Watching The Birds

[manitou]

I may have posed this question a few years back, I can't remember.

 

In the 1950's, my folks would take us up to our mountain cabin in San Bernardino, CA.  It was an elevation of 6,000 feet, all coniferous habitat.

 

There was a bird that I would hear all the time, but I could never see.  But it had a most distinguished call - it was the first 5 descending notes of the "Portuguese Washerwoman", whoever remembers that old song.  (I think we had the Percy Faith record?)

 

But the 5 descending notes were (high) C, B, B, A, A.  The notes were pretty equidistant in arrangement.

 

Can anyone determine who that was?  I've lived in coniferous forest in adulthood - same elevation - same mountain range - for 12 years, and never heard that sound, although I was always listening for him.  Maybe he's extinct now..

[WIldCat]

Speaking of birds... There was a huge number of crows I believe in my yard today. I am not talking 20 or 30, but like 300+! I think they mate this time of year. They were all over the house and the trees. It was amazing. 

[Stosh]

I may have posed this question a few years back, I can't remember.

 

In the 1950's, my folks would take us up to our mountain cabin in San Bernardino, CA. It was an elevation of 6,000 feet, all coniferous habitat.

 

 

 

I have no ear for music, Lazuli bunting is known at 6000 feet, you may check the others from a pdf birds of mono county , which lists some higher elevation nesters in CA and then just download a mp3 to see if its a correct guess,, the bunting song could be a bit more complicated than it might sound from a Try as few, you may be lucky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2015 by Stosh

[AussieTrees]

Beautiful little blue wren,or Superb blue wren.

We have a resident population around the house garden.

 

Pesky little darlings,they sit on the car window and fight the mirrors.

Do the same to house Windows.

 

Cute,but they leave droppings which they mess up whilst still fresh.

We have placed a mirror in the garden to take some of the pressure.

 

At it for hours during the springtime.

 

Ooh ooh,it starting to rain,October has finally decided to rain,is it Halloween now.

[AussieTrees]

King parrots.

[Marblehead]

That must be in Australia.  All the birds are up-side down.

[AussieTrees]

Enter the cocky.

[AussieTrees]

That must be in Australia.  All the birds are up-side down.

Still having uploading issues,apologies.

[gentlewind]

Our robin has returned ! He is visiting our garden more than usual, supposed to be a good sign ! Others say spiritual sign. In one our bushes birds are nest building, its much better than watching TV, which is good because we don't have one !

 

Great insights are created by meditating on nature.

[AussieTrees]

 

The new holland honey eater,could not load my pic.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Aussie

[Marblehead]

That's a pretty bird.  Thanks.

[Stosh]

confused now, 

Edited November 12, 2015 by Stosh

[Marblehead]

confused now, 

Some things look better up-side-down.

[Stosh]

Some things look better up-side-down.

Yep , but I do find it odd that the cues somehow suggest proper orientation for vertical , whereas flipping side to side can change the appearance of an image. 

[Geof Nanto]

That must be in Australia.  All the birds are up-side down.

 

Aussie's photo of the honeyeater is actually the right way up.

 

There's strong evidence that suggests all song birds originated in Australia......

 

 

 

Renowned for its unusual mammals, Australia is a land of birds that are just as unusual, just as striking, a result of the continent's tens of millions of years of isolation. Compared with birds elsewhere, ours are more likely to be intelligent, aggressive and loud, to live in complex societies, and are long-lived. They're also ecologically more powerful, exerting more influences on forests than other birds.

 

But unlike the mammals, the birds did not keep to Australia; they spread around the globe. Australia provided the world with its songbirds and parrots, the most intelligent of all bird groups. It was thought in Darwin's time that species generated in the Southern Hemisphere could not succeed in the Northern, an idea that was proven wrong in respect of birds in the 1980s but not properly accepted by the world's scientists until 2004 - because, says Tim Low, most ornithologists live in the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, few Australians are aware of the ramifications, something which prompted the writing of this book.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Yueya

[Nungali]

We did a healing ritual at the river the other day, a lot of people present including a few visitors. We wrote some hopes and blessings on a paper and put them in a little bamboo boat and floated them down the river.

 

3 times an azure kingfisher ( s ? )  came zooming down the river, just above the surface, past the boat and off downstream.

 

That (and they) are pretty cool ... everyone was -  ' Oooo, look at that!  !' 

 

 

 

Edited November 12, 2015 by Nungali

[Nungali]

Not only did Australian birds change the world ... they also changed the way we park our cars 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfers_Paradise_Meter_Maids

[AussieTrees]

 

The neighbors ducks.

Really trying different ways of taking photos with iPad,don't want to keep posting upside down.

[AussieTrees]

 

The Newholland honeyeaters.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Aussie

[AussieTrees]

 

This bird is still a mystery?

Possibly white napped honeyeater.http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.redorbit.com/media/uploads/2004/10/38_e0ca5295a51e874f4bcbc2542292ec0e.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.redorbit.com/reference/whitenaped_honeyeater/&h=300&w=300&tbnid=mP_aRe_VO3WXGM:&docid=usxFIT2QzhUNaM&hl=en-GB&ei=3iJFVte3DMTPmAXpxoHgBg&tbm=isch&ved=0CFQQMygtMC1qFQoTCNeerPqGjMkCFcQnpgodaWMAbA

Edited November 12, 2015 by Aussie

[Marblehead]

Not only did Australian birds change the world ... they also changed the way we park our cars 

Those are birds of a different feather.

[AussieTrees]

Took this photo this morning.

 

The Superb blue wren.

[Geof Nanto]

 

Tawny Frogmouths looking like a panel of judges from the Spanish Inquisition.

 

 

 

Gang-Gang cockatoo - the quintessential Aussie larrikin.

[AussieTrees]

 

King and Queen parrots.

[AussieTrees]

 

King parrot this morning,these birds have me well trained to feed them.