Bird watchers – what birds are you seeing?

[Teague]

^ Good catch!

[JAZZISCOOL]

We get a lot of ruby-crowned kinglets in our yard and that is a correct identification. The difficulty is with female kinglets where the ruby crown is missing and it may be confused with a female golden-crowned kinglet. I’ve never seen a ruby-crowned kinglet where the red crown has grown out into almost a rooster comb. Most just have a red cap, maybe all where we live.

Here is some info about window strikes, which apparently kill up to 1 billion birds every year.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/why- ... revent-it/

Thanks for this post. I saw a documentary 4-5 years ago at the nature museum. In addition to the bird strike issue, it also showed how bright lights (e.g. high rises in cities) can confuse the migration patterns of birds.

[JAZZISCOOL]

Here in East Tennessee, our Ruby-throated hummingbirds started showing up about two weeks ago. The Hooded Warblers arrived some days back. And, for the past few days we've been having Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at one of our feeders.


David

I put up my hummingbird feeder a couple weeks ago but haven't seen any thing yet.

[Peculiar_Investor]

About a week ago we noticed the White Pelicans were beginning to return to the Bow River here in Calgary, Alberta.

When we moved out here from eastern Canada over a decade ago we didn't know that pelicans came north to Canada.

Looking out from our back deck we regularly see Bald Eagles soaring in the skies scouring the Bow River.

[megabad]

Only seeing one bird these days. She’s a temperamental one but very pretty. She also gets mad when I go “bird watching” for other...types. Sometimes I think she might peck my eyes out. She did not find it amusing when I just walked around the house following her with binoculars describing her In an Australian accent.

[JAZZISCOOL]

About a week ago we noticed the White Pelicans were beginning to return to the Bow River here in Calgary, Alberta.

When we moved out here from eastern Canada over a decade ago we didn't know that pelicans came north to Canada.

Looking out from our back deck we regularly see Bald Eagles soaring in the skies scouring the Bow River.

Cool! We have American White Pelicans as well in my area. It is so fun to watch them fly. I just looked up the range map and do see the area stretches up into Canada (breeding/migration):

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ame ... maps-range

[InvisibleAerobar]

Thanks to everyone with the help on ID.

A few years ago I saw a golden crowned kinglet. It was flying up on the top of a spruce tree, and just near impossible to get any sort of clear shot. This one was more "well-behaved" in comparison.

Also saw a wren (most likely house wren) today. Some of the seasonal birds are coming back.

I'm somewhat envious of one house in the neighborhood, as the back of the property has row of short-ish evergreens (no more than three stories tall). I think a lot of birds roost in there, and I'm pretty sure that's where the cardinals nest.

While lounging on my sofa the other day, I also saw a pair of house finches start their nest building on the porch light of my neighbors across the street. No idea if the finches will decide to stick with it though, as the neighbors enter and exit near that light quite a bit. I now wish the house we rented had some sort of similar perch for birds to build a nest, but I haven't spotted any item that would serve as a good foothold.

[Sandtrap]

I presume this is a ruby crowned kinglet (I don't think the reddish patch on the forehead is an artifact)? At first I thought it could be a female goldfinch, but this one moves a bit too often.

Due to the bad lighting, sh**ier camera, and the fidgety bird, I couldn't get a good focus on it

I think there's also a warbler or two around; or maybe this was the warbler I saw the other day

What a cutie.
Thanks for the pic.

There's a green bird similar to that in Hawaii. Dark green (finch? not sure), but same eyes with the black ring. It has a "Japanese Nickname". Mejiro. . . think so. Used to have tons of them chatter away outside my bedroom window when growing up.

online pic.

j

[Caligal]

I think we may have a few more birds since the shutdown - or we are noticing them more.

Lots of hummingbirds lately - one poor ruby throat bonked him/herself hard enough to perish under a window. A few days later a Costa's hummer did the same but happily was only stunned and flew away after a while. We have lived in this house a long time and have never had the hummers do this.

Lots of wild turkeys here in the burbs, California quail (love them!), kites, assorted smaller birds and 2 days ago we saw a beautiful white egret at the pond nearby.

Last year we had a nest of red tailed hawks nearby and watched the fledglings learn to hunt. One actually flew/fell from a tree and tried to go after a jackrabbit but the rabbit turned around and started boxing it! The hawk took off and ran/flew away. The doves disappeared, along with some squirrels and unfortunately, most of the quail.

This year we have no raptor nearby, so I am amusing myself by watching these gorgeous peregrines who are nesting in Berkeley - they are a mated pair and this is their fourth or fifth successful nest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ghtsndkf4

[JAZZISCOOL]

I think we may have a few more birds since the shutdown - or we are noticing them more.

Lots of hummingbirds lately - one poor ruby throat bonked him/herself hard enough to perish under a window. A few days later a Costa's hummer did the same but happily was only stunned and flew away after a while. We have lived in this house a long time and have never had the hummers do this.

Lots of wild turkeys here in the burbs, California quail (love them!), kites, assorted smaller birds and 2 days ago we saw a beautiful white egret at the pond nearby.

Last year we had a nest of red tailed hawks nearby and watched the fledglings learn to hunt. One actually flew/fell from a tree and tried to go after a jackrabbit but the rabbit turned around and started boxing it! The hawk took off and ran/flew away. The doves disappeared, along with some squirrels and unfortunately, most of the quail.

This year we have no raptor nearby, so I am amusing myself by watching these gorgeous peregrines who are nesting in Berkeley - they are a mated pair and this is their fourth or fifth successful nest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ghtsndkf4

Thanks! Great peregrine cam!

[bandoba]

...
This year we have no raptor nearby, so I am amusing myself by watching these gorgeous peregrines who are nesting in Berkeley - they are a mated pair and this is their fourth or fifth successful nest. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_ghtsndkf4

Thanks! Great peregrine cam!

+1 Great cam, thanks for sharing.

[pomomojo]

FYI Spring Migration has picked up significant in New Jersey.

I went out yesterday, and saw my first hermit thrush & blue gray gnatcatcher of the year. People have also been spotting warblers towards the PA border. Here are a few:

773-2 by Pomo Mojo, on Flickr
Hermit Thrush
Female Merganser by Pomo Mojo, on Flickr
Female Common Merganser
827 by Pomo Mojo, on Flickr
Tufted Titmouse

All shot with Sony A7RIV on 200-600mm lens

[jebmke]

Migration is definitely under way on Delmarva. Trees are getting a lot of leaves so quite a few observations are strictly by ear - especially warblers, vireos and smaller flycatchers.

[JAZZISCOOL]

I saw my first hummingbird yesterday at the feeder (probably a Broad-tailed). I have also have spotted a white-crowned sparrow and flocks of tiny bushtits.

[JAZZISCOOL]

pomomojo:

Thanks for posting the great photos above!

[Sandtrap]

. . . . (pics)

All shot with Sony A7RIV on 200-600mm lens

Great pics.

Sweet camera setup!

Do you find the f5.6 stop on the Sony 200-600 zoom lens to be a limitation?

thanks for posting.
j

[pomomojo]

Do you find the f5.6 stop on the Sony 200-600 zoom lens to be a limitation?

It's variable aperture zoom. I'm usually shooting at the longest focal length (600mm), so my aperture is set to f/6.3.

The A7 RIV is a megapixel monster (61mp), which translate to a pixel pitch of 3.76 microns. In contrast, the older A7 III has a pixel pitch of 5.93 um. The sensor is newer, but requires significant light to be its most effective. I'm routinely shooting at ISO 3200-6400 at dusk. This introduces a fair amount of noise. I correct in Lightroom. When I was originally shopping for a new camera, I was deciding between the Sony A9, A7 RIV, or Nikon 850. The Nikon was the cheapest while the Sonys were within $100 of each other. I ended up with the A7 RIV because it's the best for all-around work--wildlife, travel, portraits, etc. Nikon was limited by the weight of lenses, while I wanted a few more mp than the A9 offered. 36-42 would have been ideal, since I tend to crop a little in post.

Ideally, I would buy a faster prime lens for the Sony (e.g. 400mm f/2.8 or 600mm f/4), but those are prohibitively expensive right now (12k vs. 13k respectively).

[TnGuy]

Starting a few days ago, we now have a Wood Thrush singing in the woods behind the house.


David

[Caligal]

Thanks to all posting your beautiful photos.

We have had 3 birds hit our windows in just the past week - yesterday it was a Wilson's Warbler - hit with less force than the others and flew away to a nearby branch and eventually was able to fly away. We are experimenting with keeping the shades down and putting up some painter's tape to try to deter any other victims.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu5t7nPH2F0

[JediMisty]

Suddenly a woodpecker is terrorizing my house and my next door neighbors. It's 60 feet up where it's pecking, so no easy way to scare it off. Oddly this has never happened in the 21 years since this house was built. And the house has vinyl siding. Been going on a couple of weeks. I have no idea why. Less activity in the area? It's not a rural area. Otherwise it's the same birds as usual.

[JAZZISCOOL]

Starting a few days ago, we now have a Wood Thrush singing in the woods behind the house.


David

I love their song. So cheerful.

[InvisibleAerobar]

What a cutie.
Thanks for the pic.

There's a green bird similar to that in Hawaii. Dark green (finch? not sure), but same eyes with the black ring. It has a "Japanese Nickname". Mejiro. . . think so. Used to have tons of them chatter away outside my bedroom window when growing up.

online pic.

j

You are welcome.

The one you posted is apparently called a warbling white-eye. I had to do a double take, as I thought someone photoshopped a white circle over the eye of the bird, but no, that's just how they look. Interesting bird, and thanks for sharing

[MP173]

We have a robin nesting in a wreath on our front door. She is very tame. The door is glass where the wreath and nest are and I can stand inside at the door and watch her.

So far - 4 eggs since April 17th none hatched yet.

Ed

[JAZZISCOOL]

We have a robin nesting in a wreath on our front door. She is very tame. The door is glass where the wreath and nest are and I can stand inside at the door and watch her.

So far - 4 eggs since April 17th none hatched yet.

Ed

How fun. A house finch took over a swallow's nest on my front porch. Haven't seen any babies hatch yet though. Nest is too high up to see how many eggs.

[JAZZISCOOL]

Suddenly a woodpecker is terrorizing my house and my next door neighbors. It's 60 feet up where it's pecking, so no easy way to scare it off. Oddly this has never happened in the 21 years since this house was built. And the house has vinyl siding. Been going on a couple of weeks. I have no idea why. Less activity in the area? It's not a rural area. Otherwise it's the same birds as usual.

I have heard the pecking/drumming is for mating reasons and generally doesn't do long term damage (although probably some exceptions to that.) I heard a lot of it about a month ago around here.

[JediMisty]

Suddenly a woodpecker is terrorizing my house and my next door neighbors. It's 60 feet up where it's pecking, so no easy way to scare it off. Oddly this has never happened in the 21 years since this house was built. And the house has vinyl siding. Been going on a couple of weeks. I have no idea why. Less activity in the area? It's not a rural area. Otherwise it's the same birds as usual.

I have heard the pecking/drumming is for mating reasons and generally doesn't do long term damage (although probably some exceptions to that.) I heard a lot of it about a month ago around here.

I hope so. I'll check with some birder friends in my area. Thx!

[InvisibleAerobar]

We have a robin nesting in a wreath on our front door. She is very tame. The door is glass where the wreath and nest are and I can stand inside at the door and watch her.

So far - 4 eggs since April 17th none hatched yet.

Ed

I think the incubation period is slightly shorter than two weeks, and the eggs were most likely laid daily. So basically, any time now

[Loon11]

MP173 - me too! My robin made a big nest right in the wreath and I have a door with glass too. We are forbidding ourselves from opening the door since she's on eggs and we don't want to disturb her. I was surprised a robin would choose so close to the house. the next appeared overnight and has lots of what looks like easter egg basket grass in it.
Have lots of bluebirds but whenever they look interested in one of my houses, a sparrow comes and steals the house. At our cabin, we have 2 bluebird families - lots of bluebirds there. They are fairly aggressive - running off the squirrels. Love to watch them.
Looking forward to hummers too -haven't seen one as yet.

[mfswatz9]

Don't know if this counts, but I saw a wild turkey fly out of my yard today and run down the street.

[InvisibleAerobar]

MP173 - me too! My robin made a big nest right in the wreath and I have a door with glass too. We are forbidding ourselves from opening the door since she's on eggs and we don't want to disturb her. I was surprised a robin would choose so close to the house. the next appeared overnight and has lots of what looks like easter egg basket grass in it.
Have lots of bluebirds but whenever they look interested in one of my houses, a sparrow comes and steals the house. At our cabin, we have 2 bluebird families - lots of bluebirds there. They are fairly aggressive - running off the squirrels. Love to watch them.
Looking forward to hummers too -haven't seen one as yet.

Damn, that stinks. Apparently anything that would restrict house sparrows would restrict bluebirds as well

Don't know if this counts, but I saw a wild turkey fly out of my yard today and run down the street.

of course it does

also, those things can surely fly. A few flaps of the wing, and it literally goes from ground level to third floor height

[JAZZISCOOL]

Don't know if this counts, but I saw a wild turkey fly out of my yard today and run down the street.

Of course it counts! Fun to watch.

[MortgageOnBlack]

A robin is building a nest on our front door light fixture. All the wiring is secured in a junction box so we are going to give her a break and let her use the nest since it's in a safe spot (not to mention all the hard work she has already put in).

[JAZZISCOOL]

A robin is building a nest on our front door light fixture. All the wiring is secured in a junction box so we are going to give her a break and let her use the nest since it's in a save spot (not to mention all the hard work she has already put in).

You are so nice to do that!

[investingdad]

Saw two blue Herron over the pond in the middle of our neighborhood a few days ago.

Cardinal was in our backyard yesterday.

A pair of mourning doves is nesting around our deck, and mating on our deck...so I guess they're not leaving.

And my daughter saw a Bald Eagle fly over last week. I'm pretty sure there's an active nest around as I first spotted one last year.

[JAZZISCOOL]

The barn swallows have returned to a nest on my porch. A house finch was in another old swallow nest so it will be interesting to see if they can co-exist or if the finches will find another nest.

[JAZZISCOOL]

Saw two blue Herron over the pond in the middle of our neighborhood a few days ago.

Cardinal was in our backyard yesterday.

A pair of mourning doves is nesting around our deck, and mating on our deck...so I guess they're not leaving.

And my daughter saw a Bald Eagle fly over last week. I'm pretty sure there's an active nest around as I first spotted one last year.

Nice!

[InvisibleAerobar]

The barn swallows have returned to a nest on my porch. A house finch was in another old swallow nest so it will be interesting to see if they can co-exist or if the finches will find another nest.

Post is worthless without pictures (just kidding)

As I grumbled above, would love to have birds nest on the property where I currently live

Also, I saw three male cardinals yesterday. No idea what was going on (they get quite territorial this time of the year)

One of my neighbors, knowing that I like to shoot pictures of birds, asked why I have yet to put up a feeder (or two). I could only coyly admit I'm too lazy for the cleaning needed.

As mentioned elsewhere in this sub-forum, I have always been quite the germaphobe and have stocked at least 2 liters of isopropyl alcohol in reserve (even before the pandemic). The thought of having to scrub bird feces off of feeders and support is a bit, umm, yikes! I could spray some of it down with a hose, but i'd be concerned that the water blast would carry bits of fecal matter back to my face. And I don't even want to think about the need to periodically soak and clean feeders.

[agbp]

MP173 - me too! My robin made a big nest right in the wreath and I have a door with glass too. We are forbidding ourselves from opening the door since she's on eggs and we don't want to disturb her. I was surprised a robin would choose so close to the house. the next appeared overnight and has lots of what looks like easter egg basket grass in it.
Have lots of bluebirds but whenever they look interested in one of my houses, a sparrow comes and steals the house. At our cabin, we have 2 bluebird families - lots of bluebirds there. They are fairly aggressive - running off the squirrels. Love to watch them.
Looking forward to hummers too -haven't seen one as yet.

We have a bluebird box behind our house that currently has chickadees raising babies. In years past the bluebirds used it. We still have bluebirds coming to our platform feeder to eat mealworms, but I don't know where they are nesting.

[jebmke]

Pair (M+F) hummers at the feeder over the weekend so it appears that the "locals" are back and ready to nest. Two green herons spotted flying out of the marsh this morning. They nest there every year so this is about the time for the pair to be hanging out together. Great Blue Heron way up in an oak tree this morning trying to bring down a dead stick - probably for a nest nearby. No clue why he picked that particular stick when there are many others on the debris pile in the back. Wood ducks come and go but they are pretty skittish so rarely come out from behind the marsh grass.

Noticed that the "golf geese" have hatched their eggs when I was out for a walk yesterday.

[Chip]

We've had quite a few blue-gray gnatcatchers around for the last couple of weeks. Last year they nested on a low branch overhanging my driveway.

I'm hearing many more than I am seeing. Their call is very high pitched. DW usually can't hear them. She wonders why I can hear the gnatcatchers all the time but often fail to hear her.

[Papajoe56]

Eastern Kingbird, Pileated Woodpecker,Yellow Bellied Sapsucker,Downy Woodpecker,Eastern Bluebird, Cardinal,Tufted Titmouse, Black Capped Chickadee, Red Shouldered Hawk,Carolina Wren, Purple Finch, Hummingbird, and a new bird to me, a pair of Louisiana Waterthrushes.

[deweyd]

Here in northern Virginia over the last week or so migrants are increasing, but peak is usually around mid-May.
In the last week or two, we have walked in local parks or refuges and seen:
Ruby Kinglet, Phoebe, Hermit thrush, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Brown thrasher, Tree swallow, Bluebird, Scarlet tanager, Red-shouldered hawk, King rail, Wood duck, Osprey, Bald eagle, Fox sparrow, Chipping sparrow, Red-headed woodpecker.
Warblers so far: Yellow-rump, Black and White, Ovenbird, Northern waterthrush, Yellow, Prothonotary, Palm, Pine, Prairie.

[jebmke]

Here in northern Virginia over the last week or so migrants are increasing, but peak is usually around mid-May.
In the last week or two, we have walked in local parks or refuges and seen:
Ruby Kinglet, Phoebe, Hermit thrush, Blue-gray gnatcatcher, Brown thrasher, Tree swallow, Bluebird, Scarlet tanager, Red-shouldered hawk, King rail, Wood duck, Osprey, Bald eagle, Fox sparrow, Chipping sparrow, Red-headed woodpecker.
Warblers so far: Yellow-rump, Black and White, Ovenbird, Northern waterthrush, Yellow, Prothonotary, Palm, Pine, Prairie.

Have you been to warbler road up in the mountains? Great spot for spring migration in first two weeks of May.

[livesoft]

Today my son spotted and showed me a photo he took of the yellow-crowned night heron that lurks around here.

[sevenseas]

Spotted the Carolina wren parents who had nested in the top of my propane tank, and several young fledglings, out on a fine sunny day last weekend. I was roundly scolded by them when I accidentally came out onto the back deck when the babies were practicing their perching and flying. The babies were very small, dark and still had tufts of down sticking out of their heads!

The bluebird pair who nests in my backyard have returned; saw a nest and eggs in the nest box a few days ago, and saw dad bluebird at the nest box and hunting in the woods nearby today. This is always a highlight of spring for me. The rehydrated mealworms in the feeder don't seem to have been touched...I've read that the birds need to be trained to use the feeder. I may just rehydrate some worms each evening and dump them in the lawn in the area of the nest box in the morning, as I hate messing with them (they give me the willies).

[stilts1007]

I got into birdwatching about a year ago with my 2 very curious kids (3 and 5). It's been a great hobby to get into, both for them and for me. We live in a condo but have a lot of great forest preserves & natural areas nearby (Cook County, IL). Definitely a good excuse to get out and explore, especially with all the extra free time we've had lately. I'm not a photographer but I do have a pair of binoculars with a smartphone attachment that I've been able to take some pretty nice pictures with. I TRY and not let the bird watching/picture-taking get in the way of spending time with my kids.

A couple recommendations for free smartphone apps, especially for those who are new to birdwatching. Merlin has extensive info on likely birds in your area, along with ID tools, pictures, audio, and more. Great for distinguishing between similar species, or in new & unfamiliar areas. eBird is a fun way to record what you've seen and share with researchers who do big-data-type research. It scratches that "collector/completionist" itch I've always had. And it's fun to look back and see what I've seen and where, and to see what other people have observed in a given area. BirdNET is sort of a "shazam for birds." Play a recording of a bird song and it will try to tell you what it is. Definitely still a work in progress but again, is helpful to give a starting point for identification. All 3 are made by Cornell Lab of Ornithology, which is a big bird research institution.

The Spring migration season has been fun to experience for the first time. Lots of new birds coming through, and familiar summer residents returning. Recently a Townsend's Warbler (normally a west coast bird) was spotted in a forest preserve nearby. It was exciting to wander around the preserve with the kids for a while looking for this rare bird, then finally finding it. We always manage to find plenty of other stuff to explore, too. And I have a strange sense of pride in having 3- and 5-year-olds who know more about birds than most adults.

[deweyd]

[quote=jebmke post_id=5219357 time=1588112143 user_id=1546]


Have you been to warbler road up in the mountains? Great spot for spring migration in first two weeks of May.
[/quote]

Yes several years back when we stayed at Peaks of Otter lodge. Saw lots of Canada, black-throated green, cerulean, RB Grosbeak. (My wife keeps a journal.) Hope to get back there one day!

[Chicken lady]

Goldfinches, pileated woodpecker (my fav), carolina wren, eastern bluebird, rose breast grossbeak, crows, red tail hawk, cardinal, and another fav that I see occasionally (like last week )- Bald eagle. More, but you get the idea - I live in a wooded area.

[TxAg]

My list from here at home:


Bluejay
Mockingbird
Sparrow
Chickadee
Tufted titmouse
Cooper's Hawk
Screech Owl
Red bellied woodpecker
Ruby throated hummingbird
Red tailed hawk
Cedar waxwing
Crow
Grackle
Cardinal
Mourning dove
White winged dove
Mallard
Wood duck
Eastern bluebird
Wren
Red winged blackbird
Robin
Blue heron
Mississippi kite
Peacock
Cattle egret
House finch
Ring billed Gull
Double crested cormorant

[ScubaHogg]

We had about 20 golden finches around today, including a lot of what appeared to be youngsters