What did you see in your binoculars today? (2 Viewers)

[wllmspd]

Not seeing a family of long tailed tits. I heard gem and saw them swoop over and land on a nearby tree, but the bins were in the house and when I’d got them and came back out the birds hat flown off... must try to keep a pair of bins ready by the back door.

Peter

 

[Sterngucker]

A gang of six green jays repeatedly run off Mr and Mrs Cardinal from one of our feeders.
Ca. four and a half months ago when we moved here there was an odd green jay every now and again but now these guys are running the show.

 

[pbjosh]

Sterngucker, at least your gangsters are colorful, charismatic, and well, they make a lot of interesting noises I'd kill for something like Green Jays as a yard bird. Unfortunately Plush-crested Jay (our local fancy variety) doesn't QUITE make it to Buenos Aires. Not too far north of here they're as common as Green Jays are for you. A bit at the extreme end of their range though and not enough habitat so it's just the occasional wanderer that shows up

 

[pbjosh]

I spent a few hours yesterday at the brilliant Costanera Sur - one of the best urban reserves anywhere - and chalked up almost 90 species in 3 hours and change. I can get more but I usually prefer walking slower and picking through activity for something interesting to covering ground in order to pad the list. In any case, though, I had lovely prolonged close looks at a pair of White-lined Tanagers happily foraging and occasionally squabbling a bit with each other. I also tracked down the (locally rare but more or less a plague in most of the tropics) Ruddy Ground-Dove that's been reported for the past week or so has a mate so it looks like they're setting up to breed. Baby birds were out in force - Masked Gnatcatchers, Gr Kiskadees, S Screamers, S Lapwings, Eared Doves, Chalk-browed Mockingbirds, Red-crested Cardinals, Rufescent Tiger-Herons, and probably many more juveniles that I'm forgetting!

 

[PeterPS]

Bullfinches (what a pretty bird), green finches, gold finches. Flocks of bohemian waxwings. Great tits, blue tits, long-tailed tits and more tits. Binoculars: Swaro 12x50.

 

[Maljunulo]

One Male Green-winged Teal, assorted Mallards, oodles of turtles on logs, one Double-Crested Cormorant, One Snow Goose, a dozen or so Hooded Mergansers, a few Ring-billed Gulls, and about 5,000 mixed Canada and Cackling Geese.
I managed to miss two Greater White-fronted Geese and a Raven, reported by the guy who made the estimate of 5,000 geese.

 

[CharleyBird]

Loads of red grouse, three red kites hunting, two soaring buzzards and a sparrowhawk in a fir tree.

Buckshott Fell/Bale Hill/Meadows Edge.
Oh, and a meadow pipit with another red grouse just standing 15ft from the roadside, watching us watching them watching us.
Bins, Leica 12x50 UV+

 

[Maljunulo]

I didn't go out today, but I have recently been watching the antics of our local Hooded Mergansers.

It is beautiful and comical little creatures that they are.

 

[Troubador]

For years we used to have flocks of up to 10 Greenfinch visit our garden at this time of year but in the last 4-5 years we only saw 2-3 at a time if we saw any at all. Yesterday a flock of 9 landed in our big Hawthorn hedge and I got a good look at them with a MeoStar 10x32. I believe numbers of this species (and possibly Chaffinch) have been significantly reduced due to disease so I hope this big flock is a sign of a good breeding season and a recovery in numbers.

Lee

 

[Troubador]

Today we had our first Siskin of the winter. It was a male in tip-top condition and this little finch looked terrific through the MeoStar B1 10x32s that are living on my work station just now.

Lee

 

[Sterngucker]

At 0920 CST this morning four male Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), two of which were having a go at each other through the fence. They're still mooching around out there now.

 

[Foss]

One coyote...warning...sign

 

[KC Foggin]

One coyote...warning...sign

Yeah, we've got quite a few out in the open lately.

 

[stefangaschott]

Lot's of Redpolls this winter! Watched one picking it's way around the dunes at Footbridge Beach. Beautiful.

~Stefan

 

[snowyowl]

A Northern goshawk flew over the house earlier today.

 

[stefangaschott]

Pine Warblers. First time I've ever seen them here (Maine) in January. Nice to see, but a bit strange...

~Stefan

 

[Charnwood]

Redhead Smew - seen on a local reservoir which I passed on my afternoon bike ride. Luckily l’d remembered to put my compact bins in the handlebar bag.

 

[lmans66]

Male Kingfisher.... I was walking along a lake and spooked it, ..it flew a couple of hundred yards. I re-traced by steps and snuck up on it carefully to get within 20-30 feet. Awesome view.

 

[Mark9473]

A playful group of six long-tailed bushtits came foraging in my garden today. I'd seen a single one last year, but no group yet. Great little birds with a very peculiar body shape.

 

[Sterngucker]

A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.
A whole gang of Meadowlarks congregating on a powerline.