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Birding.


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Mike, you sure have a bunch of nice birds in your area. I am learning a lot with your posts. I wish we had that kind of bird diversity here. Most of the time, the pigeons, blackbirds, and crackles just become pests. I have installed a high frequency beeper just to keep them away. And of course, that keeps away the rare birds.

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Mike, you sure have a bunch of nice birds in your area. I am learning a lot with your posts. I wish we had that kind of bird diversity here. Most of the time, the pigeons, blackbirds, and crackles just become pests. I have installed a high frequency beeper just to keep them away. And of course, that keeps away the rare birds.

It can be feast or famine here when it comes to the unpopular species. This fall it's the couple of Skunks that showed up in the yard and it's not worth the dogs getting sprayed and me having to clean up the mess. My big guy really hates the Skunks and will corner them against the fence and kill them, regardless of the full face sprays. Then off to the vet and get the skunk tested and just in case shots, etc... so for now it's nice and safe Thistle and Nectar and I get to miss the early fall migratory species that are coming through now.

 

There was rain in the forecast and the only thing flying were the Hummingbirds and Canada Geese, not even a squirrel was around. Could only mean one thing and I was catching shadow flashes up in the tree branches off and on. A short wait and this really pretty Red-Tailed Hawk came into the thick Oak tree between the houses. I took a test focus and got the tree branch instead. He's 20 yards away and I'm sitting totally still with the wind blowing, yet at the sound of the shutter he stared right at me and took off.

 

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After 3 days of rain and cold the sun came out and it warmed back up to the low 70s. I had the windows open so the fresh air could come in and heard this Brown Creeper calling outside. They are pretty tame and relaxed, but creep into the tree bark cracks while walking up the tree from base to top looking for insects in the bark cracks and scraping them out with their hooked beak. They are really very well camouflaged and if not for their calls or almost constant movement, you would have a very hard time spotting them while on a tree. And when they fly, they mimic a falling or blowing dead tree leaf. This guy just migrated down from Canada where they breed and spend the summer.

 

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A whole lot of Monarch Butterflies showed up today too. As a kid we used to see them everywhere all summer long, but the last 20 years or so we only see a few of them and it always starts a conversation that somebody saw one. These guys must be what they call the third brood, which are the ones who are getting ready to make their migration all the way to Mexico to spend the winter. They would spend a good 5 minutes drinking the sugar water out of the feeder before taking off. I know they have a very bad taste and nothing eats them, and even the Hummingbird would only sit on a tree branch nearby and not come in when the Monarchs are/were drinking.

 

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Great to see them Mike. I didn't know that they had a taste defensive mechanism built into them. I read a story about the guy that had spent his entire life studying them and at the end of his life his daughter and son in law went down to Mexico and just ask where they were. An old man told them that they were up that mountain. They went up there and there were millions of them up there. She called her dad and he just made it up there to see them. He died shortly after that but he got his dream as to where they were going. The reason that they are fading out why they were diminishing is because farmer and home owners are killing all the milkweed that they feed on and they have noting to eat along their flight north.

Edited by amberjack1234 (see edit history)
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Great to see them Mike. I didn't know that they had a taste defensive mechanism built into them. I read a story about the guy that had spent his entire life studying them and at the end of his life his daughter and son in law went down to Mexico and just ask where they were. An old man told them that they were up that mountain. They went up there and there were millions of them up there. She called her dad and he just made it up there to see them. He died shortly after that but he got his dream as to where they were going. The reason that they are fading out why they were diminishing is because farmer and home owners are killing all the milkweed that they feed on and they have noting to eat along their flight north.

Yes that is true about the milkweed. It used to grow wild all around me, espically at the backs of people's yards and lot lines, but not anymore. Now the grade school has some planted in their flower garden, but that is all I ever see these days. They only lay their eggs on the milkweed and that is what gives the catipellar the bitter taste to start off with as they feed off the milkweed sap. I remember as a kid it was milky white and really sticky too, but the pod was all fluffy and would blow around just like a ripe cattail top when you pull it apart and let it fly. It's too bad that kids now days can't see or experience the same innocent things we did as kids way back when.

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It has been pouring rain on and off all day, and while we sure do need it, we don't need this much this fast. I moved the feeder back under the tree more to give the Hummingbirds a better chance to drink out of the downpours. At least it's not cold today and they seem to just brush off the rain and go right on drinking. This guy looks a little different on his chevron markings to me as he has a second one on his chest that is quite visible in the third photo, but it also may be due to wet feathers today and how the markings appeared.

 

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Not discounting the birds but I could not help but notice the carabiner you got there. Have not seen a double line carabiner in a while. 'Course I ain't been rock climbing since I almost broke a hip in a fall recently. Glad to see one being used to hold up something that won't break when it falls. I always use clamps with a screw gate on them, not convenient for use with bird lines. hehe.

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After getting over 8" of rain in 36 hours the temperature dropped from 78 down to 41. The grass went from crunchy tan to green again and 2 hours before sunrise the Hummingbirds were feeding like crazy in the dark, getting ready to leave at dawn on the strong North winds that were blowing for the start of their long migration South.

 

The different species of Woodpeckers were talking up a storm and going from tree to tree looking for any food that may have been dislodged and cold blooded insects unable to move away in time were on the menu. The top photo is my local Male Red-bellied Woodpecker, and it's nice to see all of his red head feathers growing in nicely once again.

 

The bottom 2 photos are of my local Female Downy Woodpecker. Once she got done checking out the tree she flew over to the Sparrows bird house and went inside to check it out. I've never seen her go inside before today and the Sparrows were away feeding, so maybe she was just curious or warming up, as she only stayed inside for a couple of minutes before leaving and not going back inside again.

 

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Tuesday morning was again cold and clear. These 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers looked really colorful as they flew from the back tree to the front tree and then back again, it almost seemed like they were more playing tag than looking for food. The top 2 photos are of the Male and the bottom 2 photos are of the Female.

 

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Even with all the rain over the weekend these guys were having a blast playing in the water bowl I leave out for them, each one taking a turn to drink and then a quick dip to rinse their feathers off. You can see all the morning condensation still on the grass, but the trees and their leaves were bone dry. Top photo is a yearling Blue Jay and the bottom is a yearling Male Robin.

 

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Yesterday it warmed up a little more in the morning and there was above normal activity of different species coming and going. I'm still not putting out food for them yet, just tossing out some peanuts in the shell one at a time when they come in begging. They are pretty used to me being outside and while they are still cautious, they know when my arm moves outwards that it's a quick and easy snack if they want it.

 

The 2 Blue Jays are yearling brothers and always together. They hatched in the thick bushes at the far end of the yard this year and I was able to watch even the nest building take place. The Male Father Blue Jay always finishes the nest with a piece of something white, be it a piece of paper or cloth, or even a strip of Birch Bark. Why I don't know, but you always know when it's finished because of the white showing. These 2 guys go everywhere together and are fearless when chasing away the smaller Hawks from the nearby trees.

 

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This Male Red-bellied Woodpecker couldn't resist all of the action going on, and while not as quick as the Blue Jays he came right in to eat too. This is only the second time I have seen one landing in the grass to get food, and a first to coming to me, but I know for a fact that these guys really like the peanuts over all the other food that I offer them, so I guess he couldn't resist the temptation. His red mullet styled head feathers are really coming in nicely these last couple of weeks.

 

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Last we have the Brown Creeper inching his way up the tree. He rarely ventures into the sun and instead prefers to stay in the shade, using his natural camouflage to blend into the darker shades of the tree bark. If he doesn't move it would be hard to spot him as is shown in the second photo. They won't be here for long though, just passing through on their way down south a bit more.

 

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