hello all...i am feeling the need to express gratitude to this forum and all you bird lovers..
I discovered this site last spring when i happened upon a dying nestling on the ground. I was desperate for some support but was met with lectures and alot of tsk tsk-ing from other bird forums. I just wanted an I.D on the baby bird and when i came to this site I received the I.D AND the support.
The baby bird turned out to be a Baltimore oriole..at that time the only birds i noticed around here were robins, sparrows and barn swallows that return every year. So i was amazed to find this oriole as i had never noticed them around.
Well after 2 months of rehabbing and weaning off being hand fed "chirpchirp" left us on his migration to somewhere way south (so i'd hoped). I was surprisingly upset when he/she left but i comforted myself with what i had achieved in bringing him/her back from certain death. I had a new appreciation for birds in general. I also hoped i would see chirpchirp again in the spring.
I began my daily ritual of an hour on the internet researching info on north american birds, set up bird feeders and birdbaths and also got my husband to build 3 bird houses this spring. I got myself a bird identification book and readied myself to be more "aware" of the springtime arrivals to my yard (i have 2 acres)...well...i can't believe how many species i "never noticed" in the past...the most beautiful bird i have seen so far is a male Baltimore oriole!! He arrived 5 days ago and is enjoying the oranges,nectar, jelly and meal worms i put out for him.
Other birds to visit my yard so far...downy woodpecker, american goldfinch, blue jays, brownheadded cowbirds, whitebreasted nuthatch. pine sisken, 3 northern flickers, noisy kildeers in the fields surrounding my property, coopers hawk, mourning doves, chickadees, many varieties of sparrows, juncos, .
Today i saw a rose breasted grosbeak and the first swallow!! I am just amazed at all this bird life around us!
Sorry for babbling but i am just so thankful for this sense of peace i have...life really does go on, regardless of what goes on in our personal lives.
I have noticed that the early arrivals(passerines) seem to be solitary males...am i correct in assuming that the females and juveniles will arrive shortly? I can't wait for the nest building to begin and am looking forward to observing the various mating, nesting, and baby rearing habits of my feathered neighbors.
One more question..does an oriole change into breeding plumage in his first year? Could this oriole be chirpchirp? I say his name when i put out the worms and i see/hear him chatter in the nearest tree and when i go back inside he comes to the deck. Probably wishful thinking..
Anyway...glad to get this off my chest even if noone reads my longwinded post lol....
signed,
a new bird watcher and loving it!
I discovered this site last spring when i happened upon a dying nestling on the ground. I was desperate for some support but was met with lectures and alot of tsk tsk-ing from other bird forums. I just wanted an I.D on the baby bird and when i came to this site I received the I.D AND the support.
The baby bird turned out to be a Baltimore oriole..at that time the only birds i noticed around here were robins, sparrows and barn swallows that return every year. So i was amazed to find this oriole as i had never noticed them around.
Well after 2 months of rehabbing and weaning off being hand fed "chirpchirp" left us on his migration to somewhere way south (so i'd hoped). I was surprisingly upset when he/she left but i comforted myself with what i had achieved in bringing him/her back from certain death. I had a new appreciation for birds in general. I also hoped i would see chirpchirp again in the spring.
I began my daily ritual of an hour on the internet researching info on north american birds, set up bird feeders and birdbaths and also got my husband to build 3 bird houses this spring. I got myself a bird identification book and readied myself to be more "aware" of the springtime arrivals to my yard (i have 2 acres)...well...i can't believe how many species i "never noticed" in the past...the most beautiful bird i have seen so far is a male Baltimore oriole!! He arrived 5 days ago and is enjoying the oranges,nectar, jelly and meal worms i put out for him.
Other birds to visit my yard so far...downy woodpecker, american goldfinch, blue jays, brownheadded cowbirds, whitebreasted nuthatch. pine sisken, 3 northern flickers, noisy kildeers in the fields surrounding my property, coopers hawk, mourning doves, chickadees, many varieties of sparrows, juncos, .
Today i saw a rose breasted grosbeak and the first swallow!! I am just amazed at all this bird life around us!
Sorry for babbling but i am just so thankful for this sense of peace i have...life really does go on, regardless of what goes on in our personal lives.
I have noticed that the early arrivals(passerines) seem to be solitary males...am i correct in assuming that the females and juveniles will arrive shortly? I can't wait for the nest building to begin and am looking forward to observing the various mating, nesting, and baby rearing habits of my feathered neighbors.
One more question..does an oriole change into breeding plumage in his first year? Could this oriole be chirpchirp? I say his name when i put out the worms and i see/hear him chatter in the nearest tree and when i go back inside he comes to the deck. Probably wishful thinking..
Anyway...glad to get this off my chest even if noone reads my longwinded post lol....
signed,
a new bird watcher and loving it!
