BIRDS

[SwampDonkey]

Robins and Killdeer have arrived here, robins yesterday, killdeer today. Lots of bare ground in fields opening up from the thaw this week.

[KEC]

Onthesauk, People sometimes put up fake owls to deter pigeons. I have seen pigeons sitting on top of one of those owls. I heard once of fish pond owners in the South who put out propane cannons to scare egrets away. They set off a blast that sounds like a shotgun blast every few minutes. Just before the blast it make a mechanicle "click." The egrets would perch on top of the cannon until they heard that click, then fly off. After the blast the egret would fly back and sit on the cannon til the next click and blast.

[HemlockKing]

 :D

 Appears he has finished boring out his home now he has been hanging around making calls for what I assume would be to find a mate 

[HemlockKing]

 

 

[SwampDonkey]

The little chickadees are always present, at least around here. One fall, they were busy. I have ironwood (hop hornbeam) in the yard and they seed heavily. Those little buggers picked ironwood seed and stashed it in the blue bird boxes. :D

[HemlockKing]

The little chickadees are always present, at least around here. One fall, they were busy. I have ironwood (hop hornbeam) in the yard and they seed heavily. Those little buggers picked ironwood seed and stashed it in the blue bird boxes. :D

Chickadees are my favourite bird around here, year round here as well, I read somewhere they can remember up to 1000 hiding places for seed, pretty impressive. They are very social so once one decides he wants to land on you he lets the others know it’s okay and all the sudden you got a flock of chickadees landing on you :D

[thecfarm]

Nice picture of a bird in hand.  ;D
Saw that eagle when I came home last night. Would like it to nest here.

[HemlockKing]

Nice picture of a bird in hand.  ;D
Saw that eagle when I came home last night. Would like it to nest here.

I’m not sure if common in your area but DNR puts up forklift pallets on the top of power line poles for those fellas, pretty amazing their nest will take up that whole pallet. I’ve been seeing more eagles here in recent years. Most common predator bird I see is still osprey.

[KEC]

Chickadees each go to their own tree cavity at night to escape the cold and owls. At my old house one winter, a chickadee went inside the end of a steel pipe cross T on my clothesline at night. I would check on him with a flashlight and see 2 beady little eyes. Once, while deer hunting, sitting on a black willow blowdown near dusk , a chickadee flew up and went in a cavity about arms length from me. An Ohio woman/ homemaker  years ago spent many hours watching and studying the Black-capped Chickadees in her yard. She recieved high acclaim from the scientific community for learning all about chickadees and their complex social order, things not previously known.

[Old saw fixer]

     I looked out the window about mid day and saw four turkey hens and a strutting tom.  He was putting on quite a display but the girls didn't seem interested.  First time seeing a strutting tom this year.  I took a smartphone pic, but they were too far for the phone to really pick them up.  I need to get a tripod for my real camera.

[Chuck White]

The Eastern Bluebirds are arriving!  

Just now, I looked out the window and there are 3 male Bluebirds out there, squabbling over which birdhouse to fight for!

[woodroe]

We watched 11 hen turkeys and 2 toms fly up into the trees
just before dark last night.
They get a running start when they aren't spooked.
This morning first light they were back on the ground in the field. 
After hanging around awhile one of the toms took to shagging a hen.  
Gonna be some babies around this summer, cute when they are little.

[SwampDonkey]

Two flocks of turkeys out on the hills, these ones about 1/2 a mile from another field with some. Looks like a couple gobblers. This is digital zoom about 3/4 mile from the house.

[SwampDonkey]

Been watching for blue birds to. The first ones came April 26th last spring, this is a warmer spring.

[HemlockKing]

Two flocks of turkeys out on the hills, these ones about 1/2 a mile from another field with some. Looks like a couple gobblers. This is digital zoom about 3/4 mile from the house.

Speaking of turkeys, apparently we have them wild in N.S., I heard on the radio "Turkey stocks are healthy" and that the government was considering putting out turkey game licenses....the only place I have seen turkey is at the zoo/wild life park, If they were anywhere I'd suspect them to be near the valley.

[Mooseherder]

A family of Sandhill Cranes aerating our yard.

Sandhill Cranes April 2021

[SwampDonkey]

Speaking of turkeys, apparently we have them wild in N.S., I heard on the radio “Turkey stocks are healthy” and that the government was considering putting out turkey game licenses....the only place I have seen turkey is at the zoo/wild life park, If they were anywhere I’d suspect them to be near the valley.

They have a season here in New Brunswick by lottery. They wanted to start last year, but DNR closed their offices down. May 10-22. There's all kinds of wild turkeys around here where I live. Started seeing them in 2014. There's some large flocks to. Counted 24 turkeys today already.

Province?s first wild turkey hunt to be held this year

[woodroe]

5 Toms vying for 7 hens this morning.
Hens are excited with so much attention, chasing each other around.
Quite a show with the Toms all fanned out.

[thecfarm]

swampdonkey, watch out for them flocks!! They are tricky little fellows.  ;D  We kept seeing a flock of 20 one year. Than that one flock grew to 2.     We was seeing 2 flocks of about 20 and thought we only had about 20 here.  ;D
Stepson and grandson have it made here. We tell them where the turkeys are and they set up a blind and call them in. Last year grandson came up to hunt and as his grandmother was texting him saying the turkeys are behind the house as he was taking aim at one.  ;D  Than he checked his phone to see why grammie was texting him!!!
Turkeys have been on my land for at least 10 years, maybe almost 15 now. Them critters multiply too.  :D

[ron barnes]

I have 4 bluebird boxes on our property.  We usually have bluebirds in 2 boxes at once.  So far, this year we have only one box occupied.  Yesterday evening I went to check the one box and a male bluebird was laying at the bottom of the tree dead and cold.  Female came out of the box and watched me for a few minutes and went back to sitting on the 4 eggs.  I have never seen something kill a bluebird.  I know they are feisty little fellers.  Hope mom and kids survive without Dad.

[HemlockKing]

I have been watching the 9 boxes I put out for mostly songbirds and so far I have noticed 2 different white breasted nut hatches brings nesting material to each, nothing in the other 7 so far but I did see a couple chickadees checking them out but they did not return

[SwampDonkey]

Cats kill a lot of them and I suppose cold weather can kill a few. I found a pheobe last year after one of them late snow storms. He had been around under the porch because he started about 3 nests, or she did. Found it stone cold next morning after the storm was over.

[woodroe]

Tree Swallows and Phoebes are back.
Mortality rate for Tree Swallows in the nest was high last year not sure why.
Cleaning out the boxes a month ago found 3 boxes each with a couple well 
developed birds that didn't make it. 

[SwampDonkey]

I had an adult tree swallow die last spring from exposure I assume. I noticed it when I seen something odd. The blue birds were investigation the box but would just poke there heads in. I said something is up, opened it up and found the dead swallow. The swallows had moved on to the other box and occupied it, then disappeared after fiercely defending it for 2 weeks. That was why the blue birds went to the other with the dead bird in it.

No tree swallows or blue birds yet. It is quite warm here now for early April, you could harrow the field here beside the house, the ground is firm and moist, not muck. The field down the road 1/4 mile has 3 springs that don't dry up until later. That has a big artesian aquifer feeding them. Where the well was dug for the house down there, it spurt out that like a geyser.

[Chuck White]

I put up 4 new birdhouses yesterday, I think that makes a total of around 16.

Today the temps got up into the 70's, so I thought about it, and took a barefoot walk around the yard and found that even though the temps were up, the ground is still cold.

My two Amish neighbor families have been working and planting their fields, also tilled their gardens!

Thinking about driving my JD 1023 to the back end of the neighbors field and check on the leeks, they should be popping now!