Watching The Birds

[GrandmasterP]

Indeed we do.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/346267-blue-tit-falls-over-itself-to-get-its-beak-on-free-nesting-materials

[Marblehead]

Timing may not be everything but it is still darned important. At 6:12 I sat down in my chair looking out the front window at the gardens. At 6:13 a hummingbird came to the trumpet flowers for supper. At 6:15 it was gone. Had I been three minutes later sitting in the chair I would not have seen the hummer.

[silent thunder]

reminds me of the old saying: I'd rather be lucky than good...

[Marblehead]

Amazing! I looked at the new posts since I shyt down last night and had nothing to add so I thought I would make a post here.

 

The trumpet vines are putting out more flowers than I ever expected that they would and that has kept the hummingbirds (and bumble bees) coming back. I am now getting many views of the hummers. And there are at least two of them as two were at the flowers at the same time.

[Stosh]

Good morning , I got up with the rising sun , it starts my own day well ,shaking off the torpor of a long night.

[Silent Answers]

I've been seeing a TINY humming bird like this hovering around the last few times I went into the mountains. It's so small I thought it was a big bee at first.

 

[Marblehead]

Yeah, that's a beauty. And this is the season to see them even all the way into Canada.

[Nungali]

Bird baths are a great thing to have

 

I have one near the path in to the cabin, under the tree ferns. The currawong uses it a lot, but I used to him, he is on the doorstep each morning waiting for breakfast. But late afternoon I often get these swarms of tiny little .... ? some type of wren or log-runner. They flit in and out of the branches and line up on the edge of the taking turns for a splashy bath ... some times they make a racket and I go out and the water is low and murky so I cahge it while they are watching and they start bathing

 

But yesterday, I wanted to get past with a wheelbarrow full of firewood ... and I usually pause and wait for them to fly away so they dont get startled in the middle of a bath. But they didnt. So I told them to hurry and finish so I could get past. They still didnt, so I got slowly closer ... and closer until I was right next to them within reach of the bird bath ... they happily continued ... about 6 of them lined up on the edge taking turns to jump in . I got to very closely check them out - cool!

 

Its getting quiet cold here (no, I am not going to top up the bath with warm water ) but when I got up this morning the Brush Turkey

 

 

was sooo fluffed up, he looked twice his size ( i tried not to laugh ... they have a dignity that is best not laughed at ! ) Now I've done it ... I gave him some carrot cake ... now he is following me around, not getting out of the way and sneaking up behind me ... and trying to get inside ... like a dog.

[silent thunder]

Had a plethora of birds cycling through our campsite over the long weekend.

Tried to post some pics but I'm still limited to very small sizes, so we'll skip that.

But wow, the swallows rifling out of the shadows in the early evening, while hunting was intense.

They'd swoop right between our heads as we sat in our chairs watching the sun go down, once they got used to us.

 

Then replaced by the bats for the night-shift... awesome stuff all around.

[Marblehead]

Not much new going on around here. There are lots of bugs so the birds aren't too dependant on my feeder. The other day I was sitting in the swing where the trumpet flowers have over-grown and a hummer came for lunch and at one point was only one foot away from my head.

[zerostao]

when i left my cottage monday morning (i have returned to campus for the for-see-able future) there was an adorable young cardinal couple sitting out back on the clothes line post.

and from the first of may and thru this early part of summer, many many raven encounters. often i was wondering that must be a rather large crow, becoz i am not used to seeing ravens, and right on cue, as i drove my trusty jeep around an old narrow road that passes by an old abandoned brick yard, one flew head light level slowly in front of me and perched upon an antenna on the building closest to the road, as i looked at him? looking at me as i drove by, i could read his thoughts, ""can you see me now? see that i am indeed a raven!"" tail feathers and beak.

[Nungali]

I like this guy

 

[Nungali]

when i left my cottage monday morning (i have returned to campus for the for-see-able future) there was an adorable young cardinal couple sitting out back on the clothes line post.

and from the first of may and thru this early part of summer, many many raven encounters. often i was wondering that must be a rather large crow, becoz i am not used to seeing ravens, and right on cue, as i drove my trusty jeep around an old narrow road that passes by an old abandoned brick yard, one flew head light level slowly in front of me and perched upon an antenna on the building closest to the road, as i looked at him? looking at me as i drove by, i could read his thoughts, ""can you see me now? see that i am indeed a raven!"" tail feathers and beak.

 

Here we have special Aussie ones, distinct in their eye colour (and yes, they will talk with you

 

 

[Anoesjka]

I like this guy

 

He could talk to the birds, couldn't he?

 

I think that if chaos ceases in ones head, you have more encounters with birds. They don't seem that scared anymore.

[Marblehead]

Yeah, the pigeons aren't even afraid of me anymore and I don't even want them around here. Oh well.

[manitou]

Lots of birdies here in Ohio right now. I love to imitate them, to whistle their song back. Except sometimes I feel bad because I'm afraid a birdie thinks he's found a mate when I answer - and then he sees me and says 'No chirpin' way'

[Anoesjka]

I recently moved to the countryside, and there really is but one thing I miss, it's the song of the Trush Nightingale. The most beautiful (and loud) bird song I ever heard, right at our old house in the middle of a busy town.

 

This one has a slightly different accent though:

[manitou]

When I was young we had a mountain cabin in California and there was a bird call that i've never been able to identify. I'm thinking maybe some kind of creeper or something.

 

The call was 5 notes, descending. If anyone is familiar with the old song "The Portuguese Washerwoman", the bird call was the first five notes of that song. If you're a musician, it would have been G, F#, F#, E, E. Does anybody happen to know who this fellow is?

 

This was 50 to 60 years ago, when this bird was around. I've never heard him since in any alpine areas. The altitude was about 6,000 feet, and I'm pretty sure was a summer visitor. Maybe they're not even here any more.

[Nungali]

We have a local story here :

 

In 1969, a park ranger, Neville Fenton, recorded a lyrebird song which resembled flute sounds in the New England National Park, near Dorrigo in northern coastal New South Wales. After much detective work by Fenton, it was discovered that in the 1930s, a flute player living on a farm adjoining the park used to play tunes near his pet lyrebird. The lyrebird adopted the tunes into his repertoire, and retained them after release into the park.

[Stosh]

Lots of birdies here in Ohio right now. I love to imitate them, to whistle their song back. Except sometimes I feel bad because I'm afraid a birdie thinks he's found a mate when I answer - and then he sees me and says 'No chirpin' way'

Thats interesting , down here in hot humid Fla the place has cleared out for the most part. ( as it usually does ) I doubt you have to worry that you will cramp mr birdies style much though right now- theyre probably finishing up with the breeding cycle now, and ushering the last kids out of the house.

 

I couldnt tell you about the bird call though 1) I dont have a musical ear for birds they change their songs up too much , and 2) the salient elements of songs often weighs heavily on timing timber volume etc. If you can record it , and post it up, on the flickr bird ID help group has some amazing folks who could satisfy your curiosity probably same day.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Stosh

[GrandmasterP]

When I was young we had a mountain cabin in California and there was a bird call that i've never been able to identify. I'm thinking maybe some kind of creeper or something.

 

The call was 5 notes, descending. If anyone is familiar with the old song "The Portuguese Washerwoman", the bird call was the first five notes of that song. If you're a musician, it would have been G, F#, F#, E, E. Does anybody happen to know who this fellow is?

 

This was 50 to 60 years ago, when this bird was around. I've never heard him since in any alpine areas. The altitude was about 6,000 feet, and I'm pretty sure was a summer visitor. Maybe they're not even here any more.

 

You might be able to find that bird song via links here....

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/california_towhee/sounds

[manitou]

I'm familiar with towhees and it definitely wasn't a towhee. But your idea about other links is one I will follow up on later. I'll let you know if I find him.

 

I just remember how quiet the mountains were - my mom and I used to be in the cabin reading books, and you could actually hear the sap drop off the trees! This was before the days of chain saws and weed eaters, apparently. Then, suddenly, those 5 descending notes would ring clear all over the canyon. I always looked to try and find the birdie but never could see him on a treetop or the outer branches. Which makes me think maybe it was a creeper. although it seems like a strange call for a birdie that would hug the tree trunk. I dunno.

[Stosh]

You might try BirdNote.org on the interweb to check some calls like white-crowned sparrow, if you can narrow it down by elevation environment location and time of year.

Edited July 11, 2014 by Stosh

[GrandmasterP]

I'm familiar with towhees and it definitely wasn't a towhee. But your idea about other links is one I will follow up on later. I'll let you know if I find him.

 

I just remember how quiet the mountains were - my mom and I used to be in the cabin reading books, and you could actually hear the sap drop off the trees! This was before the days of chain saws and weed eaters, apparently. Then, suddenly, those 5 descending notes would ring clear all over the canyon. I always looked to try and find the birdie but never could see him on a treetop or the outer branches. Which makes me think maybe it was a creeper. although it seems like a strange call for a birdie that would hug the tree trunk. I dunno.

Our Scots Pine has been 'noisy' all afternoon.

The cones pop open in the sun and it shoots out a seed.

Tiny little 'pops' every now and again.

Hope you track down that elusive bird song manitou.

 

Edited July 11, 2014 by GrandmasterP

[Nungali]

You should hear my bamboo grove on a hot summer day! Sometimes the culms split.

 

The giant black cockatoos dropping pine cones on the outhouse roof when your inside.

 

Nothing makes me feel more at home and relaxed and peacefull at night than the call of the Boobook owl (Mopoke)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt1zI23umKk

 

 

Unfortunately they eat these cute little guys

 

 

 

Sometimes I find just their tails on the ground .

Edited July 11, 2014 by Nungali