Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
cat daddy
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

I did a quick glance at a website that said Whoopers are the only big
birds that fly with their necks straight and these had straight necks.
Another one said the first sighting in Aransas Pass occurred on the 25th,
with a census count of two Whoopers. If about 50 show up in the next couple
of days, I'll claim they are my Whoopers.......... }:-)

"animaux" wrote in message
...
Cranes or pelicans, but both are an amazing sight.


On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 14:19:09 -0600, "cat daddy"

wrote:

I was at the dogpark at Riverside yesterday and saw flock of what
appeared to be Whooping Cranes in low flight headed south. It was late in
the afternoon and I would have thought they might be settling for the

night,
but they looked to be forming up after a rest and then flew off down I-35

in
V-formation. Pretty cool.

"Robbin" wrote in message
...
I noticed white-wing doves gathered in large groups yesterday. I think

they
are likewise ready to head south.


"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
Black vultures and Turkey Vultures are "kettling" along the Loop 360
corridor and are heading south. There are a few hawks mixed in as
well as a pair of Osprey. There are still a dozen or so perched in
trees near my home waiting for the thermals along the north face of
the Barton Creek valley to strenghen.

At least they appear to be taking the approaching cold front
seriously.

Rusty Mase






  #2   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
Briana Miriani
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

I saw a hummingbird Monday--I went out my back door and he was right
there at some of my Cardinal Climber vine that crept up the railing to
the back stairs. I think we both scared each other but he just flew over
to the main vines on the fence and continued eating.
The foilage on those vines looks bad now and I had thought about taking
them out but they're still putting out flowers so I left them--I guess
at least one bird is still using them although maybe he should have been
on his way out of town by now?


animaux wrote:
On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 14:34:08 -0600, Rusty Mase wrote:


Yes, there are some birds, like these, that have a permanent resident
component and a migratory component. Others are variations of true
permanent residents or true migratory birds.



I also think naturalistically, Austin and surrounding areas are a part of a very
large corridor. A corridor which has animals who only live in the corridor.
Some live within and can go to either side of the corridor, but this is still
pretty untouched around here. Still large hay fields and farms.



I have not seen a hummingbird for several weeks now. And maybe we
will be lucky and the grackles will all migrate to Mexico and forget
how to get back.

Rusty Mase



Me neither. I saw one hummer about 3 weeks ago sopping up my S.mexicana and
tithonia, etc. We had more hummers this year than any other year. I hope they
made it down to Mexico through that hurricane.

As for grackles, they were coming here to my large live oaks during the day.
Boy are they noisy and did they get grackle spackle all over the place. The
weather changed and they've not been back, but I did see a HUGE flock of them
today on the road. I thought they were bats at first. That's a sign they are
on their way off. Bye to them. Poor Benihanna's (sp?)


  #3   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
Texensis
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving


"Briana Miriani" wrote in
message
kerage.com...
| I saw a hummingbird Monday--I went out my back door and he was right
| there at some of my Cardinal Climber vine that crept up the railing
to
| the back stairs. I think we both scared each other but he just flew
over
| to the main vines on the fence and continued eating.
| The foilage on those vines looks bad now and I had thought about
taking
| them out but they're still putting out flowers so I left them--I
guess
| at least one bird is still using them although maybe he should have
been
| on his way out of town by now?
|
That's how ours look right now, also--just putting out a new flush of
flowers, even though the leaves look bad. Now that it's cooler, we're
also getting clockvine/Thunbergia flowers again.


  #4   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
d.tilson
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

cat daddy wrote:

I did a quick glance at a website that said Whoopers are the only big
birds that fly with their necks straight and these had straight necks.
Another one said the first sighting in Aransas Pass occurred on the 25th,
with a census count of two Whoopers. If about 50 show up in the next couple
of days, I'll claim they are my Whoopers.......... }:-)


Not saying they *weren't* whoopers, but we do get a lot of sandhill
cranes through here, too. A lot of people mistake them for whoopers.

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/fram...es/h2060p3.jpg

Dale
  #5   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
Leona Henderson
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving



Rusty Mase wrote:

On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 16:50:57 GMT, animaux
wrote:


I have not seen a hummingbird for several weeks now. And maybe we
will be lucky and the grackles will all migrate to Mexico and forget
how to get back.

Rusty Mase


Haven't seen hummerw for two days now here in NE texas zone 7 but am wondering about the black
birds and Grackles. They were thick as theives this time last year and have not come in yet although
I did hear a crow calling day before yesterday. Haven't seen one yet. Wondering if WNV is effecting
them. We do have infected birds in Lamar County.
--
nTX USDA Z 7B
Leona
Non Commercial site http://www.geocities.com/tvksi/index.htm


  #6   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
cat daddy
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving


"d.tilson" wrote in message
...
cat daddy wrote:

I did a quick glance at a website that said Whoopers are the only big
birds that fly with their necks straight and these had straight necks.
Another one said the first sighting in Aransas Pass occurred on the

25th,
with a census count of two Whoopers. If about 50 show up in the next

couple
of days, I'll claim they are my Whoopers.......... }:-)


Not saying they *weren't* whoopers, but we do get a lot of sandhill
cranes through here, too. A lot of people mistake them for whoopers.

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/fram...es/h2060p3.jpg


Hmm, the straight neck theory sure seems to have been shot down by that
photo............ However, these guys were white, not grey, although the
black wingtips weren't as dramatic as the photos I found. Thanks for the
picture.


  #7   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
jOhN
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

I've been unsure of the temperature warnings regarding hummingbirds ever
since we went to New Mexico and saw about a million of them hanging out in
the mountains where it got in the 30-40F range every night. Anyone shed some
light on this?

"Briana Miriani" wrote in
message kerage.com...
I saw a hummingbird Monday--I went out my back door and he was right
there at some of my Cardinal Climber vine that crept up the railing to
the back stairs. I think we both scared each other but he just flew over
to the main vines on the fence and continued eating.
The foilage on those vines looks bad now and I had thought about taking
them out but they're still putting out flowers so I left them--I guess
at least one bird is still using them although maybe he should have been
on his way out of town by now?


animaux wrote:
On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 14:34:08 -0600, Rusty Mase

wrote:


Yes, there are some birds, like these, that have a permanent resident
component and a migratory component. Others are variations of true
permanent residents or true migratory birds.



I also think naturalistically, Austin and surrounding areas are a part

of a very
large corridor. A corridor which has animals who only live in the

corridor.
Some live within and can go to either side of the corridor, but this is

still
pretty untouched around here. Still large hay fields and farms.



I have not seen a hummingbird for several weeks now. And maybe we
will be lucky and the grackles will all migrate to Mexico and forget
how to get back.

Rusty Mase



Me neither. I saw one hummer about 3 weeks ago sopping up my S.mexicana

and
tithonia, etc. We had more hummers this year than any other year. I

hope they
made it down to Mexico through that hurricane.

As for grackles, they were coming here to my large live oaks during the

day.
Boy are they noisy and did they get grackle spackle all over the place.

The
weather changed and they've not been back, but I did see a HUGE flock of

them
today on the road. I thought they were bats at first. That's a sign

they are
on their way off. Bye to them. Poor Benihanna's (sp?)




  #8   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
animaux
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

Yes, it 's one of the things I love most about this part of the states. It's a
rich migratory path for most all birds, one or another. The hummer you saw may
have been an immature male. Sometimes they stagger behind by several weeks or
so.

Either way, my garden is still teaming with nectars and the monarchs and red
admirals are covering the landscape.

victoria

On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 11:42:48 -0600, "John T. Jarrett" wrote:

Saw the first hummingbird in weeks just pulled up outside my window. Skinny
thing, mostly light brown...hadn't seen one like it before. And a dove on
the back fence yesterday...they must have been running ahead of this front
we got today!

Y'all were speaking of this area being a corridor. If you look at flight
patterns, almost every single bird between Toronto and Maine will have to
fly between us and New Orleans.

I built a small wetland at Galveston for the Houston Audubon Society for the
birds that fly over Houston. With all the farming in that rich coastal land,
most of the fresh water has been filled in. These poor birds, haggard as all
get out, fly from Mexico ACROSS that corner of the Gulf, and hit dry land
with no clean water in sight with heavy salt encrusted feathers. Mind you
most of them haven't slept in a long time at this point either! They loved
that fresh water so close to the ocean.

Anyway, we really do form a pretty important part of the migrating corridor!

May your pumpkins survive the night!

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com


  #9   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
animaux
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 12:19:41 -0600, Rusty Mase wrote:

On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 17:55:41 GMT, Karen Kay wrote:

Where can I find information on flight patterns of birds?


Karen, this pertains only to seasonal presence, but most of the bird
ID books like Peterson's "Field Guide to the Birds of Texas" provide
some info on this and some years back one book, "A Bird Finding and
Naturalist's Guide for the Austin, Texas, Area" provided a very
convenient chart. Travis Audubon Society published that.

Rusty


Also, I would suggest you (Karen) look into actually taking the Master
Naturalist certificate program. Kelly Bender (did I get that last name right?)
from Texas Parks and Wildlife runs the program, or she did when I went through
it. The amount of wonderful information about Texas is astounding.

V
  #10   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
Karen Kay
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

animaux wrote in
:
Also, I would suggest you (Karen) look into actually taking the
Master Naturalist certificate program. Kelly Bender (did I get
that last name right?) from Texas Parks and Wildlife runs the
program, or she did when I went through it. The amount of
wonderful information about Texas is astounding.


Thanks, Victoria. I'd like to, but I have to find a job, first. I
haven't worked for over a year.
--
Karen


  #11   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
Texensis
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving


"Terry Horton" wrote in message
...
| On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 12:19:41 -0600, Rusty Mase
| wrote:
|
| On Thu, 31 Oct 2002 17:55:41 GMT, Karen Kay wrote:
|
| Where can I find information on flight patterns of birds?
|
| Karen, this pertains only to seasonal presence, but most of the
bird
| ID books like Peterson's "Field Guide to the Birds of Texas"
provide
| some info on this and some years back one book, "A Bird Finding and
| Naturalist's Guide for the Austin, Texas, Area" provided a very
| convenient chart. Travis Audubon Society published that.
|
| Wish there were something like this for bird calls. We occasionally
| hear unusual birds that are too far back in the woods to hope to
see.
| There's fresh water down there for them all year 'round, and shelter
| and food from the woods and stream. One lonesome sounding visitor I
| think comes back here every year.
|
snip

A quick Google on "recorded bird calls resulted in:
http://www.naturesongs.com/pass.html

There are others of course--Cornell Ornithological Laboratories used
to have vinyl recordings.
At lease some of the above recordings are made in Texas.


  #12   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
John T. Jarrett
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving

Saw the first hummingbird in weeks just pulled up outside my window. Skinny
thing, mostly light brown...hadn't seen one like it before. And a dove on
the back fence yesterday...they must have been running ahead of this front
we got today!

Y'all were speaking of this area being a corridor. If you look at flight
patterns, almost every single bird between Toronto and Maine will have to
fly between us and New Orleans.

I built a small wetland at Galveston for the Houston Audubon Society for the
birds that fly over Houston. With all the farming in that rich coastal land,
most of the fresh water has been filled in. These poor birds, haggard as all
get out, fly from Mexico ACROSS that corner of the Gulf, and hit dry land
with no clean water in sight with heavy salt encrusted feathers. Mind you
most of them haven't slept in a long time at this point either! They loved
that fresh water so close to the ocean.

Anyway, we really do form a pretty important part of the migrating corridor!

May your pumpkins survive the night!

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"Robbin" wrote in message
...
I noticed white-wing doves gathered in large groups yesterday. I think

they
are likewise ready to head south.


"Rusty Mase" wrote in message
...
Black vultures and Turkey Vultures are "kettling" along the Loop 360
corridor and are heading south. There are a few hawks mixed in as
well as a pair of Osprey. There are still a dozen or so perched in
trees near my home waiting for the thermals along the north face of
the Barton Creek valley to strenghen.

At least they appear to be taking the approaching cold front
seriously.

Rusty Mase





  #13   Report Post  
Old 05-04-2003, 12:09 PM
cat daddy
 
Posts: n/a
Default Buzzards are Leaving


"animaux" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 30 Oct 2002 17:50:41 -0600, "cat daddy"

wrote:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/fram...es/h2060p3.jpg


Hmm, the straight neck theory sure seems to have been shot down by

that
photo............ However, these guys were white, not grey, although the
black wingtips weren't as dramatic as the photos I found. Thanks for the
picture.


Pelicans also fly with straight necks. Cranes make a honking noise, much

like
geese, but prettier. They fly very, very high up. Not to high to see

with the
naked eye, but to really identify them you'd need binoculars. Pelicans

swoop
around and around in formation. There are so few Whooping Cranes left

it's
scary.


Upon further research, it was unlikely they were Whoopers. One site
mentioned they don't fly in such large groups. The good news is this article
reports 190 cranes are expected in the migration this year, up from 174
reported in a census last year.
All in all it was pretty neat, no matter which species. I live near
Longhorn dam and take my Labrador, Caitlin, wading in the Colorado when the
level is down. The herons, egrets and other waterbirds make it pretty
special there and it's easy to forget one is in the city.

http://www.poncacitynews.com/cgi-bin/LiveIQue.acgi$rec=34239?Local_Sports
"Whooping Cranes typically migrate during the day in small groups of two to
six birds and will occasionally join groups of migrating sandhill cranes,"

http://www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/whopcran.html
"The whooping crane is the only large white bird with black wingtips that
flies with its neck straight out in front, the legs trailing far behind."


Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Leaving off hte lights Stuart Mueller Freshwater Aquaria Plants 4 23-04-2011 04:29 PM
Jackdaws to Buzzards Kate Morgan United Kingdom 20 29-11-2005 12:40 PM
Moving and leaving ponds with fish! Suggestions for new joe Ponds 2 16-05-2004 07:06 AM
Something leaving 1 - 2" bare trails in grass - what is it? Pelvis Popcan Gardening 3 21-08-2003 02:42 PM
Leaving my algae in the dark James Williams Freshwater Aquaria Plants 8 24-07-2003 02:23 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:34 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 GardenBanter.co.uk.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Gardening"

 

Copyright © 2017