BIRDS

[Chuck White]

Nice pic, Jeff!

The bad news, I'd bet that there are ants inside that Cherry tree!

[petefrom bearswamp]

Great photo of the pileateds.
Only rarely see them in my woods

[Jeff]

Chuck, they line up there because of the suet feeders you can't see in this picture that is on the deck about ten feet from the tree.

[Chuck White]

Well, I guess that would change everything, all woodpeckers like suet!  ;D

[doctorb]

Awesome pic!

[SwampDonkey]

I was near a pair of them with a nest in a cavity tree today. You talk about a disturbance. I kept moving and glad I had a hard hat. They never attacked or anything, but I bet they was prepared to. :D

[Ron Scott]

A rare picture!

[SwampDonkey]

Blue bird babies and momma. There are 3 babies as far as I can tell. They were all in the garden this morning. Took these pictures in late afternoon.

[thecfarm]

Nice pictures. I have no idea how the ones around here are doing.
I have more woodpeckers now than all winter,4 at one time. Seem like the finches are busy too. Orioles are still here,so far.

[Magicman]

An umbrella stuck in a plant pot on the sidewalk.



And underneath was a hen duck hatching her eggs.  

[SwampDonkey]

We had one up on the flu sitting there one morning. She thought she was a chimney swift. :D

[Ianab]

Friend said she had an unusual waterbird on one of her ponds so I had a look when I was passing. 





Turns out it's a NZ Dabchick, which I have never seen locally either. According to wikipedia it's quite rare, with only about 2,000 birds in total. But it's been upgraded from "Endangered" to "Near Threatened", which is an improvement. 

[Ianab]

Middle of winter and the Tui birds have arrived here in town. They are a native Honey Eater that usually live up in the National Park around the mountain. Of course this time of year it's a bit cold, and there aren't many flowers up there, so they migrate a few miles down the hill and hang out around the town were there are more flowering trees. There is a line of Banksia trees at the end of our street that they have basically "taken over". Maybe a dozen birds in as many trees, and I'm guessing it's "pairing up" season by the amount of activity. 

Anyway I stopped and shot some cellphone video. It's hard to see the birds, but I got some decent audio of their calling. All the different bird calls are Tuis. 

Tui song. - YouTube

This what the bird looks like, a pic I got last year once the Kowhai trees outside the kids school had started flowering. 

[Magicman]

While we were vacationing a Woodpecker came calling.  :-\


 
I realize that it was just doing it's job but I ain't happy. 

[SwampDonkey]

Ouch! Always some work defending the buildings from the critters. If it ain't squirrels, it's ground hogs or woody wood pecker. :

[WV Sawmiller]

Lynn,

   He was just pointing out that you needed to be alert for likely insect infestations. Now you know where to look. 

   They are real good about showing me where the carpenter bees have gotten into my false rafters on our log home. Their favorite time to show me however is about 6:00 a.m. I guess they just wanted to be sure we were home to get the message. >:(

[Ianab]

Was out clearing up some pine trees, some storm damage, and other had been taken down to clear some fence lines and prevent them falling on the new fence in the next storm



Can you see my little buddy?



Closeup. It's a little fantail. They are a a small insect eater. Very friendly, and a like hanging around people and cattle to catch any insects that get disturbed. They are never still, constantly flitting around and catching bug, flying withing a few feet of you.

[Hilltop366]

Loon in the river with a heavy morning mist.

 

[Hilltop366]

Ringneck pheasant in the front yard.

 

[doctorb]

All 3 are great shots.  Appreciated.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did not know where to post this here or over in the health and safety about eyes going screwy. Late this morning we heard a thump on one of the windows and Becky saw feathers floating down so I went out and checked. This little guy was on the ground looking pretty addled. I put him in a cardboard box on the porch and went back a couple hours later and checked on him and he perked up enough to fly a few feet. The last I checked he had left the porch so I hope he is okay. I don't if he is just a young bird learning to fly or attacked his reflection or what.


 


 Not sure what kind of bird he is. Maybe a wren or finch or something.

   His crash landing reminded me several years ago we visited the Galapagos Islands and learned the most common death of the Blue footed booby is poor eyesight. When he gets older he gets cataracts and can't judge the water depth very well and breaks his neck in shallow water when fishing.

   They are pretty neat birds. Have black feet when young then turn blue when mature and when he starts to get old they turn purple. Not many purple footed boobies alive in the wild. (I am sure that will keep you up all night worrying how to fit BFBs with glasses or contacts or get them Lasik surgery.)

[Magicman]

We have two, maybe a mated pair, of very small Hawks here at the Cabin.  I call them Sparrow Hawks, but anyway I have not seen either of the Fox Squirrels that are normally here.   :-\

[WV Sawmiller]

   I'd love to see a sparrow hawk take on a fox squirrel.  I think they mostly eat insects and very small rodents. I have not seen one in years. I think we are out of their range up here but we had lots of them in N. Fla when I was a a kid. 

   I saw a big red-tailed hawk grab a fox squirrel at my deer feeder a couple years ago. They went round and round and I thought the squirrel was free then i saw the hawk had him by the tail and just reeled him back in. The hawk finally spotted me and dropped the squirrel which laid they a minute or so and got up, ran to then end of the log beside him, rested another couple minutes then ran off the opposite direction. I guess he survived intact.

[SwampDonkey]

Our bluebirds are having a second family. They have a favorite limb on a couple of the yard trees. When I hear them, I look to those limbs to see them.

We do have kestrels here that prey on little birds, but I have not seen any around the yard. We have a great big hawk (I think a sharp-shinned) around in the fields. A lot of white underneath and brown on back and head. When birds spy him they are in hiding. :D

[Chuck White]

Same here, with the Bluebirds!

There are several "second family" pairs around the yard!

Don't think they've hatched yet though!