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Bird Nerds Here

A Boy Named Seo Mar 23 2023 09:02 AM

Who's a birder around here? Metirish, for sure. And I think I saw Willets on IG using the same app I use to keep track of bird sightings? I'm super new to it (mi novia is hardcore and just bought me some binoculars) but I'm even noticing little gray birds a bit more. Coolest bird you've seen somewhere? If you haven't added the Greater Roadrunner to your Merlin list, drive through Albuquerque, they're hard to miss.

metirish Mar 23 2023 09:06 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Man I would love to see a roadrunner.... Spring migration is under way in the North East, seeing lots of sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds coming through... Males come first... Certainly for me Great Horned owls are always cool to see , but the various warblers are really amazing in the spring and summer

Benjamin Grimm Mar 23 2023 09:08 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I'm not a birder, but I easily could be. I've seen bald eagles in the wild a few times, most impressively (and unexpectedly) one day while driving home from work. I've seen penguins and ostriches in the wild in South Africa, but I don't know if that would count.

metirish Mar 23 2023 09:19 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

They certainly count , would love to do a trip like that

Benjamin Grimm Mar 23 2023 09:25 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Oh, and toucans in Argentina! And pigeons in Manhattan!

A Boy Named Seo Mar 23 2023 09:40 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

We saw a couple Roseate Spoonbills in Belize recently and those felt so exotic and different from the roadrunners we see every day in NM. Sandhill Cranes come and winter here and it's pretty awesome to drive or hike around and see big groups of them just hanging out near the Rio Grande (their temporary crane pool). They should be heading back north any minute now, if they haven't started already.

Fman99 Mar 23 2023 09:42 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I live in a great part of the US for bald eagle watching as they are known to do quite a bit of spring roosting around Onondaga Lake. I see them all the time while running in the park. I got great video in my backyard of a pileated woodpecker, devouring an old tree stump at our previous residence. IG link in a bit...

metirish Mar 23 2023 09:44 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I've only seen the Pileated Woodpecker a few times , certainly more prominent upstate , causes a stir when they are in NYC , amazing birds

kcmets Mar 23 2023 11:20 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I enjoy the birds here and we have a lot of them. I'm in the woods pretty much every day so I kinda take them for granted. The eagles have made a remarkable comeback here and I see them often. We have some blue jays living in a holly bush. Sorta ornery, thinking of raising the rent.

whippoorwill Mar 23 2023 12:13 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I love birds too. My favorite are blackbirds; I saw one yesterday with much more red in its wing than I ever have before. See woodpeckers quite often. Tons of cardinals and blue jays and my little Teacher teacher teacher—jordy jordy jordy birds! Also love catbirds and cowbirds. I could go on… One thing I never see is whippoorwills lol

Fman99 Mar 23 2023 07:58 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO8pXaOLzab/

dinosaur jesus Mar 23 2023 08:24 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I used to see those woodpeckers when I lived in rural Ohio. But what I saw most there were turkey vultures. They would hang out by the state highway, waiting for road kill. Or the interstate, where they were likely to become roadkill themselves. One time I found a dismembered raccoon that they'd dropped in the backyard. And when I went out there the next day, wondering what the hell I was going to do with a dismembered raccoon, it was gone. They'd taken it somewhere else to finish. They're not pretty, but they do good work.

The Hot Corner Mar 23 2023 08:48 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I have 3 bird feeders in the back yard. Several varieties of finches, chickadee, and titmouse are the most common visitors. Cardinal, Blue Jays, Doves and robins are prevalent. Red Bellied woodpeckers, Downy woodpeckers and nut hatchers make appearances as well. My favorites though are the Bluebirds that took over the bird house in the back yard 5-6 years ago. They are beautiful, but pretty vicious as they refuse to allow any other bird species to reside in the bird house. I enjoy reading on my deck while listening and watching the birds as they come and go. I guess I'm a bit of a bird nerd.

A Boy Named Seo Mar 24 2023 11:57 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

https://www.instagram.com/p/CO8pXaOLzab/ That looks like a big ass woodpecker. I don't think I've seen one not in a tree. The Hot Corner wrote: I have 3 bird feeders in the back yard. Several varieties of finches, chickadee, and titmouse are the most common visitors. Cardinal, Blue Jays, Doves and robins are prevalent. Red Bellied woodpeckers, Downy woodpeckers and nut hatchers make appearances as well. My favorites though are the Bluebirds that took over the bird house in the back yard 5-6 years ago. They are beautiful, but pretty vicious as they refuse to allow any other bird species to reside in the bird house. I enjoy reading on my deck while listening and watching the birds as they come and go. I guess I'm a bit of a bird nerd. We have a lot of those at our feeders, too. But no cardinals or blue jays or other major league team mascots. We have a few hummingbird feeders we keep closer to the house and see a lot of ruby throated and black-chinned. I love those little guys.

metirish Mar 24 2023 12:07 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

The Pileated Woodpecker is North America's biggest woodpecker Here is a great article on the maybe extinct, the mythical Ivory-billed Woodpecker https://theconversation.com/the-lord-god-bird-might-be-extinct-but-the-story-of-the-ivory-billed-woodpecker-isnt-over-yet-169793

A Boy Named Seo Mar 24 2023 01:52 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

The Pileated Woodpecker is North America's biggest woodpecker Here is a great article on the maybe extinct, the mythical Ivory-billed Woodpecker https://theconversation.com/the-lord-god-bird-might-be-extinct-but-the-story-of-the-ivory-billed-woodpecker-isnt-over-yet-169793 That was fascinating. I say let's throw some Sean Penn money behind a documentary and find that damn bird.

metirish Mar 24 2023 03:17 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Yes we really need a doc on it, anyway here is an amazing book worth checking out about the search for the world's biggest owl https://amp-theguardian-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2020/jul/22/owls-of-the-eastern-ice-by-jonathan-c-slaght-review-an-extraordinary-quest?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16796925354408&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2020%2Fjul%2F22%2Fowls-of-the-eastern-ice-by-jonathan-c-slaght-review-an-extraordinary-quest

MFS62 Mar 24 2023 03:35 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

[YOUTUBE]9Gc4QTqslN4 [/YOUTUBE] Later

kcmets Mar 26 2023 11:00 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Hope my fellow forum ornithologists find this as helpful as I did... https://www.thecranepool.net/images/birds.png>

whippoorwill Mar 26 2023 02:56 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

That's really helpful! I saw the one in the lower right hand corner on Gardeners World the other night and wondered what it was; now I know!

MFS62 Mar 26 2023 04:00 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I had a friend who called every bird a pigeon. But that works for me. Later

kcmets Mar 28 2023 09:39 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I guess I was bird nerd long before I thought of such things... My Boy Scout Flow Chart Council - Westchester-Putnam, NY Troop - 79, Buchanan, NY Patrol - Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers https://thecranepool.net/images/yellbell.png>

metirish Mar 28 2023 11:48 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

That's a great shot , amazing birds , they'd absolutely ruin a tree in short order

whippoorwill Mar 28 2023 02:49 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Couple of dead trees I can see from our kitchen window that the woodpeckers love. That's why I hate people cutting down trees…they are a source of bird watching

kcmets Mar 28 2023 04:48 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

=metirish post_id=120721 time=1680025686 user_id=72] That's a great shot

It is, looks like it's posing and eyeballin' the camera.

Edgy MD Apr 08 2023 08:58 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

My friend and former landlord Sonny is an avid birder. He gets up early in the morning and heads out to the park alone, often getting metsirish-quality shots of woodland birds, but also terrifying shots of herons going fishing, and raptors doing their hunting. Check out this amazing narrative. Sonny spots Mr. Osprey scoping the river for any breakfast that might be out there. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-1.jpg[/FIMG] Before making his play, Osprey scouts above to see if he himself isn't being stalked. He's heard there's been some trouble coming from above. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-2.jpg[/FIMG] Deciding it's "safe enough," the Osprey decides to go after that silvery shadow he saw down near the river's surface. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-3.jpg[/FIMG] The claws are out, and the forecast isn't looking good for somebody in the river. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-4.jpg[/FIMG] The sad loser of today's lottery-of-existence is Mr. Blue-Back Herring. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-5.jpg[/FIMG] His catch secured, Mr. Osprey turns back to his nest to show the Missus that he isn't that useless after all. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-6.jpg[/FIMG] But wait!! Arriving from nowhere, previously sensed by Mr. Osprey but until now unseen, comes Mr. American Bald Eagle. "Fuck you, Mr. Osprey!" he cries. "Gimme that herring!! I know Trump!!! America first or something!" [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-7.jpg[/FIMG] A couple of mornings ago, Sonny was following some herons with a camera when a car stopped on the bridge over him and tossed a kitty into the river. Sonny is a passionate man, and forced to choose between going in after the cat and chasing down and killing the driver of the car, I imagine he briefly thought of the latter, but he went for the cat instead, reached her alive, and pulled her to safety. [FIMG=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/penelope.jpg[/FIMG] Today, he reports that, after a clean bill of health from the vet, his daughter has adopted the rescue-ee — now named Penelope — and promises to spoil her. [fimg=500]https://metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/kitty.jpg[/fimg] [FIMG=500]https://i0.wp.com/metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/penelope-3.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=500]https://i0.wp.com/metsinpeace.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/penelope-2.jpg[/FIMG]

The Hot Corner Apr 08 2023 09:10 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

i hate that the poor Osprey didn't get a chance to impress the Mrs. with his catch of the day, but thrilled to see that Sonny made a nice save of a very fortunate Miss Penelope.

kcmets Apr 08 2023 09:15 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Who the hell throws cats off bridges into a river?

Edgy MD Apr 08 2023 09:38 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

You figure that's just some shit of urban legend, and then you witness it for yourself. Somebody smart enough to secure a driver's license somehow couldn't think of any other way to shed a cat. In 2023.

metirish Apr 09 2023 07:24 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Amazing Osprey shots , poor cat , good stuff Sonny I just got back from shooting Osprey , anyway of posting Instagram pix here ? Anyway my IG is birds_of_the_bronx

The Hot Corner Apr 10 2023 07:04 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

=kcmets post_id=121840 time=1681010151 user_id=53] Who the hell throws cats off bridges into a river?

There are some truly sick, messed up people in the world.

Frayed Knot Apr 10 2023 07:41 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

The confluence of this thread with the Masters golf tourney this past weekend reminds me of my favorite 'Bird Nerd' story. The Masters, presented continuously by CBS for the last fifty decades or so and held on the grounds of a former nursery where each hole is not just numbered but is also named for a different plant or tree, is as much presented as a story of nature's springtime renewal as it is a top level golf tournament. So anyway, one year a self-described bird nerd is watching and hears, as part of the background noise of the telecast, tweets from a bird he knows is not found in Georgia or the general area of the southeastern U.S. He calls CBS on it and in time gets them to admit that at least some of the background audio coming through your TV set is not, as is certainly implied, merely ambient sound from the course itself but rather is part of a piped-in soundtrack that the network added into their product as an attempt to enhance the theme of nature in its natural state. Busted by a Bird Nerd!!

MFS62 Apr 10 2023 11:24 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

The Hot Corner wrote: =kcmets post_id=121840 time=1681010151 user_id=53] Who the hell throws cats off bridges into a river? There are some truly sick, messed up people in the world.

When serial killers are finally caught, their background story often includes killing small animals.

Later

kcmets Apr 10 2023 11:42 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Everything anyone needs to know about a yellow-bellied sapsucker*. * the bird, not the aforementioned boy scout patrol members.

whippoorwill Apr 10 2023 06:17 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

=kcmets post_id=121840 time=1681010151 user_id=53] Who the hell throws cats off bridges into a river?

That is terrible!!!! Thank him for rescuing this kitty!

Edgy MD Apr 10 2023 06:33 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I sure have. You can thank him, too! And tell him how awesome this shot he got this morning is. [FIMG=600]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-10.jpg[/FIMG]

Frayed Knot Apr 10 2023 07:01 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

A dove decided that one of my unused planter baskets hanging outside the front door was essentially a pre-made nest (just a minor fixer-upper) so as of this morning she's out there sitting on a single egg. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq34HS2JkFr/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

kcmets Apr 10 2023 07:07 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

That's pretty cool, you should dig up a worm for her in the morning. She's 'eating for two.'

whippoorwill Apr 10 2023 07:13 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Edgy MD wrote: I sure have. You can thank him, too! And tell him how awesome this shot he got this morning is. [FIMG=600]https://metsrostercentral.files.wordpress.com/2023/04/osprey-10.jpg[/FIMG] I thanked him! I hope he realizes whom I meant because I called you ‘Edgy'

whippoorwill Apr 10 2023 07:15 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Frayed Knot wrote: A dove decided that one of my unused planter baskets hanging outside the front door was essentially a pre-made nest (just a minor fixer-upper) so as of this morning she's out there sitting on a single egg. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cq34HS2JkFr/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= And I love this!

nymr83 Apr 10 2023 07:16 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

The Hot Corner wrote: i hate that the poor Osprey didn't get a chance to impress the Mrs. with his catch of the day, but thrilled to see that Sonny made a nice save of a very fortunate Miss Penelope. I was rooting for the eagle. I root for birds in my yard at the bird feeder too, mostly based on which ones I think my kids will want to see most - the bluejays and the woodpeckers are favorites. The sparrows are almost as unwelcome as a squirrel.

whippoorwill Apr 10 2023 07:17 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I love ‘em all! We always compliment Mrs Cardinal on her lovely lipstick :)

Edgy MD Apr 10 2023 07:18 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I thanked him! I hope he realizes whom I meant because I called you ‘Edgy' I've only ever been "Edgy" here. I imagine he'll have no idea. But thank you for thanking. He deserves it. As for my backyard birds, we've got some murderous grackles.

nymr83 Apr 10 2023 07:19 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Edgy MD wrote: You figure that's just some shit of urban legend, and then you witness it for yourself. Somebody smart enough to secure a driver's license somehow couldn't think of any other way to shed a cat. In 2023. You are making an assumption that they were driving legally. While normally a strong assumption about anyone behind the wheel of a car, I'm not sure people who throw cats off bridges can be assumed to have gone through the trouble of acquiring a license

Frayed Knot Apr 10 2023 07:26 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

=kcmets post_id=121997 time=1681175247 user_id=53] That's pretty cool, you should dig up a worm for her in the morning. She's 'eating for two.'

btw, I know it's only one egg as she flew off the first time I came outside the door. Since discovering her/it I've trod more

lightly and quietly and she stays put even though we're essentially eye-to-eye as I pass scarcely more than foot away.

whippoorwill Apr 11 2023 08:49 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Edgy MD wrote: I thanked him! I hope he realizes whom I meant because I called you ‘Edgy' I've only ever been "Edgy" here. I imagine he'll have no idea. But thank you for thanking. He deserves it. As for my backyard birds, we've got some murderous grackles. He was very gracious lol. Probably puzzled, but gracious. (‘Who is this random Pennsylvania woman thanking me, etc etc…')

MFS62 Apr 11 2023 11:30 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Saw a hawk in the tree about 20 feet from my house, looking toward the bush that our bunnies and groundhog call home. It flew off after about 10 minutes to hunt elsewhere. Our critters were too smart (or scared) to come out. Later

whippoorwill Apr 11 2023 01:24 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

I think of your groundhog as a big brother to the bunnies :)

Frayed Knot Apr 26 2023 05:56 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

And now I'm alone, my bird has flown. Came home from work today to find my planter-turned-nest empty. No dove, no eggs, no sign of young'uns, or really of any evidence that Ernestine (yes, I had named her in the interim) had been there virtually every minute over the past two weeks.

metirish Apr 26 2023 06:32 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Hopefully they fledged and not met you foul play

Frayed Knot Apr 26 2023 06:55 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

The young couldn't be able to up and fly away just since this morning could they? Mom was sitting there as usual when I passed her at 7 AM

MFS62 Apr 27 2023 08:12 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

=metirish post_id=123606 time=1682555527 user_id=72] Hopefully they fledged and not met you foul play

Saw on the local news last night that there's an escaped (from a zoo) Peacock in a tree in the Bronx (180th Street and Vyse Ave). The locals have named it Raoul.

Are you on it?

We expect pictures.



Later

nymr83 Apr 28 2023 02:39 PM Re: Bird Nerds Here

Kinda boring compared to the escaped cobra

Johnny Lunchbucket May 03 2023 11:21 AM Re: Bird Nerds Here

We have a little grey and white woodpecker working on the neighbors' grapevine roots all day.