BIRDS

SwampDonkey · April 11, 2023, 12:12:04 PM

I think ravens as well, would be as smart as any crow. They live for 20+ years, in the wild.

Hinterland Who's Who - Common Raven

woodroe · April 15, 2023, 08:10:27 AM

https://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Winter-Bernd-Heinrich/dp/0679732365

"Ravens in Winter" is about solving a biological puzzle: "Do common ravens, 'Corvus corax,' actively disclose to strangers of their species the valuable and rare food bonanzas that one of them is lucky enough to find?"
In order to solve his self-discovered mystery, Bernd Heinrich spent four winters in the woods of Maine and Vermont, hauling eight tons of dead animals to bait stations in the midst of howling blizzards. All in the name of fun---I mean, science."

Fascinating read on Ravens and their intelligence, social traits and habits.
I had the pleasure meeting with and working at Bernd's place a few years back.
He's up in the mountains about a 1/2 hr ride from here.
He found me on craigslist in the skilled trade section and needed help building
an aviary for crows. Interestingly enough I had already read his Ravens in winter
so we hit it off pretty good. He has probably written a couple doz. books on various bird and other critters studies he has done.
Long story short he had 3 baby crows he climbed a pine tree for sitting in a 5gal. bucket filled with hay in his house. Had to hike up a 1/2 mile tote road to get there.
We built a 20'x 20' 3 side aviary attatched to his old log cabin and when the crows
got bigger he kept them in there. After a few mos. he started letting them out to explore their surroundings. One had to be rescued from the clutches of a Goshawk and eventually died from ite wounds. The other 2 reunited with their clan but would still stop by to visit.
Last I knew he was doing a study on tree swallows and had stopped by to check out my
1/2 doz boxes with babies in them.

thecfarm · April 15, 2023, 09:30:40 AM

Never know who you will meet.
It's nice to hear the birds in the morning.

SwampDonkey · April 15, 2023, 11:32:09 AM

Tree swallows have come around the last 3 days. Saw my first pair of returning bluebirds this morning in the old maple tree.

We feed 4 crows here all year. Sometimes there is 5 or 6, but mostly 4 crows. When I set any garbage curb side in the morning for the trash man, they've never touched it. I'd never set it out over night; the coons, cats and skunks would all be in it. :D

Yesterday the grackles and black birds were singing all day in the spruce trees. They are hidden well, in the bows, can't even see them.

Chuck White · April 15, 2023, 08:29:45 PM

Lots of Tree Swallows here now, fighting over birdhouses.

Only seen one male Bluebird so far, it'll be a little bit before more arrive, then the females!

Saw a pair of Northern Flickers in the backyard yesterday!

SwampDonkey · April 16, 2023, 06:58:23 AM

Flickers appeared here a couple of days ago to. One was in a battle yesterday with a bluebird around one of the nest boxes. :D

Chuck White · April 17, 2023, 08:30:13 AM

Bluebirds don't like any intruders once they've established their home.

I finally have a few bluebirds around the yard now!

thecfarm · April 19, 2023, 05:45:23 AM

We had 2 geese show up around here for years. They raise their young and take off.
Saw them down by the brook last week. They showed up yesterday in the field across the road from us.

Hilltop366 · April 19, 2023, 10:54:52 AM

Some nuthatches drilling a hole in a tree at the camp.

A pair of Canada Gease and a Snow Goose that has be hanging around the yard at home, there is a dozen or more geese hanging around in the field next door that these are sometimes with.

KEC · April 19, 2023, 12:49:48 PM

I clipped some hair off a woodchuck head yesterday that is in my freezer waiting for me to clean the skull. I saved it because its' incissor teeth are badly overgrown and it is an interesting specimen. I put the hair on a lawn table where I feed the birds. In short order a White-breasted Nuthatch came in, spotted the hair and grabbed some and flew off. A few minutes later it came and got a huge billfull and flew off in the same direction. Hilltop, I would like to have taken the photo of the Red-breasted Nuthatches at a nest hole.

Hilltop366 · April 19, 2023, 02:23:28 PM

Quote from: KEC on April 19, 2023, 12:49:48 PMHilltop, I would like to have taken the photo of the Red-breasted Nuthatches at a nest hole.

I could hear them pecking at the tree all afternoon, it took me a while to see them as they were 125' away and on the other side of the tree but eventually I could see a few feathers flicker as it pecked at the tree.

I wasn't sure if they were making a nest hole or looking for insects, if you look at the hole there is what looks like a insect hole in it. Only one was working on the hole then the other one flew in and got close to the other and touched beaks, I thought they probably sharing some food but couldn't really tell.

KEC · April 19, 2023, 06:27:52 PM

A couple years ago a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches were excavating a hole in a dead portion of a Sugar Maple near my driveway. The next time I looked a pair of Downy Woodpeckers were working on it. It went on, first the nuthatches, then the downeys. The downeys won out and nested. When the Red-breasted Nuthatches use a hole to nest in they put sticky pitch around the hole to deter other things from entering the hole.

SwampDonkey · April 20, 2023, 02:44:26 AM

Nice photos, never saw one excavate a hole before. Last summer I was sitting by the white oak enjoying a Saturday afternoon and one was walking up and down the tree trunk as if it were horizontal, like they are known to do. I have ironwood (hop-hornbeam) yard trees, and I'm sure they gather those and hide them in bark in the fall. I'm used to the red breasted nuthatch around here.

Crusarius · April 20, 2023, 12:21:53 PM

This morning at about 6:10am, I had a woodpecker decide to set off the alarm clock. apparently his partner was hard of hearing so instead of hitting a tree to communicate he chose to use the steel gutter on the house right outside my window.

WHOLLY POOP!!!!!! talk about scaring the bejeezus out of you!.

Then to top it off, I came closer than I ever have to rolling my tractor into the pond... Wow, what a day and its only 12:22 pm.

SwampDonkey · April 20, 2023, 01:24:03 PM

I remember one spring, not too long ago, a wood pecker was hammering on an aluminum road sign about 1/4 mile up the road. He hammered that thing several days. :D They've been known at woods camps pecking stove pipes. ;D

Hilltop366 · April 20, 2023, 01:29:35 PM

And a turned over aluminum boat....almost sounds like a machine gun.

KEC · April 20, 2023, 07:58:24 PM

A few years ago, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drummed on my neighbors' satellite dish. I never did ask him if he found it to be entertaining. Sapsuckers are easy to ID by the sound of their drumming. Rata tat....tat...tat. Sort of like a roulette wheel.

rusticretreater · April 20, 2023, 08:24:20 PM

A lovely Muscovy Duck hangin by the creek.

Hilltop366 · April 23, 2023, 08:48:51 PM

This weekend at the camp: Canada jays, robins, eagle, black ducks and ring-necked ducks.

Mooseherder · April 25, 2023, 10:39:58 PM

We had what I think was a Great Horned Owl today visit one of the playground birdhouses.
These 15 minute birdhouses have had a few residents the last couple of years. I dunno if the Owl was there raiding it.

an Owl visits the playground birdhouse - YouTube

Edit:
Eastern Screech Owl.

SwampDonkey · April 26, 2023, 02:53:30 AM

A pair of bluebirds are busy nest building here.

KEC · April 26, 2023, 03:15:20 PM

Mooseherder, That's an Eastern Screech-owl. Great-horned Owls are much bigger and have horizontal barring on the breast. I haven't had but one screech-owl in one of my boxes this past winter.