Forum Birdwatching 2012 - Page 4

dasmiller · 23rd May 2012, 07:47 AM

Originally Posted by Kotatsu

Enormously jealous. I have wanted to see this species for years, but I've never had the opportunity to be in the area where it lives...

I'm not positive that it was a Heermann's. It was an unusually dark gull, but I couldn't get near it; the pictures I took were backlit so it's hard to judge the beak colors. Going through Sibley's, the Heermann's gull looked like the most likely match, and I am in their range, so I can make a decent case for it, but I can't be certain like I am for most of the others.

Mr Clingford · 27th May 2012, 11:39 AM

Here's a picture of some Mute Swan cygnets seen today in Hampshire, UK

Zax63 · 28th May 2012, 12:34 PM

I don't really know anything about birds but I just set up an automatic bird camera in my backyard yesterday and had a couple of decent pics this morning. I'd never spotted one of these in the neighborhood. Is that a cardinal? I'm used to them being redder and having the pointy crest. Maybe this is a female?

Here is the feeder/camera setup.

dasmiller · 28th May 2012, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by Zax63

I don't really know anything about birds but I just set up an automatic bird camera in my backyard yesterday and had a couple of decent pics this morning. I'd never spotted one of these in the neighborhood. Is that a cardinal? I'm used to them being redder and having the pointy crest.

It sure looks like a cardinal to me. The wings and back are often a bit more drab than the front. I think the crest is merely folded down

Quote:

Maybe this is a female?

No, this is a male. The females are mostly brown.

jasonpatterson · 28th May 2012, 03:33 PM

He is molting on his head as well, which might be part of why his crest isn't so cresty. At least he isn't one of the ones whose head feathers all drop at once (or one with mites), leaving a disgusting, vulture-looking songbird. With a sunflower seed feeder, you'll be seeing him plenty.

dasmiller · 28th May 2012, 04:19 PM

Originally Posted by jasonpatterson

He is molting on his head as well, which might be part of why his crest isn't so cresty. At least he isn't one of the ones whose head feathers all drop at once (or one with mites), leaving a disgusting, vulture-looking songbird.

Like these?

Taken a few years ago in Ohio. It seemed like all the cardinals in the area were affected. Fortunately, the population seems to have recovered.

jasonpatterson · 28th May 2012, 05:38 PM

Yep. Apparently it can be caused either by mites or by genetics. There are some birds that lose all of their head feathers at one time when they molt and others who lose them gradually. I can see how losing them all might help with parasites, since they can effectively preen the rest of their bodies, losing all of their head feathers might be advantageous in that it periodically removes the last place feather mites can live. Apparently blue jays get this as well, but the color difference for cardinals is striking. They're like Skeksis.

Zax63 · 28th May 2012, 06:36 PM

Thanks for the info, people. Very interesting.
I've been second guessing myself on the sunflower seeds. Would I get a wider variety of birds with a mixed bird seed? LOL, I guess I could give it more than one day.

dasmiller · 28th May 2012, 07:30 PM

Originally Posted by Zax63

Thanks for the info, people. Very interesting.
I've been second guessing myself on the sunflower seeds. Would I get a wider variety of birds with a mixed bird seed? LOL, I guess I could give it more than one day.

You'll probably get a better variety with mixed seed, yes.

Another possibility is suet. My mother lives in Ohio, so she probably has about the same backyard birds as you, and the she puts out both mixed seed and suet. The suet attracts very different birds, including nuthatches and woodpeckers. I grew up there and didn't know those birds were around until I saw them going for the suet.

May also depend on how much you want to spend on the neighborhood birds.

GeeMack · 28th May 2012, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by dasmiller

Like these?
http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...G_1874crop.jpg

Taken a few years ago in Ohio. It seemed like all the cardinals in the area were affected. Fortunately, the population seems to have recovered.

I have a pair that come to my feeder that look like that. The female has just a couple of her crest feathers. Looks like a little plume hat.

jasonpatterson · 28th May 2012, 09:07 PM

Nuthatches will go for sunflower seeds too. The main problem with going for mixed seed is that you'll wind up getting swarmed by house sparrows along with the birds you'd actually like to see. At least that has been my experience. You will get a wider variety of birds with a wider variety of food for sure though. I get a lot of woodpeckers eating the peanuts out of the mix that I use.

jasonpatterson · 30th May 2012, 11:19 AM

I got to go birdwatching for the first time in about a month. I managed to miss the vast majority of the migration season, but still got to see a few warblers around today.

The high point was watching a pair of tree swallows play with a feather. One would carry a piece of fuzz up about 30 feet, then drop it. It would float down toward the water's surface, then at the very last second the other swallow would swoop in and snatch it out of the air. This went on for a good 10 minutes before one of them let it hit the water and the game ended. I've never seen small wild birds play like that. If it had been crows or someone's parrot maybe, but swallows?

dasmiller · 30th May 2012, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by jasonpatterson

The main problem with going for mixed seed is that you'll wind up getting swarmed by house sparrows along with the birds you'd actually like to see. At least that has been my experience.

Yeah, that's my experience too. ~95% of the birds that I get with mixed seed are English sparrows, house finches, or rock doves. And of those, the sparrows and doves aren't even native species.

Aside from those 3 species, I get the occasional scrub jay, white-crowned sparrow, or other varieties of dove/pigeon. I sometimes see other species in my yard (mockingbirds, black phoebes, crows, starlings, blue-gray gnatcatchers, hummingbirds, and that sharp-shinned hawk. Once I saw a parakeet. Seagulls frequently fly over, but never land) but they don't seem interested in the feeder.

GeeMack · 30th May 2012, 03:56 PM

Killdeer, central Illinois, USA...

Just because I got a pretty decent photo a couple days ago.

Zax63 · 30th May 2012, 05:36 PM

A couple of different birds caught on the camera. Let's see if my ID's, using the Birds Of Pennsylvania Field Guide by Stan Tekiela, are correct.

Male & female House Finch?

Male House Sparrow?

Whatever they are they emptied the feeder today.

Anyone interested in seeing the highlights of the birdcam is welcome to visit my Birdcam Photobucket Album.

jasonpatterson · 30th May 2012, 06:52 PM

Spot on. Your second picture on page 2 is worth taking a look at as well. You've got a bunch of juvenile house sparrows there. You can see that at least one of them is taking its own seed, but it also looks like one is peeping to be fed still. The parents pick up the seed and stick it into the baby's mouth, even though it's perfectly capable of doing the job itself. I always find that amusing when I see it.

Glad to see that you're enjoying it.

ETA: Other birds you might keep an eye out for, especially on the ground under the feeder, are mourning doves, blue jays, cowbirds, starlings, and grackles. The smaller birds often dig out a bunch of seeds then the larger birds wind up cleaning up their mess below.

I Ratant · 5th June 2012, 11:54 AM

Walking down the street today, I got "swooshed" by a couple of ravens, making a lot of noise!
Looking around I saw a juvenile in a pine tree..apparently on its first trip away from the nest.
The older birds were quite agitated, one was tearing the ends off the branch it was sitting on, and tossing them at me.
One actually hit me!

I'd seen the same behavior a year ago, but the close passes overhead from behind were new.

I Ratant · 5th June 2012, 05:28 PM

The adult birds are not flying aggressively now, but when I walk near the tree where the juvenile is, the adults fly in from someplace and watch me.

Humanzee · 5th June 2012, 09:03 PM

A Virginia Rail came out of the grass during my walk Sunday at Tualatin NWR in Sherwood Oregon. Stood around just long enough for me to snap this.

Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)

dasmiller · 5th June 2012, 09:36 PM

Originally Posted by Humanzee

A Virginia Rail came out of the grass during my walk Sunday at Tualatin NWR in Sherwood Oregon. Stood around just long enough for me to snap this.

http://forums.randi.org/picture.php?...pictureid=6193
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)

Neat!

Humanzee · 5th June 2012, 11:24 PM

Originally Posted by I Ratant

Walking down the street today, I got "swooshed" by a couple of ravens, making a lot of noise!
Looking around I saw a juvenile in a pine tree..apparently on its first trip away from the nest.
The older birds were quite agitated, one was tearing the ends off the branch it was sitting on, and tossing them at me.
One actually hit me!

I'd seen the same behavior a year ago, but the close passes overhead from behind were new.

Very interesting. That's got me looking through Raven behavior links. Thanks!

Humanzee · 5th June 2012, 11:27 PM

Also spotted this pair of (I think) young Mourning Doves in, what seems to me, a very small nest.

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) Tualatin NWR, Sherwood OR

Humanzee · 5th June 2012, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by dasmiller

Neat!

I have been looking all year with no luck then one just walks out of the grass right in front of me. I agree, neat!

GeeMack · 6th June 2012, 05:27 AM

Originally Posted by Humanzee

A Virginia Rail came out of the grass during my walk Sunday at Tualatin NWR in Sherwood Oregon. Stood around just long enough for me to snap this.

http://forums.randi.org/picture.php?...pictureid=6193
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)

Nice. I've never seen a Virginia Rail, but I have seen a Sora Rail. Love those oversize feet!

GeeMack · 6th June 2012, 05:36 AM

Yesterday we had the good fortune to spot this Little Green Heron...

ETA: Central Illinois, USA.

dasmiller · 6th June 2012, 05:42 AM

Originally Posted by GeeMack

Nice. I've never seen a Virginia Rail, but I have seen a Sora Rail. Love those oversize feet!

I've only seen one sora live, in the wild. I had no idea what it was at the time, but manged to get a couple of pictures and then figured it out later. I always kinda keep an eye out for them now, when I'm in the right sorts of places, but haven't bumped into one since.

I Ratant · 6th June 2012, 09:22 AM

Originally Posted by Humanzee

Very interesting. That's got me looking through Raven behavior links. Thanks!

.
One of them would also attack the roofs of the house it was sitting on, stabbing the shingles with its beak when I got close.
Couple years back, a raven I named "Notchwing" for a missing feather would fly to me from wherever it spotted walking out back, sometimes a 1/4 mile away, and just scream at me and make passes... always from behind...

.. he was having a lot of fun.
I told the neighborhood kids to watch over there in 20 minutes.. walked out to where I told them to look, and Notchwing did his thing. We all enjoyed it.

He vanished.. the same time I saw some new fired shotgun shells out there.
I guess some brave sportsman got scared that a bird was going to carry him off.

I Ratant · 6th June 2012, 11:45 AM

Here's one of the ravens attacking the shingles on a roof, when I get near the juvenile bird...
.
A video of the raven tossing branches at me...

http://youtu.be/TO4BU09qvX8

I Ratant · 9th June 2012, 06:59 PM

There's two families of ravens that get excited when I take a walk outside.
One has two adults and a juvenile... this is the branch tossers.
The other has a single adult and a juvenile.
I had thought these were the first bunch I'd seen that day, and had moved, but it is two bunches.
Both noisy, the juvenile for the second bunch likes the passes from behind, and flares up and away when I turn to look at it...

Both sets can be relied on to fly around and make noise when I get close.
They ignore other people walking, just come around me.

Quietus · 13th June 2012, 03:35 PM

Female Little Crake Porzana parva, at Clovelly Wetlands, near Cape Town South Africa.

First record for South Africa and first south of the Equator since a record from Zambia in 1980; given the number of people who saw it and photographs (none by me sadly) is likely to be accepted Birdlife SA rarities committee.

Had some excellent views of it in the open, displaying very un-crakelike behaviour. Wikipedia's abbreviated entry describes it as 'very secretive", which it definitely wasn't. Can anyone expand?

Quietus · 14th June 2012, 02:44 AM

Originally Posted by Kotatsu

(I think this is Zanzibar Red Bishop Euplectes nigriventis, but I'm not sure. This field had at least six different Euplectes species, plus a lot of other stuff... The only lice I collected in Tanzania came from a Speckeld Mousebird Colius striatus. The louse was a Colimenopon hamatus.)

Definitely a breeding male bishop. Not a Euplectes commonly referred to as a widowbird. Not (Northern or Southern) Red Bishop. What are your other options, with regard to location and habitat?

GeeMack · 16th June 2012, 11:27 AM

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), common in most of North America from the state of Washington, east to Maine, and south to Georgia. They winter mostly in the Caribbean and along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida all the way down to Panama. This one was seen this morning in central Illinois.

NoahFence · 20th June 2012, 05:17 AM

Another what the $#*( is that bird this morning:

Naturally being small and quick, I only had a moment to get this image.

It appears to have spots on its chest, perhaps indicating a young bird of some kind. Could it be a type of Bunting? A Finch? It's head was really red.

Well, it probably still is, but it was a chew and screw type of visit. This is the only image I could get.

Hard to see but there is a bit of spotting going on like a baby robin would look like. But clearly it's not a robin!

GeeMack · 20th June 2012, 06:00 AM

Originally Posted by NoahFence

Another what the $#*( is that bird this morning:

Naturally being small and quick, I only had a moment to get this image.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q.../whoisthat.jpg

It appears to have spots on its chest, perhaps indicating a young bird of some kind. Could it be a type of Bunting? A Finch? It's head was really red.

Well, it probably still is, but it was a chew and screw type of visit. This is the only image I could get.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...that_small.jpg

Hard to see but there is a bit of spotting going on like a baby robin would look like. But clearly it's not a robin!

Looks like a House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus).

ETA: Here's the write-up at Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

There is another bird called a Purple Finch which looks similar. It probably wouldn't show much or any of the streaking/spotting you've described. It also tends to be a little more raspberry colored while the House Finch has a slightly orange tint. The color difference can be pretty subtle, but your photo seems to be in good light, so I'm confident it's a House Finch.

NoahFence · 20th June 2012, 06:32 AM

I don't think so... I dunno.

There was an awful lot of yellow on this guy. Again, hard to tell because they never just sit there and let me get a good photo. But the chest was very yellow. You can sort of see a "V" where the neck meets the chest that I've not seen on a house finch before.

NoahFence · 20th June 2012, 06:42 AM

Immature Summer Tanager!

that's a life bird for me!! Right there at the feeder. Imagine that.

It looks a bit more like a Western Tanager, but given the range, I'd go with Summer. Even though they apparently are much further south than Massachuetts.

Either way, it's a hellova sighting!

.......My first Summer Tanager on the first day of Summer.

synchronicity!

EHocking · 20th June 2012, 03:33 PM

Originally Posted by Quietus

Definitely a breeding male bishop. Not a Euplectes commonly referred to as a widowbird. Not (Northern or Southern) Red Bishop. What are your other options, with regard to location and habitat?

I'd go with Zanzibar Red Bishop Euplectes nigroventris

CORed · 21st June 2012, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by NoahFence

http://www.calvorn.com/gallery/photo...m/25AB7365.jpg

Immature Summer Tanager!

that's a life bird for me!! Right there at the feeder. Imagine that.

It looks a bit more like a Western Tanager, but given the range, I'd go with Summer. Even though they apparently are much further south than Massachuetts.

Either way, it's a hellova sighting!

.......My first Summer Tanager on the first day of Summer.

synchronicity!

A Western Tanager has a much smaller patch of red on the head, and has dark wings with white bars, so I'm sure it wasn't a Western Tanager. The Western Tanager is a beautiful bird, usually seen in mountain areas of Western US. Most I have seen have been in Ponderosa Pine forest.

Humanzee · 21st June 2012, 10:16 PM

The yellow and the beak sure throw me off if that is a House Finch. However, I am truly unexperienced and shouldnt de-lurk to comment. Hopefully it will be back for a glamour shot.

Orange-crowned Warbler, Sauvie Island, OR. First time that I, on hearing a song, knew there was a bird I hadn't seen before and I needed to find it. Snapped this crummy shot.

I'll fess up to using I-Bird to ID the song.

Humanzee · 21st June 2012, 10:27 PM

Really nice shot Gray Catbird photo, btw!

23rd May 2012, 07:47 AM	#121
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by Kotatsu Enormously jealous. I have wanted to see this species for years, but I've never had the opportunity to be in the area where it lives... I'm not positive that it was a Heermann's. It was an unusually dark gull, but I couldn't get near it; the pictures I took were backlit so it's hard to judge the beak colors. Going through Sibley's, the Heermann's gull looked like the most likely match, and I am in their range, so I can make a decent case for it, but I can't be certain like I am for most of the others.
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

27th May 2012, 11:39 AM	#122
Mr Clingford Graduate Poster Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 1,691	Here's a picture of some Mute Swan cygnets seen today in Hampshire, UK
	__________________ God is my copilot. But we crashed into a mountain and I had to eat him. Last edited by Mr Clingford; 27th May 2012 at 11:42 AM.

28th May 2012, 12:59 PM	#124
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by Zax63 I don't really know anything about birds but I just set up an automatic bird camera in my backyard yesterday and had a couple of decent pics this morning. I'd never spotted one of these in the neighborhood. Is that a cardinal? I'm used to them being redder and having the pointy crest. It sure looks like a cardinal to me. The wings and back are often a bit more drab than the front. I think the crest is merely folded down Quote: Maybe this is a female? No, this is a male. The females are mostly brown.
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

28th May 2012, 03:33 PM	#125
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,183	He is molting on his head as well, which might be part of why his crest isn't so cresty. At least he isn't one of the ones whose head feathers all drop at once (or one with mites), leaving a disgusting, vulture-looking songbird. With a sunflower seed feeder, you'll be seeing him plenty.
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein

28th May 2012, 04:19 PM	#126
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by jasonpatterson He is molting on his head as well, which might be part of why his crest isn't so cresty. At least he isn't one of the ones whose head feathers all drop at once (or one with mites), leaving a disgusting, vulture-looking songbird. Like these? Taken a few years ago in Ohio. It seemed like all the cardinals in the area were affected. Fortunately, the population seems to have recovered.
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

28th May 2012, 12:34 PM	#123
Zax63 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,669	I don't really know anything about birds but I just set up an automatic bird camera in my backyard yesterday and had a couple of decent pics this morning. I'd never spotted one of these in the neighborhood. Is that a cardinal? I'm used to them being redder and having the pointy crest. Maybe this is a female? Here is the feeder/camera setup.

28th May 2012, 05:38 PM	#127
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,183	Yep. Apparently it can be caused either by mites or by genetics. There are some birds that lose all of their head feathers at one time when they molt and others who lose them gradually. I can see how losing them all might help with parasites, since they can effectively preen the rest of their bodies, losing all of their head feathers might be advantageous in that it periodically removes the last place feather mites can live. Apparently blue jays get this as well, but the color difference for cardinals is striking. They're like Skeksis.
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein

28th May 2012, 06:36 PM	#128
Zax63 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,669	Thanks for the info, people. Very interesting. I've been second guessing myself on the sunflower seeds. Would I get a wider variety of birds with a mixed bird seed? LOL, I guess I could give it more than one day.

28th May 2012, 07:30 PM	#129
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by Zax63 Thanks for the info, people. Very interesting. I've been second guessing myself on the sunflower seeds. Would I get a wider variety of birds with a mixed bird seed? LOL, I guess I could give it more than one day. You'll probably get a better variety with mixed seed, yes. Another possibility is suet. My mother lives in Ohio, so she probably has about the same backyard birds as you, and the she puts out both mixed seed and suet. The suet attracts very different birds, including nuthatches and woodpeckers. I grew up there and didn't know those birds were around until I saw them going for the suet. May also depend on how much you want to spend on the neighborhood birds.
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

28th May 2012, 08:39 PM	#130
GeeMack Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Not Bandiagara Posts: 7,187	Originally Posted by dasmiller Like these? http://i1263.photobucket.com/albums/...G_1874crop.jpg Taken a few years ago in Ohio. It seemed like all the cardinals in the area were affected. Fortunately, the population seems to have recovered. I have a pair that come to my feeder that look like that. The female has just a couple of her crest feathers. Looks like a little plume hat.

28th May 2012, 09:07 PM	#131
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,183	Nuthatches will go for sunflower seeds too. The main problem with going for mixed seed is that you'll wind up getting swarmed by house sparrows along with the birds you'd actually like to see. At least that has been my experience. You will get a wider variety of birds with a wider variety of food for sure though. I get a lot of woodpeckers eating the peanuts out of the mix that I use.
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein

30th May 2012, 11:19 AM	#132
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,183	I got to go birdwatching for the first time in about a month. I managed to miss the vast majority of the migration season, but still got to see a few warblers around today. The high point was watching a pair of tree swallows play with a feather. One would carry a piece of fuzz up about 30 feet, then drop it. It would float down toward the water's surface, then at the very last second the other swallow would swoop in and snatch it out of the air. This went on for a good 10 minutes before one of them let it hit the water and the game ended. I've never seen small wild birds play like that. If it had been crows or someone's parrot maybe, but swallows?
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein

30th May 2012, 11:57 AM	#133
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by jasonpatterson The main problem with going for mixed seed is that you'll wind up getting swarmed by house sparrows along with the birds you'd actually like to see. At least that has been my experience. Yeah, that's my experience too. ~95% of the birds that I get with mixed seed are English sparrows, house finches, or rock doves. And of those, the sparrows and doves aren't even native species. Aside from those 3 species, I get the occasional scrub jay, white-crowned sparrow, or other varieties of dove/pigeon. I sometimes see other species in my yard (mockingbirds, black phoebes, crows, starlings, blue-gray gnatcatchers, hummingbirds, and that sharp-shinned hawk. Once I saw a parakeet. Seagulls frequently fly over, but never land) but they don't seem interested in the feeder.
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

30th May 2012, 03:56 PM	#134
GeeMack Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Not Bandiagara Posts: 7,187	Killdeer, central Illinois, USA... Just because I got a pretty decent photo a couple days ago.

30th May 2012, 05:36 PM	#135
Zax63 Master Poster Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 2,669	A couple of different birds caught on the camera. Let's see if my ID's, using the Birds Of Pennsylvania Field Guide by Stan Tekiela, are correct. Male & female House Finch? Male House Sparrow? Whatever they are they emptied the feeder today. Anyone interested in seeing the highlights of the birdcam is welcome to visit my Birdcam Photobucket Album.

30th May 2012, 06:52 PM	#136
jasonpatterson Philanthropic Misanthrope Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Space, The Final Frontier Posts: 2,183	Spot on. Your second picture on page 2 is worth taking a look at as well. You've got a bunch of juvenile house sparrows there. You can see that at least one of them is taking its own seed, but it also looks like one is peeping to be fed still. The parents pick up the seed and stick it into the baby's mouth, even though it's perfectly capable of doing the job itself. I always find that amusing when I see it. Glad to see that you're enjoying it. ETA: Other birds you might keep an eye out for, especially on the ground under the feeder, are mourning doves, blue jays, cowbirds, starlings, and grackles. The smaller birds often dig out a bunch of seeds then the larger birds wind up cleaning up their mess below.
	__________________ Sandra's seen a leprechaun, Eddie touched a troll, Laurie danced with witches once, Charlie found some goblins' gold. Donald heard a mermaid sing, Susie spied an elf, But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself. - Shel Silverstein Last edited by jasonpatterson; 30th May 2012 at 06:56 PM.

5th June 2012, 05:28 PM	#138
I Ratant Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 15,305	The adult birds are not flying aggressively now, but when I walk near the tree where the juvenile is, the adults fly in from someplace and watch me.

5th June 2012, 09:03 PM	#139
Humanzee Muse Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: I...hate...tapir...bones... Posts: 528	A Virginia Rail came out of the grass during my walk Sunday at Tualatin NWR in Sherwood Oregon. Stood around just long enough for me to snap this. Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)
	Last edited by Humanzee; 5th June 2012 at 09:34 PM. Reason: stupid syntax

5th June 2012, 09:36 PM	#140
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by Humanzee A Virginia Rail came out of the grass during my walk Sunday at Tualatin NWR in Sherwood Oregon. Stood around just long enough for me to snap this. http://forums.randi.org/picture.php?...pictureid=6193 Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) Neat!
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

5th June 2012, 11:24 PM	#141
Humanzee Muse Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: I...hate...tapir...bones... Posts: 528	Originally Posted by I Ratant Walking down the street today, I got "swooshed" by a couple of ravens, making a lot of noise! Looking around I saw a juvenile in a pine tree..apparently on its first trip away from the nest. The older birds were quite agitated, one was tearing the ends off the branch it was sitting on, and tossing them at me. One actually hit me! I'd seen the same behavior a year ago, but the close passes overhead from behind were new. Very interesting. That's got me looking through Raven behavior links. Thanks!

5th June 2012, 11:27 PM	#142
Humanzee Muse Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: I...hate...tapir...bones... Posts: 528	Also spotted this pair of (I think) young Mourning Doves in, what seems to me, a very small nest. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) Tualatin NWR, Sherwood OR
	Last edited by Humanzee; 5th June 2012 at 11:33 PM.

5th June 2012, 11:32 PM	#143
Humanzee Muse Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: I...hate...tapir...bones... Posts: 528	Originally Posted by dasmiller Neat! I have been looking all year with no luck then one just walks out of the grass right in front of me. I agree, neat!

6th June 2012, 05:27 AM	#144
GeeMack Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Not Bandiagara Posts: 7,187	Originally Posted by Humanzee A Virginia Rail came out of the grass during my walk Sunday at Tualatin NWR in Sherwood Oregon. Stood around just long enough for me to snap this. http://forums.randi.org/picture.php?...pictureid=6193 Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola) Nice. I've never seen a Virginia Rail, but I have seen a Sora Rail. Love those oversize feet!

6th June 2012, 05:36 AM	#145
GeeMack Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Not Bandiagara Posts: 7,187	Yesterday we had the good fortune to spot this Little Green Heron... ETA: Central Illinois, USA.
	Last edited by GeeMack; 6th June 2012 at 05:48 AM. Reason: Added location.

6th June 2012, 05:42 AM	#146
dasmiller Just the right amount of cowbell Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Well past Hither, looking for Yon Posts: 3,464	Originally Posted by GeeMack Nice. I've never seen a Virginia Rail, but I have seen a Sora Rail. Love those oversize feet! I've only seen one sora live, in the wild. I had no idea what it was at the time, but manged to get a couple of pictures and then figured it out later. I always kinda keep an eye out for them now, when I'm in the right sorts of places, but haven't bumped into one since.
	__________________ "In times of war, we need warriors. But this isn't a war." - Phil Plaitt

9th June 2012, 06:59 PM	#149
I Ratant Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 15,305	There's two families of ravens that get excited when I take a walk outside. One has two adults and a juvenile... this is the branch tossers. The other has a single adult and a juvenile. I had thought these were the first bunch I'd seen that day, and had moved, but it is two bunches. Both noisy, the juvenile for the second bunch likes the passes from behind, and flares up and away when I turn to look at it... Both sets can be relied on to fly around and make noise when I get close. They ignore other people walking, just come around me.

13th June 2012, 03:35 PM	#150
Quietus Scholar Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 86	Female Little Crake Porzana parva, at Clovelly Wetlands, near Cape Town South Africa. First record for South Africa and first south of the Equator since a record from Zambia in 1980; given the number of people who saw it and photographs (none by me sadly) is likely to be accepted Birdlife SA rarities committee. Had some excellent views of it in the open, displaying very un-crakelike behaviour. Wikipedia's abbreviated entry describes it as 'very secretive", which it definitely wasn't. Can anyone expand?
Quietus Scholar Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 86

14th June 2012, 02:44 AM	#151
Quietus Scholar Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 86	Originally Posted by Kotatsu (I think this is Zanzibar Red Bishop Euplectes nigriventis, but I'm not sure. This field had at least six different Euplectes species, plus a lot of other stuff... The only lice I collected in Tanzania came from a Speckeld Mousebird Colius striatus. The louse was a Colimenopon hamatus.) Definitely a breeding male bishop. Not a Euplectes commonly referred to as a widowbird. Not (Northern or Southern) Red Bishop. What are your other options, with regard to location and habitat?
Quietus Scholar Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 86

16th June 2012, 11:27 AM	#152
GeeMack Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Not Bandiagara Posts: 7,187	Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), common in most of North America from the state of Washington, east to Maine, and south to Georgia. They winter mostly in the Caribbean and along the Gulf of Mexico from Florida all the way down to Panama. This one was seen this morning in central Illinois.

20th June 2012, 05:17 AM	#153
NoahFence Psycho Kitty Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Patriot Nation Posts: 9,329	Another what the $#*( is that bird this morning: Naturally being small and quick, I only had a moment to get this image. It appears to have spots on its chest, perhaps indicating a young bird of some kind. Could it be a type of Bunting? A Finch? It's head was really red. Well, it probably still is, but it was a chew and screw type of visit. This is the only image I could get. Hard to see but there is a bit of spotting going on like a baby robin would look like. But clearly it's not a robin!
	__________________ Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake. -Henry David Thoreau

20th June 2012, 06:00 AM	#154
GeeMack Philosopher Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Not Bandiagara Posts: 7,187	Originally Posted by NoahFence Another what the $#( is that bird this morning: Naturally being small and quick, I only had a moment to get this image. http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q.../whoisthat.jpg It appears to have spots on its chest, perhaps indicating a young bird of some kind. Could it be a type of Bunting? A Finch? It's head was really red. Well, it probably still is, but it was a chew and screw type of visit. This is the only image I could get. http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...that_small.jpg Hard to see but there is a bit of spotting going on like a baby robin would look like. But clearly it's not a robin! Looks like a House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)*. ETA: Here's the write-up at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. There is another bird called a Purple Finch which looks similar. It probably wouldn't show much or any of the streaking/spotting you've described. It also tends to be a little more raspberry colored while the House Finch has a slightly orange tint. The color difference can be pretty subtle, but your photo seems to be in good light, so I'm confident it's a House Finch.
	Last edited by GeeMack; 20th June 2012 at 06:09 AM. Reason: Added some info.

20th June 2012, 06:32 AM	#155
NoahFence Psycho Kitty Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Patriot Nation Posts: 9,329	I don't think so... I dunno. There was an awful lot of yellow on this guy. Again, hard to tell because they never just sit there and let me get a good photo. But the chest was very yellow. You can sort of see a "V" where the neck meets the chest that I've not seen on a house finch before.
	__________________ Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake. -Henry David Thoreau

20th June 2012, 06:42 AM	#156
NoahFence Psycho Kitty Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Patriot Nation Posts: 9,329	Immature Summer Tanager! that's a life bird for me!! Right there at the feeder. Imagine that. It looks a bit more like a Western Tanager, but given the range, I'd go with Summer. Even though they apparently are much further south than Massachuetts. Either way, it's a hellova sighting! .......My first Summer Tanager on the first day of Summer. synchronicity!
	__________________ Our truest life is when we are in our dreams awake. -Henry David Thoreau Last edited by NoahFence; 20th June 2012 at 08:22 AM.

20th June 2012, 03:33 PM	#157
EHocking Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 4,410	Originally Posted by Quietus Definitely a breeding male bishop. Not a Euplectes commonly referred to as a widowbird. Not (Northern or Southern) Red Bishop. What are your other options, with regard to location and habitat? I'd go with Zanzibar Red Bishop Euplectes nigroventris
EHocking Illuminator Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 4,410	__________________ "A closed mouth gathers no feet" "Ignorance is a renewable resource" P.J.O'Rourke Prayer: "a sophisticated way of pleading with thunderstorms." T.Pratchett "It's all god's handiwork, there's little quality control applied", Fox26 reporter on Texas granite Forum Birdwatching Webpage

21st June 2012, 02:20 PM	#158
CORed Illuminator Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 4,292	Originally Posted by NoahFence http://www.calvorn.com/gallery/photo...m/25AB7365.jpg Immature Summer Tanager! that's a life bird for me!! Right there at the feeder. Imagine that. It looks a bit more like a Western Tanager, but given the range, I'd go with Summer. Even though they apparently are much further south than Massachuetts. Either way, it's a hellova sighting! .......My first Summer Tanager on the first day of Summer. synchronicity! A Western Tanager has a much smaller patch of red on the head, and has dark wings with white bars, so I'm sure it wasn't a Western Tanager. The Western Tanager is a beautiful bird, usually seen in mountain areas of Western US. Most I have seen have been in Ponderosa Pine forest.
CORed Illuminator Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 4,292	Last edited by CORed; 21st June 2012 at 02:32 PM.