BIRDS

[thecfarm]

I never had slugs in my garden. Even before the turkeys came.
But have many customers come into the store needing something for slugs.

[KEC]

It's been dry here so slugs are not a problem. In a wet year they are a real pain and they like tomatoes. Sometimes, when it's wet we get Brown Snails. Frankly, I don't know if they are harmful.

[Ianab]

Never gets that dry here, so it's slug central  :D

Found these guys trying to get in the back door one misty night. 



 

[KEC]

I did some looking around on the computer and they say that turkeys eat snails and slugs. One site showed a photo of a turkey  crop that a hunter harvested and cut open; it was full of snail shells. Other sites by state ag departments said that Brown Garden Snails damage fruits and trees. Hey Turkeys, stop in anytime.

[SwampDonkey]

One thing for sure, they eat earth worms. One of the chicks snagged onto a big fat night crawler Sunday morning and quickly consumed it. :D

I don't have a snail issue here, I do have an earwig issue. The earwigs like to eat romaine type lettuce and they also eat basal. The turkeys can eat those if they want. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

The biggest slugs (banana)  I ever saw were on the Haida Gwaii Islands.  :D

Ariolimax columbianus

[KEC]

Here we are talking about turkeys and I was just out behind the house and I came up on 3 hens and an estimated 14 poults, great to see. At 4:38 am today I had a Great-horned  Owl hooting near the house. I'd like to see the turkeys at my garden; the garden pests would be in real danger. I saw some slugs in Germany that were as big as a mans' middle finger. 

[DDW_OR]

pacific northwest banana slug
over 6 inch

[Old Greenhorn]

Well tonight I am minding my own business, well after dark, and I hear this strange call. Never heard it before. My guess was a screech owl. I checked, and sure enough, that's what it is. SO I heat this bird calling really regular, about every 15-20 seconds. after about 20 minutes it moves south, but I can still hear it. I tried calling it back by mimicking the call ( I may have been in a lower key). Sure enough, in another 15 minutes, it is back in a tree in my yard. I listen for a while longer, then think I hear another answering cal. I stepped out side, and yeah, to the east, there is another bird answering, but a ways off. Apparently each is asking to other to 'come here' and the other is saying 'No, You come here'. I dunno. What I do know is we have a lot of barred owls around here and I hear them all the time and love them. Puts me to sleep late at night  In the 35 years we have lived here I have never heard a screech owl. For me, this outdid netflix and anything our lousy cable could offer. It's quite the audio show for sure and still going on. I hope one of these owls 'gets lucky' tonight.

[Walnut Beast]

Had to help this little guy out that fell out of his nest 16' up outside the overhead door and was in the shop. Accidentally noticed him!  So I got the ladder out and put him back up there. Seems like all is good now

 

[WV Sawmiller]

Tom,

   Very few people ever see a screech owl or recognize their call. I love them and they remind me of a grumpy little old man. I don't believe they are over 6" tall if that. I have thought about making some nest boxes and putting on the upper parts of the barn to see if I can attract any. I think the nest boxes have to be placed from 10' to 30' high.

   Good luck with yours hanging around and entertaining you.

[Old Greenhorn]

It's the first time I have ever heard them at all. It lasted for over an hour. Apparently my poor attempt at mimicking the call was good enough to get the one to light in a tree in my yard, but try as I might, I could not pick it out against the dark blue sky at night. The barred owls you can hear fly, even when they glide, the wind over their wings makes a distinctive noise but it has to be very quiet in the area to hear it. I had one glide over my head one time and it was spooky.
 Hopefully the pair of screechers will nest up in the area. Next time I will try to record it. I texted my neighbor to go listen, but turns out she is in France now and couldn't make them out. ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I love that screech owl scene in "My Cousin Vinny". :D

[KEC]

OG, If you put up a couple of screech-owl boxes, they may use them in the winter to roost in. Fifteen feet up is sufficient and place them where the afternoon winter sun will hit them. They will sit in the entry hole on cold sunny afternoons and may use a box to nest in. If you have reason to be in the Syracuse area, I have some boxes free to a good home. One of the challenges is to keep the squirrels out of the boxes.

[KEC]

Until a couple weeks ago, I had not seen or heard any screech-owls here since December 2020. Just in the past 2-3 weeks, I've been hearing them at night near the house. Hoping that they will roost in my boxes this winter. And eat lots of mice.

[Hilltop366]

Weekend Bird pics<

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[Hilltop366]

Nuthatch enjoying the new pine cones.


 

 

Pheasants in a row.



 


Red tailed hawk in a dead spruce. 



 

[Peter Drouin]

All my hummingbirds are gone, At one time I think I had 14+.

[Larry]

I feed the hummers and was going through a little more than a quart per day all summer.  From the internet their was a calculator that based on the amount of food I was serving up I had around 150 of them.  On September 5th 140 took off for Mexico and I suppose 10 stayed behind.  I expect those will be leaving in the next couple of days.

[Chuck White]

I haven't seen any Hummers in over a week now!

Through the Summer I figure there were around 20-30 that frequented the feeders!

[WV Sawmiller]

 

 

I was just sitting here reading on the FF and this blue heron flew in and lit on my well house roof about 15 yards away. I have no idea why he chose this spot to land.

 I remember I posted with Danny (WDH) Hamsley last month telling him UGA was going to replace their mascot from a bulldog to a loud blue heron. Maybe this one was looking for Danny. I sure gonna miss him.

[TeaW]

I put some blue bird nest boxes out about 30 years ago and had 1 pair nest that year and have not seen one nest here since. This year 3 pair nested and raised about 11 young. I have not seen a blue bird since July 7, when they left. Until Thursday, when I saw 7 around a box in the garden.
They where flitting around the box some going in and coming out, it was like they were having a last visit before they head south. This box had been home to 5 young this summer.

[beenthere]

In my experience, bluebirds will raise a family and move away (figured went north). Then characteristically will flock back through and hang around the nest box area for a couple days, usually in October here. Have seen up to 30 bluebirds around some times when they do that. Assume heading south. 

[Chuck White]

The Bluebirds have left this area already, but it seems odd that usually in the middle of November we'll see them flocking again and then all of the sudden they take off and we don't see them until next spring!

[KEC]

Some bluebirds do migrate South, but here (Onondaga County,NY) I see and hear some bluebirds year round. This past winter I saw fair numbers. They check out the boxes in my yard now and then all winter. Bluebirds will use boxes to get out of the cold at night in the winter. I once read an account of over 20 bluebirds that all went into a standard size box for the night. I had an Orange-crowned Warbler here a few days ago.