Ornithology (Bird) Thread

[doglegg]

Blue Jays letting their presence be known this morning....

Wonderful pics Ike. Is that last one a purple finch? I've yet to see one.

[Quick Steel]

Ike, your comments are too generous. My photos are mostly bush league. You are in the majors. Today's photos will demonstrate my point.

Early this morning a small flock of birds showed up that I could not identify. They left quickly and I did not get any decent shots. In the first picture there are two. Double clicking may help a bit. In the 2nd there are three. They kind of remind me of Cowbirds but without the distinctive brown heads.

If anyone has any suggestions, kindly share them.

[Waukonda]

Ike, your comments are too generous. My photos are mostly bush league. You are in the majors. Today's photos will demonstrate my point.

Early this morning a small flock of birds showed up that I could not identify. They left quickly and I did not get any decent shots. In the first picture there are two. Double clicking may help a bit. In the 2nd there are three. They kind of remind me of Cowbirds but without the distinctive brown heads.

If anyone has any suggestions, kindly share them.

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Strictly a guess, but I would go with female Cowbirds. They appear to be a little smaller than a Cowbird tho...

Re: Purple Finches.....I haven't had any, that was a House Finch in the photo. I also have yet see any Red Breasted Nuthatches, feeding has been a little slow this year.

[Waukonda]

One of my sons had this "Blue" Jay in his yard today.....

[Waukonda]

Had a pair of Towhees for a while this morning, the weather seems to have them alittle shellshocked.

[Waukonda]

Red Tailed Hawk

[doglegg]

Rather than post a poor pun I will say great pics Ike. I almost said cool pics.

[FRJ]

One of my sons had this "Blue" Jay in his yard today.....

I didn't know they camouflaged like that. Smart birds.

[Waukonda]

It is leucistic, I have seen examples in other speciesbut this is the first in a Blue Jay.

[bighomer]

[doglegg]

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You're not lacking in customers. The Cardinals pop!

[Waukonda]

Look at all those feeders!!! It's the feathered friends version of the Golden Corral! You are making those Cardinals happy!

[Quick Steel]

[Waukonda]

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I like seeing that White Crowned, don't get them in my yard .......for whatever reason.

[chickenman62]

This Pileated Woodpecker has been a regular customer lately.

[Boji]

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What you use for food to attract the cardinals? I only get fleeting looks at any. I have a squirrel problem, they trash the suet feeder and dump it on the ground. Same with black sunflower seeds. I have read to use cayenne pepper to keep the squirrels away but haven't tried it yet.

[PringleTree]

Back in March of last year I was driving home on a local country road when I saw a male Cardinal sitting right smack in the middle of the roadway. I thought that it would fly off with the approach of my car, but it didn't move as I slowly drove past within several feet of it. Thinking it was probably injured, I stopped and walked to it. It wasn't standing up on its legs, but hunched down on its underside, immobile. Straddling it, I reached down directly from above and gently picked it up. It remained silent and didn't struggle, but I felt it grab onto one of my fingers, which I thought was a good sign. I carried it over and placed it on a fallen tree limb at the edge of a woods that borders the road.

Afterward, as I was watching it from my car, I remembered that I had seen feral cats that live in that woods. Seeing a fork in a tree covered by many vines about eight feet off the ground, I thought it would be a better spot for it than on the ground. It still did not stir as I approached it, this time from the front. However, when I reached to pick it up, the movement of my hand toward him brought him out of his stupor, and he suddenly flew up, made a sharp right turn and landed in a tree about 15 feet away. I watched it for a few more minutes. He was standing up in his legs, moving his head around, and seemed very much alert. Satisfied he was on the mend, I headed home. My guess is that he had contact with a moving vehicle as he was flying across the road, and he was stunned. Fortunately, it wasn't enough to severely injure him.

This incident is one of my best memories from 2024. The Cardinal is our state bird here in West Virginia, and my family has always had an affinity for them. My grandparents always loved watching "the red birds " as they called them. The thought that I actually had an opportunity to hold a wild one in my hand is pretty special to me.

[doglegg]

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Quite the flock QS

[doglegg]

This Pileated Woodpecker has been a regular customer lately.

Love those things. Don't have any in my neck of the woods (plains).

[Waukonda]

This Pileated Woodpecker has been a regular customer lately.

Good one!!

[bighomer]

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What you use for food to attract the cardinals? I only get fleeting looks at any. I have a squirrel problem, they trash the suet feeder and dump it on the ground. Same with black sunflower seeds. I have read to use cayenne pepper to keep the squirrels away but haven't tried it yet.

Black oil sunflower seeds and cracked corn thrown on the ground for the ground feeding birds like doves and such. I try to get the woodpecker cake with the pepper spice on them when possible. I have more trouble with coons than I do treerats. I use a strong string to tie my suet feeders closed, not really tie I make loop and hang them on nails, works for me. Believe it or not I use the string off of old venetian blinds the stuff is as strong as anything I've found and will last for years. I've got a wad of it best string ever imo.

[Waukonda]

Towhee is back this morning

[Quick Steel]

I only spotted a Towhee around here once and never in winter. Got my first Red-Bellied Woodpecker this morning. White Crowned and Song Sparrows remain abundant.

[Quick Steel]

[Waukonda]

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One of my favorite birds