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Bwd (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter snowyowl
- Start date
Nice shot of the rose-breasted grosbeak. Without my feeders, I did'nt get to see one this year, but I heard one. I did sneak in a hummer feeder into the yard. I only put out a small amount of nectar and they are coming-so I am happy. Bad news about the c.wren nest. Something raided it and I found it empty with the eggs lying on the ground under it. Phoebes nest still OK. New spring sightings on my place-catbirds, house wren, female yellow throat, lots of yellow-rump warblers and my big excitement-a magnolia wren! What a beauty.
Happy birding all.
Happy birding all.
So sorry to hear about your Carolina wren nest and eggs, Celeste....keep the faith.....today there are FINALLY a couple eggs in the new nest in the fuschia basket....the Carolina wrens have been busily 'around', but I wasn't sure they were going to actually try for another family! As I posted on 'today at the feeder', I am going to try and stay away from the nest as much as possible in the hope that no predator is attracted to it by my activity.
Here's hoping that one of us gets to have a successful hatching and fledging of Carolina wrens this season!!!
Here's hoping that one of us gets to have a successful hatching and fledging of Carolina wrens this season!!!
Thanks for the encouragement Marianna. I cleaned out the nest box, maybe I shouldn't have, but it was overflowing with nesting materials and no room. Let's see what happens now. My phoebes under the deck are OK. Mom and dad are very attentive. I also have a shipping sparrow nest under the bridal wreath, on my pool fence-4 blue eggs-lets hope.
Orioles are here and I hear a red-eyed vireo every day. Ruby-throat also shows up. I love the Spring.
Orioles are here and I hear a red-eyed vireo every day. Ruby-throat also shows up. I love the Spring.
Happy to hear your phoebes are still o.k., Celeste! The Carolinas are still on the nest (well, one at a time, of course..
) and yesterday I found six house wren eggs in one house in the front yard, and several hw eggs in another house in the backyard....hoping that they will do o.k.
For the first time I can ever remember (after 27 years in this house), there is a phoebe cruising around my yard. What a dear little bird! Once in awhile I would hear one, but never have had the pleasure of watching one hanging around.
Still have two pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks coming to sunflower feeders, and several indigo buntings are regular visitors to the thistle feeders. And, perhaps, most lovely of all (sound-wise, anyway) is the continuing presence of a wood thrush in the nearby woods. I was so afraid the woodthrushes were gone from this area....there is SO MUCH building and urban sprawl out this way now....but it sounds like this one may be here for the summer. I think the song of a woodthrush in early morning and late evening is the best sound in the world!
) and yesterday I found six house wren eggs in one house in the front yard, and several hw eggs in another house in the backyard....hoping that they will do o.k. For the first time I can ever remember (after 27 years in this house), there is a phoebe cruising around my yard. What a dear little bird! Once in awhile I would hear one, but never have had the pleasure of watching one hanging around.
Still have two pair of rose-breasted grosbeaks coming to sunflower feeders, and several indigo buntings are regular visitors to the thistle feeders. And, perhaps, most lovely of all (sound-wise, anyway) is the continuing presence of a wood thrush in the nearby woods. I was so afraid the woodthrushes were gone from this area....there is SO MUCH building and urban sprawl out this way now....but it sounds like this one may be here for the summer. I think the song of a woodthrush in early morning and late evening is the best sound in the world!
snowyowl
Well-known member
I've now spent quite a few days at the banding station and must say that I've loved it. It's tiring because we open the station at 5:30 AM, which means being up at 4:30 so that there's time to look after my animals etc before leaving for the station. The nets are scattered over about 1/2 km on a wooded spit (actually an island during some high tides, it's definitely rubber boot work) with a tidal salt marsh on one side and a large bay off of Northumberland Strait on the other.
It's a km from where we can park to the base camp so between that and the net checks we log a quite a few km. Even the walk to the station is great. We go past an Osprey nest where we get cursed at by both birds for disturbing them so early and there are usually up to 20 Great Blue Herons on the marsh. Yesterday I saw a Common Loon on the bay andd there were 6 Semi-palmated Plover and three Semi-palmated Sandpipers on the beach.
We checked all of the nets every half hour, extracting the captures, taking them back to base in bags to be banded, measured, weighed and released. Depending on the number of captures needing to be processed, it's sometimes tough to fit in a coffee between net checks. Some of the captures weighed less than 10 grams. Amazing that they have flown for Mexico or beyond.
I have done all phases of the netting and banding and my mentor says that I'm doing well although I certainly don't feel confident. Trying to extract a bird like a Ruby-crowned Kinglet from the mist net is tremendously scary for me. They are soooo tiny and my hands seem soooo big (and I still have my right thumb that doesn't bend). I managed not to hurt anyone although I did have a couple of accidental releases.
We've had a fair variety of birds including Blackpoll, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped and Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. We also accidently netted a couple Ruby-throated Humminbirds which we weren't licensed to band so they were released as quickly as possible. We also had some bigger birds like a variety of sparrows, Common Grackles, Cowbirds and a Hairy Woodpecker. I found these birds much less intimidating to handle even though they did a lot of biting.
The Spring Migration monitoring is finished now and won't be back in that location until the Fall migration starts. The station is moving to a woodland to monitor breeding birds. I've enjoyed myself enough that I've volunteered to help at the new location over the Summer.
It is q great learning experience to hold the different birds and to be able to examin them.
That's probably more than anyone wants to know about my experiences banding but if any of you get the opportunity to visit a station, try to go because I think that you will be as fascinated as I have been.
It's a km from where we can park to the base camp so between that and the net checks we log a quite a few km. Even the walk to the station is great. We go past an Osprey nest where we get cursed at by both birds for disturbing them so early and there are usually up to 20 Great Blue Herons on the marsh. Yesterday I saw a Common Loon on the bay andd there were 6 Semi-palmated Plover and three Semi-palmated Sandpipers on the beach.
We checked all of the nets every half hour, extracting the captures, taking them back to base in bags to be banded, measured, weighed and released. Depending on the number of captures needing to be processed, it's sometimes tough to fit in a coffee between net checks. Some of the captures weighed less than 10 grams. Amazing that they have flown for Mexico or beyond.
I have done all phases of the netting and banding and my mentor says that I'm doing well although I certainly don't feel confident. Trying to extract a bird like a Ruby-crowned Kinglet from the mist net is tremendously scary for me. They are soooo tiny and my hands seem soooo big (and I still have my right thumb that doesn't bend). I managed not to hurt anyone although I did have a couple of accidental releases.
We've had a fair variety of birds including Blackpoll, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped and Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. We also accidently netted a couple Ruby-throated Humminbirds which we weren't licensed to band so they were released as quickly as possible. We also had some bigger birds like a variety of sparrows, Common Grackles, Cowbirds and a Hairy Woodpecker. I found these birds much less intimidating to handle even though they did a lot of biting.
The Spring Migration monitoring is finished now and won't be back in that location until the Fall migration starts. The station is moving to a woodland to monitor breeding birds. I've enjoyed myself enough that I've volunteered to help at the new location over the Summer.
It is q great learning experience to hold the different birds and to be able to examin them.
That's probably more than anyone wants to know about my experiences banding but if any of you get the opportunity to visit a station, try to go because I think that you will be as fascinated as I have been.
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Well, since nobody I know has been here for awhile, I will just put my two cents' worth in for what is going on in Indiana today! Ha!
I am seeing nobody unusual in my yard! I daily keep up with the Indiana Audubon website, and everyone around me is seeing all kinds of migrating and unusual birds....my yard is very quiet! There ARE about a bazillion goldfinches around....eating and splashing in an old birdbath, mostly.
The only migrants I have seen all this season have been an ovenbird, who stayed around for one day, and a window-hit casualty worm-eating warbler in August. (Now I must admit, I was quite excited about the warbler, but would rather it had escaped my sight and made it through here alive!!)
I have fixed up a new roosting pouch/house for the Carolina wrens...so far, they have ignored it. It's looking quite cozy, I must say....perhaps as the days get shorter and cooler, they will be interested again.
I have fed deer (and every other four-legged critter around) all summer, and it has been an immense pleasure to watch the little fawns grow into pretty little adolescents. All the deer who regularly visit and eat are looking healthy, well filled out, and are acting quite calm and peaceable! There are a pair of young bucks (well, they were smaller and only had antler buds at the end of spring) who are still friends and are just magnificent. I can't think it will last much longer. They have stopped hanging with their mom now, and more and more often I see only one at a time.
Had frost Sunday morning and again this morning. Fall is definitely here....it's quite lovely in Indiana, in my humble opionion, of course.)
I am seeing nobody unusual in my yard! I daily keep up with the Indiana Audubon website, and everyone around me is seeing all kinds of migrating and unusual birds....my yard is very quiet! There ARE about a bazillion goldfinches around....eating and splashing in an old birdbath, mostly.
The only migrants I have seen all this season have been an ovenbird, who stayed around for one day, and a window-hit casualty worm-eating warbler in August. (Now I must admit, I was quite excited about the warbler, but would rather it had escaped my sight and made it through here alive!!)
I have fixed up a new roosting pouch/house for the Carolina wrens...so far, they have ignored it. It's looking quite cozy, I must say....perhaps as the days get shorter and cooler, they will be interested again.
I have fed deer (and every other four-legged critter around) all summer, and it has been an immense pleasure to watch the little fawns grow into pretty little adolescents. All the deer who regularly visit and eat are looking healthy, well filled out, and are acting quite calm and peaceable! There are a pair of young bucks (well, they were smaller and only had antler buds at the end of spring) who are still friends and are just magnificent. I can't think it will last much longer. They have stopped hanging with their mom now, and more and more often I see only one at a time.
Had frost Sunday morning and again this morning. Fall is definitely here....it's quite lovely in Indiana, in my humble opionion, of course.
)Well, here it is, one year later, and there are baby Carolina wrens in THIS year's fuschia basket!
I've been gone for nearly two weeks (Disneyworld...it nearly killed me! ha!) and there were eggs in the nest when I left. Last evening I needed to water the fuschia, and when I got near the basket, I could see two wide open baby mouths at the entrance to the nest! So CUTE!!!
I've been gone for nearly two weeks (Disneyworld...it nearly killed me! ha!) and there were eggs in the nest when I left. Last evening I needed to water the fuschia, and when I got near the basket, I could see two wide open baby mouths at the entrance to the nest! So CUTE!!!
