.

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digitS'
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Ha!

It was in the late 1950's and they were on the power lines above the drive way at our farm. We lived in southwestern Oregon.

Since Utah is quite a ways further east, what do we figure -- the starlings were there about 40 years earlier?


kidding! ~ Steve ~

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tomf
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We get lots of birds, tons of Juncos’, but Jays Robbins, Turkey Vultures biggest bird we get, eagles (our town is called Eagle Creek), owls, hawks, wood peckers and so on.
I took these photos of Pileated Woodpecker in our yard this week, they are about 18" tall.

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applestar
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Great photos! I've never seen one of those -- DH said he sees them in more wooded areas further north of here when he goes trout fishing.

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jal_ut
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Today, the ever present Magpie and House Sparrows. Also a robin Red-winged black bird, and Eu Dove.

Taiji
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One bird that I have sorely missed this year is the Western Bluebird. Last year they were so abundant and feasted on the grasshoppers through the spring, summer and fall. They would sit on the garden fenceposts and swoop down to get some. This year have only seen maybe 2 or 3. Don't know what's going on.

Last year when I would mow the big field next to our house the grasshoppers would be everywhere (along with little bits of chopped up grasshoppers) and the bluebirds would simply swarm down in a feeding frenzy. This year they did not do that at all. The grasshoppers are as abundant as last year though. :(

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ElizabethB
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Hi All,

Without my huge oak tree I do not have the number of birds that I used to have.

The Blue Jays, Grackles and Mocking Birds are always around. I really enjoy listening to the Mocking birds. House Wrens nest under the patio cover. I have had a few Hummingbirds. Not the numbers that I had before. I have some volunteer Mexican Milkweed that the Monarch Butterflies have visited. I have yet to see the Cardinals but I hear them. Nor have I seen the Red Breasted Hawks. They do reside here year round but I only see them in the cooler months. The only time I see Robins is when I visit my Sister. She lives on 5 acres and has a 35 acre horse farm. They like the open spaces and do not show up in town.

We have lots of Mourning Doves. I scatter bird seed in the yard. The Doves show up early morning and late afternoon to feed. They show up by the dozen. I can tell which are wild Doves and which are neighborhood Doves. If I open the back door the wild Doves scatter. The neighborhood Doves ignore me and continue eating.

I had a great experience with my Doves this year.

We have a metal carport cover. Early this year a pair of Mourning Doves built a nest on the ledge of the front, outside corner of the carport cover. Our first concern was that they would startle when we started our vehicles. They just ignored us.

I did a little research. Mama Dove lays 2 white eggs. ! day one 1 day two. Daddy Dove sits on the nest during the day. Mama Dove sits at night. The eggs take about 12 days to hatch. Once hatched both parents feed the babies. If the babies have not flown the coup at 12 days the parents will stop feeding them.

Back to the nesting couple. Both eggs hatched. We saw the babies for a day or two after they left the nest. I don't know where they went from there.

A few weeks later Mama laid another pair of eggs. All was good until we had a tremendous lightning/thunder storm. The lightning was so close that the hair on my arms stood up. I was inside the house. The next morning I found the eggs on the ground.

A few weeks later Mama laid another pair of eggs. After 24 days (12 to hatch and 12 to get thrown out of the nest) we saw the young birds on the patio. They stayed on the patio for 2 or 3 weeks. I put out food and water. They spent a lot of time grooming themselves - plucking out the baby feathers. The parents visited 3 or 4 times a day. The young ones would rush to the parents and feed from their beaks. I thought that the parents were bringing insects or worms. Not so. They produce a fluid (milk) in their craw. That is what the young ones are feeding on.

Mama laid a 4th time. She only had one egg. This young one remained on the patio for a week or 2 like the previous pair.

It was so much fun watching nature at work. I am looking forward to next year. Mourning Doves frequently return to the previous year's nest.

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Gary350
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I love the birds. I see lots of birds that I don't know by name. I need a better camera. I have not used my old Nikon F or Nikon F2 in years. Robins arrive here in April and gone Sept. Wrens arrive late mid May and are gone by Sept. Doves arrive early May and gone by Sept. Red birds are here in April and gone late Sept. Birds all appear to be gone now.

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digitS'
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Looks like you did dang good getting that picture, Gary!

I saw a Pileated Woodpecker, Thursday. It would have been impossible for me to get a picture of it. It was flying - I think it went through some trees on the bank and, right across a river.

Yeah. It was flying! Nobody ... uh, could have ... well, seems that some people can ... That's a real good picture, Gary.

Steve

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Lovely pictures Gary. That red-headed woodpecker shot is awesome!

I saw a whole flock of robins yesterday. They've been stuffing themselves on privet honeysuckle berries, the junk food of the berry world.

My suet feeder is now clean and ready to be filled and put outside. Yes, I should have cleaned it in the spring. Anyway, I need to find a good place to set it. I want to have it closer to the house so I can do some winter bird photography. My hobbies have been seriously neglected over the past few years and I'm ready to get back into it.

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jal_ut
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I put some seed out. I use a mixture of sunflower. cracked corn, and millet with a handful of catfood tossed in for the Magpies.

I am seeing about 50 English Sparrows, 2 Juncos, 2 House Finches, 25 Eu Doves, no magpies yet. Seems odd on the Juncos and House Finches. Used to get around 30 or more of each of those.

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jal_ut
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Gary350
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James, We Brake for Birds, is funny. I usually honk my horn at birds and squirrels. I need to be careful honking at squirrels they get confused they run one direction then change their mind and run the opposite direction I have to hit the brakes to keep from getting squirrel road pizza. Vultures are not scared of the horn or the vehicle they walk off to one side of the road as the vehicles passes then they walk back to their road kill dinner. I bought a 30 lb bag of birds seed at Farmers Co-op yesterday $6.99 and another bag to give my Son for Christmas.

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tomf
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Gary I also have an old Nikon F that I do not use, I use a 200 now. I want a full frame camera although, but the cost for what I want makes it on the wish list and not on the own list.

ButterflyLady29
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A couple days ago there was a hawk that swooped down on my little group at the feeder. I didn't see if it caught anything or not. I hope it catches a bunch of those pesky House Sparrows and leaves my little wrens alone.

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kayjay
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I'm a bit of an urban bird nerd.

Where I am now is an asphalt wasteland, and I typically only attract house sparrows to the feeder. I'll get robins in the yard when there are worms to be had, juncos (right now), mourning doves pop in, and I'll hear the odd blue jay and cardinal. There are dozens of seagulls in the middle of the parking lot at the garbage dumpsters. The juncos and sparrows seem to love my little mulberry tree. I'm not sure what they're picking at, or maybe they just like the shelter. :?:

I need to move the feeder because I'm tired of weeding millet out of the veggie patch! :>

At my old house in another city, even though I was downtown, I was on a block with old trees so I saw more birds. I got downy woodpeckers at that feeder, and I used to like hanging out in the yard with a bag of unsalted in-shell peanuts and toss some to blue jays and cardinals. The jays and cards nested nearby and the fledglings hung out in my yard:
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I had some really good shots of the cardinal fledgling and I think I lost them a few computers ago. :( I can't believe I didn't upload them somewhere, not even the birding forum I was on. PSA: back up your valuable files!

Most interesting bird I saw was a red-shouldered hawk, and it was funny, the morning I saw it, I had noticed that the yard was silent and devoid of (other) birds. I also got a hummingbird once, checking out my bright purple wave petunias. It scared the junk out of me because it was right beside me, and my instant reaction was that I thought it was a huge insect!! Never saw it again. :(

My parents lived way out in the woods North of Toronto, and they had all kinds of interesting birds - pileated woodpeckers, owls, and hummers in addition to the usual. There was a woodpecker that really enjoyed drumming on their satellite dish all day. :>

Fave bird I saw while traveling: egrets in Florida, I think just because I was surprised to see them. I was walking from Bright House Field in Clearwater back to my hotel, and there was sort of a swampy area, and there they were. I couldn't whip out my camera fast enough. Haha, I was all Canadian tourist, "OMG, the seagulls in America are HUGE!" :shock:

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applestar
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Rose bloom
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Kayjay, I'll take your millet plants if you don't want them :D My rosella and doves would go crazy for them.

pow wow
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Finally some warm Pacific air has swooped down from the Rocky Mountains! A week of above freezing temps. I just had to get on my bike and head down the hill to the river and fish hatchery. I remembered to bring some seeds for the hungry birds and the Chickadees and Woodpeckers were all over me. Surprised I was able to feed out of one hand while taking videos and pics with the other.

The river is mostly frozen over but the stream out of the fish hatchery stays thawed all winter and the ducks take advantage of that, not bothering to winter down south. So here's what I was up to on my bike ride yesterday.

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Couple of videos of me hand feeding

https://vid899.photobucket.com/albums/ac ... ukrlaz.mp4

https://vid899.photobucket.com/albums/ac ... 2qtjig.mp4

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applestar
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All over you -- you weren't kidding! Thanks for taking and sharing the fun videos and pics! :D

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digitS'
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Great bird pictures and videos!

That warm Pacific air brought rain here before swooping over the Rockies! After a month of no above freezing temps, it rose above freezing yesterday and with the rain - we have some very slick streets and lots of street flooding! No one would be out on a bike. No freezing overnight and the biking conditions are even worse, today!

But anyway :D, you did a good job with the camera.

Steve

imafan26
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Hey, can I have some of my warm air back? It is cold here.

pow wow
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Thanks and it was my pleasure to share the pics and videos.

Hi Steve, well there are crazy's up here that will bike to work and back in -13F. Me, not so much, the coldest I have biked in is 14F. I did have to walk my bike over to the edge of the hill where the bike path starts. They don't plow the snow in residential streets, but they keep the main bike paths plowed off.

Hello imafan26,
No you may not have your warm air back. I have been to your beautiful state and I know you can spare all we can take. lol

My bike yesterday lol
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ButterflyLady29
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I'd like to give you back your warm air. If these temps keep up we won't have a maple syrup season this year. There's been only a few nights below freezing this month. So not normal, so much so that I worry about the trees leafing out in February when the normal sap run is the first part of March.

pow wow
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Went out biking and feeding birds yesterday. Spotted a golden eagle flying along the river. I couldn't get a closer pic when it perched because the snow got too deep. Also along the stream of the fish hatchery I was just starting to feed the birds when a bald eagle flew low above me along the stream that the hatchery uses. Most bald eagle winter way down south, so this was an awesome sighting. Of course I didn't have my camera out when baldy flew over.

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ButterflyLady29
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I can't believe you got a Downy to come to your hand! Mine are pretty timid, the first to fly off and the last to return. The Chickadees will set in the tree and scold me and tell me to hurry and get away from their feeder but the Downys stay away until I am back inside.

pow wow
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ButterflyLady29 wrote:I can't believe you got a Downy to come to your hand! Mine are pretty timid, the first to fly off and the last to return. The Chickadees will set in the tree and scold me and tell me to hurry and get away from their feeder but the Downys stay away until I am back inside.
Believe me, I was so stunned when that first Downy Woodpecker flew to my hand. I was thinking it would just hop onto the table and pick up a sunflower seed there. LOVED IT!

The Chickadees in my back yard are quite use to me. They like me to be near the feeders because the sparrows stay back and then they can swoop in for seed. I've been trying to hand feed the Chickadees at my feeders for the past week. Only twice, and for only a second, has a Chickadee landed on my hand. I'll keep trying.

I'm checking out a few more spots for hand feeding birds today.

pow wow
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Yesterday the Red Breasted Nuthatches finally decided they can trust me. Made me very happy!

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Taiji
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The other day I went out to my snow covered garden and a hawk flew out and I could see it had something in its claws. It landed some distance away and thru binoculars I could see it had a red headed woodpecker. The woodpecker was still alive; the hawk was just sitting there looking around. I didn't interfere knowing the hawk has to eat too. Next day saw 2 more woodpeckers come to the bird feeder one at a time, then fly back up into a tree, over and over again.
I have visited the Bow River Valley in Alberta quite a few times and usually see bald eagles near the river. They sit in the trees then once in awhile swoop down to the river's surface. Fishing? :)



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