Birding.

[MikeandRong]

White-breasted Nuthatch. It spends all day hiding its food in all the cracks in the tree bark, and as fast as it hides it the other birds and squirrels follow up and steal it from them. There are more Nuthatches around this year than any years past.

 

[MikeandRong]

In Florida there is a lot of different birds. I miss the sandhill cranes, a very protected species. When it's mating season, it is a hoot to see them dance around. I could throw some feed out in the backyard and call the cardinals in. I hated bluejays since they hoarded the feed. But the cardinals would gang up and take it over. Birds are fun.

 

Here in Arizona I have a tree just outside my window. Right now a desert warbler and mockingbird are singing practically all night. Keeps me up because they sing in a certain pattern and rhythm, but they vary it. I feel like I am trying to break a code.

 

The desert wren here is another one. I catch one eating the stucco off the house to build a nest. Have to shoo him off. He is stupid enough to try to break through metal. Makes a rat-a-tat-tat sound.

 

And then the pigeons....Sooner or later I am going to have to call the bird netter. If it was Florida, my 20 gauge, clip fed Mossberg would take care of them. They are a pain the ass.

The Sandhills are quite a bird in the spring they just fly right over, no mistaking their calls. Sometimes they are so high up you can only see them if they glint off the sub, but you can always hear them. Now in the fall they will stop on by for a few weeks after the crops have been harvested and before freeze up. Then off they go to winter down south. I get a kick out of their mating ritual dances they do. Makes you wonder how such a large bird can get up so high. Once they take off they will continue to fly in giant circles rising higher and higher. Eventually they will find the correct thermal/air current they are looking for and off they will go, soaring and gliding and hardly even having to beat their wings.

 

Ah yes, the old clip fed. I know that one quite well, as the 395K was my first purchase at the local Kmart for $59 when I was 14. Nice rifled sights and a big old c-lect screw adjustable choke up front. Have one in both 12 and 20, kicks like a mule compared to any other I have ever fired. Must be the angle to comb drop or something like that. They sure do bring back some memories, thanks for bringing them up.

[MikeandRong]

Bluejays are a kind of a bully at the feeders and they do sock away food for winter but they are beautiful. I use to have a red headed woodpecker pair that use to come but haven't seen them in about three years.

 

Of course living here on the ocean, inter coastal waterway and a river there are MANY water birds that I haven't even gotten into. Some of them can be quite beautiful but most aren't as pretty as the backyard birds are. Some of them rob my fish pond of fish and bull frogs sometimes. More strange for sure though.

The Red Headed is now the only one I have not seen here in the yard. I know it's just a matter of time and I hope I have the camera ready when I do spot it. Yesterday was a tough day for spotting. It usually patterns every other day and even more so after a big storm. So today should be better. Had the first Goldfinch come in yesterday of the summer, even though I had them winter here all winter up to 10 at a time in their all white and black color of the season. They won't turn back to the bright yellow until around the end of April and the females turn their greenish yellow around the same time too. Where they have disappeared to since spring is beyond my guess. But I'm glad to see the first ones come back again.

 

Yes, the shore and sea birds are another whole category unto themselves, I wouldn't know where to begin. The Cormorant Duck (looks all black and just a little bigger than a Mallard, but slimmer) is a big fish thief around here. They can decimate a fish farmers pond in no time and are crafty just like raccoons so nets and barriers aren't much help to keep them out.

 

This year is the year of the babies. Since the last 10 days of June I have seen more parents bringing their babies to the yard to feed than any other year in the past. Must have been perfect hatching weather this year as I have only found 1 robins egg on the ground thus far.

[dnoblett]

[amberjack1234]

Kinda reminds me of ole Marty Feldman.

[amberjack1234]

When I was but a young lad the Robins would come over by the thousands and sometimes almost block out the sun. They would land in the Dogwood trees and completely strip it of their seeds. Now if I see two dozen I get excited. They eat mostly earthworms from the lawn which they can feel beneath the ground with their feet.

 

I can't remember if I told you or not but I was telling the wife, I don't usually look back through threads, I had two Cardinals nesting in a

 

Camellia right by my front porch and when they took turns sitting on the nest I would buy a box of earthworms and they would just sit there and let me feed the worms to them. That was neat but alas a snake got the babies when they hatched.

 

Happy birding

Edited July 11, 2017 by amberjack1234 (see edit history)

[Allon]

Another feature I had on my little ranch by the lake in Florida, was a long 250' driveway. (I called it my Field of Fire. hehe) Anybody who drove or walked that long had better have a good reason to knock on my door. My shotgun was perched just to the left of the door.

 

But the driveway had some nice trees. A dogwood, and a couple of trees that had berries on them. I never did identify what tree they were. But at times in the year when the berries were really plentiful, they would ferment in the sun. The birds dived for them like an old Japanese squadron of fighters. I swear some of them were wearing scarves and goggles. They hit the branches and the limbs would sway as they fought for the berries. The crackles especially were scoring a lot of hits on their bombing.

 

The worse thing is they got drunk from the fermentation I think. I am sure some of them got DWI's going home....Some of them were smart and slept it off on the telephone wires. It was a scene from that old Hitchcock movie The Birds.

 

Mike, you have really good pictures if those are yours. Good collection. I am glad to see we have some birders in this forum.

 

Anyone ever been to Cape May, NJ? It is a flyover for tons of migrating birds, including the birds of prey, hawks and eagles of all sorts. Regularly, there are some demonstrations of the kinds of birds that flyover north and south. And a real good place for a calm vacation.

[MikeandRong]

Another feature I had on my little ranch by the lake in Florida, was a long 250' driveway. (I called it my Field of Fire. hehe) Anybody who drove or walked that long had better have a good reason to knock on my door. My shotgun was perched just to the left of the door.

 

But the driveway had some nice trees. A dogwood, and a couple of trees that had berries on them. I never did identify what tree they were. But at times in the year when the berries were really plentiful, they would ferment in the sun. The birds dived for them like an old Japanese squadron of fighters. I swear some of them were wearing scarves and goggles. They hit the branches and the limbs would sway as they fought for the berries. The crackles especially were scoring a lot of hits on their bombing.

 

The worse thing is they got drunk from the fermentation I think. I am sure some of them got DWI's going home....Some of them were smart and slept it off on the telephone wires. It was a scene from that old Hitchcock movie The Birds.

 

Mike, you have really good pictures if those are yours. Good collection. I am glad to see we have some birders in this forum.

 

Anyone ever been to Cape May, NJ? It is a flyover for tons of migrating birds, including the birds of prey, hawks and eagles of all sorts. Regularly, there are some demonstrations of the kinds of birds that flyover north and south. And a real good place for a calm vacation.

Yes, of course the pictures are all mine, taken by me in our backyard. Usually I take them in the morning and post later on the same day, if evening then the next day. The girls bought a new Nikon camera for me for Father's Day and thanks to Don's suggestions I am getting good practice and better quality pictures as the days of summer go by.

 

Each fall I get drunk Ruffled Grouse eating off the wild grape vines I have growing up some of the Aspen trees. They are quite the sight to see wobbling all over the ground and stumbling about in a stupor, let alone trying to fly away and crashing into all the surrounding brush and limbs.

[amberjack1234]

Kinda reminds me of ole Marty Feldman.

My little attempt at humor was directed at the Grackle. I don't have a clue how it wound up where it did. It must have the wife pushing me out of the door to go to the doctor today in Wilmington.

[MikeandRong]

Dueling Grackles eating up before the coming storm.

 

[MikeandRong]

 

The early morning sun still from below really lit this Mourning Dove up nicely.

[MikeandRong]

 

A very dark phased Female House Finsch landed on the clothesline and just stared at me.

[MikeandRong]

 

My little buddy waiting for a peanut.

[MikeandRong]

 

One of the largest Black Capped Chickadee I have ever seen. They are really feeding heavy this morning. Must be a huge storm coming by tomorrow.

[MikeandRong]

 

Massive Dragonflies, like 5" ones have come out and are flying all over the sky just before it gets dark. Bad weather coming for sure.