BIRDS

[KEC]

Chuck, Let us know if your sumac takes. I think you could just pull a shoot out with some roots on and it will easily transplant. A state DEC biologist I knew did his masters degree study on wild turkeys. He said that a tom can inseminate a hen and she can lay fertile eggs up to a month later. So hens in a big flock can mate, then go off somewhere by themselves to nest.

[SwampDonkey]

Once you get that sumac growing it will be everywhere.    It's pretty in the fall though and the berry heads are interesting. The old people collected the berries and made a sort of lemonade with them. There seems to be two sexes with them, so be sure to get several to be sure. I knew an old fella that cut the central stick in one clump that was big enough to make jewelry boxes. Kinda reminds me of butternut wood, but a lot more pores, both are diffuse porous woods. Kinda olive green wood. Both are light weight and soft.

[Chuck White]

In years, way back the locals would make sap spouts (spiles) out of Sumac.

Really soft wood and very soft pith, they would cut into about 4-5 inch lengths, split them lengthwise, remove the pith, then whittle one end to fit in the drilled hole!

If you can find them nowadays, they are collector items!

[trapper]

I saw someone take the pith out with a hot rod at a surip making demo

[Chuck White]

Saw my first (of the year) Eastern Bluebird hopping along the rail on the back porch this morning!

We had 32F this morning and now it's 50F, that's an improvement!

[SwampDonkey]

40°F here currently and on my walk I saw that old Tom turkey with his girls again.    They sure are skittish since we started a hunting season on them. They used to be as tame has barn hens. 

[KEC]

Years ago, when it was bucks only deer hunting here, does were not too wary. A biologist I knew said: wait 'till they start issuing doe permits and you'll see how hard they get to hunt." He was right! Does are just as wary as bucks here now.

[Ron Scott]

Once you get that sumac growing it will be everywhere.    It's pretty in the fall though and the berry heads are interesting. The old people collected the berries and made a sort of lemonade with them. There seems to be two sexes with them, so be sure to get several to be sure. I knew an old fella that cut the central stick in one clump that was big enough to make jewelry boxes. Kinda reminds me of butternut wood, but a lot more pores, both are diffuse porous woods. Kinda olive green wood. Both are light weight and soft.

Yes, it can be invasive and may need to be controlled.

[KEC]

My wife and I sat in lawn chairs in the front yard today to watch the eclipse. I watched the birds to see how they responded. Birds seemed to come to a feeding station as the light dimmed to "fill up before going to roost"  then they went off to roost. A Mourning Dove flew into some conifers to roost. As it got dark the spring peepers started singing. When it got light again, the dove came out, the birds returned to feeding and birds started singing as they do at dawn. The view of the eclipse was hampered by a  cloudy sky, though, for a few minutes, it got quite dark.

[SwampDonkey]

I watched the crows here and they did nothing different through the whole process. Never roosted either, they were flying and crowing as usual.  Pigeons as well, they were picking gravel out on the road through it all. Was no song birds to observe in the yard.

[aigheadish]

The birds around me started making dusk time noises, but we didn't get peepers going. What I noticed was how quiet everything was, right at totality. 

[KEC]

SD, I don't know about the pigeons but maybe the crows (being smarter than most birds) heard that it would not stay dark for long.      About birds gritting along the road, crossbills are dedicated gritters and one of the best ways to see them is to pay attention to birds in the road.

[SwampDonkey]

Saw a bluebird this morning sitting on a lower branch of the white birch, which is not far from the nest boxes. I think they were here on the 15th last April.

[aigheadish]

Via the Merlin app, it was suggested that I had a northern mockingbird. I didn't think that was really a thing until the birder lady at work confirmed it. Well, today I was out leaf blowing and I heard a bunch of crazy bird noises. I opened the app and sure enough, northern mockingbird. I hunted it out to confirm. Too cool.

[thecfarm]

Wife saw a bluebird on our fence today. She pointed it out to me!!!

[KEC]

We've all heard the phrase "in the catbird seat", right. The people who coined that phrase were actually reffering to the Northern Mockingbird; they like to sing from high perches. Gray Catbirds are skulkers that tend to sing and stay in thick cover. Mockingbirds immitate many others birds and they fool the Merlin phone app.

[caveman]

Just before dusk while hauling a load of slabs to the burn pile with the telehandler, I saw a big, colorful bird on the fence by my driveway.  At first, I thought it was a tom turkey.  Something was not quite right, and I turned to get a better look at it.  It was a peacock.  I have no idea where it came from.  One of my neighbor friends was down here as John and I were finishing up this evening.  He said that he has seen four or five peafowl back behind his place and that they were some kind of skittish.  

[DDW_OR]

i sometimes use the Merlin app, on the birds on the TV or DVD
it works!!

[Chuck White]

I've noticed that the pesty little Phoebee's have been back for about a week, we also have Tree Swallows now, fighting over the birdhouses along with the Eastern Bluebirds!

[SwampDonkey]

Yep, the pheobes are back as well, but no tree swallows here yet. A bit too early for them, usually May up here. One time barn swallows came too early, it turned cold and about wiped them out. We no longer get large numbers now. Plus, not that many barns, but they also go to bridges on dirt roads or camp eves and such. I remember seeing them 50 miles in the bush under logging road bridges and fish camp eves. 

[Chuck White]

The Hummingbirds will be arriving in 3-4 weeks, they usually start showing up between the 7th and 11th of May.

Once in a while, the catch me by surprise and get here a few days early!

[SwampDonkey]

I did see some tree swallows around this morning. A bit early for a swallow up here.

[WhitePineJunky]

Hummers, swallows, pretty much all the usual suspects here now, hermit thrushes are present but no evening song calls from them yet 

[SwampDonkey]

No hummers here yet, no flowers and cold. And have not heard any white throated sparrows yet. Those sparrows will probably be here this coming week. The old people called them 'sweet whether birds' and were often confused for black capped chickadee songs.

Bluebirds have been defending their nest box against tree swallow invasions, but there is another box that they have settled on. There's probably 6 tree swallows around the box.

[Chuck White]

Bluebirds and Tree Swallows are busy now.

Haven't seen a Hummingbird, Rose Breasted Grossbeak or a Brown Thrasher yet!