Backyard Birds

[JanS]

I took a few pics yesterday and have some others I've posted before. I'd love to see everyone else's pics too so post them up!

Purple Finches.
Sitting in a tree in the morning waiting for me to fill the feeder.


And there's food!










And a Chickadee.

 

[kashi]

I always wondered if a chickadee was a real bird. Now I know.

 

[Ingrid H]

I always wondered if a chickadee was a real bird. Now I know.

Yup The chickadee is the State Bird of my state (Maine). I believe the bird's name comes from the sound of its call.

 

[Gelcoater]

Well,I have no pics to share.
I heard before and was mentioned on the radio today up in our local mountains in the tall pines around Big Bear lake we have a population of Bald Eagles nesting as they do yearly during their migration.
It gets a bit cold up there but not nearly as cold as the northern latitudes they came from.
A nice winter spot,trout fishing is easy for them there as the lake doesn't usually totally freeze.
Add a large duck and water fowl population to feed from and it's an Eagle paradise.

 

[JanS]

It's funny the bald Eagles have such a wide range in the winter. Many of them stick around here too all winter. I can always spot them when there's road kill.

 

[Rex's mom]

We have a large Bald Eagle population that stays here throughout the winter. We have two large rivers, one on either side of our town so there's always lots to eat. They're so beautiful.

 

[Gelcoater]

It's funny the bald Eagles have such a wide range in the winter. Many of them stick around here too all winter. I can always spot them when there's road kill.

Actually,reading a bit more on it last night.
Apparently we have a couple that have decided this is home.They also had their first hatchling up there in more than 40 years.
Reading further it's not just Bear lake,but pretty much all lakes in so Cal as a winter spot,Arrowhead lake,Baldwin,Elsinore,Peris,and Mathews.Mathews is my own back(front) yard,can see a bit of the dam from my front door.
In addition,Twin Harbors,the less populated harbor of Catalina Island 25ish miles off shore of the state has a population as well.
It's great to see these birds numbers on the rise and no longer endangered.

 

[Gelcoater]

There's the lil guy sitting by mama.

 

[Dobie Wan Knobie]

We have Bald Eagels here in AR for the winter months. When I lived on the farm you could see them in the trees waiting for for the cows to have their babies. They love to feed on the afterbirth - lots of rich nutrients in that mess.

 

[JanS]

There's the lil guy sitting by mama.

Aww that's cute!

Here are a couple pics I took last year.




We have quite a few Great Grey owls around too.


A baby in his nest.

 

[Gelcoater]

Aww that's cute!

Here are a couple pics I took last year.
View attachment 39146

View attachment 39147

We have quite a few Great Grey owls around too.
View attachment 39148

A baby in his nest.
View attachment 39149

Nice!
We have those big grey owls here as well,noisy lil suckers.Especially when they perch on top of the chimney and start their mating calls
When it gets cold in the mountains and or the snow level drops low we get refugees here in winter,woodpeckers,blue Jays to name but a couple.
Lived in this house for 16-17 years now.We didn't ever used to see them except cold of winter,the last couple of years I have noticed they stick around all year.The wood peckers stuck first,strange sound it is a woodpecker banging on a palm tree
The Jays,starting to see a bit more now too,also noisy lil suckers.
What I find interesting is the bird population is going up while the coyote population is going down.
Next to never see them roaming anymore.We can hear them off in the distance still,but not as frequent as before.
Used to be we'd see one or two on the street every other week but I haven't seen one in a long time.Their territory has remained pretty much untouched since the economy tanked so I know it's not encroachment.

 

[Cariboo Country]

I finally got my bird feeders placed so the squirrel cannot get into them. Have lots of little birds come around and three different sized Woodpeckers including one big Red Headed one. Usually there are two of them around that stay all summer, probably nest somewhere close. The Woodpeckers were forever pecking on the phone wires and I would lose service so switched to Shaw so have had no more problems.
Last winter I had an awful time with the deer coming in and eating at the feeders but no problem so far this winter.

 

[JanS]

Nice setup! Squirrels are indeed annoying when they won't stay away from the feeders. We used to go through about 50# sunflower seed in a couple days when we had the feeders low enough for the deer to stand on their hind legs and eat from them, but now that they're hanging off our tall deck it's not a problem.

We have a ton of different woodpeckers who nest here and I love it because they always bring their babies to the feeders to feed them and teach them to eat.

 

[Dobie Wan Knobie]

Here is a story I did on a couple of crazy birds back in 2012. This was when I lived on the farm...

 

[JanS]

Here is a story I did on a couple of crazy birds back in 2012.

Very cool! It's nice to put a voice to a face and name too. I know you said you don't know what they were, but perhaps @obbanner might know. To me perhaps they look like some sort of Lorikeet.

 

[Gelcoater]

Dang it!
Photo op missed.
Pulling into the driveway what do I see?
A roadrunner looking at me.
Those birds are just cool with a touch of creepy.
Cool because their antics are legendary,real clowns.
Creepy because they are a rather tall bird up close,probably 17-20 inches tall,and very much resemble a small feathered dinosaur.
Their beak is pointed and probably 3-4 inches long.They,if pissed off and cornered could probably tune a person up pretty good.

 

[Gelcoater]

Oh,I forgot.When they feel intimidated their crown feathers stand up like a cockatoo,making them look even taller.

 

[JanS]

A roadrunner looking at me.
Those birds are just cool with a touch of creepy.
Cool because their antics are legendary,real clowns.
Creepy because they are a rather tall bird up close,probably 17-20 inches tall,and very much resemble a small feathered dinosaur.
Their beak is pointed and probably 3-4 inches long.They,if pissed off and cornered could probably tune a person up pretty good.

Another reason I need to come and visit one day. I've never seen one in person, but it's been a dream since I was a kid and watched the Road Runner commercials.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Dang it!
Photo op missed.
Pulling into the driveway what do I see?
A roadrunner looking at me.
Those birds are just cool with a touch of creepy.
Cool because their antics are legendary,real clowns.
Creepy because they are a rather tall bird up close,probably 17-20 inches tall,and very much resemble a small feathered dinosaur.
Their beak is pointed and probably 3-4 inches long.They,if pissed off and cornered could probably tune a person up pretty good.[/QUOTE

Another reason I need to come and visit one day. I've never seen one in person, but it's been a dream since I was a kid and watched the Road Runner commercials.

Dang it!
Photo op missed.
Pulling into the driveway what do I see?
A roadrunner looking at me.
Those birds are just cool with a touch of creepy.
Cool because their antics are legendary,real clowns.
Creepy because they are a rather tall bird up close,probably 17-20 inches tall,and very much resemble a small feathered dinosaur.
Their beak is pointed and probably 3-4 inches long.They,if pissed off and cornered could probably tune a person up pretty good.

You saw a big one, sounds like. Used to love seeing those in Tucson. Then, one time my wife and I were having lunch on a patio in Tubac and a small one was walking around the patio area. Of course you know, they do fly. When they cross the road, they start walking faster as your car approaches, then they run, then fly with a few seconds to spare.

 

[Oh Little Oji]

Well, I didn't do that right. Let me paste in my reply, 'cause it's so interesting:

You saw a big one, sounds like. Used to love seeing those in Tucson. Then, one time my wife and I were having lunch on a patio in Tubac and a small one was walking around the patio area. Of course you know, they do fly. When they cross the road, they start walking faster as your car approaches, then they run, then fly with a few seconds to spare.