Turtle Posted May 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Went walk about today and chanced upon a red tail hawk hunting an open field. It hovered flapping its wings like a hummingbird, a behavior I don't recall seeing. By the time I took out the camera & fiddled with the settings, I no longer saw the bird.:hihi: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 12, 2006 Report Share Posted May 12, 2006 Red-tails will hover some, but they are so much more clumsy about it than a Marsh Hawk. It seems to be a real struggle for them to pull it off. Red-tails are cool. I had a pair of them who hunted my oaks for squirrels many years ago. They worked as a team, one driving the squirrel around the trunk to its waiting hunting partner. Some of these hunts lasts 15 minutes or more. The birds tended to begin to do this when the baby squirrels were getting confident in their running around the trees a bit, preying on their inexperience with the dangers of the world. Which reminds me of a first that happened about 7-10 days ago. I heard a squirrel making a weird noise. I looked up towards the squirrel and saw a Raven in the same tree, a few branches over. It seemed to me that the Raven was trying to invade the squirrels nest and the squirrel was defending. I assume the babies were the object and I would guess the baby squirrels were very young. The Raven flew off because of my presence so that was the end of that particular struggle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Yesterday was a good day. I saw my first baby Canadian Geese in a spot that tends to produce the first hatchlings. They were very young, maybe 3 days old. A young Bald Eagle flew over me while I was working in the yard. This spring has to be the best ever for eagles over my house. Every day some fly over. I wonder what our DNR eagle count will be this year. A pair of Orioles were fighting near me. They chattered a few paragraphs of irritation at my presence in their yard, then continued to fight. They were so close to me and so absorbed in this dispute I could have caught them with a landing net as they tumbled to the ground, wrapped around each other. More Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have returned to spar over the feeder. So far I have not seen any females. An Osprey was floating around about a mile south of me. I dont often see them this close to my home. They took such a beating from DDT and developments around their range that we lost many of them. They have made a great come back around here in the last few years. Song/call:http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/Song/h3640so.mp3 More info:http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Osprey.html The Stillwater Osprey Cam is online again!http://birdcam.xcelenergy.com/Ospreycam.asp That is the St. Croix river in the background. This is about 3 miles south of Stillwater Minnesota (or 3 miles south of Hudson Wisconsin). Looking at the pics from yesterday, there was an osprey in the nest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 20, 2006 Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 Who would have guessed New Jersey? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12873728/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turtle Posted May 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2006 Who would have guessed New Jersey? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12873728/ Silly twitchers. The article doesn't say how many species have ever been recorded in NJ, but I seem to recall in Washington it is over 400. Please by all means continue to hold the Twitch Fest in NJ. I have to wonder how many tons of carbon they released in their frubknarbled escapades in the pursuit of nature? All I have these days is a voracious gang of Starlings, an occassional American Robin, & a few crows fussing in the tops of nearby Doug Firs. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 21, 2006 Report Share Posted May 21, 2006 Silly twitchers. Please by all means continue to hold the Twitch Fest in NJ. I have to wonder how many tons of carbon they released in their frubknarbled escapades in the pursuit of nature? Feeling a bit testy today are we? :confused: They were all driving Geos and Vegas I would guess. :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 I saw the most unusual thing yesterday. Unusual for the time of year mostly. I looked up to see 3 full grown Bald Eagles soaring together. Around and around they went. I heard no calls of agression between them. Maybe a new pair is forming. Thats the only thing I can think of for this tolerance of each other. Or they were watching the neighbors Koa pond. The neighbors were on tv a few weeks ago and were so proud of their little pond for the fish (they raise them by the hundreds indoors for sale). Kind of an expensive meal for our national symbol. I had forgotten to write that wild Turkeys had showen up at my feeder. One day there was 3 hens. Otherwise they have been coming to the feeder as singles. Yesterday a female Phesant came around. First time I have seen a her, but I have a male who eats here each day. The orioles seem to have agreed on how to share the feeder now. I am not seeing them fighting anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racoon Posted May 23, 2006 Report Share Posted May 23, 2006 Thats cool cedars! wow... 3 of em'.. sounds like a new famly! :D Just the usual sightings around here. I never get tired of Stellar Jays. They like to land on the deck. They are such a beautiful blue. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 19, 2006 Report Share Posted June 19, 2006 The trip west was a successful adventure. Many new for me, bird sightings occured. Surprises abounded while traveling this last 10 days. The numbers of hawks of many types we saw as we traveled thru Minnesota was no surprise. I was very pleased with the high numbers of raptors seen thru farming country. One big surprise that occured early in the trip was the numbers of water birds seen around Sioux Falls S. Dakota. We saw from the freeway, White Pelicans, Cormorants, and a Great Blue Heron. I imagine if we would have spent a few days, we would have seen many more unexpected water birds. White Pelican information:http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/whitepelican.htmhttp://identify.whatbird.com/obj/268/_/American_White_Pelican.aspx A puzzling part of the journey occured later this day, mid state. Many large expanses of lands suitable for hawks were void. I had expected more Kestrals along the powerlines that lined parts of our journey but there would be many many miles of no raptor sightings. Then, for a few miles we would see a few varieties. Mostly Red-tailed hawks and Marsh hawks with a few Kestrals. Then they would disapear from our view again for many miles. It was not apparent that it was due to a lack of food. During these Raptor free zones, we would see other types of birds such as Grackles, Meadow Larks, and Red-winged Blackbirds in plenty. We traveled further west to Kadoka S. Dakota. The campground we stayed in provided many bird sounds and new sightings. I was able to spot my first Orchard Oriole (surprise sighting). And we had several Western Kingbirds (personal first) sparring over good spots to perch. Many other more common birds were here, such as Mourning Doves, Chickadees, Robins and Grackles. Orchard Oriole: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Orchard_Oriole.htmlhttp://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i5060id.html So this sums up the first 24 hours of the birding part of the adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 This day we avoided the crowds of the Badlands (having been there before) and skirted around going south out of Kadoka. The winds were high, the temps were cool and the skies threatened rain. What birds we did see were very common for the most part. Meadow Larks, Red-tailed hawks, Red-winged blackbirds, etc. But as we crossed the White River into Pine Ridge, the bridge over this river supported a huge colony of Cliff Swallows. They flew like a blurry cloud of darks, mottled with tans and whites. There seemed to be a couple hundred of these birds. If I had known how cool they looked against the cliffs of the White river, I would have attempted more shots. These are the same kind of swallows made famous by their return to San Juan Capistrano. Sometimes the birds came very close to us as we stood on the bridge. I should have crawled down under the bridge and attempted to take nest shots. They make a really cool nest. Nest shot with information:http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i6120id.html Good visual of the bird:http://www.birds.cornell.edu/bow/cliswa/ My pics from the bridge. I snipped the photo to reduce size, but still give an idea of how many birds there were. Not all fit into the shots of course. http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/pics/CliffSw1.jpg http://www.geocities.com/mn_cedars/pics/CliffSw2.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racoon Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Great Birding posts as usual Cedars! :phones: I saw a Peregrine Falcon along a busy road as I was riding my bike. I stopped to watch it perch on a telephone pole.People in cars obliviously commuting along, and I appreciated a nice moment of nature meet city. :phones: Cedars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 Great Birding posts as usual Cedars! :phones: I saw a Peregrine Falcon along a busy road as I was riding my bike. I stopped to watch it perch on a telephone pole.People in cars obliviously commuting along, and I appreciated a nice moment of nature meet city. :phones: Was this your first Peregrine? Outstanding sighting for sure! To think how close we came to losing these birds and the remarkable come back they have made gives one a bit of hope for the future. Too bad so many missed the opportunity to see this bird. People around here still slow down for an eagle sighting, even though they have become common. I used to laugh on my drive home, everyone speeding along until they neared the eagle nest. And the crowd slows down looking for a glimpse of the birds. Then after passing the nest, the high speed video game resumed as we defied death in our 1/2 ton of steel cage. There is so much bird action going on along side the roadways that people miss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racoon Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 No, it wasn't. I think its the same bird tho'... Theres a major artierial road I ride my bike down, but there are several green spaces dotting around it.I have seen it on several occasions :) Stop, look, smell the roses...:phones: :phones: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 20, 2006 Report Share Posted June 20, 2006 No, it wasn't. I think its the same bird tho'... Theres a major artierial road I ride my bike down, but there are several green spaces dotting around it.I have seen it on several occasions :evil: Stop, look, smell the roses...:naughty: :shrug: Heres a few links I found for Washington regarding the Peregrine: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/status/peregrine/ http://www.pacificbio.org/ESIN/Birds/AmerPeregrineFalcon/americanpfalconpg.html This link has streaming video of a couple of seattle nest sites:http://www.frg.org/frg/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 22, 2006 Report Share Posted June 22, 2006 Custer state park in S. Dakota was full of a variety of birds, but they were very elusive to spot. We tried spotting some (what I presume to be) warblers in a few locations to no avail. We could hear them calling but they tended to move to the far side of the tops of the trees, or quickly fly away to a few trees over, any time we approached. The time we had put aside for birding was limited and that hampered the effort also. The calls we heard indicated warblers, grosbeaks, and nuthatches in good numbers, but I could not verify the birds, such as was that a Rose-breasted Grosbeak (uncommon for the area) or was it a Black-headed Grosbeak (common for the area). Several calls I could not identify at all. We did watch a pair of Mountain Bluebirds for a while. The female was hunting very near me and I watched her hunt down some type of moth. Took her about 4 tries to finally catch this creature. A Grey Jay was teaching fledglings a few things about life, mostly how to hide from people.... sigh.... The highlight of the birding in this park was the sighting of a pair of Upland Sandpipers. The birds were maybe 10 feet off the road in Bison grazed prairie so we could see them well. We spotted one bird and as we watched her, she looked right at us and gave two distinct calls. Another bird answered nearby. She walked thru the grasses towards her mate and seemed to exchange places with him to sit on a nest for a minute. Then both birds flew off right infront of our car. We were so absorbed with watching them, we forgot to take pictures. This is part of the reason why I dont post my own pics of birds.... Good picture and description:http://www.nps.gov/yuch/Expanded/key_resources/birds/species_descriptions/upsa_description.htm Good info with sound byte:http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/422/overview/Upland_Sandpiper.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarantism Posted June 23, 2006 Report Share Posted June 23, 2006 saw a male hummingbird showing off his diving skill to some unseen female in the bushes today off my deck. was interesting, i watching him for a little while until he could no longer be seen. also say about 10 vultures stalking something today. didnt see what. also a large group of pelicans off the coast on monday. simply flying. happy birding everyone :evil: Cedars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedars Posted June 23, 2006 Report Share Posted June 23, 2006 saw a male hummingbird showing off his diving skill to some unseen female in the bushes today off my deck. was interesting, i watching him for a little while until he could no longer be seen. also say about 10 vultures stalking something today. didnt see what. also a large group of pelicans off the coast on monday. simply flying. happy birding everyone :hihi: Do you have a hummingbird feeder up, or does a neighbor? Which kind of hummingbird? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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