Reports from at Home and Away (1 Viewer)

[amasara]

Not much bird activity here - deer are eating everything in sight - even my rose bushes this year!!! I've had to fill their water daily - saw 4 fawns at once this a.m. A new buck has been showing up - with at least 12-14 points so far. Did have a fun thing happen the other evening as we were leaving our driveway - stopped to get the paper and before taking out on the road heard a shrill noise - my husband inspected the car and when I looked UP out of the open sunwindow I saw a pair of redwings and HE was making the noise!

 

[amasara]

Hello out there .... ? my cardinals are looking like bald eagles with the emphasis on the bald - what's up?

 

[peachfront]

dunno but i've seen a few of them too

I think it's just that molty time of year and they will be OK when it cools off again.

Hello out there .... ? my cardinals are looking like bald eagles with the emphasis on the bald - what's up?

 

[amasara]

My daughter told me hers looked like that last year in TN and it was a mite disease that will clear up next year!

 

[amasara]

So I'll try again - anyone home? This site's been still a long time! Not much to report re: birds except that I seem to have lost most of my squirrels - could it be the family of redtails that nested nearby!!? The feeders stay full for days!!

 

[snowyowl]

So I'll try again - anyone home? This site's been still a long time! Not much to report re: birds except that I seem to have lost most of my squirrels - could it be the family of redtails that nested nearby!!? The feeders stay full for days!!

Hi Sara!
I'm here once in a while. I'm just getting all of my feeders geared up after having scaled back for the summer. I just re-joined Project Feeder Watch. Early signs look as if we should have a good turnout of winter birds.
Not many berries left around my place now. A large flock of robins moved in a week ago and ate all of the grapes that the N. Flickers usually like during the winter.

 

[amasara]

Hi back Dan - wonder where everyone is...? Admittedly not much feeder activity this time of the year - kinda hard on the local feed store! I picked up a stray puppy about 2 mos. ago (4 mos. old at the time) and have since discovered she KILLS birds!! 2 chickadees have been toll so far - I now only let her "loose" at dark!! She's a Corgi and Chow mix - wonder if those breeds are "bird dogs"? Photos of pup (Foxy) and current big buck.

 

[amasara]

me again - help - just had a call from a local TV station and they are coming in a week to interview me re: Project feeeder watch!! Was hoping it was only a phone interview - now I have to CLEAN HOUSE!! not to mention the nerves for the next week - any ideas on just what to say to them?

 

[snowyowl]

me again - help - just had a call from a local TV station and they are coming in a week to interview me re: Project feeeder watch!! Was hoping it was only a phone interview - now I have to CLEAN HOUSE!! not to mention the nerves for the next week - any ideas on just what to say to them?

That's great. You'll do a great job. Decide ahead of time what things you want to say and then don't let them steer you away from your focus. They will probably chat with you for a few minutes before the interview in order to relax you. that's often the chance for you to give them an idea of where you want things to go. Is the interview taped or live?

 

[amasara]

That's great. You'll do a great job. Decide ahead of time what things you want to say and then don't let them steer you away from your focus. They will probably chat with you for a few minutes before the interview in order to relax you. that's often the chance for you to give them an idea of where you want things to go. Is the interview taped or live?
Thanks Dan - I'm already making notes like what to do for winter birds etc.
Decided to tape on glass porch and am in the process of cleaning it!! If I'm thinking clearly that day I'll try to get a friend to photo the process!

 

[snowyowl]

Field Trip

Yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here so my wife and I decided to go for a drive. There won't be too many more chances before winter settles in.
We saw the following:
5 Long-billed Dowitchers
1 Bald Eagle
6 Bufflehead
Ring-necked Ducks
A. Black Ducks
Green-winged Teal
20 C. Goldeneye
30 c. Eider Ducks
6 White-winged Scoter
6 Red-throated Loons
1 Common Loon
Ring-billed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Great Black-backed Gulls
Bonaparte's Gulls
3 Great Blue Herons
Canada Geese with a small. short necked, small billed one mixed in (Richardson's?)

Where I haven't given numbers, it's because they were in large numbers.
I'll attach a few pictures here.
The first one is my attempt to get a picture of the Red-throated Loon. Honest, he was there when I pressed the button. :h?:
The L.-billed Dowitcher pictures are simply to show the size of the bill. The next shot (another LBDow) the bird looks like he is dozing but his eyes are wide open and watching me.
I've included a Ring-billed gull picture in case anyone in Europe is interested. I understand that they are rare there.

 

[snowyowl]

Short-eared Owls

Yesterday I got a call to tell me that two Owls had been see in our National Park at around 4 PM on Thursday. From the description it was obvious that they were SEO's. My wife and I headed over there and met up with a few other birders on the same mission. I spotted the first owl shortly before dark and a second one was seen a few minutes later. They were hunting the marsh that borders the road on one side and the sand dunes that are on the othe side. Gorgeous birds!

 

[amasara]

OK Dan - what's an SEO? Happy for you anyway! I've been taking photos of bucks actually playing in side field - not fighting!!

 

[snowyowl]

OK Dan - what's an SEO? Happy for you anyway! I've been taking photos of bucks actually playing in side field - not fighting!!

Sorry! Short-eared Owl!
Those bucks are great. They must tbe very young or else they would be rutting this of year.

 

[snowyowl]

Here are a couple of "opportunity shots" that I took while I was out looking for the owls yesterday.

 

[amasara]

Here are a couple of "opportunity shots" that I took while I was out looking for the owls yesterday.

Nice shots Dan - that looks my new pup "Foxy"!!

 

[snowyowl]

Thusday morning, I received a call to say that a Cattle Egret had shown up here on the Island. I guess I'm a twitcher because everything else got put on hold and away I went to find him. It's tough to resist a lifer.
I posted a picture to My Gallery but I'll put a couple here as well. I find this to be a very evil looking bird. It must be his beady eyes.

 

[amasara]

Thusday morning, I received a call to say that a Cattle Egret had shown up here on the Island. I guess I'm a twitcher because everything else got put on hold and away I went to find him. It's tough to resist a lifer.
I posted a picture to My Gallery but I'll put a couple here as well. I find this to be a very evil looking bird. It must be his beady eyes.

Tis indeed an evil looker - what a hoot he's actually ON a cow!! Congrats!

 

[snowyowl]

Fieldfare

A Fieldfare was report last evening. It was seen about 40 minutes from here. It was seen again this morning. I can't go because I'm renovating a room and I've got everything taken back to the outside planks. I have to at least get insulation in before I can take a break away. :-C :-C :-C

 

[amasara]

What's a Fieldfare?