Tracking Birdwatchers and Canada Geese Interactions

[Redbelly98]

Haven't done this in some years, but I used to enjoy watching double-crested cormorants on the lake in our town. A few times I was lucky enough to watch them eating a fish through my monocular. Pretty cool to see one surface, and juggle the fish around in its beak to get it where it could swallow the fish head first.

April 2000. Good view showing the bird's turquoise eye color. The purple fringing is an optical artifact of the camera+monocular combination I used.

April 2000, about 10 or 11 p.m. Cormorants sleeping in a tree by the lake. The sky has been "photoshopped" to change the color to a warmer hue (it was a sickly dark orange in the original).

 

[lisab]

I love seeing Cormorants, especially as they perch with their wings open to dry their feathers. Lots of them around here!

 

[Redbelly98]

I actually like cormorants better than red-bellied woodpeckers. But "Redbelly" makes for a much better online alias.

The tree in the picture I took leans out over a lake. In the daytime when they're all awake -- about 40 to 50 of them -- you can see poop dropping to the water every 5 or 10 seconds.

 

[lisab]

I actually like cormorants better than red-bellied woodpeckers. But "Redbelly" makes for a much better online alias.

The tree in the picture I took leans out over a lake. In the daytime when they're all awake -- about 40 to 50 of them -- you can see poop dropping to the water every 5 or 10 seconds.

ha - stinks like rotten fish, I imagine (but would rather not!)...

 

[Redbelly98]

Don't remember any smell. But when I've gone by there in my kayak I've avoided passing directly under that tree.

 

[Ouabache]

I've been having fun not only viewing birds, but learning to recognize them by song.. The easier ones I've heard are the bobwhite quail, eastern pheobe, whipporwill, mourning dove and great-horned owl. I have been hoping to find a hermit thrush and finally heard one while hiking a hill in Turbo-1's neck of the country, in Arcadia Park (along the Maine coast).

 

[tribdog]

I think what I hear every night is a mockingbird. That's what I've been told. It'll argue with you if you go out and whistle at it. I don't know if it copies other birds songs, but it seems to have a huge vocabulary.

 

[Chi Meson]

I think what I hear every night is a mockingbird. That's what I've been told. It'll argue with you if you go out and whistle at it. I don't know if it copies other birds songs, but it seems to have a huge vocabulary.

If it repeats each phrase (A-A, B-B, C-C, D-D, E-E, F-F, etc) it's a mockingbird.

If it does not repeat each phrase (A, B, C, D, E, F, etc.) then it's probably a catbird. Catbirds will often sing into the night. It's fun for the first hour.

 

[tribdog]

you know, I think it is a mockingbird. I'll have to pay more attention more attention

 

[Redbelly98]

It's that time of year: every time I see a hummingbird, I wonder if it's the last time till next spring. Saw one this morning at our feeder, after a 3 or 4 day absence.

 

[turbo]

It's that time of year: every time I see a hummingbird, I wonder if it's the last time till next spring. Saw one this morning at our feeder, after a 3 or 4 day absence.

Same here. I filled my hummingbird feeders a few days ago because they were being visited constantly (by juveniles and females - the adult males have already left) and the sugar-water has hardly been touched. It seems like the females and juveniles were building up the energy to start their migration and they have already left. Now, I see a hummingbird maybe once a day - stragglers from farther north who are moving through, I assume.

 

[larkspur]

If it repeats each phrase (A-A, B-B, C-C, D-D, E-E, F-F, etc) it's a mockingbird.

If it does not repeat each phrase (A, B, C, D, E, F, etc.) then it's probably a catbird. Catbirds will often sing into the night. It's fun for the first hour.

Catbirds also have a distinctive cat sound hence the name catbird. You can here it a couple of times in this sound clip.
http://www.naturesound.com/birds/audio/catbrd.ram"

Mocking birds repeat each phrase three or more times. It is fun to try to pick out what they are copying. The one's around my house are quite good at mocking Blue Jays and Cardinals
http://www.learnbirdsongs.com/birdsong.php?id=4"

 

[wildman]

It's that time of year: every time I see a hummingbird, I wonder if it's the last time till next spring. Saw one this morning at our feeder, after a 3 or 4 day absence.

Around here we get hummers all year. It is just different species in the Winter (Anna's and Costas) than in the summer (Violet capped, Magnificent, Broad Bills, Broad Tails, Violet Chinned, etc) and during migrations (Rufus, Allens, etc).

 

[Redbelly98]

Cool! I'm in the northeast US, we just get the ruby throated variety.

 

[turbo]

I have not had a bird at my seed feeder for a couple of weeks. The finches were raiding it like crazy, tanking up for the migration. Now they are gone, and the boreal birds (chickadee, tufted titmouse, nuthatch, slate junco, etc) that winter here have not yet returned. My father is in the same situation, ~20 miles north of here.

Usually there is some overlap - this gap seems strange.

 

[Redbelly98]

Hmmm, we always have something at our feeders. Even if it's just mourning doves sometimes.

I really need to put those hummingbird feeders away for the winter.

 

[Ouabache]

From today's PF Chat, i am reposting for others to enjoy too; here again is the Loon (with baby on mama's back). and here are a couple of their songs.

 

[lisab]

From today's PF Chat, i am reposting for others to enjoy too; here again is the Loon (with baby on mama's back). and here are a couple of their songs.

Wonderful!

They sit so low in the water, to me it seems like they're about to sink.

 

[Redbelly98]

The hummingbirds have returned! Been feeding one at my back porch for nearly 2 weeks now.

 

[Moonbear]

Yep, I've had a hummingbird for a few weeks now too. As soon as I spotted it feeding on the flowers of one plant the day I planted it, I ran out and got a hummingbird feeder.

When I first moved in, I was having trouble with ants invading the house by climbing the deck and carpenter bees feasting on my deck, so after treating the deck and plugging up all the bee holes, I decided on a natural approach to deterring the return of the bees and ants...I put bird feeders and a bird bath on the deck posts the bees had been using. That seems to have made them rethink their housing choice.

 

[Redbelly98]

Yep, I've had a hummingbird for a few weeks now too. As soon as I spotted it feeding on the flowers of one plant the day I planted it, I ran out and got a hummingbird feeder.

Cool! Have you fed them before? You can just mix water and sugar, 4:1 by volume. I don't bother with the store-bought red hummer mix, many consider it a rip-off.

 

[Moonbear]

Cool! Have you fed them before? You can just mix water and sugar, 4:1 by volume. I don't bother with the store-bought red hummer mix, many consider it a rip-off.

I haven't fed them before, but I did know the sugar water recipe and to avoid the store-bought stuff with food coloring. I only think I have one hummingbird so far, so only put out a little syrup at a time so I don't waste a lot. I figure if they start to finish it off between cleanings, I'll start adding more.

I have two decks, and the upper one has no stairs to the ground...more like a balcony. So, Ember gets to sit out on the deck whenever she wants (it's too high for her to jump off). She enjoys watching the birds too. Actually, I haven't seen her try to chase any, but she does like sitting in the chair closest to the feeder to watch. I think the birds have already realized she's a big wimp when it comes to catching anything, and are learning to ignore her.

 

[Gokul43201]

Help needed: can anyone tell me what this bird is? The picture was taken in June, in the White Mountains of NH, at an elevation of ~ 4400 ft.

Profile:
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/6854/img0658z.jpg

Front View (somewhat blurred):
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/6465/img0656r.jpg

Hind View:
http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/402/img0655c.jpg

Looks like a Gray Jay, but I could use a second opinion.

 

[Redbelly98]

Looks like a Gray Jay, but I could use a second opinion.

I concur. Though I'm not familiar with these, it looks a lot like the one pictured in my Peterson Field Guide. Plus the guide's description -- suggestive of a "huge overgrown chickadee" (the bird I thought of when I saw your first photo) -- pretty much clinches it for me.

 

[turbo]

In Maine, we call these Canada Jays. They are the most easily-tamed mid-sized birds around, and will hand-feed with little prompting. I hand-tame chickadees and nuthatches, and both learn from observing others of their species feeding from humans. Canada Jays are even more gregarious with humans than many of the smaller birds.

 

[Gokul43201]

Thanks, redbelly and turbo.

I concur. Though I'm not familiar with these, it looks a lot like the one pictured in my Peterson Field Guide. Plus the guide's description -- suggestive of a "huge overgrown chickadee" (the bird I thought of when I saw your first photo) -- pretty much clinches it for me.

In Maine, we call these Canada Jays. They are the most easily-tamed mid-sized birds around, and will hand-feed with little prompting. I hand-tame chickadees and nuthatches, and both learn from observing others of their species feeding from humans. Canada Jays are even more gregarious with humans than many of the smaller birds.

Yup, that's got to be it.

Here's another picture of it, happily landing on an outstretched hand:

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/5683/picture4anm.png

 

[turbo]

Yup! Hikers on popular trails never have to train Canada Jays. They are already so used to people that they will readily "beg" for handouts and land on you.

 

[Moonbear]

Aww, shucks, I was going to tell you it was notagoshawk. That's a pretty neat bird.

 

[turbo]

Aww, shucks, I was going to tell you it was notagoshawk. That's a pretty neat bird.

Canada Jays are pretty cool. Canucks call them "Whiskey Jacks" - no idea why.

 

[Moonbear]

Oh, more hummingbirds tonight. Two males! They each slowed down enough for me to see them clearly. They didn't cheep at the feeder, but did cheep while dog-fighting! One's a tough little bugger...he was trying to take on a much larger blackbird up in the treetops while cheeping away at him/her.

I was reading more about hummingbirds today, and read that they'll chase bees off from their territory too. Woo hoo! That means I made the right choice to mount their feeder on the post that was getting the most carpenter bee attacks (I haven't seen any carpenter bees since mounting the feeder ). Actually, since ridding the deck of the carpenter bees (after they bored out the wood filler, I stuffed their holes with silicone caulk...muwhahahahaha! I was envisioning bees with bubble gum as I did that), I have seen more OTHER bees...the good kinds that I don't mind keeping. I wonder if carpenter bees compete with other bees for territory. They are aggressive, and I was none-too-pleased to find out that the way to tell the males from females is that the females have stingers. So, if I got stung while smooshing one, it was a female. (By the way, carpenter bees are not as easy to smoosh as you might think..I think they are coated in kevlar...they make nifty projectiles when you swat them with a broom, but they just come right back).

Okay, enough about bees and back to hummers. Gosh, they are GORGEOUS when they slow down enough to see them.

Edit: Oooh, a female just came by too. As she left the feeder, there was a whole series of chirrups.

Is dusk a popular time for hummingbirds to feed? As the sun is going down, suddenly there are several of them showing up and taking turns (and the cat is sitting on the other side of the deck totally clueless that they are there...ha ha).

 

[Redbelly98]

Hey, you're getting a lot more hummer action than we are. As far as I can tell, they'll feed any time of day.

Our cats can be sitting on the very same porch where the feeders are, and they'll completely ignore these birds. Don't know if they're clueless, or perhaps they learned long ago that it's futile to try catching a hummer.

 

[Moonbear]

Well, Ember hasn't had an opportunity to try catching a hummer before, so wouldn't know it's futile yet. She will still get excited about other birds coming to the seed feeder. So, there must be something about the movements of the hummers that don't quite catch the cats' attention.

Yes, I was thrilled by the amount of action I was getting right around dusk. It was like they were all hitting the bar after work. I think they've been busy drinking all day. I don't put a lot of syrup into the feeder at a time, so I'm not wasting a lot to clean it often (I don't want it to get moldy), but the level was noticeably lower today than what I filled it to yesterday. I haven't seen so many until tonight, so I think that after the first one scouted it out, the others have just started to notice.

 

[Redbelly98]

I am jealous , I can't seem to get more than 1 at a time usually, and this is the 6th year that I am feeding them. Occasionally we'll have 2 or 3, but they chase each other away so it's effectively 1 hummer even then.

Well, Ember hasn't had an opportunity to try catching a hummer before, so wouldn't know it's futile yet. She will still get excited about other birds coming to the seed feeder. So, there must be something about the movements of the hummers that don't quite catch the cats' attention.

I believe you're right, after thinking about it more. If they had wanted to catch hummers in the past, I think it's really hard for a cat to suppress an urge like that to the extant that they wouldn't even watch the hummingbirds anymore.

 

[Moonbear]

Okay, Fall is quickly approaching. I vaguely recall being told that you're supposed to take down hummingbird feeders at some time near Fall to encourage them to move along and migrate. I have so much fun watching them every evening (one has turned into quite the chatterbox with constant chirping...perhaps a juvenile) and will be sad to see them leave, but I certainly don't want to encourage them to stay so long they can't make it to their winter homes before the food runs out along the way.

So, when are they supposed to migrate and when am I supposed to take away the feeders?

 

[Redbelly98]

I've heard that's a misconception, and that hummingbirds know good and well when to migrate. The recommendation is to take the feeders down after you've gone 2 weeks without seeing them.