Birders' Nest

[Stürmisch Bewegt]

Cool!  About 10-15 years ago, we had an albino Cardinal living in the area. I saw him 3-4 times, he was very impressive looking. Never saw anything like that though!

I have also seen an albino cardinal - at my parents' house in upstate NY.  If it were a true albino, distinct from a leucistic (pinkish) one, it wouldn't have had a long shelf (er, branch) life - melanin is required for good eyesight. 

[Stürmisch Bewegt]

Saw my first red-tailed hawk yesterday.  Most impressive.

My favorite bird is the brown thrasher. Love the feverish thrashing about, the incredibly incompetent flying - a laugh riot at times! - , and their belligerence (one of few birds that will attack humans if provoked).   

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Saw my first red-tailed hawk yesterday.  Most impressive.

My favorite bird is the brown thrasher. Love the feverish thrashing about, the incredibly incompetent flying - a laugh riot at times! - , and their belligerence (one of few birds that will attack humans if provoked).

Delighted to read that you saw a red-tailed hawk!  One of my favorite birds.  I often see them where I live (now that I'm looking for them).  An acquaintance recently shared a photo of a leucistic RTH with me.  You can see it here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/79774811@N00/50982939208/sizes/k/

PD

[MusicTurner]

Delighted to read that you saw a red-tailed hawk!  One of my favorite birds.  I often see them where I live (now that I'm looking for them).  An acquaintance recently shared a photo of a leucistic RTH with me.  You can see it here:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/79774811@N00/50982939208/sizes/k/

PD

That's a very beautiful bird, for sure.

[Szykneij]

Definitely an extra suet day for the backyard visitors.

[Gurn Blanston]

Definitely an extra suet day for the backyard visitors.

Indeed, winter appears to not be over yet.

We got 2.1" of rain yesterday. The Mob had emptied their feeder and it was just raining too hard to go out and mess with it. I finally did in the late afternoon, and before I even got back in the house, it was overrun. In another couple of weeks, I won't be able to give away seed, but right now..!!!

[Gurn Blanston]

Had a special visitor at the feeder this morning:



We haven't had a purple finch here since 2002, even though they are said to be inhabitants of the area. I hope it sticks around for a while, and maybe brings some friends! 

[Szykneij]

Had a special visitor at the feeder this morning:



We haven't had a purple finch here since 2002, even though they are said to be inhabitants of the area. I hope it sticks around for a while, and maybe brings some friends! 

It's hard to differentiate between purple finches and house finches, but I'm pretty sure the flocks that visit my feeders are house finches. They're the most common birds at my thistle feeders, followed by goldfinches and chickadees.

[Gurn Blanston]

It's hard to differentiate between purple finches and house finches, but I'm pretty sure the flocks that visit my feeders are house finches. They're the most common birds at my thistle feeders, followed by goldfinches and chickadees.

Not so hard when you see them together. Actually, they look more like cardinals from some angles, like head-on from the front. My wife was looking at it when I came in, and she said it was some weird-looking cardinal. The it turned sideways and it was more obvious!

All of our goldfinches have flown north for the summer. We had a potful of them until ~2 weeks ago, the males were just starting to color up. Then one day they were completely gone.  

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Had a special visitor at the feeder this morning:



We haven't had a purple finch here since 2002, even though they are said to be inhabitants of the area. I hope it sticks around for a while, and maybe brings some friends! 

Oh sweet!    My neighbor said that she has seen purple finches at her feeders, but I haven't seen them.  I went for a walk with a friend today, and we saw three red-tailed hawks (or has he says, could be the same hawk three times, but I don't think so!  ).  Funnily enough, I went inside after some errands together to get some soup for him to take home.  I happened to see a RTH fly over or around my house (was working at the sink and happened to catch it for several seconds flying low).  I quickly went outside to see if I could still see it (delayed a bit as I was in the middle of washing my hands) and couldn't find it again.  Then when I went outside to give him some food to take home with him, he mentioned that I had just missed seeing one fly by; I explained to him what had happened.  Cool that we both were able to see it!    And a lovely walk by a local river today too...good for the body, mind and soul....particularly these days.

PD

[Gurn Blanston]

Oh sweet!    My neighbor said that she has seen purple finches at her feeders, but I haven't seen them.  I went for a walk with a friend today, and we saw three red-tailed hawks (or has he says, could be the same hawk three times, but I don't think so!  ).  Funnily enough, I went inside after some errands together to get some soup for him to take home.  I happened to see a RTH fly over or around my house (was working at the sink and happened to catch it for several seconds flying low).  I quickly went outside to see if I could still see it (delayed a bit as I was in the middle of washing my hands) and couldn't find it again.  Then when I went outside to give him some food to take home with him, he mentioned that I had just missed seeing one fly by; I explained to him what had happened.  Cool that we both were able to see it!    And a lovely walk by a local river today too...good for the body, mind and soul....particularly these days.

PD

Nice! I was just out in the yard hitting golf balls (well, to be fair, the 'yard' is ~5 acres), and a pair of RTH's that seem to be nesting in the pine forest adjacent came flying out and yelling at me, that neat shriek they make. They circled around for a while, seemingly mocking my efforts to hit one solidly, then back into the woods. I need to find their nest without disturbing them.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Nice! I was just out in the yard hitting golf balls (well, to be fair, the 'yard' is ~5 acres), and a pair of RTH's that seem to be nesting in the pine forest adjacent came flying out and yelling at me, that neat shriek they make. They circled around for a while, seemingly mocking my efforts to hit one solidly, then back into the woods. I need to find their nest without disturbing them.

Hi Gurn.

You mean their war cry?    Click on the top one of the calls buttons here:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/sounds  It sounds like they were concerned about the 'activity' going on around them and felt threatened by an intruder (alas, you).  Hopefully, you weren't inadvertently hitting your golf balls towards were they were nesting?  Remember (or if you didn't already know this), RTH's can see 8X better at a distance than we mere mortals.  This is due to the many photoreceptors in their retina:  up to 1,000,000 per square mm for hawks vs. only 200,000 for humans.  A normal human has 20/20 vision (when standing 20 feet away from something, you see it as if you're standing 20 feet away). Hawks have 20/2 vision.  They see something 20 feet away as if they were seeing it 2 feet away.

So, I suspect (just my thoughts here) that this also translates into what can be perceived as a 'nearby threat' gets a different meaning to them.  Plus, if they are in the midst of laying eggs (or already have), they are going to be hyper-vigilant of protecting their nest (= the nursery).

Fun fact:  they can also see UV light. 

Best wishes (and good luck with your golf),

PD

[Gurn Blanston]

Hi Gurn.

You mean their war cry?    Click on the top one of the calls buttons here:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/sounds  It sounds like they were concerned about the 'activity' going on around them and felt threatened by an intruder (alas, you).  Hopefully, you weren't inadvertently hitting your golf balls towards were they were nesting?  Remember (or if you didn't already know this), RTH's can see 8X better at a distance than we mere mortals.  This is due to the many photoreceptors in their retina:  up to 1,000,000 per square mm for hawks vs. only 200,000 for humans.  A normal human has 20/20 vision (when standing 20 feet away from something, you see it as if you're standing 20 feet away). Hawks have 20/2 vision.  They see something 20 feet away as if they were seeing it 2 feet away.

So, I suspect (just my thoughts here) that this also translates into what can be perceived as a 'nearby threat' gets a different meaning to them.  Plus, if they are in the midst of laying eggs (or already have), they are going to be hyper-vigilant of protecting their nest (= the nursery).

Fun fact:  they can also see UV light. 

Best wishes (and good luck with your golf),

PD

  Naw, they are nesting well back in the woods. I don't doubt they were irked that I was there, but that can't be helped, it is right along the main longitudinal highway on the property, people gotta go where they gotta go.

I didn't know they can see UV light, that's very interesting. I wonder what value it adds to their lifestyle. Maybe it makes prey animals glow a bit...

My golf is beyond help, I'm afraid. I used to play regularly and achieved the status of not embarrassing myself in front of strangers, but now I rarely get the opportunity to play, and I actually embarrass myself in front of myself... 



PS - The Purple Finch was back this morning, that was nice to see.  

[Pohjolas Daughter]

  Naw, they are nesting well back in the woods. I don't doubt they were irked that I was there, but that can't be helped, it is right along the main longitudinal highway on the property, people gotta go where they gotta go.

I didn't know they can see UV light, that's very interesting. I wonder what value it adds to their lifestyle. Maybe it makes prey animals glow a bit...

My golf is beyond help, I'm afraid. I used to play regularly and achieved the status of not embarrassing myself in front of strangers, but now I rarely get the opportunity to play, and I actually embarrass myself in front of myself... 



PS - The Purple Finch was back this morning, that was nice to see.

Glad that your finch came back.    Trying to remember what all I read.  It was through a link on a Cornell site.  When/if I find it again, I'll let you know.

Speaking of RTHs, I heard some war crying whilst in my living room!  Went outside, but couldn't see the birds.  Wonder whether or not there was a territorial dispute?  Or if a hawk was tired of being picked on by a murder of crows?  Or....??  Have you heard/read any reports of any RTHs laying eggs in your area yet?  I've been following the activity of the pair at Cornell (female = Big Red and is I want to say, now about 15 years old?; male = Arthur and I think about 4 years old.  Big Red had a mate for many years named Ezra who, alas, passed away.  Big Red then met Arthur.).  Several weeks ago, they started making trips to their nest often bring fresh twigs and bark to spiff up things.  This past week or so, they've been increasingly busy mating.  I suspect that the first egg will be laid within the next couple of weeks?  Cornell has two web cams in the nest.  Fun to see what happens in there and watching the little ones hatch and grow up.  You might get a kick out of watching this short video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3BunMXFNTg

By the way, the lighter colored one (in the foreground) is Arthur.  Big Red is in the distance (She's also the only one banded.).

Question:  how do you manage to find all of your golf balls in such a big area?!

PD

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Pleased to report that I saw *two hawks go to the nest nearby today.  One of them actually went into it too.  Hope that there will soon be some eggs laid there. 

I suspect that it's the same pair that nested there last year though I've never been able to see them well enough to get a sense of their coloring/markings.

[Szykneij]

I'm on the Cornell Labs Feederwatch list and just got this message. It's not too late to participate. I did last year and enjoyed it, but decided to skip it this time around. Hopefully, the links from the email will work.

Hi Tony,

We've extended the season!

We have some exciting news for all FeederWatch participants: we've extended the counting season through the end of April! Normally FeederWatch ends in early April, but we learned after last year's extension that many people enjoyed counting during the arrival of spring. Please enjoy these few extra weeks of FeederWatch. The last day to start a two-day count will be Thursday, April 29. Remember, you can count on a schedule of your choosing, so if you don't want to count in April that is okay too. Any counts you have made this season are valuable, even if you only counted once.

Things to keep in mind

With this extension into the spring season, you may see colorful birds like orioles, grosbeaks and buntings at your feeders—species that overwinter to the south of most FeederWatch locations. Note that you may be asked to confirm sightings of some of these summertime species because we are still refining our data checking system for April. We appreciate your patience with that. Additionally, springtime weather means bear activity may increase. If there are active bears in your area, please remove feeders for safety, and just count birds attracted to water features or plantings that you maintain within your count site. Finally, if you live in an area where there is currently a Salmonella outbreak, please be sure to follow guidance from local wildlife authorities. If they recommend keeping your feeders down for an extended period of time, you can simply count birds attracted to other features within your count site.

Thank you for FeederWatching!

Emma Greig
Project FeederWatch

Have questions about FeederWatch?


https://feederwatch.org/

[Szykneij]

I seems the pandemic has made birds more musical.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/the-pandemic-is-making-birds-more-musical/ar-BB1eyk8E?ocid=msedgdhp

[Gurn Blanston]

Glad that your finch came back.    Trying to remember what all I read.  It was through a link on a Cornell site.  When/if I find it again, I'll let you know.

Speaking of RTHs, I heard some war crying whilst in my living room!  Went outside, but couldn't see the birds.  Wonder whether or not there was a territorial dispute?  Or if a hawk was tired of being picked on by a murder of crows?  Or....??  Have you heard/read any reports of any RTHs laying eggs in your area yet?  I've been following the activity of the pair at Cornell (female = Big Red and is I want to say, now about 15 years old?; male = Arthur and I think about 4 years old.  Big Red had a mate for many years named Ezra who, alas, passed away.  Big Red then met Arthur.).  Several weeks ago, they started making trips to their nest often bring fresh twigs and bark to spiff up things.  This past week or so, they've been increasingly busy mating.  I suspect that the first egg will be laid within the next couple of weeks?  Cornell has two web cams in the nest.  Fun to see what happens in there and watching the little ones hatch and grow up.  You might get a kick out of watching this short video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3BunMXFNTg

By the way, the lighter colored one (in the foreground) is Arthur.  Big Red is in the distance (She's also the only one banded.).

Question:  how do you manage to find all of your golf balls in such a big area?!

PD

Pleased to report that I saw *two hawks go to the nest nearby today.  One of them actually went into it too.  Hope that there will soon be some eggs laid there. 

I suspect that it's the same pair that nested there last year though I've never been able to see them well enough to get a sense of their coloring/markings.

No, I haven't heard anything, but I am fairly sure the pair in the woods/field are working at it. I was seeing them together quite often, but now they are almost always separate. I reckon they take turns staying home. We have lots of crows here, I imagine that's not an unusual thing. But I have frequently seen them ganging up on hawks, and one morning they had a big GH Owl penned up in a tree near the driveway, I ended up late for work so I could watch him try to extract himself from his predicament. Not sure why they don't just bull their way out, but they seem to want to tiptoe out the side door, which is difficult with 20 crows on the lookout!

Great! Nice opportunity for nest-watching. I agree, I would be almost positive that it is the same pair as previous. Mine don't seem ever to leave, they are here year 'round, only their behavior seems to change.



PS - Golf balls. I keep that field mowed as though it was my lawn. I hate walking in deep grass, get covered up in redbug bites, and not to put tooo fine a point on it, this IS snake country!  

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Went out for a couple of really nice walks yesterday.  Saw my local hawk couple several times including one that was at quite close range twice (or two once?).  I really must start bringing my camera with me (versus phone).  Had some beautiful views of them flying next to or over a river, one of them hanging out on top of a lamppost....another time, one of them sitting calmly on a big and 'fluffy' pine tree branch. 

As I was leaving that area, I happened to notice a big shadow move over me.  I looked upwards in the direction that the shadow had moved expecting to see a red-tailed hawk; instead, I saw a bigger bird with dark wings but it had a white head and tail.  It was a bald eagle!  It circled over me and nearby a few times eventually disappearing into the sunlight.   Made my day!

PD

[Stürmisch Bewegt]

PD, I had a similar experience out mowing my lawn several years ago, when a large shadow passed over me.  I thought it might be the grim reaper at first and looked up to greet him but it was a bald eagle - couldn't help but wonder if mine might have momentarily considered if I might be edible, as it then circled a bit... I've always been impressed with their high flying ways:  up to 10,000 feet.  But that's nuthin' compared to Ruppell's griffon vulture (endangered) which has been spotted flying at 37,000 feet (the same height as a coasting commercial airplane).