Birding

[Cedars]

 

Poor little guy was flapping away like mad. Turtle got some video of the Hummingbird. I am trying to classify it with my Audubon book, but I don't really find a 100% match.

 

It had little florescent orange along the neck

I'm going "out on a limb" and say it was a Rufous Hummingbird! :confused:

 

Good Find there Racoon & Turtle! The only other possiblity is the Allen's Hummingbird. More on this following Turtles pics.

 

My area does not offer much variety of hummingbirds. Ruby throated is all we get in any real numbers.

[Cedars]

Here is a montage of stills I captured from video I shot while Racoon went about opening the doors & windows to afford the critter an avenue of escape. No telling how long it flew around in there before Rac noticed it. Good call Rac!:confused:

 

The pics are cool! You gotta clean those windows!!

 

Looking up the possible hummer that could be lead to some interesting info. The Allens hummingbird and Rufous hummingbird are nearly identical in the females. Takes a real expert to determine which is which. I think it is a Rufous you have 'captured' here. But for followup info heres a couple links:

 

Rufous:

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/225/_/Rufous_Hummingbird.aspx

 

Allens:

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/168/_/Allens_Hummingbird.aspx

 

A pretty well written page on the trouble identifing the females:

http://www.hummingbirdsplus.org/allens.html

 

Notice on the first two links they show the tails of these birds as a way to identify the difference between them. I wonder if the Allens is a subspecies of the Rufous.

[Turtle]

The pics are cool! You gotta clean those windows!!

 

Looking up the possible hummer that could be lead to some interesting info. The Allens hummingbird and Rufous hummingbird are nearly identical in the females. Takes a real expert to determine which is which. I think it is a Rufous you have 'captured' here. But for followup info heres a couple links:

 

...

Notice on the first two links they show the tails of these birds as a way to identify the difference between them. I wonder if the Allens is a subspecies of the Rufous.

 

I haven't washed the windows or the car in over a year.:singer:

I think it is indeed a Rufous hummingbird. The tail has green in it similar to your linked illustration, plus the Allens hummingbird range is reported in your link as stopping a couple hundred miles South of me (I am in Washington just across the Columbia from Portland Oregon).

[Cedars]

I haven't washed the windows or the car in over a year.:phones:

I think it is indeed a Rufous hummingbird. The tail has green in it similar to your linked illustration, plus the Allens hummingbird range is reported in your link as stopping a couple hundred miles South of me (I am in Washington just across the Columbia from Portland Oregon).

Racoon's quick eyes also spotted this bird on the ground & alerted me in time to shoot a few seconds of tape. Attached below, 2 views of the same bird.

 

Looks like it could be a Ruffed Grouse to me. My friend has one who attacks its reflection in her picture window. He gets pretty aggressive towards himself. We have some around here, I love their drumming. If your out in the woods and you hear something that sounds like a motor trying to start, almost catching then dying, its a grouse drumming.

 

Heres a .wav http://www.all-birds.com/Sound/ruffed-grouse-drum.wav

 

From here (if you want to check out the site):

http://www.all-birds.com/Sound.htm

 

This page has some small pics of drumming Ruffed Grouse near the bottom:

http://www.photosafaris.com/Articles/GrouseShooting.asp

 

Female Ruffed Grouse:

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/phil_myers/ADW_birds_3_4_03/female_grouse3114.jpg/view.html

 

Male Ruffed Displaying:

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/resources/phil_myers/ADW_birds_3_4_03/male_grouse3091.jpg/view.html

[Racoon]

Looks like it could be a Ruffed Grouse to me.

 

I think you nailed it Cedars! :cup:

Even with the grainy Handy-Cam shot!

 

Good call. I thought it might have been a female pheasant at first.

[Cedars]

I think you nailed it Cedars! :cup:

Even with the grainy Handy-Cam shot!

 

Good call. I thought it might have been a female pheasant at first.

 

Even though blurry, the tuff of feathers sticking up on top of the head was a giveaway, and the tail was clear enough to see the banding. Plus knowing the habitat helped narrow the possiblities too.

[shane]

I

[shane]

I live on a hill overlooking the Columbia River.

Small small world we live in, i also live in the pacific north

west about half a mile from the mighty columbia in a little town (im sure you have heard of)

called pasco. I dont bird watch, I do own birds thought. I watch them all the time but I dont think that counts. Any way just wanted to pop in and say hi from a friendly neighbor

[Turtle]

Even though blurry, the tuff of feathers sticking up on top of the head was a giveaway, and the tail was clear enough to see the banding. Plus knowing the habitat helped narrow the possiblities too.

 

Thanks for the ID's Cedars! We hope to see more forest birds on the next trip. Actually Racoon spotted some small birds in the bush, but I recognized them as Dark-eyed Juncos & didn't photograph them.

We drew a Scrub Jay to the feeder at home today; the first bird we have seen there!

Small small world we live in, i also live in the pacific north

west about half a mile from the mighty columbia in a little town (im sure you have heard of)

called pasco. I dont bird watch, I do own birds thought. I watch them all the time but I dont think that counts. Any way just wanted to pop in and say hi from a friendly neighbor

Welcome shane. It is a small world indeed. I have been through Pasco a number of times & I would like to visit the area not so much to bird, but to search for meteorites in the open country with my metal detector.:( :note:

[Cedars]

Two notable returns to my yard

 

The white throated sparrow is back. Not big numbers yet, at least in my yard.

 

Song:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h5580so.mp3

 

Cool facts:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/White-throated_Sparrow_dtl.html

 

I did not know they interbreed with Juncos.

 

I also have some chipping sparrows again. Their behaviors indicates they may be nesting nearby.

 

Song:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h5600so.mp3

 

Cool facts:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Chipping_Sparrow_dtl.html

[Cedars]

I am hearing Killdeer in the skys now. Some birds you dont need to see to identify, and the Killdeer is one of those. Thats why I always try to find sounds for the people reading this topic. Being familiar with the sounds helps a person to see the bird, and you can make an identification without seeing the bird (which happens often).

 

Cute and informative Killdeer page:

http://www.birdwatching.com/stories/killdeer.html

 

Sound:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h2730so.mp3

 

I heard some Baltimore Orioles this last week. I have put out the feeder but so far none have feasted. Maybe my birds are not back yet. This is getting late in the season for their return. Usually I see them in April. The song listed here is not very good and doesnt give their most common calls (in my experience):

 

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h5070so.mp3

 

One thing I do like about the pictures at this site is often they are shown perching on a human hand. This really gives you an idea of how small some of these birds are. The Baltimore Oriole coloring gives me the impression they are a larger bird than they really are. The first time I saw one fighting with itself in my window is when I realized how small these birds are:

 

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5070id.html

 

Additional Baltimore Oriole info:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Baltimore_Oriole.html

 

Yesterday a Yellow Rumped warbler was flitting around the oaks. One of the first warblers to return here in the spring, it is a sign of things (birds) to come.

 

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/BOW/YERWAR/

 

and another page:

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i6550id.html

 

Warblers are a very popular bird among the birding crowd:

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/154/overview/Yellow-rumped_Warbler.aspx

 

And while I was searching for links to post I came across this page for you canadians that are birders (or soon to become birders)

 

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/eyeview/English/Mappage/mapeng1.htm

 

The base link has many more links about canadian stuff:

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/E/view.html

 

or here if you want the french links:

http://collections.ic.gc.ca/F/visualiser.html

 

And finally I am comming to the conclusion that we have a new eagle nest nearby. I am seeing a pair of birds daily and close. It was reported to me that an eagle was perched in a tree near my property line. I am going to explore a bit later today to see if I can find a nest. I am going to talk to some neighbors and see if they are aware. There is potential that (depending on the if/where the nest site is) I may be able to help screw up a land development project that local protests have not been able to thwart. B)

[Michaelangelica]

You might be interested in this article.

I don't think Aussie birds will "compute"

Interesting; When American tourists were asked what they liked most about Australia when they were leaving they said "the birds"

 

Starlings' Listening Skills May Shed Light on Language Evolution

 

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By CARL ZIMMER

Published: May 2, 2006

 

The warbles and rattles of a starling seem innocuous enough. But starlings are now the object of a fierce debate about the nature of language.

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Daniel Baleckaitis

 

A GOOD EAR Starlings have shown they can recognize song patterns.

Multimedia

Audio: An Ear for Grammar?

Audio: An Ear for Grammar?

Graphic: Starling Syntax

Graphic: Starling Syntax

 

In the current issue of Nature, scientists report that starlings recognize song patterns based on rules of the sort that make language possible. Their paper has drawn sharp reactions pro and con from linguists and animal communication experts.

Full Article address:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/02/science/02song.html?ex=1304222400&en=b6fed06583302b57&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

[Cedars]

You might be interested in this article.

I don't think Aussie birds will "compute"

Interesting; When American tourists were asked what they liked most about Australia when they were leaving they said "the birds"

 

 

All bird posts are welcome in this thread and as far as I am concerned, the more geographical locations, the better for everyone who has been following this thread. One of the things I would do if/when I visit Australia is to bird watch. I had hoped to travel there last dec/jan but things occured which prevented me. The birding site I was looking into is a huge nat. park located south of darwin. kakadu?

 

Anyways, if you have something birding related from down under feel free to post it.

 

And yes, I intended to hit the reef of course. I was trying to figure out how to get as much of the continent in with this trip. It would probably be a once in a lifetime thing. So far, I had figured on 4 - 6 weeks of adventure.

[Cedars]

The past week has been good birding. I have seen the egrets are back in large numbers now. Nearly every pond I passed had one or two of these birds. Another bird that was rare to see locally as I was growing up, their numbers have increased dramatically. One close to home was in full breeding plumage. I did not have time to stop and identify exactly which kinds of egrets these were.

 

One bird was huge. Larger than our common egrets. The great Egret is not known to be around here, but it is not impossible either. I am begining to think we may have an albino Great Blue Heron. I hope to find this bird again and get a better ID.

 

Butterflys were hatching out the last warm spell we had. I saw many Swallowtails. Today is supposed to be warm again, so I expect more of that color to be in flight.

 

My bats are back now in large numbers. Another successful hibernation and migration for those guys.

[Michaelangelica]

The hypography post I received for this discussion also had this add.

You might want to check it out (Find out what you have to do to get the free bird book.)

I could't lie and say I was from the USA:( (even though they would have thought Australia was just another US state):)

http://www.freegiftworld.com/gift.html?nopop=1&CID=50339&ADTGID=104597&SID=KE14093893&xid=0

 

Will write on local Aussie birds soon.

[Cedars]

The hypography post I received for this discussion also had this add.

You might want to check it out (Find out what you have to do to get the free bird book.)

I could't lie and say I was from the USA:( (even though they would have thought Australia was just another US state):confused:

http://www.freegiftworld.com/gift.html?nopop=1&CID=50339&ADTGID=104597&SID=KE14093893&xid=0

 

Will write on local Aussie birds soon.

 

I clicked the link and it showed some items but none were related to birding. They wanted an email address before allowing further exploration. I wont do that without knowing what I am getting into.

 

I am looking forward to the Aussie bird info!

[Cedars]

Today a pair of orioles visited my feeder. I have been hearing several birds calling from the trees around my home, but this is the first use of the feeder I have seen by them.

 

A male Ruby Throated Hummingbird was there today also. They usually come after the first orioles. I dont get alot of them, and could probably increase the numbers by hanging additional feeders in other parts of the yard. They do tend to try run each other away.

 

The migration has been kinda light on numbers in my yard this spring. I am begining to wonder if the bad storms that were going thru the mid section of the country with as much frequency and severity as they were, hurt and/or killed large numbers of migrants. I know this does happen. Hail storms have killed large numbers of geese in spots where they are common during the summers here.