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.
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:06 am
by metirish
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
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:08 am
by Benjamin Grimm
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.
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:19 am
by metirish
They certainly count , would love to do a trip like that
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:25 am
by Benjamin Grimm
Oh, and toucans in Argentina!
And pigeons in Manhattan!
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:40 am
by A Boy Named Seo
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.
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:42 am
by Fman99
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...
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:44 am
by metirish
I've only seen the Pileated Woodpecker a few times , certainly more prominent upstate , causes a stir when they are in NYC , amazing birds
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 1:20 pm
by kcmets
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.
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 2:13 pm
by whippoorwill
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!
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.
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:48 pm
by The Hot Corner
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.
That looks like a big ass woodpecker. I don't think I've seen one not in a tree.
The Hot Corner wrote: ↑Thu Mar 23, 2023 10:48 pm
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.
Re: Bird Nerds Here
Posted: Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:07 pm
by metirish
The Pileated Woodpecker is North America's biggest woodpecker
Here is a great article on the maybe extinct, the mythical Ivory-billed Woodpecker
