while out digging yesterday i was having
fun with the killdeer pair that has returned
again to nest in the fenced garden. i know
it is the same pair as last season because
they are fairly tame when i'm around. they
might flutter a little and call and try to
lure me away, but it is a real half-hearted
effort. within a few moments they settled
down. Mom (or Dad) will go back to the nest
and sit on their eggs. the other will hop
around or wander off. i'm not sure if the
one brings food for the other or not or if
they take turns sitting on the eggs. sometimes
when i'm taking a breather i'll sit down and
bob my head after the bird does. trying to
convey the fact that i have no plans to eat
their eggs or them. it makes for a much more
peaceful gardening experience.

as i was digging i would come across a june
bug or a beetle larva (wire worms aka click
beetles are common too) and toss in over near
the killdeer, but i didn't watch to see if
the bird actually was eating them or not.

after i finished digging that garden for the
day i was sitting in the pathway taking a
break -- watching the birds and listening to
see how many different bird calls i could sort
out. i came across another june bug and this
time i watched when i tossed it towards the
killdeer to see if it ate it. hopped right
after it and gobbled it up. gave me a good
chuckle. then a bit later it was off and came
back and scootched the eggs to rotate them.
that was worth a good laugh.

the bird parade here is pretty varied: we
have the larger birds passing over or hunting
in the ditches: geese, ducks (several species),
herons. we have the larger ground feeders:
turkeys and ring-necked pheasants that pass
through. we have the large birds of prey and
the scavengers: turkey vultures, hawks, owls,
eagles including the impressive bald eagles
that will pick at the road kill. then the
crows and blue jays.

getting into the regular crew there are
cardinals, chickadees, house finches, blue
birds, robins, northern thrashers, cat birds,
redwing blackbirds, grackles, morning doves,
humming birds, and the killdeer.

transitory but daily visits from the flying
acrobatic troupe of purple martins and barn
swallows.

once in a while we'll see an oriole or wood
pecker. i'm hoping the large dead tree i've
left standing to the north will eventually be
a home for some wood peckers or owls as it
slowly falls apart.

that's about thirty characters. i'm sure
i've missed some of the smaller birds that
pop around in the bushes or those that are
similar to others in color or shape.

one critter that deserves honorable mention
that should be considered a bird is the giant
dragon fly as it is about as big as the
hummingbirds.

saw the first snake of the season yesterday.
about two feet long. fairly regular type seen
around here so i didn't stop to take a closer
look. next time i should so i can look it up
to be more sure of what i'm seeing.

was going to head out to weed a little today
but it started sprinkling so i thought to take
a few minutes. before giving up completely i
did get the hoses out and got the garden i
worked on yesterday watered in and was able to
see Ma's new work of yard art. will have to get
a picture of that as it's a keeper.

ok, that's enough rambles for today, but it
would be interesting to hear what others have
for bird life, critter happenings in their
gardens, so get out your guides and memory and
let's hear some stories.


songbird

"songbird" wrote in message

(snip) ok, that's enough rambles for today, but it
would be interesting to hear what others have
for bird life, critter happenings in their
gardens, so get out your guides and memory and
let's hear some stories.

Nice post 'bird. I wish I knew what some of those birds were as then I'd be
able to picture them and I'd probably also know a bit about their habits. I
recognise the name of bluejar as Sheldon on the TV show BBT had one on his
window sill.

We too have lots of birds in our garden and the wider area of the farm.
Himself (my SO) is a bit of a twitcher and last time I asked him how many
species he had on his bird list of the birds he'd seen here on our land,
there were over 60 different types of birds.

My favourites of those are the wedge tailed eagles, which are huge birds and
we see it soaring on the thermals above the gardem, then I also love the
Superb Blue wrens and all the tiny little birds that flitter and twitter as
they go too and fro and bathe in the various bird baths roudn the place,
The other birds I love are the Grey Shrike Thushes, which I call the "Grey
Garden JHoppers" becaus ehty hop roudn the garden and are very freindly and
will stay close as one tuens obver the soil. Then I love the Choughs which
are real raucous scallywags - they buld mud nests that they occupy year
after year and to keep the gene pool viable, they coax other flocks young to
come to them and then effectivley kidnap them so they join their flock.

Enough. I could bore on and on about the birdy doings in our garden.
Suffice to say that we really enjoy our bird life and take a lot of note
about what they are doing and where they are nesting and we have
conversations about what we've seen - such a quiet and simple life we lead.
But so darned satisfying. But I digress - not so welcome are the Currawongs
who work the garden in pairs with one playing the role of the look out as
they track and try to kill the tiny birds. Going out with a long metal
object with a stock end in one's hand usually works to get rid of them for a
short time.

Farm1 wrote:
songbird wrote:

(snip) ok, that's enough rambles for today, but it
would be interesting to hear what others have
for bird life, critter happenings in their
gardens, so get out your guides and memory and
let's hear some stories.

Nice post 'bird. I wish I knew what some of those birds were as then I'd be
able to picture them and I'd probably also know a bit about their habits. I
recognise the name of bluejar as Sheldon on the TV show BBT had one on his
window sill.

and i knew i forgot something, the goldfinch,
a very bright canary yellow bird, smaller in size,
loves thistles, coneflowers, chickory and often
feeds off the phlox seeds too if i don't hide or
net some to save.

seagulls may visit the farm fields around us but
i've never seen one in the yard here. it's a bit
too busy for them i think.


We too have lots of birds in our garden and the wider area of the farm.
Himself (my SO) is a bit of a twitcher and last time I asked him how many
species he had on his bird list of the birds he'd seen here on our land,
there were over 60 different types of birds.

that is about double of what i've seen here so far
but i am not watching many of the smaller birds so
i'm sure i'm missing some of those.

the bird that consistently makes me laugh is the
catbird, it is a medium sized bird (about 7-9 inches
long), fairly plump, grays and blacks, but with a
bit of a black cap on top of the head. what is so
funny is the calls, it usually just rambles on and
on, but it repeats things twice, but it has a wide
variety of calls. you never quite know what is
going to come next. then the feature of the bird
and why it is called a cat bird is because it makes
a call that sounds like a cat meow. it has taken
up it's favorite spot at the top of the larger dead
tree where it can see all that is going on. in
past years the grackles were so numerous as to keep
many of the smaller birds away. the past few years
i have been moving the grackles along with the air
rifle and the variety of birds overall has greatly
increased.


My favourites of those are the wedge tailed eagles, which are huge birds and
we see it soaring on the thermals above the gardem,

we have turkey vultures, hawks and eagles that will
soar. the mating flights of the turkey vultures are
very interesting as they will gather and spiral for
hours at a time, but they are not quite as dramatic as
some of the hawks that will grab on each other and
then plummet only to let go a short distance before
the ground. it's the bird form of playing chicken i
guess.


then I also love the
Superb Blue wrens and all the tiny little birds that flitter and twitter as
they go too and fro and bathe in the various bird baths roudn the place,

yeah, we are just uncovering the bird baths for
this season. the birds don't start using them for
a bit as the ditches are full of water. heavy rains
last night and this morning so i won't be out planting
or weeding today.


The other birds I love are the Grey Shrike Thushes, which I call the "Grey
Garden JHoppers" becaus ehty hop roudn the garden and are very freindly and
will stay close as one tuens obver the soil.

opportunistic feeders. about how big are these?


Then I love the Choughs which
are real raucous scallywags - they buld mud nests that they occupy year
after year and to keep the gene pool viable, they coax other flocks young to
come to them and then effectivley kidnap them so they join their flock.

i've not heard of that before. interesting...


Enough. I could bore on and on about the birdy doings in our garden.
Suffice to say that we really enjoy our bird life and take a lot of note
about what they are doing and where they are nesting and we have
conversations about what we've seen - such a quiet and simple life we lead.
But so darned satisfying.

it gives us something to talk about too. the
simple life is highly underrated. after other
more exciting moments aplenty i'm quite content.


But I digress - not so welcome are the Currawongs
who work the garden in pairs with one playing the role of the look out as
they track and try to kill the tiny birds. Going out with a long metal
object with a stock end in one's hand usually works to get rid of them for a
short time.

i've never seen active pair hunting like that
in any of the birds here, but the grackles have
been trouble makers here for the smaller birds.
that is why i chase them off when i see them (and
how they disgorge their chick's poop in the
birdbaths. what a mess).

i really do want to see the northern thrashers
have young sometime, the other showy birds (bluebirds,
goldfinches, cardinals) have all had success here
and i'm not even sure the thrashers haven't, but
i am unsure about seeing any nest or young for them.
i like to keep an eye peeled just in case...


songbird

In article ,
Billy wrote:

We mostly have Stellar Jays, and Chickadees here on the edge of the
redwoods. The closest we have to a year round songbird is the Pileated
Woodpecker. At least the Pileated Woodpecker sounds exotic. Some call
the Stellar Jay a songbird, but not to my ears.In the spring, we do get
some songbirds as they migrate to where ever it is that they are going.
Our best are the Western Kingbird, American Robin, Vesper Sparrow. The
forests in Europe are full of song birds, but we're lucky to get a few
chirps out of the Chicadees for most of the year. Maybe if we gave them
bird houses, with a yearly cleanings, as they do in the Blackforest, we
would have more songbirds.


If we go out, into the pasture lands, there are the occasional meadow
larks, who always please. Where ever there is standing, or slow moving
water, you'll find ducks, Pelicans, and Egrets. Where ever you find
ducks, you'll find Coots aka Mud-hens. At night, if you're lucky, there
are barn owls, which are guaranteed to scare the poo right out of you.
They are big birds with big bills, and big claws. This time of year we
also get slimed by those beautiful Canadian Geese, as they wander back
home.

In the non-songbird category we have either the Rufous, or
Black-chinned Hummingbird (or both), and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
The Hummingbirds are here pretty much year round. Last night I thought
we were being attacked by a giant bumble bee as we ate outside, but it
was just a hummingbird working the Chinese lanterns, one last time
before dark.

You can add Black-headed Grosbeak to my list. A pair have moved into our
hedge.
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/d...id=&searchText
=&allSpecies=y&shapeID=0&lshapeID=0&curAbbr=&lastV iew=default&lastGroup=1
&lastRegion=1045&lastFilter=4&lastShapeName=&track Type=&curRegionID=1045&
size=&habitat=&fruit=&color=&sortBy=family&curFami lyID=204&regionSelect=9
5436&regionZIP=95436&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&cur PageNum=2

--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

In article ,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
Billy wrote:

We mostly have Stellar Jays, and Chickadees here on the edge of the
redwoods. The closest we have to a year round songbird is the Pileated
Woodpecker. At least the Pileated Woodpecker sounds exotic. Some call
the Stellar Jay a songbird, but not to my ears.In the spring, we do get
some songbirds as they migrate to where ever it is that they are going.
Our best are the Western Kingbird, American Robin, Vesper Sparrow. The
forests in Europe are full of song birds, but we're lucky to get a few
chirps out of the Chicadees for most of the year. Maybe if we gave them
bird houses, with a yearly cleanings, as they do in the Blackforest, we
would have more songbirds.


If we go out, into the pasture lands, there are the occasional meadow
larks, who always please. Where ever there is standing, or slow moving
water, you'll find ducks, Pelicans, and Egrets. Where ever you find
ducks, you'll find Coots aka Mud-hens. At night, if you're lucky, there
are barn owls, which are guaranteed to scare the poo right out of you.
They are big birds with big bills, and big claws. This time of year we
also get slimed by those beautiful Canadian Geese, as they wander back
home.

In the non-songbird category we have either the Rufous, or
Black-chinned Hummingbird (or both), and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
The Hummingbirds are here pretty much year round. Last night I thought
we were being attacked by a giant bumble bee as we ate outside, but it
was just a hummingbird working the Chinese lanterns, one last time
before dark.

You can add Black-headed Grosbeak to my list. A pair have moved into our
hedge.
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/d...id=&searchText
=&allSpecies=y&shapeID=0&lshapeID=0&curAbbr=&lastV iew=default&lastGroup=1
&lastRegion=1045&lastFilter=4&lastShapeName=&track Type=&curRegionID=1045&
size=&habitat=&fruit=&color=&sortBy=family&curFami lyID=204&regionSelect=9
5436&regionZIP=95436&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&cur PageNum=2

Surprised to see a jay hassling a crow that was easily twice his size.

--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

Billy wrote:
....
Surprised to see a jay hassling a crow that was easily twice his size.

it is very common to watch much smaller birds
harrassing larger hawks and crows in flight.
being more agile the smaller birds really can
do a great job at not much risk to themselves.

my nature moment today was going outside and
finding parts of "something" on the front porch
steps. i think it was parts of a rabbit, but
i'm not sure. i wasn't about to dissect them.
buried what was left near a plant. probably
parts of a meal from a hawk or eagle, but such
a strange place to find them (no real perch or
overhang there). perhaps they were dropped in
transit...


songbird

In article ,
says...


Surprised to see a jay hassling a crow that was easily twice his size.

I've seen solo sparrows chasing crows, owls and hawks across the sky.

In the latter two cases, it looked like a a single spitfire chasing a
zeppelin.

Once I saw crows mobbing a Cooper's hawk (hunts birds on the wing) and
it kept twisting in flight to try to snag a crow.

In article ,
songbird wrote:

Billy wrote:
...
Surprised to see a jay hassling a crow that was easily twice his size.

it is very common to watch much smaller birds
harrassing larger hawks and crows in flight.
being more agile the smaller birds really can
do a great job at not much risk to themselves.

my nature moment today was going outside and
finding parts of "something" on the front porch
steps. i think it was parts of a rabbit, but
i'm not sure. i wasn't about to dissect them.
buried what was left near a plant. probably
parts of a meal from a hawk or eagle, but such
a strange place to find them (no real perch or
overhang there). perhaps they were dropped in
transit...


songbird

My only previous observation of avian Davids, & Goliaths was contention
between two roosters. It ended poorly for the bantam.

--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

In article ,
phorbin wrote:

In article ,
says...


Surprised to see a jay hassling a crow that was easily twice his size.

I've seen solo sparrows chasing crows, owls and hawks across the sky.

In the latter two cases, it looked like a a single spitfire chasing a
zeppelin.

Once I saw crows mobbing a Cooper's hawk (hunts birds on the wing) and
it kept twisting in flight to try to snag a crow.

We were also visited by a large bird (at least three foot wing span) and
ALL the birds disappeared. I rarely see large birds under the canopy. I
try to encourage songbirds, and I use eNature to try to identify them.
http://www.enature.com/birding/

--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

Billy wrote:
....
We were also visited by a large bird (at least three foot wing span) and
ALL the birds disappeared. I rarely see large birds under the canopy. I
try to encourage songbirds, and I use eNature to try to identify them.
http://www.enature.com/birding/

there was a great program on Nature a few weeks
ago about woodland/rainforest eagles. very impressive
birds that actively prey on monkeys. gives the old
spine a shiver...


songbird

On Friday, May 10, 2013 7:45:19 PM UTC-6, songbird wrote:
Billy wrote:

...

We were also visited by a large bird (at least three foot wing span) and

ALL the birds disappeared. I rarely see large birds under the canopy. I

try to encourage songbirds, and I use eNature to try to identify them.

http://www.enature.com/birding/



there was a great program on Nature a few weeks

ago about woodland/rainforest eagles. very impressive

birds that actively prey on monkeys. gives the old

spine a shiver...

songbird

I suppose it would depend on how far one had descended down the family
tree as to the danger involved.

Billy wrote:
In article ,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
Billy wrote:

We mostly have Stellar Jays, and Chickadees here on the edge of the
redwoods. The closest we have to a year round songbird is the Pileated
Woodpecker. At least the Pileated Woodpecker sounds exotic. Some call
the Stellar Jay a songbird, but not to my ears.In the spring, we do get
some songbirds as they migrate to where ever it is that they are going.
Our best are the Western Kingbird, American Robin, Vesper Sparrow. The
forests in Europe are full of song birds, but we're lucky to get a few
chirps out of the Chicadees for most of the year. Maybe if we gave them
bird houses, with a yearly cleanings, as they do in the Blackforest, we
would have more songbirds.


If we go out, into the pasture lands, there are the occasional meadow
larks, who always please. Where ever there is standing, or slow moving
water, you'll find ducks, Pelicans, and Egrets. Where ever you find
ducks, you'll find Coots aka Mud-hens. At night, if you're lucky, there
are barn owls, which are guaranteed to scare the poo right out of you.
They are big birds with big bills, and big claws. This time of year we
also get slimed by those beautiful Canadian Geese, as they wander back
home.

In the non-songbird category we have either the Rufous, or
Black-chinned Hummingbird (or both), and the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.
The Hummingbirds are here pretty much year round. Last night I thought
we were being attacked by a giant bumble bee as we ate outside, but it
was just a hummingbird working the Chinese lanterns, one last time
before dark.

You can add Black-headed Grosbeak to my list. A pair have moved into our
hedge.
http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/d...id=&searchText
=&allSpecies=y&shapeID=0&lshapeID=0&curAbbr=&lastV iew=default&lastGroup=1
&lastRegion=1045&lastFilter=4&lastShapeName=&track Type=&curRegionID=1045&
size=&habitat=&fruit=&color=&sortBy=family&curFami lyID=204&regionSelect=9
5436&regionZIP=95436&curGroupID=1&lgfromWhere=&cur PageNum=2

Surprised to see a jay hassling a crow that was easily twice his size.


Today was my first sight of that large woodpecker. Startling. I'm used to
seeing small ones.

Last week mockingbird making calls after midnight. Ok, there is a
streetlight down the street.

Greg

In article ,
Roy wrote:

On Friday, May 10, 2013 7:45:19 PM UTC-6, songbird wrote:
Billy wrote:

...

We were also visited by a large bird (at least three foot wing span) and

ALL the birds disappeared. I rarely see large birds under the canopy. I

try to encourage songbirds, and I use eNature to try to identify them.

http://www.enature.com/birding/



there was a great program on Nature a few weeks

ago about woodland/rainforest eagles. very impressive

birds that actively prey on monkeys. gives the old

spine a shiver...

songbird

I suppose it would depend on how far one had descended down the family
tree as to the danger involved.

It's not a straight line, Roy.

--
Remember Rachel Corrie
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/

Welcome to the New America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hA736oK9FPg

On 4/30/2013 3:37 PM, songbird wrote:

the bird that consistently makes me laugh is the
catbird, it is a medium sized bird (about 7-9 inches
long), fairly plump, grays and blacks, but with a
bit of a black cap on top of the head. what is so
funny is the calls, it usually just rambles on and
on, but it repeats things twice, but it has a wide
variety of calls. you never quite know what is
going to come next. then the feature of the bird
and why it is called a cat bird is because it makes
a call that sounds like a cat meow.


It's funny how for so long I thought that the squirrels' "bark" (alarm
call) were coming from birds. (Same w/chipmunks come to I think of it)
We have lots of squirrels here and they often raise a stink; my son & I
mock & laugh at them. But then I realized here recently they really were
sounding more like birds, and sure enough it was a catbird, imitating a
squirrel "bark." Strangely, I haven't heard any of them "meow" in a very
long time. Guess there aren't many cats around to listen to? But there
are plenty of other birds they imitate. The males with the biggest
repertoires get the females, so for them it's the more the merrier.

it has taken
up it's favorite spot at the top of the larger dead
tree where it can see all that is going on.

"Sittin' in the catbird seat," as I used to say when my little niece
used to ride on my dad's shoulders. Best place there was to be

in
past years the grackles were so numerous as to keep
many of the smaller birds away. the past few years
i have been moving the grackles along with the air
rifle and the variety of birds overall has greatly
increased.

Nelly W wrote:
songbird wrote:

the bird that consistently makes me laugh is the
catbird, it is a medium sized bird (about 7-9 inches
long), fairly plump, grays and blacks, but with a
bit of a black cap on top of the head. what is so
funny is the calls, it usually just rambles on and
on, but it repeats things twice, but it has a wide
variety of calls. you never quite know what is
going to come next. then the feature of the bird
and why it is called a cat bird is because it makes
a call that sounds like a cat meow.


It's funny how for so long I thought that the squirrels' "bark" (alarm
call) were coming from birds. (Same w/chipmunks come to I think of it)
We have lots of squirrels here and they often raise a stink; my son & I
mock & laugh at them. But then I realized here recently they really were
sounding more like birds, and sure enough it was a catbird, imitating a
squirrel "bark." Strangely, I haven't heard any of them "meow" in a very
long time. Guess there aren't many cats around to listen to? But there
are plenty of other birds they imitate. The males with the biggest
repertoires get the females, so for them it's the more the merrier.

they are still out there in the north hedge.
once in a while i see them poking around on the
ground in the gardens.


it has taken
up it's favorite spot at the top of the larger dead
tree where it can see all that is going on.

"Sittin' in the catbird seat," as I used to say when my little niece
used to ride on my dad's shoulders. Best place there was to be

ah, now that expression clicks with my
memory of someone else saying that too, quite
some time ago. good phrase.

today i've caught one glimpse of a bright red
bird that is not a cardinal, i'm hoping it's a
scarlett tanager, but until i get a better look
at it i can't give a positive id.


songbird