Birding.

[MikeandRong]

Had never seen this bird before, and if not for the ID app and quality photo that I could enlarge, I would still be guessing.

The name of the bird is a Grey Catbird.

Edited May 31, 2017 by Randy W
fix (see edit history)

[Allon]

My films are so old and fragile I would have to scan them myself. I've got some good one.

[MikeandRong]

My films are so old and fragile I would have to scan them myself. I've got some good one.

I've got so many great photos on old film, I'm in the same boat. So many of the photos have faded over the years, but I do have most of the negatives. Tried to run them through the film scanner option on my older scanner. While the preview portion looked good, the copy was poor, even on quality photo paper. It was too bad I could not get the transfer function to work to send to the computer.

 

Then the ones on the 2nd to last computer crashed suddenly. Only way to restart was reset back to factory setting, thus losing everything stored on it. That is the one I truly regret. I have saved that desktop hoping sometime in the future some wizkid will say "

Oh sure I can save those and restore your Window XP too".

 

I guess memories are like old photos, they just fade with time.

[Allon]

I can Photoshop them back to good shape. Takes time.

[MikeandRong]

 

Got a new Nikon D3400. Still learning more each time I use it. This was still on the SD card before changing cameras.

 

This is a male Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Edited June 25, 2017 by MikeandRong (see edit history)

[MikeandRong]

 

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Edited June 25, 2017 by MikeandRong (see edit history)

[MikeandRong]

 

Female Hairy Woodpecker.

[MikeandRong]

 

3 White-breasted Nuthatches.

[MikeandRong]

 

House Finch. Nice red color phases on these and quite the singers too.

[Greg.D.]

Looks like you are in a great geographical location for attracting birds.

 

I recommend you get a suet feeder (looks like a book-sized cage) and hang it. It will attract some very colorful birds like oriole's.

[MikeandRong]

Looks like you are in a great geographical location for attracting birds.

I recommend you get a suet feeder (looks like a book-sized cage) and hang it. It will attract some very colorful birds like oriole's.

Yes, very near a major migration route along with being in an older and very diverse area. Lots of natural and even man made habitats everywhere around the area. We get a lot of species just passing through in the spring and they stick around for a day to a week. Fall only produces a small amount passing through as they mostly fly past this area at night. Juncos arrive with the first snow and stay as long as there is food till spring.

 

We run 3 suet feeders in the yard, but just not the big book size ones as they attract too many night critters and yellow jackets. I've been in this house since 63 and last summer was the first Oriole that ever was in the yard not migrating through. We have run sweet foods over the years, but the Orioles and Hummingbirds just aren't in this area full time. We do get a 2 week fall migration of the Hummingbirds come through late August, all going to the pink trumpet flowers for a drink.

 

By feeding them all year round we get a few species to stay here, even though its way below zero and a lot of snow. We just shovel a walking path around the yard and clear some areas below the pines for the ground feeders. We can get Robin, Dove, Goldfinch, Junco, and a few others to not migrate by keeping good food for them all winter. The regulars are here year round.

Edited June 25, 2017 by MikeandRong (see edit history)

[amberjack1234]

I think that the Baltimore Oriole are so pretty but have never seen more than 3 here. My best friend only lives about two miles from me and he gets them. He built a $800 chimney for Chimney Swifts. I didn't have to do that as they are perfectly happy in my fireplace chimney. They drive the wife crazy. They will flap their wings to keep the chicks cool all day and night. She loves the Cardinals that stay here all year around though. Mockingbirds can be somewhat annoying during mating and nesting season as they will set somewhere and chirp away constantly day and night and are quite territorial. I have several Pileated Woodpecker that come here frequently. Chickadees and Titmice are frequent visitors and will take peanuts right out of my hand. I think that they stash most of them away. They can put one or two in their mouths and then stick their bill through one more and fly away with them all. My Eastern Bluebirds have raised 5 broods this year already. The most ever I think. They are my most faithful birds. Them and their ancestors have been coming here for over 30 years. You know once they find a safe place they and their baby's will come back year after year and will even stay over for the winter sometimes. Took me a long time to get them safe from snakes. They live about 6-7 yrs in the wild. Their siblings from the past will help raise the yearly brood too. I just love 'em.

 

We also have the Pine Siskin, Purple Finches, occasional Mocking birds, but they are very illusive, Black Birds, Cow birds which are lazy and lay their eggs in other birds nest and their babies will push the host birds babies out of the nest. Funny thing is that the host bird will keep right on feeding them like they are their own. The occasional King Fisher, Ospreys, seasonal Robins, Blue Jays, Malard ducks, some will stay all year, in my fish pond, plenty of Canadian Geese, millions of Seagulls, Wood Ducks, Turkey Vultures, Red Tailed Hawks, occasional Peregrine Falcon, Turkeys are everywhere now that every piece of woods has been turned into a housing development, Quail, although the housing developments have all but pushed them out. White Heroins, Great Blue Heroins, Purple Martins, 3 kinds of Wrens, another favorite although there use to be hundreds of them I only see perhaps one a year now the Rufous-sided Toheee and just hundred more. My late wife use to keep a diary of everyone that she saw with the date and exact place that she saw them here in our yard and nesting place. We do have a larger than normal yard, 4 acres surrounded on three sides by two streams and woods.

 

Perhaps, if I ever get my mother old house finished, I'll start back birding and taking a few pictures with my old cheap camera and post them here if this thread is still going. I haven't done anything in about 9 weeks as I injured my legs working on her house and haven't been able to do anything since, but that is finally getting better now so I hope to be back to work soon.

 

I lived here for 68 years except for building a house on the beach and living there for 15 years and a 4 years in the Air Force in my younger days. The wife and I both got quickly tired of that and sold it and moved back into our small house in the woods 425 feet off the road. She loves it here MUCH better and the fact that the house is much smaller plus no relatives coming to stay to get a free place plus free food to stay at the beach. My wife is a germ a phobic and always HATED those stays. Less work for her too.

[MikeandRong]

Wow, that's quite the variety you got there. The mature trees and water flow sure do bring in the extra varieties, that's some great habitate you have there.

 

I too keep a log book on sightings here in the yard or over the yard only. Even when the frost goes out and first sightings of the nightcrawlers in the spring. I'm now up to 47 bird species here at the house. There have been so many cool ones that I have seen since retiring that I started keeping track of them.

 

I too have to take it easy for a couple more weeks, at least according to the good doc. We got another 80 acres up North of here and we haven't had a chance to get up there and chase the bears away. Now I've really got the variety up there, all wooded with some water and swamp even. Over the years have got some pretty amazing wildlife and birds on the different game cameras we leave throughout the woods and clearings. There are a couple of wolfs in the area and that is the only ones I'm missing. Neighbor got them both, so they still make a pass through these days.

[amberjack1234]

That 80 acres sounds like a treasure trove for you and the wildlife. I use to have a 100 acres back in 1973 but the wife that I had then decided to leave with a Marine Corps first sergeant and took the 100 acres with her. I was left with 14 acres from the beach to the Intercoastal Water Way. I sold some of that to build the house on the beach and to start a business in 2001 for the wife more than me to keep her happy. My father and grandfather left that to me. After hurricane Hazel a person could buy land on the ocean side of the beach for $100 a acre. My first wife's father had 14 acres on the beach too and sold all of it for $35,000 in 1974. That would buy just about a square yard on the ocean front now. If we could have only know. After Hazel the beach was not even worth the sand that was on it.

[MikeandRong]

 

Female Downy Woodpecker.