Just returned from a grandkid trip - grandson wanted me to identify birds at his ballfield. They were barn swallows that had 50 or so mud nests built under a highway overpass - they were busy feeding noisy nestlings. Took photos on APS camera - when developed I'll try to post. Also saw their yearly visiting mallard pair in the creek near their house - hopefully they nested nearby and the kids will get to see the babes.
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Reports from at Home and Away (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter snowyowl
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Wompoo Dove
Well-known member
amasara said:
Hi Amasara... facinating picture and arent swallows terrific! I love that family!
Yes cliff swallow nests are amazing... I would love to see them in a natural setting but have not so far.
On a 10 minute journey from my yard here in Northern California here are the following swallows I have seen flying about and some nesting:
Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Barn Swallow, Violet Green Swallow, and Rough Winged Swallow. I figure I am doing pretty good with swallows!
Cheers
Don
Well you've further informed me - had no idea there were so many swallows - but then again I don't have a western US birdbook! I'm currently watching a pair of tree swallow that use the martin house yearly (never any martins) . Did learn from reading that they incubate up to 19 days or so - I see a lot of soaring of the parents - perhaps they're showing the fledglings how it's done!!At least they've chosen the shady side of the house as it's been 90+ here lately - wish they get out of that oven!!Wompoo Dove said:
snowyowl
Well-known member
I was gone for 2 weeks in May then home for a week and gone again for two more weeks. When we finally got home a number of things had changed around the garden. The first thing that has happened is that my Kestrels have disappeared. They were using their nest box as they do every year now there's no sign of them. Did they raise a clutch and leave? It seems much too quick. My Tree Swallows showed up while we were home for the week and seemed ready to move into their box but now they are missing as well.
At the feeders we still have Purple Finches, A. Goldfinches, C. Grackles, Mourning Doves, B-c. Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jays and Song Sparrows.
I've got two hummingbird feeders up and they are being visited by a single R-t. female. I say that because I have only seen one individual at a time, there could actually be more.
I don't know if the rotten weather is messing things up, it's aound 10 C with rain and wind.
It is neat to watch the A. Goldfinches feeding on the Dandylion seeds.
At the feeders we still have Purple Finches, A. Goldfinches, C. Grackles, Mourning Doves, B-c. Chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jays and Song Sparrows.
I've got two hummingbird feeders up and they are being visited by a single R-t. female. I say that because I have only seen one individual at a time, there could actually be more.
I don't know if the rotten weather is messing things up, it's aound 10 C with rain and wind.
It is neat to watch the A. Goldfinches feeding on the Dandylion seeds.
Welcome back Dan - I've been "missing" some regulars too. Orioles have been gone for about a week -don't know why they can't train the kids in my yard!! I think the tree swallows finally took flight - just saw one this a.m. on the wrong side of the m. house (confused kid?) Currently I'm dealing with a 8wk old kitten I picked up from the vet (free phooey- bath, shots, bed, carrier, toys etc...) He's been wanting a orange kitten to name Milo and I couldn't resist (lucky I didn't come home with the entire litter) I posted photos on webshots and then had Nathan go look at his gift from Ama!
He proclaimed it the best gift ever - even better than the new scooter his folks got him. I did get approval from the parents first. He will be in INDOOR kitty as are their other 2 9yr old brothers. They are coming up here in 10 days to go with us for a family wedding in MD and I will then lose Milo/Peanut I call him - might have to go back and claim a litter mate for myself. Haven't had a kitten in YEARS!
He proclaimed it the best gift ever - even better than the new scooter his folks got him. I did get approval from the parents first. He will be in INDOOR kitty as are their other 2 9yr old brothers. They are coming up here in 10 days to go with us for a family wedding in MD and I will then lose Milo/Peanut I call him - might have to go back and claim a litter mate for myself. Haven't had a kitten in YEARS!
Oh boy, Sara got the bug too! 
I just adopted two female kittens at the end of April and I'm am totally in love.... if if they are at the moment, destroying my house! I hadn't had kittens in many, many years either and completely forgot just how wonderful they are to have around. You'll never get them away from me now!
I think I might put one seed feeder and a suet feeder back up. It's been quiet on the bear front for a few weeks now and it's just MUCH too quiet in my yard.
I still have that one little holy terror bird hanging around that I suspect is a wren but I can never get a good enough look at to know for sure. He was singing his heart out at the top of our pine tree again this morning but in the time it took me to raise the the binos, he was gone again. :C It's been happening like that for almost 2 weeks, every day! Sneeky little SOB.
T.
I just adopted two female kittens at the end of April and I'm am totally in love.... if if they are at the moment, destroying my house! I hadn't had kittens in many, many years either and completely forgot just how wonderful they are to have around. You'll never get them away from me now! I think I might put one seed feeder and a suet feeder back up. It's been quiet on the bear front for a few weeks now and it's just MUCH too quiet in my yard.
I still have that one little holy terror bird hanging around that I suspect is a wren but I can never get a good enough look at to know for sure. He was singing his heart out at the top of our pine tree again this morning but in the time it took me to raise the the binos, he was gone again. :C It's been happening like that for almost 2 weeks, every day! Sneeky little SOB.
T.
amasara said:
I'm sure you're having fun with 2 kittens - usually my rule of thumb - better entertainment than TV!! I just looked at my right forearm - looks like I've been in the brambles - sharp are those tiny claws!!Tammie said:Oh boy, Sara got the bug too!
I think I might put one seed feeder and a suet feeder back up. It's been quiet on the bear front for a few weeks now and it's just MUCH too quiet in my yard.
I still have that one little holy terror bird hanging around that I suspect is a wren but I can never get a good enough look at to know for sure. He was singing his heart out at the top of our pine tree again this morning but in the time it took me to raise the the binos, he was gone again. :C It's been happening like that for almost 2 weeks, every day! Sneeky little SOB.
T.
4 crows dropped in today to sample the deer corn - I like those birds - plucky! Had 3 regulars several years ago - one had a bad leg - it's talons were bent up behind the leg- I called him pegleg. Also seeing 4 barn swallows returning to the nest - can't tell if they are juvies or adults or both??
Later - saw a buck feeding with two toms and the identical twin buck showed up! Caught a crow trying to get some corn but fearful of the squirrel!
Must have been a "murder" of crows as I saw a red-wing chasing one!
Later - saw a buck feeding with two toms and the identical twin buck showed up! Caught a crow trying to get some corn but fearful of the squirrel!
Must have been a "murder" of crows as I saw a red-wing chasing one!
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snowyowl
Well-known member
Sunday Afternoon in PEI.
The mods may consider this inappropriate but I thought that some people might find it different and interesting, especially city people and possibly Europeans.
The horses are of different breeds although Belgians are very popular. The biggest teams weighed in at about 4300 lbs, the smallest at about 2400 lbs. The weight starts at 3000lbs to be moved 6'. Horses drop out as they reach their limit of power or (very frequently) are withdrawn as their owners feel that the teams are close to their limit. I've seen some pulls where the top weight was over 8500 lbs.
Teams are valuable and frequently are needed to work in the woods or in the Irish Moss industry during the week so their owners generally are very careful of the horses welfare. Draft horses like these are almost a part of the teamsters family and may spend 20 years with one owner. The owners regard them with great pride and affection.
This type of competion goes back for at least 100 years. It can occasionally be dangerous for spectators but rarely for the horses or teamsters because of the strict rules against abuse.
I do the annoucing for this pull every year which makes photogarphy tough since I'm locked at one spot.
The mods may consider this inappropriate but I thought that some people might find it different and interesting, especially city people and possibly Europeans.
The horses are of different breeds although Belgians are very popular. The biggest teams weighed in at about 4300 lbs, the smallest at about 2400 lbs. The weight starts at 3000lbs to be moved 6'. Horses drop out as they reach their limit of power or (very frequently) are withdrawn as their owners feel that the teams are close to their limit. I've seen some pulls where the top weight was over 8500 lbs.
Teams are valuable and frequently are needed to work in the woods or in the Irish Moss industry during the week so their owners generally are very careful of the horses welfare. Draft horses like these are almost a part of the teamsters family and may spend 20 years with one owner. The owners regard them with great pride and affection.
This type of competion goes back for at least 100 years. It can occasionally be dangerous for spectators but rarely for the horses or teamsters because of the strict rules against abuse.
I do the annoucing for this pull every year which makes photogarphy tough since I'm locked at one spot.
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snowyowl
Well-known member
I think that they may have occasionally done so but it's been to things like the Clagary Stampede or Toronto Winter Fair - big, big events.amasara said:
It's about 5:30 AM here and I'm drinking my coffee while I wait to be picked up head out to go birding.
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snowyowl
Well-known member
Trip Report
Three of us went out birding yesterday and had a pretty good day. We left my place at 6AM and got to East point at 7AM. Not terribly exciting there. It's always slow there in mid-summer. Lots of Great Cormorants (there's a nesting colony there), N. Gannets, Black Guillimots, White-winged Scoter, Common Eider, Bonaparte Gulls, the usual mix of other gulls, Magnolia and Yellow-rumped Warblers, a lone immature Bald Eagle was perched on the top of the cliffs.
We didn't stay at the Point for long, instead we moved on to Rollo Bay where we found good concentrations of shore birds including a large number of Short-billled Dowitchers, 6 Least Sandpipers, 3 Stilt Sandpipers, a Pectoral Sandpiper, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, lots of Lesser Yellowlegs, a Greater Yellowlegs, some Killdeer. A young Black-headed gull was mixed into a collection of Bonies, Ring-bills, Herring, Great Black-backed Gulls. There were also a several Common Terns. We also got a Mourning Warbler in the same area.
The Stilt Sandpipers caused us to send out an immediate RBA (Rare Bird Alert). Someone else had sent out an RBA on the Black-headed Gull the previous day.
These are only the more intersting birds that we saw, all of the routine herons, ravens etc were also seen. On the non-birding side there were very large numbers of Gray Seal at both locations. At Rollo Bay we could hear them roaring and groaning. One of the highlights of the day for me was a whale off East point, a Minke we thought.
It's early in the shorebird migration but things seem to be building earlier than usual.
Three of us went out birding yesterday and had a pretty good day. We left my place at 6AM and got to East point at 7AM. Not terribly exciting there. It's always slow there in mid-summer. Lots of Great Cormorants (there's a nesting colony there), N. Gannets, Black Guillimots, White-winged Scoter, Common Eider, Bonaparte Gulls, the usual mix of other gulls, Magnolia and Yellow-rumped Warblers, a lone immature Bald Eagle was perched on the top of the cliffs.
We didn't stay at the Point for long, instead we moved on to Rollo Bay where we found good concentrations of shore birds including a large number of Short-billled Dowitchers, 6 Least Sandpipers, 3 Stilt Sandpipers, a Pectoral Sandpiper, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, lots of Lesser Yellowlegs, a Greater Yellowlegs, some Killdeer. A young Black-headed gull was mixed into a collection of Bonies, Ring-bills, Herring, Great Black-backed Gulls. There were also a several Common Terns. We also got a Mourning Warbler in the same area.
The Stilt Sandpipers caused us to send out an immediate RBA (Rare Bird Alert). Someone else had sent out an RBA on the Black-headed Gull the previous day.
These are only the more intersting birds that we saw, all of the routine herons, ravens etc were also seen. On the non-birding side there were very large numbers of Gray Seal at both locations. At Rollo Bay we could hear them roaring and groaning. One of the highlights of the day for me was a whale off East point, a Minke we thought.
It's early in the shorebird migration but things seem to be building earlier than usual.
snowyowl
Well-known member
Another Sunday Afternoon in PEI
Just a few pictures of the draft horse driving skills competition. The classes are: single horse log skidding (the log must be skidded along a course and between pylons 36" apart); team log skidding (similar to the single horse but the pylons are 6' apart); team wagon; team drag (a jug of water is placed on the drag and drivers are penalized based on the amount of water spilled).
Ah! The pleasures of the simple life!
Just a few pictures of the draft horse driving skills competition. The classes are: single horse log skidding (the log must be skidded along a course and between pylons 36" apart); team log skidding (similar to the single horse but the pylons are 6' apart); team wagon; team drag (a jug of water is placed on the drag and drivers are penalized based on the amount of water spilled).
Ah! The pleasures of the simple life!
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snowyowl
Well-known member
Here's the list from yesterday's outing. I think that it supports my comment that shorebirds are migrating and seem to be a week or so early. I think that I've overlooked a few common birds but still a pretty good day list. We didn't find our target birds which were Whimbrel, A. Coot and C. Moorhen.
Total Count: 55 Trip List - Mt Stewart to Waterside
Name
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
American Bittern
Green-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Ring-necked Duck
Common Goldeneye
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sora
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Ruddy Turnstone
Wilson's Snipe
Short-billed Dowitcher
Red Knot
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Bobolink
Observer: <Dan Kennedy>, Location: <PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND>, Taxonomy: <Wells World Birds>, Tax Filter: <>
Printed: 7/27/2005 10:51:57 AM Birder's Diary - www.BirdersDiary.com
Total Count: 55 Trip List - Mt Stewart to Waterside
Name
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
American Bittern
Green-winged Teal
Northern Pintail
Ring-necked Duck
Common Goldeneye
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Sora
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Willet
Ruddy Turnstone
Wilson's Snipe
Short-billed Dowitcher
Red Knot
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Rock Dove
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
Tree Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
American Robin
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
European Starling
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Savannah Sparrow
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Black-and-white Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Bobolink
Observer: <Dan Kennedy>, Location: <PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND>, Taxonomy: <Wells World Birds>, Tax Filter: <>
Printed: 7/27/2005 10:51:57 AM Birder's Diary - www.BirdersDiary.com
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