Do you have a favorite? (1 Viewer)

Do you have a favorite bird? One in which when you see it you smile from ear to ear just from the mere sight of it? Rare or Common as dirt.

I have this White-Breated Nuthatch that visits my feeder daily. My wife just loves him, infact we named him Sid. When my wife feeds and waters the birds daily he is certain to show up and dance around in the tree above her singing and making his little noises. Enclosed is a pic of Sid, the Nuthatch.


So whats your favorite?

Any parrot, but especially Sulfur Cressted Cockatoos. I used to love watching them in Australia. They would do acrobatics on the telephone wires or drop coconuts from palms to crack them. When they land, they fling their heads forward and open their crests as if to say, "Here I am! Look at me!" I just LOVE them.

-25 said:

Do you have a favorite bird? One in which when you see it you smile from ear to ear just from the mere sight of it? Rare or Common as dirt.

I have this White-Breated Nuthatch that visits my feeder daily. My wife just loves him, infact we named him Sid. When my wife feeds and waters the birds daily he is certain to show up and dance around in the tree above her singing and making his little noises. Enclosed is a pic of Sid, the Nuthatch.
So whats your favorite?

Click to expand...

When we lived in Calgary there were a lot of white and red breasted nuthatches. I built a nuthatch birdhouse on a pole in the workshop. As I was carrying the pole with the birdhouse to its designated spot, a nuthatch landed on top of the house and stayed there until I had it secured. It then used the house to make a family. The fledged young were quite bold and would follow the mother along the ground.

I agree that the 'muttering' is quite amusing. They sound like little busybodies telling all the gossip of the area birds. The nuthatches would feed (peanuts) from our hands along with the chickadees and, on rare occassion, the downie woodpecker.

The Carolina wren. They are extremely common here in--you guessed it--North Carolina. I look forward to seeing them on almost every bird walk, and there is a pair that frequents a brush pile just outside our back door. I particularly like their extremely close pair bond, the fact that when I see one, no matter what time of year, the mate is almost always nearby, and how the pair will call to each other. They always look and sound like they are in a good mood, hopping around with their tails upturned.

I just think it's a gyp that South Carolina, not North Carolina, has them as their state bird...

favorite bird

My favorite is the mockingbird. I am trying to find out what kind of goodies will bring him around , and I like to get him (or her) to copy sounds I make. I like to watch them "scare up a meal" We have lots of mockers here, and I just love to listen to their repertoire when I'm in the garden, which is close to "their tree". I can't wait for spring, although it' s been so warm this month that the robins are all over the yard. I wonder how that may affect the birds?

annieB (o)<

Well, Sid is a cutie for sure!

I have several favorites. And I see them out and about, since I don't feed birds at home any longer -- too many wandering cats about.

There's a Red-tailed Hawk I occasionally see (when it's light enough!) on my drive to work, perching along the same quarter-mile length of fencing. Handsome fella! It brightens my morning considerably to spot him.

There's a Carolina Wren that frequents my neighborhood -- and I've never seen him! But I hear him regularly between 6:30 and 7 a.m. (on weekends at least; I leave by then for work through the week) and occasionally again around 6 p.m. He travels down the west side of my house, going, I assume, from the brushy scrub along the ditch about a half-block behind my house to the creekside about another block and a half in the other direction. He's always singing and I love that!

And in summer, catbirds hang around, and there's nothing more pleasant than a warm summer evening when they're hanging out in the maples chattering and mewing away.

And I always smile when I spot a Great Blue Heron!

Peregrines do it for me any day. The first time I saw one I was on holiday in Yorkshire and we went for a walk up the hill behind the house. Almost immediately saw a pair of Peregrines with a juvenile, and followed it up with several more. Gr8!

OOh, this is hard, there are so many! I am always thrilled when the swifts return each year to breed but their stay is too short. Wagtails of all sorts make me smile. But top of the list must be the nightingales song which we are lucky to have in the woods only a few yards away and have even,only very briefly, seen in our garden.

No. Don't have a favourite. But if I did, it would have to be Barn Owl. And most Starlings. And albatrosses. And ...

So you can see why I don't have a favourite :bounce:

Has to be Barn Owl, can spend hours watching them (often do in the summer) hunting.

I really like to see baltimore (northern) orioles. I only saw them occassionally as a kid and they always arrived later in the spring/early summer as compared to the other common birds. This past summer I started putting out oranges and jelly and to my delight, they showed up. Nothing says summer like an oriole. (But I really like rose-breasted grosbeaks too, and winter wrens always make me smile).
Scott

Very difficult.I guess my fave feeder bird is Charlie,the Blackbird who comes to the window to let me know it is "Sultana" time.But one of my fave birds I love to see and hear,is the little Stonechat,esp the male.I love his chocolate coloured velvety head,and the way he perches atop a very slender gorse branch,twittering away.

Fave Bird

My fave bird is an Emperor goose. I first saw one at a WWT reserve in England. They are very lovely birds.

our favs

hi hawkeye,s is a peregrine falcon. mine is a kingfisher no brighter bird that i have seen.

This is hard ... would have to say long tailed tits and wrens, oh and goldcrests. Also had a soft spot for the pair of black necked grebes at my local reserve.

Hoopoe! I saw a Lapwing last year so I have that image constantly too, but Hoopoe is my elusive favourite right now!

1 - Barn Owl
2 - Short-eared Owl
3 - Long-eared Owl
4 - Tawny Owl
5 - Little Owl
6 - Goldfinch
7 - Robin
8 - Blue-footed Booby
9 - Oystercatcher
10 - Any bird that uses my Dovaston Feeding Station!

If you mean an individual bird (like Sid) then I don't have any. I can't tell the ones that come to my feeder apart

But if you mean species, then mine would be the American Redstart. They are so beautiful and so pish-able. I have a favorite patch at the North Tract of the Patuxent Wildlife Research Refuge where there are always lots of Redstarts and all it takes is a few pishes to get a couple of them circling around me and scolding like crazy.

My favourite bird is the Robin. The Robin is such an interesting bird when you start to look a little closer beyond the Christmas card image.

The Robins physiology, behaviour, habits and private life are all fascinating. Everything about Robins I find interesting.

I even have a book about Robins by Chris Mead that discusses the following:-

Distribution
Robin variations
Other Robins
Robin Introductions
Aberrant Robins
Habitat
Migration
The (erronious) Theory of Transmutatuion
Weight
How Many Robins in Britain
How long does a Robin Live ?
How does it die ?
The Robins Enemys
Robin Parasites
Disease
The Robins Year
The Robins Senses
Plumage And Moult
Territoriality
Display And Aggression-Murder
Reactions Of Nesting Robins To Other Species
Time To Breed
Pairing Up
Courtship Feeding
Family Life
Divorce
Bigamy
Incest
Nest sites
Finding Nests
Robin Eggs
The Cuckoo In The Nest
Natural Food
Robins In Cold weather
Communal Roosts
Robin Song
Song At Night
Why Call
The Robins Toilet
Aggression To Images In Mirrors
Colour Preference
Tameness
How To Breed Mealworms
Caring For Robins
Captive Robins
Exploitation
Robins And The Law
Whats In A Name?
Nursery Rhymes
Robin Cards
Folklore
Amateur Research
Further Reading

I just thought I would list these for fun but as you can see there is a lot to learn about the Robin! I often visit a community of Robins at Leighton Moss on the edge of the reeds on the causeway. I have managed to get some great photo's. At some point I will put them on here from Adobe Photoshop when I learn how! Perhaps some one can advise how I get them here from the organiser.

My other favourite bird is the House Martin. In March they arrive from Africa and stay until October. On arrival it is arial, feeding on flying insects, drifting spiders. They circle in many numbers above the house initially high up and in the sky, make what I call a survey and then descend and find their nests from the year before. I have read that they will use the same nest every year.

We have a nest under the eaves of the house and from early morning until night can hear the chirruping of the brood. There can be up to 2 or three broods between April and September.

Its great to watch the House Martin flying overhead and low over the garden. I have seen a Sparrow hawk go after them. There is a small farm holding at the rear of the house and part of the field behind the hedge gets flooded after lengthy rainfall in winter. This is where they get their mud to build or reinforce their nests I often watch them swoop to collect mud.

I love to watch the adult House Martins fly to the nest to feed their young.

Then in October they are suddenly gone for a return trip to Africa.

Hey they will be back soon :clap: :clap: :clap:

Dean

Cheadle Birder

-25 said:

Do you have a favorite bird? One in which when you see it you smile from ear to ear just from the mere sight of it? Rare or Common as dirt.

I have this White-Breated Nuthatch that visits my feeder daily. My wife just loves him, infact we named him Sid. When my wife feeds and waters the birds daily he is certain to show up and dance around in the tree above her singing and making his little noises. Enclosed is a pic of Sid, the Nuthatch.


So whats your favorite?

Click to expand...

Of the birds I ever see without going some miles from where I live, I have to say my favourite is the common or garden Magpie (Pica pica). They are always active when you see them, usually vocal, and they comes in groups of two or three. Although they are mostly black and white, they are much more 'colourful' than the other birds I see commonly (e.g. sparrow, blackbird, crow and feral pigeon).
In a similar way I also like the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba). This used to be a rarity in Cheltenham but is now one of the most common birds seen. Again they are active and 'colourful' (but black and white).
In a different class, including birds I am very unlikely to spot locally or easily, I would go for the Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis). This one is really colourful and very active but difficult to find. This has to be the one I would always like to see.
Alan