There's a pair of bald eagles at one of my fishing spots, I may have posted about them last year, they are still there and I see them almost every trip, normally in the same pine trees.
Birding!
- Thread starter jjohnwm
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Also, caught this guy on the feeder, terrible pic since I had to zoom in from a distance so I didn't scare it off. Looks like a painted bunting maybe? Not an everyday sighting, they come to my area during breeding season.
Just learned that woodpeckers will eat seeds. So far I’ve seen the pictures red bellied doing it as well as either a hairy or downy.
Painted Bunting indeed! Gorgeous birds, wish I had them here.
Today was not only our first Hummingbird day of the year, but also the day the Baltimore Orioles landed. We will have good numbers for a week or two, then most will move on. Sometimes a pair breeds in the woods 100 yards from the house, but we still don't see them that much once natural food becomes abundant. But right now, a spoonful of jam in a custard cup is an irresistible attraction for them.
We're also knee-deep in Rose-breasted Grosbeaks right now. They're also pretty spectacular birds, but I can't get a decent shot to save me life. I gotta get me one of them fancy camera things...
And now, a day later...the birds are picking their food out of the snow. We had a brief but heavy snowfall just before dawn this morning, mostly melting almost as fast as it hit, but, still...it's mid-May for cryin' out loud!
The sun has started to peak out of the clouds now, and the snow is pretty much gone. I was concerned for the Hummingbird making it through the night as we also had a heavy frost; we've had two sightings this morning at the nectar feeder, unknown if it's the same bird but at least some of them (if there are indeed multiples already) made it through the night.
Considering some of the lovely warm weather the past couple weeks...this is a sad, sad picture...
The sun has started to peak out of the clouds now, and the snow is pretty much gone. I was concerned for the Hummingbird making it through the night as we also had a heavy frost; we've had two sightings this morning at the nectar feeder, unknown if it's the same bird but at least some of them (if there are indeed multiples already) made it through the night.
Considering some of the lovely warm weather the past couple weeks...this is a sad, sad picture...
Beautiful! My wife does the jelly cups and orange slices for the orioles as well. We've have a couple fairly regularly for the past month here in Indiana. I suppose if my vision was better I'd enjoy them as much as she does, but to me they all just look like birds until I see a close up photo.
Never had Canadian Geese this close to my house until today.
Those Canada Geese are the plecos of the bird world; eat like pigs and cover the landscape with poop.
Seeing them on the lawn is not fun; seeing, and especially hearing, a flock of them flying over is one of the great joys of the natural world, IMHO. The honking of numbers of geese...the ethereal bugle of a bull elk in fall...the distant coughing/roaring/calling of a male lion...the song of wolves...magical!
Seeing them on the lawn is not fun; seeing, and especially hearing, a flock of them flying over is one of the great joys of the natural world, IMHO. The honking of numbers of geese...the ethereal bugle of a bull elk in fall...the distant coughing/roaring/calling of a male lion...the song of wolves...magical!
Do you get wolves out in your part of the Canadian wilderness? I haven’t heard the elk, but I 100% agree on the lions and wolves. I spent 2 summers working at a zoo, so the lions were a daily occurrence and it never got old. Nowadays I volunteer at a wolfdog rescue and the sound of howling gets better each time.Those Canada Geese are the plecos of the bird world; eat like pigs and cover the landscape with poop.
Seeing them on the lawn is not fun; seeing, and especially hearing, a flock of them flying over is one of the great joys of the natural world, IMHO. The honking of numbers of geese...the ethereal bugle of a bull elk in fall...the distant coughing/roaring/calling of a male lion...the song of wolves...magical!
Now the geese, I can’t say I find the same magic. Just a bunch of noisy balls of feathers with a protected species status.
We have elk and wolves in our area, and have spotted a wolf once right on our property. I find their scat and tracks all the time. I wouldn't even consider allowing Duke to go out after dark unattended. We hear them semi-regularly; usually on nights that are alive with coyotes singing. The Peanut Gallery is yipping and yapping and yodelling...then, occasionally, a wolf or wolves opens up with just a short howl...and the coyotes fall silent. It's like an adult yelling "You kids shut up and go to sleep right now!"...except the coyotes actually listen.
I visited Africa about 15 years ago; in the dining tent one night two lions set up their grunting and moaning and I just about lost it; a memory that will haunt me forever. I thought they I were a kilometer away, but the PH said it was more like 5 km. I went outside and just sat and listened to the sound; not beautiful or musical, but the idea of what it represented was entrancing. I heard them every night after that, often late at night while sleeping in my tent. Unbelievable experience; I probably should not have watched "The Ghost And The Darkness" just before that trip...
Geese? Yeah, they're messy flying poop-dispensers, but...on a crisp fall morning, heading out on a hunt or a hike or just splitting some firewood...to hear a large flock in the distance, coming closer and closer, finally passing overhead and fading into the far-away...has always felt magical to me.
But, yeah...I suppose I'm easily amused.
