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whats in your wallet (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter seb_seb
- Start date
I have proven at least 34 species to be nesting in and around my yard. Some noteworthy species include:
Great-horned Owl (This resident pair fledged one young last year, but sadly they appear to have left the area this year for the first time in a number of years)
Red-tailed Hawk (Have seen the resident pair carrying nesting material already, so it looks like they are getting ready for another year)
Great-crested Flycatcher (Probable- one bird seen on the intruiging date of 6/29)
Eastern Phoebe (A pair nested under a bridge next to my house)
And Chipping Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Baltimore Oriole, three Woodpecker species, Killdeer, and Yellow Warbler among others.
Cats aren't really a problem here- the Owls get em'
~GECSOS
Great-horned Owl (This resident pair fledged one young last year, but sadly they appear to have left the area this year for the first time in a number of years)
Red-tailed Hawk (Have seen the resident pair carrying nesting material already, so it looks like they are getting ready for another year)
Great-crested Flycatcher (Probable- one bird seen on the intruiging date of 6/29)
Eastern Phoebe (A pair nested under a bridge next to my house)
And Chipping Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Baltimore Oriole, three Woodpecker species, Killdeer, and Yellow Warbler among others.
Cats aren't really a problem here- the Owls get em'
~GECSOS
Yep, 34 species!
That is a nice chunk of the 115 species I have recorded here.
I have an unusually large squirrel population though, for an area with such a high raptor density.
I actually added a species to the yard list today, a pair of Black Vultures soaring over a field.
Good birding!
~GECSOS
That is a nice chunk of the 115 species I have recorded here.
I have an unusually large squirrel population though, for an area with such a high raptor density.
I actually added a species to the yard list today, a pair of Black Vultures soaring over a field.
Good birding!
~GECSOS
Booga
Wil Wilson
I have two robins who nest in the ivy at the back of the garden. In the row of 4 houses I believe there another 5 who nest, they tend to argue quite a bit too. Also have blue-tits and last year a pair of coal-tits in our conifer.
A song thrush nests in a field maple at the back of the garden.
The amazing thin is that the garden is only 24ft wide by 40ft long, and next door have a cat! albeit a really stupid slow cat who appears to have no natural instinct for catching birds!
take care,
Boogs
A song thrush nests in a field maple at the back of the garden.
The amazing thin is that the garden is only 24ft wide by 40ft long, and next door have a cat! albeit a really stupid slow cat who appears to have no natural instinct for catching birds!
take care,
Boogs
seb_seb
Well-known member
yes...alot of the cats around here seem slow.fat and stupid!but they can turn into killers very quickly.
gecsos im amazed! having a blue tit in my next box is usually all for me:|
i also have a large grey squirrel population,the neighbour feeds them and they are very unhealthy(i think he feeds them chocolate) and cant even get on my bird table.
gecsos im amazed! having a blue tit in my next box is usually all for me:|
i also have a large grey squirrel population,the neighbour feeds them and they are very unhealthy(i think he feeds them chocolate) and cant even get on my bird table.
elaine rowe
Well-known member
can anyone tell me about waxwings?i just thought they were deformed starlings sat in the trees till a neighbour put me right.
also i thought ,being a novice at this,that thrush and greenfinch dissapeared in the winter apparantly not. again not knowledgable.their still here in abundance.
also i thought ,being a novice at this,that thrush and greenfinch dissapeared in the winter apparantly not. again not knowledgable.their still here in abundance.
Hi Elaine
Very jealous of anyone who gets Waxwings in their garden.Very few are seen in my area.With regard to thrushes you are much more likely to see them in the garden in winter than in the spring/summer.I have a resident Song thrush at the moment but only until spring.Greenfinches use the garden all the year (as long as you keep feeding them!)Mistle thrush left as soon as the Cotoneaster berries were finished.
Very jealous of anyone who gets Waxwings in their garden.Very few are seen in my area.With regard to thrushes you are much more likely to see them in the garden in winter than in the spring/summer.I have a resident Song thrush at the moment but only until spring.Greenfinches use the garden all the year (as long as you keep feeding them!)Mistle thrush left as soon as the Cotoneaster berries were finished.
elaine rowe
Well-known member
moved here 7 yrs ago small house big desolate garde planted native trees and bushes the waxwings started visiting three years ago.you must admit when their sat in the trees and wont come near the house they look like starlings with a crest on their heads.as ive said before im a novice to this birdwatching and still fascinated by the sparrowhawk and kestrel
Cindy M
Guest
I really need to learn some of this terminology- I thought, ok what's in my wallet? ummm a drivers license, a few dollars, some receipts... 3
like Gescos, we get quite a few species on our wooded property here in Michigan- the wooded area has been left in it's natural state providing many snags and crevices for the cavity nesters. In the two+ years I've lived here we've had 122 separate species that I've been able to document so far. Some of the notables that nest here are:
Barred Owls (one of my favorites- their mating calls can sound like howler monkeys & when I first heard the juveniles begging call I thought it was a wounded coyote squealing)
Northern Goshawk
7 species of woodpeckers (Pileated, Hairy, Red-bellied, Downy, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Red-headed)
Wood Thrush (my all time favorite songster)
Ovenbird & Veery- two more of my favorite singers
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
Baltimore Orioles
Tufted Titmice
Black-capped Chickadees
Pine Warblers
American Redstarts
and many other species of wood warblers/passerines. I hang a mental 'keep out' sign around the perimeter of our woods once birds are on territory and start nest-building, so I don't usually see the juvenile birds until after they've fledged.
Even in mid-winter we're hearing/seeing mating behavior. Great Horned Owls have been vocalizing and are starting their nest-building and we've had two red-bellied woodpecker males that have been calling back and forth non-stop for the past 2 days.. one will churr 2,3 times then do a rapid drumming- then the other answers- they do this for hours on end, staking out their territories. Spring is just around the corner .
and I just gotta ask- Booga, what is your beautiful avatar bird?
like Gescos, we get quite a few species on our wooded property here in Michigan- the wooded area has been left in it's natural state providing many snags and crevices for the cavity nesters. In the two+ years I've lived here we've had 122 separate species that I've been able to document so far. Some of the notables that nest here are:
Barred Owls (one of my favorites- their mating calls can sound like howler monkeys & when I first heard the juveniles begging call I thought it was a wounded coyote squealing)
Northern Goshawk
7 species of woodpeckers (Pileated, Hairy, Red-bellied, Downy, Northern Flicker, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Red-headed)
Wood Thrush (my all time favorite songster)
Ovenbird & Veery- two more of my favorite singers
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
Baltimore Orioles
Tufted Titmice
Black-capped Chickadees
Pine Warblers
American Redstarts
and many other species of wood warblers/passerines. I hang a mental 'keep out' sign around the perimeter of our woods once birds are on territory and start nest-building, so I don't usually see the juvenile birds until after they've fledged.
Even in mid-winter we're hearing/seeing mating behavior. Great Horned Owls have been vocalizing and are starting their nest-building and we've had two red-bellied woodpecker males that have been calling back and forth non-stop for the past 2 days.. one will churr 2,3 times then do a rapid drumming- then the other answers- they do this for hours on end, staking out their territories. Spring is just around the corner .
and I just gotta ask- Booga, what is your beautiful avatar bird?
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Cindy M
Guest
Tony, you're such a character! and really, I don't think it's so much of 'how many do you get' as it is 'how much do you enjoy the ones that are there'. Wooded habitat is very conducive to many different species, but on the other hand there is a great variety of birds that I can no longer call 'yardbirds' since moving to a heavily forested area.. birds like eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, house wrens, killdeer & eastern meadowlarks- I miss them all and now I must visit nearby areas in order to enjoy them. And yes, Barred Owls have made me jump out of my skin more than once- I've recorded alot of their calls and am amazed at how many different ones they have. How neat to have been in jungles where there are howler monkeys! I would love to visit the rainforests in my lifetime, before they're all burned down/chopped into pieces. All those beautiful birds, butterflies, flowers, bugs.. Now who's making who jealous
Cindy M
Guest
fascinating Tony, that had to be a very interesting and exciting adventure for you .. if/when I find time to upload some of the barred owl calls to my website, I'll give you a holler.. in the meantime though, there is an amazing website put together by a man who lives in Massachusetts, where he has been documenting the natural history of 2 Barred Owls since 1997- amazing photo footage and he's recorded quite a few of their different vocalizations. If you've never visited the owlcam page, you're in for a real treat- it's at:
http://www.owlcam.com/index.htm
and hi Boogs- appreciate the reply, your kingfisher is a beauty. Good luck getting that non-blurry shot, they're one of the more difficult birds here to capture but certainly worth the wait.
http://www.owlcam.com/index.htm
and hi Boogs- appreciate the reply, your kingfisher is a beauty. Good luck getting that non-blurry shot, they're one of the more difficult birds here to capture but certainly worth the wait.
vicky@glos
Well-known member
Hi all,
I have had bluetits, greattits in bird boxes. Robin at the bottom of the garden. On my house or should I say under the eves Starlings and House Sparrows.
No more birds nesting inside my house but also in my roof I can add 2 female piperstrille bats. The male passes late summer before the birth which is then born in spring. I have had this checked out. So far in the almost 5 years of living in this house, I have only ever seen 1 young bat.
Vicky@glos
I have had bluetits, greattits in bird boxes. Robin at the bottom of the garden. On my house or should I say under the eves Starlings and House Sparrows.
No more birds nesting inside my house but also in my roof I can add 2 female piperstrille bats. The male passes late summer before the birth which is then born in spring. I have had this checked out. So far in the almost 5 years of living in this house, I have only ever seen 1 young bat.
Vicky@glos
mkdon
Well-known member
Hello from PA, USA
My nesters are the baltimore oriole, ruby throated hummingbird, american goldfinch, carolina wren, house wren, house sparrow (oh, well), black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, house finch, and northern cardinal. I am lucky enough to have a small forest behind my home and a border of evergreens and shrubs to one side. There are also trees directly across the street so I consider myself very lucky. I probably also have the downey woodpicker nesting but I have no visual proof. Thanks.
My nesters are the baltimore oriole, ruby throated hummingbird, american goldfinch, carolina wren, house wren, house sparrow (oh, well), black-capped chickadee, tufted titmouse, house finch, and northern cardinal. I am lucky enough to have a small forest behind my home and a border of evergreens and shrubs to one side. There are also trees directly across the street so I consider myself very lucky. I probably also have the downey woodpicker nesting but I have no visual proof. Thanks.
LuBird
Well-known member
We get Mourning Doves,Robins,and Tree Swallows nesting here regularly.
I don't understand why the other birds that feed and water here every year don't nest here.
Baltimore Orioles came to eat from the grape jelly feeder and even brought their young to train in the art of eating jelly,but the following year they did not return. In the Fall as the leaves fell,I tried to spy for their nest in trees not on our property,but never found any.
Is there something I could do to help attract an Oriole to nest on or around our home? I do so love the look of the nest and their mating call is the most beautiful sound I ever heard.
I don't understand why the other birds that feed and water here every year don't nest here.
Baltimore Orioles came to eat from the grape jelly feeder and even brought their young to train in the art of eating jelly,but the following year they did not return. In the Fall as the leaves fell,I tried to spy for their nest in trees not on our property,but never found any.
Is there something I could do to help attract an Oriole to nest on or around our home? I do so love the look of the nest and their mating call is the most beautiful sound I ever heard.
mkdon
Well-known member
Hi LuBird,
I am attaching a picture of the orioles post that I use. I have some spikes driven to a 4x4 post. I put them so the bird can perch and eat. I coated the spikes with plastic so they would be better to perch on. I have actually had better luck with oranges than with grape jelly. Good Luck
I am attaching a picture of the orioles post that I use. I have some spikes driven to a 4x4 post. I put them so the bird can perch and eat. I coated the spikes with plastic so they would be better to perch on. I have actually had better luck with oranges than with grape jelly. Good Luck
Attachments
mkdon
Well-known member
Hi seb seb,
There are certain birds in this part of the world that will come to grape jelly. They are mainly, naturally, fruit loving birds. The main birds that are attracted to grape jelly are the catbird, oriole, and even robins sometimes. I think, however, that our robins are different from yours. Save a bit from your breakfast and see if you have any luck.
There are certain birds in this part of the world that will come to grape jelly. They are mainly, naturally, fruit loving birds. The main birds that are attracted to grape jelly are the catbird, oriole, and even robins sometimes. I think, however, that our robins are different from yours. Save a bit from your breakfast and see if you have any luck.
LuBird
Well-known member
Thanks mkdon for the photo. I can rig up something like that and see what happens this spring. The thing is,the Orioles first came to the Hummingbird feeders. I have an oriole feeder and wood feeder with a spike to stick orange halves on,but they ignored it and only went for the grape jelly. I tried other jellies,like Raspberry,blackberry, and peach. They would not touch it. In fact,once I put the grape jelly out,that was the only thing they would eat. They were coming back every 10 min. I bought grape jelly by the gross because it was so much fun to watch. When husband Jim would come home from work,late afternoon, he would call to them and in they would come. It was a wonderful experience. Now I have a cupboard full of grape jelly and not one bird is interested in it. However,the ants are more than happy to partake,but I refuse to provide for them,unless I could interest a few Flickers to eat the ants)))
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