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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Recent content by smallonion

  1. smallonion

    Starling info wanted please - Philadelphia, PA

    Hi everyone, I am a very novice bird person (but adore birds... even starlings). Anyway, every year, around this time, not only do I see many more starlings around, but also I see absolutely HUGE flocks swarming around, perching on (and covering) the wires, etc. I mean huge flocks of at least...
  2. smallonion

    Bird ID - possibly not wild - philadelphia PA

    Thanks Dave - do you think that means it is someone's pet or from someone''s personal collection?
  3. smallonion

    Bird ID - possibly not wild - philadelphia PA

    Hello - I am trying to determine if this bird, attached, is a wild bird or someone's escaped pet. It has been hanging around the workplace of our neighbor. He says it is fairly tame - doesn't flap away when approached. Finding out what kind of bird this is will help me to identify if it is a...
  4. smallonion

    Boat tailed grackle female?! Philadelphia, PA

    Thanks - then it must be a juvie Common Grackle. It is MUCH too big to be a starling baby., and a darker brown than the starling babies I see around here.
  5. smallonion

    Baby bird question/ ID Philadelphia, PA

    I am a volunteer at the Schuylkill Center - when did I see you? Did you bring a bird in? I haven't seen the baby and his 'parent' yet today, but I'm on the lookout. Thanks everyone!
  6. smallonion

    Boat tailed grackle female?! Philadelphia, PA

    Hi! Today in my yard I had a big brown bird. At first I thought some type of crow, but on getting a better look, it was smaller than a crow, and looked a lot like a grackle. However, it was brown, not black -and not an iridescent brown, just a brown. Upon looking it up, it appears to be a female...
  7. smallonion

    Baby bird question/ ID Philadelphia, PA

    I am so excited to think that it might be a baby cowbird. I volunteer at a wildlife rehab and currently we have a cowbird fledgling around the same age, which suggests that fledgling cowbirds are around in the area. I will look much more closely tomorrow!
  8. smallonion

    Baby bird question/ ID Philadelphia, PA

    Hi! In my yard all day, a big, fat fluffy baby bird has been following another bird around - and the one he is following is a lot smaller. He is gaping for the smaller bird. The smaller bird is some sort of LBJ - I think it's a song sparrow as opposed to the normal house sparrow. I can't tell...
  9. smallonion

    Swallow or swift? Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Veagle, I think the characters I saw very well could be Cliff Swallows - thanks! Manyunk is doing well - we only moved here a year ago (from England) and are enjoying it so far! Thanks Michele
  10. smallonion

    Swallow or swift? Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Hi Al Kat, I think I would have noticed that brilliant blue of the top of the barn swallow. I think the top of the birds I saw were more dark grey/black. Any other ideas? Many thanks
  11. smallonion

    Swallow or swift? Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Hi! Here in Philadelphia (Manayunk section) there is a canal and towpath (Manayunk Canal) with some small bridges over the canal. Underneath there are nests that look like they are made from mud, and perching on them are small birds, who also flit and fly over the water, catching insects on the...
  12. smallonion

    Excellent weekend bird variety in my yard!

    Awesome weekend at my feeders and on the ground in the yard in Philadelphia! (safflower seeds, hot pepper suet cakes and sunflower chips, whole grain bread on the ground). I've had: Mr. & Mrs Northern Cardinal (sorry, always call the male & female that!) Mr. & Mrs. House Finch Grey Catbird...
  13. smallonion

    Fav Bird Book

    Two of my favorites are * "Providence of a Sparrow" by Chris Chester - one of the most funny, witty, touching books I've ever read. One of my top 3 books of all time, and I was an English major! * How to be a Bad Bird Watcher" by Simon Barnes - about enjoying birds, without letting 'birding'...
  14. smallonion

    The entertaining Great-Tailed Grackle!

    I love grackles - but have you ever seen a baby grackle!? They are hilarious - and look so endearing in a cute/ugly kind of way. I do volunteer work at a wildlife rehab, and we have many baby birds at the moment, including a few grackles.They are SUCH enthusiastic beggars for food, to say the least!
  15. smallonion

    Dove killed in my yard - question

    This morning I awoke to a sad sight - mourning dove feathers *everywhere* all over my patio. Hundreds and hundreds of them. There has been a juvenile dove hanging around lately so I suspect it was him. We do get a lot of hawks around here (urban Philadelphia, PA) and because all the feathers...
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