VeeshanVault

Join the Great Backyard Bird Count, February 16-19, 2007. It's fun, it's free, it takes as little as 15 minutes--and it helps the birds.

The GBBC starts today. It is a good way to contribute to bird research and learn what the critters in your backyard are.... A good way to spend some quality time with the family.

http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

Don't know your bird species?

A good general guide online including song audio:

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

Specific checklists by ZIP, State or Province compiled from previous GBBCs...

http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/checklist

I recommend you check the list without rare birds first then if you just can't find what you saw check it with the rares. The lists are linked back to the all about birds site so you can look at photos and hear songs for comparison.

I've been counting since 6AM this morning and I'm up to 32 species & 283 birds so far......I'm just doing backyard today...a couple NWRs later in the count...

You can do it in 15 minutes...or spend a whole day....

Hey Arb, have I ever told you this?

I love you - but you're a bit of a geek

<3

Drolgin Steingrinder wrote:Hey Arb, have I ever told you this?

I love you - but you're a bit of a geek

<3

Ya think?!...

And there are more than a few geeks on the boards unless I miss my guess...lol...

I love you too

I have two dead birds on my back balcony! I leave them there to scare off the other birds. (OK, I scoop them up eventually)

I'm sure this happens other places, but they seem to think my window isn't there and slam right into it, breaking their little necks.

I can take a picture of one if you'd like to ID it for the count!

I am pretty sure that the idea is to count living birds. Unless they are undead...not sure where they would fit then.

Thanks Arb!

I love watching birds in our back yard. Before we got our hot tub cover replaced, it would collect water when it rained. I loved looking out my kitchen window and seeing a bird splashing around. I don't know much about bird breeds, but I enjoy watching them all do their thing.

If I weren't so lazy, I'd make my back yard more inviting to wildlife. We have tons of squirrels, but I'd like to plant flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds and provide for their water/shelter requirements. I found a website of a guy in Houston who breaks it all down. I just need to do it...

Lalanae wrote:Thanks Arb!

I love watching birds in our back yard. Before we got our hot tub cover replaced, it would collect water when it rained. I loved looking out my kitchen window and seeing a bird splashing around. I don't know much about bird breeds, but I enjoy watching them all do their thing.

If I weren't so lazy, I'd make my back yard more inviting to wildlife. We have tons of squirrels, but I'd like to plant flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds and provide for their water/shelter requirements. I found a website of a guy in Houston who breaks it all down. I just need to do it...

I can break it all down for ya if you need......and recommend the best feeders/plants for any kind of critter...

36 species 287 now...I may make 40 species...but it'll be iffy...

0 species. 0 birds

I quess 10 deg with a -5 wind chill and snow kinda limits their visibility.

I did see a crow eating trash earlyer in the week!

Lalanae wrote:I love watching birds in our back yard. Before we got our hot tub cover replaced, it would collect water when it rained. I loved looking out my kitchen window and seeing a bird splashing around. I don't know much about bird breeds, but I enjoy watching them all do their thing.

Feel free to take some Grackles!

I understand they are an excellent breed to have around the home

In the past we have kept a bird feeder outside the window and sen some really nice birds. Even a woodpecker or two. Got tiring though becuase of all the damn nuisance squirrels in the area. I took the pellet gun to them a few times but it wasn't enough to kill them out right. I like to think they crawl away and die elsewhere but it seems whenever one disappears, three more show up to take its place.

We have good flock of crows that show up on trash day. THeir sense of smell is amazing. I had raw chicken wrapped in three garbage bags and they still sniffed it out and made a rotten chicken mess.

Boogahz wrote:

Lalanae wrote:I love watching birds in our back yard. Before we got our hot tub cover replaced, it would collect water when it rained. I loved looking out my kitchen window and seeing a bird splashing around. I don't know much about bird breeds, but I enjoy watching them all do their thing.

Feel free to take some Grackles!

I understand they are an excellent breed to have around the home

My grandfather used to pay me $2 per grackle when I stayed with him on his ranch, hehe.

I saw two cardinals and one woodpecker. I saw many crowses, and we have a red tailed hawk that lives somewhere down in the creek, I didn't see him today though. We have little doves in the morning, smaller than the ones I'm used to, with brownish chests. My uncle always called the mexican doves.

I miss my cattle egrets we had in the late spring/summer

Truant wrote:

Boogahz wrote:

Lalanae wrote:I love watching birds in our back yard. Before we got our hot tub cover replaced, it would collect water when it rained. I loved looking out my kitchen window and seeing a bird splashing around. I don't know much about bird breeds, but I enjoy watching them all do their thing.

Feel free to take some Grackles!

I understand they are an excellent breed to have around the home

My grandfather used to pay me $2 per grackle when I stayed with him on his ranch, hehe.

I saw two cardinals and one woodpecker. I saw many crowses, and we have a red tailed hawk that lives somewhere down in the creek, I didn't see him today though. We have little doves in the morning, smaller than the ones I'm used to, with brownish chests. My uncle always called the mexican doves.

I miss my cattle egrets we had in the late spring/summer

Teh little doves are prolly Inca Doves...

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBi ... _Dove.html

I had a flock of ~140 Common Grackles this morning...I closed out my list for today...Not a bad day all in all...The White-Breasted Nuthatch and Downys are unusual for my yard...

Locality: 71203, Monroe, Ouachita County, LA
Observation Date: FEB 16, 2007
Start Time: 6:45 AM
Total Birding Time: 6 hours 30 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: good
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
rural
freshwater
Number of Species: 37
All Reported: yes


Checklist:
Wood Duck - 2
Green-winged Teal - 3
Double-crested Cormorant - 21
Great Egret - 1
Snowy Egret - 1
Cattle Egret - 4
Black Vulture - 3
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Cooper's Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 2
Mourning Dove - 9
Inca Dove - 7
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 2
Blue Jay - 1
American Crow - 7
Purple Martin - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 3
Tufted Titmouse - 3
White-breasted Nuthatch - 1
Carolina Wren - 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 2
American Robin - 3
Northern Mockingbird - 2
Cedar Waxwing - 9
Pine Warbler - 3
Chipping Sparrow - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 23
Dark-eyed Junco - 17
Northern Cardinal - 9
Red-winged Blackbird - 5
Common Grackle - 140
House Finch - 9
American Goldfinch - 51
House Sparrow - 7

Comments ----------------------------------------
Habitat is a backyard with ~25 feeders, 3 water features. Habitat is in an old neighborhood built in a Bottomland Hardwood (Quercus phellos, Ulmus americana & crassifolia, Celtis laevigata, Fraxinus pennsylvanica) stand with a wide variety of naturalized native underplantings. There are 4 permanent fresh water bodies within 3 miles (1 River, 2 Bayous and 1 lake).

We have a pretty diverse bird population in our neighbourhood. I guess the density of big old (120+ years) trees and our proximity to a wooded ravine is the reason.

Blue/Grey Jays, Cardinals, Orioles and Woodpeckers are surprisingly common sights... considering how close (10 mins) we live to the downtown core of Toronto (4.5 million).

Thankfully our neighbourhood is mostly free of pigeons... I fucking despise pigeons.

The coolest birds ever are Peregrine Falcons. In my last job, I would get frequent visits to my cube's windowsill from a pair of them who were nesting on the building. They were on the verge of extinction but their numbers have been increasing in recent years. Apparently there are over 20 pairs of Pererines nesting in the dwontown core of Toronto.

miir wrote:We have a pretty diverse bird population in our neighbourhood. I guess the density of big old (120+ years) trees and our proximity to a wooded ravine is the reason.

Blue/Grey Jays, Cardinals, Orioles and Woodpeckers are surprisingly common sights... considering how close (10 mins) we live to the downtown core of Toronto (4.5 million).

Thankfully our neighbourhood is mostly free of pigeons... I fucking despise pigeons.

The coolest birds ever are Peregrine Falcons. In my last job, I would get frequent visits to my cube's windowsill from a pair of them who were nesting on the building. They were on the verge of extinction but their numbers have been increasing in recent years. Apparently there are over 20 pairs of Pererines nesting in the dwontown core of Toronto.

Yeah Peregrines have made a great comeback since DDT was banned...Being natural Cliff dwellers they adapt pretty well to skyscrapers ...

arb you should start a wildlife show and i can be your sidekick but only if i get to fight a bear

Truant wrote:and we have a red tailed hawk that lives somewhere down in the creek

Crik.

kyoukan wrote:

Truant wrote:and we have a red tailed hawk that lives somewhere down in the creek

Crik.

My grandfather uses that word!

kyoukan wrote:

Truant wrote:and we have a red tailed hawk that lives somewhere down in the creek

Crik.

It is spelled creek...just pronounced that way ...

So I haven't actively been counting, but I found this guy on my mom's front lawn:



What is he? Is that a snowy?

laneela wrote:So I haven't actively been counting, but I found this guy on my mom's front lawn:



What is he? Is that a snowy?

I don't have a sense of perspective to tell the size and I cant see the feet...Great or Snowy Egret for sure, i think Great...did he have yellow or black feet. You may have species I'm not thinking about at all...

looks like a lithuanian albino crik flamingo to me.

kyoukan wrote:looks like a lithuanian albino crik flamingo to me.

Yeah that's a synonym for Great Egret in British Columbia...

Arborealus wrote:

laneela wrote:So I haven't actively been counting, but I found this guy on my mom's front lawn:



What is he? Is that a snowy?

I don't have a sense of perspective to tell the size and I cant see the feet...Great or Snowy Egret for sure, i think Great...did he have yellow or black feet. You may have species I'm not thinking about at all...

Gray'ish/black feetsies. He wasn't scared at all either. It might have to do with the fact that he could break my face with the flap of a wing in an instant if he felt like it but I've always found birds are rather skittish; so it was weird that he just stood there are we walked around him.

I counted over the last couple days. Most of these wer ein my backyard, while some I saw in the harbor while I was on the ferry, and also during a walk to a more peaceful harbor near my house.

In my yard:

2 Northern Flickers
5 Ban-Tailed Pigeons
1 Red-breasted Sap-Sucker
3 Anna's Hummingbirds
4 Ring-necked Pheasants
1 Pileated Woodpecker(Heard it in distance)
1 Barred Owl(Heard it)
~Dozens of Black-capped/Chestnut-backed Chickadees(Couldn't really tell the difference)
~Dozen Red-breasted Nuthatches
1 Common Raven
Countless Northwestern Crows
~Dozen Steller's Jays
4 Spotted Towhees
5 European Starlings
1 Varied Thrush
1 Downy Woodpeckers
~Dozens of American Robins
TONS of sparrows, not sure which kind...something really common



While at the two harbors I saw:

3 Great Blue Herons(while taking a walk to the harbor near my house)
1 Belted Kingfisher
2 Killdeer
1 Bald Eagle
Dozen Hooded Merganzers
6 Eurasian Wigeons
3 Western Grebes
~Dozen bufflehead
TONS of American Gulls(could be another kind, they all look the same to me)
TONS of Brandt's Cormorants

laneela wrote:Gray'ish/black feetsies. He wasn't scared at all either. It might have to do with the fact that he could break my face with the flap of a wing in an instant if he felt like it but I've always found birds are rather skittish; so it was weird that he just stood there are we walked around him.

Yeah Great Egret...Snowy's have yellow "socks"....

Today's count results:

Locality: 71203, Monroe, Ouachita County, LA
Observation Date: FEB 17, 2007
Start Time: 6:45 AM
Total Birding Time: 11 hours 30 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: good
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
suburban
freshwater
Number of Species: 28
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
Double-crested Cormorant - 7
Snowy Egret - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Mourning Dove - 11
Inca Dove - 6
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 3
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Pileated Woodpecker - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 2
Tufted Titmouse - 1
Carolina Wren - 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Eastern Bluebird - 1
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 1
European Starling - 1
Pine Warbler - 3
Chipping Sparrow - 1
Lincoln's Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 11
Dark-eyed Junco - 23
Northern Cardinal - 17
Red-winged Blackbird - 13
Common Grackle - 19
Brown-headed Cowbird - 1
House Finch - 5
American Goldfinch - 82
House Sparrow - 6

Freakin' Lincoln's Sparrow took me an hour to ID...Sparrows are prolly the hardest birds to learn or maybe fall warblers...But I think that is the only reported in the state this year so it is nice to add to the species count...

The Goldfinches are eating 5lbs of Nyjer a day...I probably have 150 in the back yard at a time peak but they are a bitch to count...covering every port on every feeder and waiting in droves in every tree....

And the final day's count:

Locality: 71203, Monroe, Ouachita County, LA
Observation Date: FEB 19, 2007
Start Time: 7:00 AM
Total Birding Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Party Size: 1
Skill: good
Weather: excellent
Habitat(s):
deciduous woods
suburban
freshwater
Number of Species: 29
All Reported: yes
Checklist:
Great Egret - 2
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Mourning Dove - 7
Inca Dove - 5
Eastern Screech-Owl - 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker - 1
Downy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 1
Carolina Chickadee - 3
Tufted Titmouse - 2
Carolina Wren - 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1
Hermit Thrush - 1
American Robin - 2
Northern Mockingbird - 2
European Starling - 3
Cedar Waxwing - 35
Pine Warbler - 2
Chipping Sparrow - 3
Fox Sparrow - 2
White-throated Sparrow - 29
Dark-eyed Junco - 27
Northern Cardinal - 18
Red-winged Blackbird - 2
Common Grackle - 17
Brown-headed Cowbird - 2
House Finch - 3
American Goldfinch - 59
House Sparrow - 3

Here's a bird question.

We've had MANY robins around this year, but we haven't had them around here in quite a long while. My family tells me that we used to have them in this area every year, but they stopped at some point, and this is the first year they've returned.

Any explanations for that? I'm just curious really.

A wizard did it.

Arborealus wrote: Northern Flicker - 1

I'm calling you out on the Northen Flicker. Pics or it didn't happen!

yellow-shafted or red-shafted?

Truant wrote:Here's a bird question.

We've had MANY robins around this year, but we haven't had them around here in quite a long while. My family tells me that we used to have them in this area every year, but they stopped at some point, and this is the first year they've returned.

Any explanations for that? I'm just curious really.

Good question sirrah...Bird populations tend to be very explosive when conditions permit...I saw a flock of 100+ Robins in an open field last week...And have noticed very large numbers this winter...i don't know for sure if we are seeing a population increase or a relocation of wintering populations due to the abnormally warm Dec/Jan...Won't really be able to tell until we get the counts later in the year to see if the numbers are high when they are spread out...And of course it may be a bit of both...I have noticed a trend of increase in them over the past few years though...

http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/map ... region=NAm

There is a multi year map of robins during the gbbc and there certainly seems to be an increase...if you look at the 2007 numbers and distribution St. Petersburg certainly reported a plague of robins...

I did have the fortune/misfortune some years ago of being in a woods when a large (like several thousands) migratory flock of robins landed...It was preternaturally loud...probably the loudest thing I have heard...really painful...


Winnow a Yellow-Shafted Flicker they are year round residents here...

One eye Dodo bird - 1

** Oh nevermind, it turned out to be Kyoukan sucking my dogs cock.

Arborealus wrote:

Truant wrote:Here's a bird question.

We've had MANY robins around this year, but we haven't had them around here in quite a long while. My family tells me that we used to have them in this area every year, but they stopped at some point, and this is the first year they've returned.

Any explanations for that? I'm just curious really.

Good question sirrah...Bird populations tend to be very explosive when conditions permit...I saw a flock of 100+ Robins in an open field last week...And have noticed very large numbers this winter...i don't know for sure if we are seeing a population increase or a relocation of wintering populations due to the abnormally warm Dec/Jan...Won't really be able to tell until we get the counts later in the year to see if the numbers are high when they are spread out...And of course it may be a bit of both...I have noticed a trend of increase in them over the past few years though...

http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/map ... region=NAm

There is a multi year map of robins during the gbbc and there certainly seems to be an increase...if you look at the 2007 numbers and distribution St. Petersburg certainly reported a plague of robins...

I did have the fortune/misfortune some years ago of being in a woods when a large (like several thousands) migratory flock of robins landed...It was preternaturally loud...probably the loudest thing I have heard...really painful...


Winnow a Yellow-Shafted Flicker they are year round residents here...

Thanks

I would have guessed it was due to the relocation thing. But that was a completely uninformed guess.

I see herons and ibises all the time, but I think they all flew to Cuba when the cold weather moved in. Smart birds, it's like 60 here. BRR!

Arborealus wrote: Winnow a Yellow-Shafted Flicker they are year round residents here...

Just checking!

What are good bird watching binoculars to get? I know the most powerful aren't always the best for that sort of thing...wide angle?

Winnow wrote:

Arborealus wrote: Winnow a Yellow-Shafted Flicker they are year round residents here...

Just checking!

What are good bird watching binoculars to get? I know the most powerful aren't always the best for that sort of thing...wide angle?

Roof Prism
Waterproof/Fogproof
Rubber Armoured
Comfy Eyecups which exclude stray light
Light Weight
7X - 10x: Power beyond this gets too heavy, bulky and visually unstable
Bright as possible: Birds are most active at dawn and dusk
Nice wide field of view: Allows you to find the bird quickly
I always like a really close focusing pair (<6ft)

You pretty much get what you pay for in optics...so Swarovski are brilliant and worth the near 2k price tag if you can rationalize the expense...

I use Audubon 10x42 Equinox HPs and love 'em...

Holy shit do you people have too much free time