List Five Yard Birds That You Saw Today

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List Five Yard Birds That You Saw Today

1perennialreader
mar 1, 2019, 11:57 pm

New thread. Old thread was getting cumbersome with so many posts.

2perennialreader
mar 1, 2019, 11:57 pm

New thread. Old thread was getting cumbersome with so many posts.

3NorthernStar
Redigeret: mar 3, 2019, 11:17 pm

>1 perennialreader: Thanks for starting the new thread!

My feeders (in northern British Columbia, Canada) have been very quiet lately, but the redpolls finally showed up a few weeks ago. There are only a few so far, not the flocks of 30-40 I get most years.

Today I had common ravens, blue jays, black-capped and boreal chickadees, pine grosbeaks, common redpolls, and some house sparrows.

That's seven, not five, though.

4EMS_24
mar 5, 2019, 10:37 am

Dunnock (1st in the backyard 2019, spring is coming)
Great Tit
Wren - troglodytus troglodytus
Common Wood Pigeon
Herring Gull, flying over

5perennialreader
mar 13, 2019, 12:40 pm

Middle Tennessee, USA

I have been averaging around 20 different species in my backyard daily.

Yesterday, I had
3 Brown-headed Cowbirds
+ Grackles - too numerous to count
2 Red-bellied woodpeckers
1 Red-winged Blackbird
3 Brown Thrashers
and the usual finches, wrens, sparrows, doves, etc.

Storm coming in tomorrow and the birds seem to sense it. Fewer birds at the feeders today.

And, I bought a new book The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America by David Allen Sibley.

6NorthernStar
Redigeret: apr 8, 2019, 1:36 am

Spring is on the way. First junco of the year showed up a couple of days ago, and a native sparrow that I didn't get a chance to identify was outside today.

Also had some lovely blue jays, a pair of evening grosbeaks, black- capped chickadees, ravens, crows, and a eurasian collared dove.

7John5918
aug 29, 2019, 8:05 am

Not my own back yard, but currently I'm facilitating a church conference in South Sudan and when I looked out of my bedroom window the other day I saw thirty or more northern red bishops flocking around a tree in the back yard, a beautiful sight. Ironically that was nearly twice as many bishops as we have inside the meeting...

8NorthernStar
aug 29, 2019, 10:12 pm

>7 John5918: I had to google northern red bishops, beautiful birds!

I have little around my yard right now except black-capped chickadees and blue jays. The eurasian collared dove mentioned above was killed by a merlin, who was scared off before eating it. I left the carcass of the dove out for the ravens, who disposed of it. I was lucky enough to see a rose-breasted grosbeak, a rusty blackbird, and a yellow-headed blackbird this spring in my yard, and I have hopes that this fall will bring some more interesting visitors.

9John5918
aug 30, 2019, 12:39 am

>8 NorthernStar:

I was in USA for a couple of weeks last month and spent a day birding with a US colleague at a nature reserve in Delaware. I saw more than forty species which I had never seen before but which I often read about in this thread as being common backyard visitors for many of you. It was both educational and exciting!

10frahealee
Redigeret: jun 17, 2022, 11:13 pm

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

11jessibud2
feb 15, 2020, 11:46 am

>10 frahealee: - These days, I have tons of goldfinches (in winter drab), nuthatches (red-breasted ones), cardinals and sparrows. I also get downy woodpeckers and the occasional hairy woodpecker. I haven't seen any chickadees or juncos at all this winter. :-(. I sometimes hear blue jays but seldom see them.

Could your rust headed guy be a chipping sparrow I get them in summer. I don't know if they overwinter here.

12frahealee
Redigeret: jun 17, 2022, 11:13 pm

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

13jessibud2
feb 15, 2020, 12:06 pm

Yesterday was awful but I worry when I see bit of yellow on the goldfinches! It seems too early for that. I don't know where they are all coming from but I must have had around 20 at my feeder yesterday. I guess they come to stock up in frigid temps!

14frahealee
Redigeret: jun 17, 2022, 11:14 pm

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

15jessibud2
feb 15, 2020, 12:27 pm

I have only one feeder, squirrel-proof feeder. It is tube shaped and the outer cage pulls down to cover the 4 ports when anything heavier than a song bird (or a cardinal, the heaviest one I have seen feeding successfully) hops onto the perches. I live in a townhouse, not a lot of yard space at all. I had trouble with squirrels and raccoons so I use a baffle and I take the whole thing in at night and put it out in the morning. It's a bit pricey but it's worth the effort. I had to replace it once after a raccoon knocked it off the hook and it broke. That's why I take it in every night. This is the one I use and it's great:

https://www.urbannaturestore.ca/brome-squirrel-buster-classic/

16frahealee
Redigeret: jun 17, 2022, 11:14 pm

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

17NorthernStar
feb 15, 2020, 5:21 pm

I have common redpolls (lots - probably at least 40), pine grosbeaks, black-capped chickadees, boreal chickadees, and a few blue jays. Sometimes I have a re-breasted nuthatch, and downy and hairy woodpeckers visiting, but I haven't seen them today, and there are usually ravens around.

18frahealee
Redigeret: jun 17, 2022, 11:14 pm

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

19jessibud2
feb 15, 2020, 5:55 pm

I've only seen redpolls once, at my friend's place. She lives out in the country.

>18 frahealee: - if you can recognize downy woodpeckers, you'd instantly know a hairy if you saw one. It looks like a downy on steroids! Quite a bit larger and a much longer beak. Otherwise identical.

Let me see if I can find some pics from my gallery.

This one is the downy (apologies for the blurry image. It's through a window and a window screen):



This one is the hairy:


20Marissa_Doyle
feb 15, 2020, 6:12 pm

I've found a big suet/seed/nut cake that also contains mealworms, and have had as many as five eastern bluebirds on it at once (with the sixth on an adjacent feeder.) They're so pretty in the drab winter landscape.

21tropics
feb 15, 2020, 8:54 pm

I hope you have an opportunity to post your sightings on this year's Great Backyard Bird Count, February 14th-17th:

https://www.audubon.org/conservation/about-great-backyard-bird-count

Neither the regularly-observed Roadrunner or the Black-Throated Sparrow showed up in my southern Arizona back yard today (at least while I was paying attention), but I did see the following: Gambel's Quail, Mourning Dove, Costa's Hummingbird, Gila Woodpecker, Verdin, Cactus Wren, Curve-Billed Thrasher, House Finch, Rufous-Winged Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Canyon Towhee, Northern Cardinal, Pyrrhuloxia.

22msf59
Redigeret: feb 16, 2020, 3:58 pm

Chicago Western Suburbs!

I am participating in the GBBC, today and tomorrow. My 5 species are:

Northern Cardinals
Housefinch
Goldfinch
Dark-Eyed Juncos
Downy Woodpecker

Also saw house sparrows, black-capped chickadees and a a pair of Canada geese flying over.

23perennialreader
feb 16, 2020, 12:41 pm

From Tennessee

Dark-eyed junco
Northern Cardinals
Mourning doves
House sparrows
Bluebirds

Not counting the red flag my husband saw in the yard and thought was a cardinal. :)

24Marissa_Doyle
feb 16, 2020, 12:56 pm

>21 tropics: Ah ha! Now I know why today, after seeing almost no birds at our summer cottage on Cape Cod whenever we've visted this winter, today I've seen (so far) fifteen species, including my first ever sighting of a yellow-bellied sapsucker (which I gather can be a winter visitor all over the state.) The birds just want to be counted!

25tropics
feb 16, 2020, 3:56 pm

How time flies! I see that I started this group back in 2007. Thank you, perennial reader, for updating it. Should we continue to limit ourselves to just five yard birds?

Do any of you post your sightings on E-Bird? Today I checked this year's GBBC international sightings where I grew up (Timiskaming District, northern Ontario, Canada) and was pleased to note intrepid folk there braving the cold. Each winter my father would set up a large wooden table feeder by our dining room table so that we could conveniently admire the Evening Grosbeaks, Chickadees, and other birds.

The extremely cautious Black-Throated Sparrow did show up this morning, as did a female Lesser Goldfinch. Still no sign of the Roadrunner (usually heard before seen).

26msf59
feb 16, 2020, 4:03 pm

I post on E-Bird occasionally. Invaluable site! I would like to see folks post their "lifers" over here, along with anything unusual or rarely seen at their feeders.

I have never seen a Black-Throated Sparrow or Lesser Goldfinch. I did get my first Evening Grosbeak and Pine Grosbeak, on my visit to MN last winter. Both beautiful birds.

27John5918
Redigeret: feb 17, 2020, 12:50 am

>25 tropics:

Yes, I've been using eBird for two or three years now, after being introduced to it by a colleague. I find it convenient for keeping a list of my bird sightings rather than the scrappy notebooks and bits of paper which I used to use (and lose). It's particularly useful now that I have discovered how to enter sightings on my smartphone, and can do it pretty instantaneously, especially since I've discovered a different app that gives me my latitude and longitude.

It's frustrating that the filters used by eBird are not always accurate - for example, I live on the top of the ridge overlooking the Great Rift Valley, which is a transition zone between two habitats, the higher one and the one on the valley floor, and from time to time eBird queries my sightings, whereas in fact you can often see a bird from one habitat zone just across the "border" in the other zone. On the plus side, after a couple of sightings which it queried, I received an email from the volunteer who monitors the Kenyan sightings, and I'm now in regular contact with him, getting advice on some of my more obscure sightings.

28alaudacorax
Redigeret: feb 17, 2020, 10:27 am

I always feel a bit bereft reading these threads. I never see five yard birds (we say garden birds in the UK, though, our yards are something different). From where I'm sitting, I can see along the length of the hedge separating my garden from the next, so should be able to. However, it's the favourite haunt of a lively gang of house sparrows and I strongly suspect them of keeping other species away. So the most I ever get to see is the odd wood pigeon (always surprised at what thin, weak branches they can perch on) or blackbird.

Reading over that, I'm wondering if I'm being too strict. If I include the open sky I've seen black-headed gulls, herring gulls, a wood pigeon, some crows, a mob of jackdaws (having great fun turning and tumbling on the brisk wind and yelling their lungs out) and a pair of mallards, all while I've been writing this post. Oddly enough, I haven't seen any house sparrows, though.

29tropics
Redigeret: feb 17, 2020, 10:16 am

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

30tropics
feb 17, 2020, 10:16 am

John: How many of Kenya's endemics have you seen? And those of adjacent countries?

I look forward to seeing the international results of this year's GBBC.

31John5918
Redigeret: feb 17, 2020, 10:27 am

>30 tropics:

eBird tells me I have seen 177 species in Kenya, 84 in South Sudan, 71 in South Africa, 35 in Zambia and 7 in Tanzania (the latter was a very brief trip and I was concentrating on driving). My total worldwide is 378 species, which includes UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Thailand and the USA. I've been on eBird for a little over 4 years now. I don't often go out full-time birdwatching unless I'm with another keen twitcher (which has included a couple of colleagues, a brother-in-law, a nephew and a god-daughter) but usually just spot birds incidentally while doing other things. There are a lot of little brown jobbies which would add to my total if only I could identify the wee buggers!

32tropics
feb 17, 2020, 10:53 am

Alaudacorax: The birds in flight - and their interactions - within your field of view would be interesting to observe.

33tropics
feb 17, 2020, 11:26 am

John: You are the envy of many because of your locale and because of your relatively recent foray into the world of birding.

I began compiling my lists years ago via Thayer's Birding software. Countries visited include South Africa, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Canada. Grateful that I kept extensive journals, but saddened that I was mostly oblivious to the specifics of bird life during travels in Scandinavia, Europe, Greece, and the French Caribbean.

My Arizona list, where we now reside, stands at a modest 323.

34perennialreader
feb 7, 2021, 4:28 pm

Shout out from Tennessee

1. Cardinals
2. Goldfinches
3. Eastern bluebirds
4. Carolina chickadee
5. Downy Woodpecker

And a few more.

We were gone for the weekend and once I refilled the feeders this is what I have seen. Expect to see a lot more tomorrow.

35Helenoel
feb 7, 2021, 5:56 pm

In slightly snowy south-central Pennsylvania.

Carolina Wren
Ruby-crowned kinglet
White breasted nuthatch
White throated sparrow
Brown headed cowbirds ( sign of coming spring)
American robin. One poor sad lonely one.

And the usual mob of house fiches, house sparrows, goldfinches and starlings

As I was filling feeders the kinglet was nibbling remains of peanut butter about a foot from my face. Best feeling I’ve had in ages.

36NorthernStar
Redigeret: feb 7, 2021, 8:42 pm

From northern British Columbia, on the Alaska highway in northern Canada:
black-capped chickadee
red-breasted nuthatch
pine grosbeak
evening grosbeak
And several blue jays, a raven, and a lot of redpolls

Edited to add - no signs of spring here yet, in fact it is the coldest weather we've seen all winter.

37perennialreader
feb 9, 2021, 10:35 am

More

Eastern bluebirds
Red-bellied woodpecker (yesterday, there were 2 together)
Dark eyed junco
Carolina chickadee
Pine siskins

And all the finches (house, purple and gold)
Yesterday, a red tailed hawk flew over my car as I was pulling down the driveway.

38tropics
feb 14, 2021, 5:45 pm

Happy birding, everyone. Onward!

Costa's hummingbird
Gila woodpecker (several discovered the vertical hummingbird feeder this Spring and have become converts).
Verdin
Cactus wren
Black-throated sparrow

39perennialreader
feb 14, 2021, 7:45 pm

Cooper's hawk. That takes care of anything else. The rest of the birds disappeared...

40EMS_24
Redigeret: feb 17, 2021, 8:45 am

Goldfinch
Common goldeneye
Great egret
Goldcrest
Gadwall

First four seen in the city(The Hague) because of the snow and cold, the Common goldeneye and Great egret somewhat disoroiëntated: the duck in a small canal, the egret near a warm building, far away from water.

41perennialreader
feb 17, 2021, 9:58 am

Still snow and ice with more snow to come tonight in Tennessee.

Red-bellied woodpecker
Downy woodpecker
Fox sparrow
Eastern towhee
Dark-eyed junco

Assorted goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, doves, robins bluebirds and such.

42Marissa_Doyle
feb 17, 2021, 10:33 am

A cool, clear day here on Cape Cod, with sloppy snow and sleet forecast for the next few days.

Turkeys (one of the local small groups of males, then the larger group of females and juveniles--about two dozen all together)
American robins
Flicker
yellow-bellied sapsucker
red-bellied woodpecker (at least two resident locally)

And multiples of the usual gang--red-breasted and white-breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, chickadees, crows, downy and hairy woodpeckers, cardinals, Carolina wrens, herring gulls

43Tess_W
feb 18, 2021, 5:28 am

It was 0 (F) today and no birds stirring at all! I did see one house sparrow land on the fence post, briefly.

44msf59
feb 18, 2021, 7:37 am

I have had this thread starred for a long time and I keep forgetting to post something. I love seeing these reports from different locations. I am a birder and a backyard feeder watcher, from northern Illinois, (the Chicago western 'burbs).

We have about 2 feet of snow on the ground. This is what I have been seeing:

Dark-Eyed Juncos
Northern Cardinals
Housefinch
House Sparrows
Black-capped Chickadees

>36 NorthernStar: >37 perennialreader: I am very jealous of your birds.

45tropics
feb 22, 2021, 4:29 pm

Given that we're in drought mode here in southern Arizona, birds are appreciative of water features.

Verdins, Costa's Hummingbirds and Gila Woodpeckers are surprisingly patient while awaiting their turn at the hummingbird feeder.

46Tess_W
feb 24, 2021, 4:41 pm

They are returning! Today: eastern bluebird, robin, house sparrow, golden hawk, cardinal (northern)

47NorthernStar
feb 24, 2021, 5:21 pm

> 46 I'm envious, we won't likely see anything new for another month!

48gilroy
feb 27, 2021, 3:20 pm

I'm thinking I'm the only one in the neighborhood with a bird feeder this year. The flocks are large and so are the squirrel "birds"...

My suet feeder has attracted two woodpeckers so far: Red-bellied woodpecker and a Downy woodpecker.

The regular feeder has gotten me the common visitors:
Grackles
Red-wing Blackbirds
Mourning Doves
Dark Eyed Juncos
and Northern Cardinals...

49msf59
feb 27, 2021, 6:05 pm

We just had our FOY, (first of the year) American Robin foraging near our feeders in Chicagloand. She also appeared to be molting.

50perennialreader
mar 5, 2021, 1:07 pm

Dark eyed junco
Pine siskin
Tufted titmouse
Downy woodpecker
Red bellied woodpecker

So far today, I have seen 13 different species at my feeders. This is a far cry less than before the ice/snow storm that we had. Hopefully, the numbers will pick back up soon.

51John5918
Redigeret: mar 6, 2021, 4:41 am

Marabou stork
Superb starling
Red-winged starling
Augur buzzard
Dark-capped bulbul
Schalow's wheatear (which is often now considered to be a sub-species of Abyssinian wheatear)

52Tess_W
Redigeret: mar 6, 2021, 8:04 am

They braved the cold (19 F):
robins (by the hundreds)
American crows
blue jay
house sparrow
turkey vulture (not really a yard bird, but has a nest at the back of our acreage, about 40 feet high. I see them flying in and out of the nest. They do not forage in the yard.)

Heard, but not seen: woodpecker (probably a red-headed or a pileated)

53perennialreader
mar 6, 2021, 10:41 am

>51 John5918: I love the names of your birds. Off to look up what the heck they are!

54John5918
Redigeret: mar 6, 2021, 11:01 pm

>53 perennialreader:

The Superb starling is brightly coloured and absolutely... superb, as its name suggests, although they're so common here that we get blase about them and scarcely notice them. And (like >52 Tess_W:), I suppose the Marabou stork and the Augur buzzard (the former a very ugly bird and the latter very beautiful) are not really "yard birds", but I saw them from my yard yesterday, soaring above us and then down below us in the valley. The buzzards we see almost daily; the storks are very common in Kenya but not so much in our area. When you drive from Nairobi's international airport into the city you'll often see sixty or more of these huge storks just perched in trees by the roadside.

55NorthernStar
mar 6, 2021, 6:31 pm

Still getting the winter regulars. Today I saw a hairy woodpecker, red-breasted nuthatches, boreal chickadees, black-capped chickadees, common redpolls (lots!), blue jays, pine grosbeaks, and evening grosbeaks. That's more than 5, and doesn't include a few others I see most days. I'm looking forward to spring, when new birds start to show up.

56Tess_W
Redigeret: mar 16, 2021, 11:23 pm

Denne meddelelse er blevet slettet af dens forfatter.

57donna.arnold
mar 17, 2021, 1:39 pm

I have a pair, hopefully mating, of Lewis' Woodpeckers, also downy, hairy woodpeckers, chickadees, juncos, nuthatches, rosy finch and many more. We live on the North Fork of the Gunnison River, Colorado so we also have many geese, ducks, and bald eagles. Quite a beautiful, peaceful place.

58tropics
mar 19, 2021, 8:33 pm

>57 donna.arnold:

Donna: A fascinating assemblage of birds!

Costa's Hummingbirds and Gila Woodpeckers continue to share the vertical hummingbird feeder. Hooded Orioles will be joining them in a couple of months. Otherwise, the usual visitors - 14 to 17 species. Wintering White-Crowned Sparrows will be heading north soon. Greater Roadrunner stops by - currently in courting mode. As usual, Curve-Billed Thrashers patrol the yard.

59Tess_W
mar 20, 2021, 1:29 am

You all have such beautiful descriptions of birds. What did I see? About 10 turkey vultures ripping shreds of meat from a dead deer on the side of the road!

60tropics
mar 25, 2021, 10:44 pm

>59 Tess_W:

Tess: The deer lying by the side of the road sounds like an unfortunate accident. Turkey Vultures, observed up close, have beautiful iridescent feathers. This afternoon we were delighted by a visit from a pair of Common Ravens that had apparently noticed the rolled oats that we provide for other birds that visit our yard.

61Tess_W
mar 26, 2021, 1:36 pm

>60 tropics: Many unfortunate deer accidents where I live, to the tune of about 18,000 per year (just the reported incidents). The Dept. of Natural Resources estimate that at least 50% of the accidents result in deer death, probably more that are badly injured but crawl away to die. That is on top of the 70,000+ deer killed by hunters each year. My county/State is still vastly over populated with white tails.

62Tess_W
mar 30, 2021, 12:34 am

So I saw turkey vultures circling our house! I inspected and there was a dead groundhog, hit by a car, out by the mailbox. I told my husband and he said wait 24 hours (since it isn't hot) and then he would move it. His reply, "even the vultures need a meal!"

63Tess_W
Redigeret: apr 27, 2021, 3:39 am

Turkey vulture, Eastern Bluebird, Blue Jay, 2 male Cardinals, American Robin, female Downy Woodpecker

64perennialreader
apr 27, 2021, 7:57 am

Downy woodpeckers, Red-bellied woodpecker, Carolina wren, White-throated sparrow, AND MY FIRST OF THE YEAR RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD! Woohoo!

65NorthernStar
Redigeret: apr 27, 2021, 8:55 pm

I had a flock of about 50 rusty blackbirds, first white-crowned sparrow of the season, purple finches, pine siskins, american tree sparrows, american crows, and dark-eyed juncos - all summer birds! Plus some of the winter standbys - evening grosbeaks, common redpolls, black-capped chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, hairy and downy woodpeckers, and common ravens. That's way more than 5!

66John5918
apr 28, 2021, 10:07 am

Scarlet-chested sunbird, bulbul, superb starling, red-billed firefinch, Nubian woodpecker

67perennialreader
apr 28, 2021, 2:41 pm

Well, I can't top >66 John5918:. But I did go out bird watching this morning. Before getting soaking wet, I saw 2 bald eagles, an American redstart, Northern Rough-winged Swallows, Summer and Scarlett Tanagers, and many Warblers.

Yesterday, I had 2 Rose-breasted grosbeaks and an Eastern towhee in my yard.

Spring migration is my favorite season!

68John5918
apr 29, 2021, 11:28 am

A first timer for me - today in a neighbour's yard there were about 15 grey-headed social weavers. Also saw red-billed firefinch, white bellied bustard and some of the usual suspects such as superb starling and bulbul.

69John5918
Redigeret: maj 4, 2021, 1:59 am

Red-naped widowbird - I have seen them before but it's not a common visitor. Red and yellow barbet, mosque swallow, dark-capped bulbul, and pied wagtail.

70Helenoel
maj 4, 2021, 7:16 pm

I saw my first ruby throated hummingbird of the season this morning. Husband saw one a couple of days ago. Both at the kitchen window feeder.

71John5918
maj 6, 2021, 10:36 am

Red-naped widowbird, augur buzzard, hamerkop, scarlet-chested sunbird, superb starling.

72John5918
maj 7, 2021, 2:26 am

Speckled pigeon, Abyssian wheatear, scarlet-chested sunbird, red-naped widowbird, dark-capped bulbul.

73Tess_W
maj 7, 2021, 6:49 am

>72 John5918:, you have such a variety, John. If I posted frequently it would be the same 5 birds: cardinals, bluebirds, blue jays, crows, sparrows!

74msf59
maj 7, 2021, 7:19 am

Baltimore Oriole (FOY, First of the Year), black-capped chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, northern cardinal, American Goldfinch. Waiting on the first hummingbird...

>73 Tess_W: I have the same issue, but with different birds.

75John5918
maj 7, 2021, 8:24 am

>73 Tess_W:, ?74

It's not always so varied and exciting! There's a handful of common birds that I see every day - bulbul, wheatear, weavers, superb starling, red-winged starling, swallows - then there's a few other regulars which don't appear daily - augur buzzard, cliffchat, mousebirds, sunbirds, etc. But I seem to have been blessed with a lot of rarer visitors recently. The widowbird seems to have taken up temporary residence as I've seen it three or four days in a row now. A spectacular bird.

76jessibud2
maj 7, 2021, 9:18 am

>73 Tess_W:, >74 msf59: - LOL! Me too! Only I am not even sure mine would add up to 5, most days:

American goldfinches, house sparrows, mourning doves, downy woodpeckers, red-breasted nuthatches.

And then there are the *&^$%- pigeons! I have even had to resort to bringing my feeder in for days at a time to discourage the pigeons.

77elenchus
maj 7, 2021, 11:22 am

Yes! And me, too -- except I wouldn't be able to name all five. I'm still confounded by finches and wrens and sparrows, no matter how many times (probably not as many as I think) I look them up.

Oddly, a pigeon or dove showed up the other day after I cut down some bushes. They are plentiful here in Chicago, but I don't usually see them in the yard. This one sees something that is catching its fancy, apparently.

78perennialreader
maj 7, 2021, 3:36 pm

Not in my yard where the birds rarely change from day to day, but I went on a guided bird walk and saw a Barred owl, Scarlet and Summer tanagers, Great-crested flycatcher, Blue-gray gnatcatcher and Red-bellied woodpeckers.

79NorthernStar
maj 7, 2021, 3:55 pm

Today there is a big flock of brown-headed cowbirds, some purple finches, red-winged blackbirds, pine siskins, and rusty blackbirds. All summer migrants. Plus some evening grosbeaks, which have been around all winter.

80msf59
maj 7, 2021, 7:58 pm

>78 perennialreader: That sounds like a fantastic guided bird walk. I have yet to see a barred owl this year.

81John5918
maj 9, 2021, 2:35 am

Red-naped widowbird (again - it's amazing seeing it every day!), Hildebrant's starling, Baglafecht weaver, lesser masked weaver, rock martin.

82vwinsloe
maj 9, 2021, 7:25 am

Got my first of year Baltimore Orioles and Gray Catbirds!

83Tess_W
Redigeret: maj 9, 2021, 3:33 pm

>82 vwinsloe: Got my Oriole feeder ready to go out whenever it stops raining. Haven't seen any yet!

84Tess_W
Redigeret: maj 14, 2021, 10:05 pm

Not 5 birds, but just one that has been "vexing" us! For the last 2-3 years the back side of a miniature pine-like tree has had spots worn off--bare branches, brown spots, etc. and we couldn't figure out why. We didn't see a nest or anything untoward. This morning I had to get up much earlier than normal (5:30 AM) and went to my car, and out from around this tree comes a mourning dove. Have heard them, but not seem them for ages. I followed him (I think--not short or plump enough for a female) and he flew back to our 2-3 year old "burn" pile--garden and yard sticks, branches, mown grass, etc. Mourning doves are the number 1 game bird in America and more than 24,000,000 are shot and killed each year, with 80% of them being eaten. As I don't really even like pheasant, I have no desire to try one. Even with those high kill numbers, the US Fish and Wildlife Dept says that in 2019 there was a great increase in the mourning dove population.

85John5918
Redigeret: maj 15, 2021, 4:29 am

Red-naped widowbird (incredibly I have seen this bird for many days in a row now), purple grenadier, cliff-chat, black-capped bulbul, Ruppell's starling.

86NorthernStar
Redigeret: maj 15, 2021, 2:57 pm

I'm having a rainbow of birds today: brown-headed cowbird, red-breasted nuthatch, purple finch, blue jay, and evening grosbeak (mostly yellow).

Also black-capped chickadee, pine siskin, and downy woodpecker.

87tropics
maj 19, 2021, 6:45 pm

It's a pleasure to contemplate your fascinating updates from far and wide.

The White-Winged Doves' annoyingly insistent calls begin at first light, when some of us would prefer to have slept longer. The Hooded Orioles that have constructed a nest in a palm tree next door are regular visitors to our hummingbird feeder; soon they'll be accompanied by their fledged young. Gambel's Quail chicks are adept at following their parents through the desert terrain, as are the offspring of Curve-Billed Thrashers. A pair of Gilded Flickers stopped by recently.

88Tess_W
maj 19, 2021, 10:16 pm

Bobolink, Robert (bob) White (which I listened to for a couple of hours but could not visually see), cardinal, robin, chimney swallow, house sparrow, blue jay, eastern blue bird, female hummingbirds

89nrmay
Redigeret: maj 20, 2021, 11:28 am

seen this morning in piedmont North Carolina -
Brown trasher
Mourning doves
Cardinals
Eastern Towhee
House finch

90John5918
maj 24, 2021, 2:09 am

Seen yesterday: red-naped widowbird, white-winged widowbird, black-capped bulbul, scarlet-chested sunbird, augur buzzard.

I'm really chuffed about the two different widowbirds. The red-naped I had seen before, although they are not common here. When I first caught a glimpse of the other one from a distance I thought at first it was the red-naped variety, as its tail and its movement pattern indicated it was a widowbird. However when I saw it through binoculars I saw a white bill and white patches on the wings, then eventually I noticed small reddish patches on the shoulders. I couldn't identify it, as the field guides showed pictures of the white-winged widowbird with yellow shoulder patches. It was only on reading the small print that I learned that the shoulder patches could be yellow or russet (ie reddish). Looking at photos on Google I saw that 90% of them showed yellow patches but there were a few with the russet patches, which exactly matched the bird I was seeing. Very exciting.

91Tess_W
Redigeret: maj 24, 2021, 3:25 am

Not sure if it was a Bob While or a Mourning Dove--did not have glasses on and no binoculars near, Carolina wren, golden hawk, turkey vulture, pileated woodpecker, Eastern bluebird, blue jay

Hubby put up the shepherd's hook today and tomorrow I will be putting out grade jelly and an orange to attract the heretofore elusive Baltimore oriole.

92NorthernStar
maj 24, 2021, 12:38 pm

in my yard - rose breasted grosbeak, purple finches, pine siskins, brow-headed cowbirds, and American crows. I am gradually taking my feeders down, as the bears are out. Yesterday I drove up the Alaska highway into the mountains with a friend and saw a pair of nesting swans and a lot of ducks on a small lake, and at a stop at the small campground at Summit Lake saw a lifer for me - a common yellowthroat. Unfortunately my camera and binoculars were back in the vehicle at several key moments.

The leaves are not yet out at higher elevations, there are still snow patches, and the ice is still on Summit lake, but the willows are blooming with an amazing variety of pussy willows. We also saw Stone's sheep, mountain goats, mule and whitetail deer, elk, caribou, a porcupine, and quite a few bear.

93Tess_W
jun 30, 2021, 1:54 am

It is very hot here (for June) for the past 3 days, 90+ degrees F. (32C) The only birds out and flying around are Blue jays.

94gilroy
jun 30, 2021, 1:12 pm

There's a bug of some form going through the area that the USGS suggested taking down all bird feeders until they figured out what the bug was. It was killing blue jays and grackles so I haven't had the feeders up in a while. I'll be checking in with the local wild bird store soon to see what the latest is.

95nrmay
jun 30, 2021, 7:04 pm

today -

house finches
cardinals
Carolina wrens
Brown thrashers
robins

96perennialreader
jun 30, 2021, 9:22 pm

>94 gilroy: Found this information. I don't think they really know for sure, but it is a plausible explanation

Southeastern Avian Research
***Update on deceased birds being found in the some counties in the northeast...6/30/2021.

The discovery of many dead birds, mostly Crows, Blue Jays, Grackles, European Starlings were first found in late May in Washington DC. The good folks at the Smithsonian began testing to determine the cause of these deaths. In June dead birds were being found in some counties in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio as well as a few others eastern states.

Preliminary testing in KY and Indiana indicate it NOT salmonella, NOT Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis (finch eye disease) NOT West Nile virus and NOT avian flu...all highly contagious disease that are easily spread from congregation at feeders. Wildlife Officials in all EFFECTED States are recommending removal and disinfecting of feeders and water features as a precautionary action to help lessen the spread IF it is a viral disease.

In looking at all the evidence collected so far the emergence of the Brood X cicadas seem to be a 'common' factor in some location/counties where large numbers of these dead birds are being found. Conversations with entomologists and ornithologists lean towards 'poisoning' as a "suspect' either from direct use of pesticides or perhaps from heavy metals and other poisons within the cicadas from their 17 year 'stay' underground. There is also a theory that a fungal disease found in cicadas might be the cause of the illness as birds ingest large quantities of these abundant insects. Until definitive results are available all these are just theories under investigation. Lab results are expected in about 4-6 weeks. Note that the lifespan of these cicadas are also 4-6 weeks so it also remains to be seen once they are all deceased will the birds stop dying?? All part of the BIG mystery.

So what should you personally do? If you live in one of the states where dead birds with these symptoms are occurring, do as your State authorities recommend.
Here in Tennessee so far there have been no sick or dead birds found exhibiting the classic symptoms. However we recommend that if you feed birds that you be proactive and if you haven't already cleaned and disinfected your feeders and water features with a 10% bleach solution or raked up any hulls or leftover seed do it at your first chance...this should be part of your normal maintenance routine anyway. Watch for any sick or dead birds in your yard and if you find them call your local Wildlife Officer to report them and follow their advise.
In the meantime don't panic! Search out real facts from credible sources before passing any information on to others. The situation is mystery enough without adding misinformation to the mix.

97Tess_W
jul 2, 2021, 5:38 am

>94 gilroy:
>96 perennialreader:

Found a dead blue jay in my yard today. I don't have a bird feeder and/or bath--I just sprinkle feed on the ground in the field area. I'm from midwest US.

98vwinsloe
jul 3, 2021, 8:36 am

Some good news. One of our Baltimore Oriole males has returned to our yard to share our jelly feeder with his juveniles. So nice to see them figuring it out and wiping their beaks after!

99Tess_W
jul 31, 2021, 3:44 pm

Been so hot out that even the birds stay under cover! The usual suspects: blue jays, robins, hummingbirds, sparrows, red-headed woodpecker

100Tess_W
dec 20, 2021, 2:55 am

Only thing I've seen on my morning walks (Sunrise) are blue jays, by the dozens!

101Tess_W
jan 15, 2022, 11:15 pm

I do not see 5 different birds when the temp is only in the teens (F). Daily I see blue jays and today there were 2 crows sitting on my garbage cans that were awaiting pickup. I shooed them away twice by opening the window and yelling and it worked!

102NorthernStar
jan 16, 2022, 12:38 am

I've been getting both black-capped and boreal chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, evening and pine grosbeaks, blue jays, Canada jays, downy and hairy woodpeckers, and common redpolls. That's a bit more than 5!

103jessibud2
jan 16, 2022, 7:54 am

My regulars here these days are red-breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, juncos, downy woodpeckers and cardinals. I have also seen a few chickadees at my feeder and of course, the sparrows are always around!

104perennialreader
jan 16, 2022, 8:32 am

This morning in the pouring snow I have cardinals, goldfinches, white-throated sparrows, juncos, and house finches. We are supposed to get 1"-3" today, revised down from 3"-7". Right now it's coming down in big, very wet and sticky globs. I filled all my feeders to the brim late yesterday and I hope that will last until the snow is gone.

105Tess_W
Redigeret: jan 28, 2022, 12:21 am

I keep seeing a red-tailed hawk flying amongst the trees on the back of our property. Its nest is almost at the top of a tall tree--maybe 50 feet high (or taller, I'm not a good judge of height!). The nest is very large. It's very visible now that there are no leaves on the trees. I need to get some pics, but just too cold out there!

106elenchus
jan 28, 2022, 10:50 am

Out shoveling this morning, I disturbed something in a large shrub. Snow was still coming down, and it was still dark ... worried I would flush it out of its protection. Fortunately it seemed content having moved somewhere further in the shrub, and wasn't further disturbed.

So to be accurate, this was a yard bird I didn't see, and was happy not to have.

107John5918
Redigeret: feb 10, 2022, 4:58 am

This morning while fetching water from the village borehole a couple of kms from our house, I saw Grey heron, Hamerkop, Cattle egret, Northern wheatear, Black-capped bulbul, Superb starling, Red-rumped swallow, Ring-necked dove, Red-backed scrub robin and three Augur buzzards. We see or hear at least one Augur buzzard almost every day, but three at once is unusual, probably parents teaching a fledgling to fly and hunt.

108elenchus
feb 10, 2022, 12:33 pm

>107 John5918: probably parents teaching a fledgling to fly and hunt

I love that observation, and am impressed you know enough to make such a conjecture.

I saw a couple of birds on the wire in the alley behind my urban two-flat. No idea what they were, not Cardinals (plentiful this time of year) based on their beautiful warbling and their long beaks. I loved their song, and writing this reminds me I meant to try to identify them online later.

109John5918
feb 10, 2022, 1:48 pm

>108 elenchus:

Well, we normally see only one or sometimes a pair, but I have to confess that I learned about the parents teaching the young to fly from a bird guide book some time ago.

110OnePieceBestAnime
feb 11, 2022, 11:38 am

Denne bruger er blevet fjernet som værende spam.

111OnePieceBestAnime
feb 11, 2022, 11:38 am

Denne bruger er blevet fjernet som værende spam.

112OnePieceBestAnime
feb 11, 2022, 12:40 pm

Denne bruger er blevet fjernet som værende spam.

113OnePieceBestAnime
feb 11, 2022, 12:48 pm

Denne bruger er blevet fjernet som værende spam.

114OnePieceBestAnime
feb 11, 2022, 12:50 pm

Denne bruger er blevet fjernet som værende spam.

115John5918
Redigeret: feb 12, 2022, 5:05 am

Another quarter of an hour spent by the shallow dam next to the borehole, and this time I saw Grey and Black-headed herons, Hadada ibis, Egyptian goose, White-bellied canary, House sparrow, Red-rumped swallow and Crowned lapwing.

I took my little camera with me today. Here's three of them.


116elenchus
feb 12, 2022, 1:42 pm

What a shot, three in one!

117Tess_W
feb 13, 2022, 11:27 pm

>115 John5918: fabulous!

We keep seeing a red-tailed hawk on the back of our property, high in the trees. Can't ever get close enough for a pic!

118John5918
feb 14, 2022, 12:26 am

Yesterday evening at around 6 o'clock I glanced out of my bathroom window and there was a large eagle perched atop a tree. It stayed there for fifteen minutes or so and I was able to study it through the 'noculars, and with the help of the field guide identified it as a Steppe eagle. First time I've ever seen one. As in your case, it was too far away to get a decent picture with my little camera - I know the distance was exactly 70 metres as a while ago I measured it when we were installing a new pipe to one of our rainwater collection tanks.

119NorthernStar
feb 15, 2022, 1:11 pm

I'm super excited - just saw a new-to-me bird I've been wanting to see for ever! Right in the tree outside my window! A Northern Pygmy-Owl! Today is one of my feederwatch days, and I put out bird seed just as it was getting light, and settled in to watch what was showing up. Aside from the blue jays there were very few birds. I moved closer to the window and could see a little blob fairly high in the fir tree - got my binoculars and realized it was a tiny owl! Then had to grab my camera and take pictures. A few minutes later the blue jays chased it away, but I got enough pictures to confirm what it was. The pictures are through a window, zoomed and cropped, so not great quality, but I'll post a few here.

The second picture shows one of the blue jays that was harassing the owl and the dark eye-spots on the back of the owl's head. You can see that the owl is smaller than the blue jay.

Since the owl left I have seen black-capped and boreal chickadees, pine and evening grosbeaks, common redpolls, blue jays, a Canada jay, and both downy and hairy woodpeckers.

120elenchus
feb 15, 2022, 2:00 pm

What a day, and I love that you shared with us!

The pygmy-owl is a beautiful bird, I see why you've been "looking" so long. Great that when you did finally spot one, it's in the tree outside your window. Hopefully it will be back.

121John5918
feb 15, 2022, 10:23 pm

Wonderful sighting!

122John5918
feb 16, 2022, 1:56 am

This morning at the village dam I saw a White-bellied go-away bird. Not my first time, but it's several years since I have seen one.

123elenchus
Redigeret: feb 16, 2022, 9:56 am

>122 John5918: a White-bellied go-away bird

I thought: There's a story in that name, surely! Wikipedia claims the "go-away" is inspired by its call, and evidently not the disgruntled response of any birdwatcher.

124John5918
feb 16, 2022, 10:03 am

>123 elenchus: the "go-away" is inspired by its call

Yes, that's what I'm told, but I can't say I'm familiar with its call. I'm conscious that I heard an unusual bird call from the direction of those trees, which is what made me start looking, but I can't recall what the call was, and it didn't register as "go away" (or even "bugger off"!)

125John5918
feb 25, 2022, 7:08 am

We drove this morning to Lake Naivasha, a well known birding spot in Kenya. As soon as I switched off the engine of the Land Rover, the first thing I heard was the cry of a fish eagle. We were then able to watch one in a nearby tree while eating lunch in the dining room. Going for a walk by the lake now to see more birds. I usually manage twenty to thirty species whenever I come here.

126John5918
Redigeret: feb 25, 2022, 8:02 am

The lake is higher than I've ever seen it in 25 years of coming here. The swampy shore where one used to see many waders is underwater, as is the birdwatching pavilion built on stilts. But still, in a short walk this afternoon, not serious birding, we saw a dozen species of birds, plus four hippo and a vervet monkey.

127Tess_W
mar 2, 2022, 10:17 pm

>126 John5918: sounds like a lovely lunch and afternoon. You are fortunate to live where there are varied fauna.

128John5918
mar 2, 2022, 10:56 pm

>127 Tess_W:

Yes, we are blessed in where we live. Overall we saw 34 species, including two I had never seen before (cardinal woodpecker and green sandpiper), as well as hippo, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, Thomson's gazelle and vervet monkeys. The sheer number of some of the species was exciting. Fish eagles were everywhere, and we saw eight hamerkop and six pied kingfishers all at once. Also saw a giant kingfisher, which I hadn't seen for years.

129John5918
mar 10, 2022, 8:07 am

Fetching water at the village borehole this afternoon and I saw a Yellow-billed stork, a Grey heron and a pair of Egyptian geese.

130John5918
Redigeret: mar 12, 2022, 9:13 am

This morning I got five in the village dam all at the same time! Yellow-billed stork, Grey heron, Hamerkop, Blacksmith lapwing and a pair of Egyptian geese.



131elenchus
mar 12, 2022, 10:15 am

>150 amysisson:
A five-spot!

132John5918
Redigeret: mar 14, 2022, 4:52 am

This morning none of the big water birds were around, but I saw a Tawny eagle soaring overhead, a Green sandpiper wading in the dam, and a few of the ubiquitous Superb starlings. Also a smaller wader which I couldn't get close enough to identify. And an eland outside our gate.

133John5918
Redigeret: mar 16, 2022, 4:35 am

This morning the usual suspects - grey heron, Egyptian geese and blacksmith lapwing - plus something a little unusual, five three-banded plover. Haven't seen any of them around here for three years.







134Tess_W
Redigeret: mar 16, 2022, 7:07 am

The usual suspects: cardinal, robin, blue jay, mourning dove, crow, some kind of hawk (not a turkey vulture), Carolina Chicadee, and house sparrows.

135elenchus
mar 16, 2022, 9:45 am

>133 John5918: five three-banded plover

Interesting, here in Chicago we've had a pair of nesting plovers visit for the past three years, after no sightings since perhaps the 1950s. Encouraging to see such news, and I wouldn't have remarked it were it not for the coincidence in species.

136Tess_W
maj 2, 2022, 8:47 am

House Sparrow, Robin, Blue Jay, Red-Winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch

137perennialreader
maj 2, 2022, 9:09 am

HUMMINGBIRD!, Rose-breasted grosbeak, goldfinches, bluebird, downy woodpecker.
Busy day today, wish I had more time to sit and watch the birds...maybe tomorrow.

138gilroy
maj 2, 2022, 9:37 am

Osprey, Canada Goose, Northern Cardinal, Great Blue Heron, Mallard Duck

139Tess_W
maj 21, 2022, 6:01 pm

Eastern bluebird, robin, Blue Jay, turkey vulture, Marsh wren (I believe!)

140Tess_W
jun 3, 2022, 7:02 pm

So I was looking out the bathroom window today and the sun was shining just so and I saw a striking bird, all black (looked navy blue in the sunlight, with a brown head). There were probably a dozen of them. I researched and it's the cow bird! I might have seen them before and not paid attention:

141cindydavid4
Redigeret: jun 6, 2022, 10:56 am

hello, first post here. I live in the sonoran desert and have recently gotten interested in bird id via Merlin app. Most of the ids I am getting are sound which I love, but I am starting to identify some of the birds in my yard

house sparrow
gila woodpecker
verdin
northern mocking bird
killdeer
humming bird

>140 Tess_W: I was sitting in my yard and heard a strange burbling sound, that sounded like a leak. My DH looked and found nothing. Then i heard the sound on Merlin and voila, its a cow bird. Have not actually seen it but still hear it now and again

142Tess_W
Redigeret: jul 13, 2022, 4:55 am

Cardinal--both male and female
Northern Bluebird
Blue Jay
Sparrow--Song, I think
American Goldfinch
Red-winged blackbird--male
some type of swallow--by shape--was dive-bombing the pool-swooping down to get belly wet and then flying away
a wood pecker--small for it's size--so perhaps a juvenile red-head or an adult downy
nuthatch
American crow
turkey vultures--not in my yard--but on my road--circling
House finch
brown headed cow bird

Heard, but not seen: mourning dove

143Tess_W
dec 6, 2022, 7:42 am

Not seeing any birds at all (average temp 20-40 F) except Blue Jays. When food is scarce, the jays fiercely defend their territory. They tend to be bully birds anyway!

144msf59
dec 6, 2022, 7:52 am

At my feeders:

House sparrows
Housefinch
Black-capped chickadees
Mourning Doves
Dark-eyed juncos
Northern Cardinals
White-breasted nuthatch
Blue jays
Downy woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker

145jessibud2
dec 6, 2022, 9:29 am

My feeder roll call is like yours, Mark, just not as many

Red-breasted nuthatches (the most frequent and numerous of the visitors)
House finches
House sparrows
Downy woodpecker (there was a hairy last week for about 2 days)
Cardinals
Juncos (I counted around 12 to 14 yesterday but they flit around so quickly it was hard to be accurate)

I refuse to count the stupid pigeons. So far, this week, it seems to be only the same one. At least he isn't bringing the whole family and friends and neighbours, like he did in the summer, when I had to bring my feeder inside for a few months. They don't even go to the feeder, just peck around in case the squirrels left anything for them on the ground!

146perennialreader
dec 6, 2022, 9:55 am

Dark eyed Juncos
House sparrows
House finches
Goldfinches
Mourning doves
Northern cardinals
European starlings (ugh)

And it's all fun and games at the food court until the Cooper's Hawk shows up...

147MaureenRoy
Redigeret: feb 22, 2023, 9:24 pm

There's a blizzard in the weather forecast for the next two days in Southern coastal mountains of California, so it's very cold. Today we saw robins around our palm trees, and heard a flock of (escaped) parrots in nearby trees ... those parrots have apparently found a way to co-exist with the hawks and owls in the Santa Monica mountains. We heard nearby owls the last few nights ... they seem to make a circuit in our region, where we don't hear them at night for weeks, then we hear them several nights in a row. The adults make a deep "Hoo - Hoo" sound, and once in awhile we hear a juvenile chiming in -- "Awk ."

A few weeks ago in a Northern California forested area, we heard the soft calls of pocket owls.

148gilroy
feb 23, 2023, 9:43 am

Five birds...

Grackles. A HUGE flock of grackles. Cleaned out two bird feeders on me.

Just before the red shouldered hawk showed up and cleared everyone out for almost an hour.

149Tess_W
feb 24, 2023, 2:24 pm

Only saw two birds this past week, but heard many. Saw 1)turkey vulture 2)bluebird

150amysisson
feb 24, 2023, 2:30 pm

Beautiful male cardinal right outside my window today, here in Houston, Texas. I think there's a pair that comes back to nest because I've seen both male and female in the tree before at the same time.

151Tess_W
Redigeret: apr 14, 2023, 7:40 am

Same ole same ole for me!:
Robin
Blue jay
Eastern Bluebird--the blues are brighter this year than I think I have ever seen before!
Cardinal
American goldfinch

152elenchus
apr 14, 2023, 5:52 pm

I usually don't post since I can't reliably identify many birds, though cardinals and robins are common. I still can't distinguish the many wrens, finches, and sparrows we get.

A predator of some kind occasionally perches on the electrical wire in the alley, surveying rats and pigeons alike: Coopers Hawk? Peregrine Falcon? My eyes are bad and don't know what to look for, anyway.

But yesterday was both distinctive and memorable: Mama Duck made a nest and is hatching out 6-8 eggs. Suspect she's a mallard but haven't seen her spread her wings, all I see is a duck with dark brown markings and a dark bill. Looking forward to a parade of ducklings in 25-30 days.

153jessibud2
apr 14, 2023, 6:44 pm

The regulars at my feeder include: red-breasted nuthatches (daily), goldfinches, lovely in their summer garb, both Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal (they made a nest in my lilac tree last year! First time), and yesterday I needed my binoculars to confirm but confirm I did: a chipping sparrow! My chickadees are back too, happily, as I didn't see them at all last year.

Sadly, so are the !@*!& pigeons. If anyone knows how to get rid of them, please tell me. They don't bother the feeders, as they are basically bottom feeders, but where there is one pigeon, there will soon be many. And I don't want ANY!!

154gilroy
apr 14, 2023, 10:12 pm

>152 elenchus: My sister introduced me to an app called Picture Bird which can identify a bird by image or song. It's how I've learned what comes to my feeder.

155John5918
apr 14, 2023, 11:51 pm

>152 elenchus:

With a few notable exceptions, I also find the raptors very difficult to identify. One of our regular sightings though is one of the easily identifiable ones, the Augur buzzard. We see one, two or three together very often, the latter probably being parents with a chick, either soaring overhead, swooping in the valley below us, or perched in our trees. It's also one of the few birds which I can identify by its call. Another favourite raptor, the African fish eagle, which we don't get at home as there's no open water anywhere near us but which we see often elsewhere, also has a very distinctive call and is unmistakable visually.

Other birds we see regularly around our house are Superb starlings, Wheatear, Weavers, Variable and Scarlet chested sunbirds, African pied wagtail, and a pair of francolin, sometimes plus chicks, which are either Crested or Hildebrand's francolin. They're so well camouflaged and have usually disappeared by the time I get my trusty 'noculars that I'm still not 100% sure which of these two similar species they are.

156Tess_W
apr 15, 2023, 1:08 pm

>152 elenchus: We often get the Golden Hawk perching on power lines surveying ditches for food!

157TempleCat
apr 15, 2023, 11:10 pm

This has been a pretty good week - I took a number of pictures of a Killdeer - a bird I'd read about, but never had actually seen. Also got photos of Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked ducks, Buffleheads, Great Blue Herons, Mute Swans, Canada Geese and a rather nice shot of a soaring Osprey.

158nrmay
apr 21, 2023, 8:54 am

While camping at Jordan Lake, NC this week I saw cormorants, osprey, great blue herons, bald eagles, a pilated woodpecker and more!

159John5918
apr 22, 2023, 11:44 am

Helmeted guineafowl, Yellow bishop, Pin-tailed whydah, Red-billed firefinch, Speckled pigeon, Hildebrandt's francolin, Superb starling, Crowned lapwing.

160augustau
apr 22, 2023, 3:26 pm

White crowned sparrow, white breasted nuthatch, northern flicker, mourning dove, spotted towee

161NorthernStar
maj 2, 2023, 12:06 am

The spring birds are arriving - I've seen flocks of sandhill cranes and geese overhead, the purple finch and American robins are back, and some of the year-round bluejays, black-capped chickadees, and red-breasted nuthatches are still around.

162Euryale
maj 2, 2023, 8:49 am

I live in a condo complex in Virginia, so the trees outside my window are usually full of nothing but house sparrows and starlings, but yesterday afternoon I glanced over and there was a bright yellow warbler hanging on in the wind.

163Tess_W
maj 2, 2023, 10:02 am

I saw this bird for the first time ever yesterday. I knew it was a type of a finch, but not sure which kind. Turns out it's an eastern male adult purple finch! I identified it by picture. The pic is not mine--I did not have phone with me!

164alaudacorax
maj 3, 2023, 3:44 am

>155 John5918:

Raptors can be so frustrating. Out for a short walk yesterday, I saw a small falcon (I'm in the UK). Could have been a kestrel or a hobby. Two problems: I was seeing it against a brightly overcast sky, so it was just a silhouette; it was being chased out of the area by a pair of carrion crows, so I didn't feel I could make a judgement from the way of flying. The annoying things are that I haven't seen a kestrel on my local patch for several years (normally just get sparrowhawks and buzzards) and I've never seen a hobby on my patch. So, either way, it would have been a bit of a special sighting if only I could have identified it. I half-think it was a hobby, from the what I could make of the silhouette, but not to be definite about. I can tell you the crows' ears would have burst into flames if only they had them ...

165Tess_W
maj 3, 2023, 10:48 pm

Robins! We have a porch light that each year birds always try to make nests on/behind; usually it's the robins. During the day, for the last 7 days, my husband had gone to the porch every 2-3 hours to remove the makings of a nest. They are very persistent, although they will not win this war!

166NorthernStar
maj 4, 2023, 6:26 pm

>163 Tess_W: We get purple finch up here for the summer. I've had males around for a few weeks, and the females are now here. I love their song, and they are so pretty. Even the females, which with their shades of brown are much less spectacular than the males, are pretty birds.

167John5918
maj 20, 2023, 3:37 am

Not exactly a yard bird, but this weekend we're staying with friends who own a small twenty acre indigenous forest reserve in central Kenya. On a walk through the forest yesterday evening we spotted Hinde's babbler, a very rare bird endemic to this area. There are less than 3,000 of them in total, all in this general area, with seventeen in this forest reserve. We only caught a fleeting glimpse of it in the thick forest, but they were babbling away very close to us. We heard and/or saw ten species during our short stroll, including Klaas' cuckoo, African paradise flycatcher, Southern black flycatcher, Black saw wing, Slaty white eyed flycatcher, Ruppell's robin chat, Silvery cheeked hornbill, Tropical boubou and Grey capped warbler. We had an experienced local bird guide to help us identify the bird calls. Off to a local wetland today for a different birding experience.

168John5918
maj 20, 2023, 12:25 pm

And today's wetland ramble yielded more than forty species, but I won't list them. One spectacular sight though was several hundred African open-bill storks wheeling and soaring overhead and then perching in clumps of trees in the rice paddies. The local bird guide counted at least eight hundred - I lost count after a couple of hundred.

169TempleCat
maj 21, 2023, 12:34 am

Following John's list, I'm almost embarrassed to mention the birds I had today - mine were so common! A mourning dove, several house sparrows, an American robin, a bald eagle and a herring gull, all seen from my back balcony.

The birds (and every other animal except rats) have mostly moved elsewhere. There used to be a good stand of nice trees and bushes back there, but this last year the Boston metro chopped them all down and built railroad tracks in their place. Civilization marches on, implacably cutting, clearing, and paving over the earth.

170John5918
Redigeret: maj 21, 2023, 12:55 am

>169 TempleCat:

Your US birds are as strange and exotic to me as my African birds are to you! I remember a few years ago spending an exciting day birdwatching in a nature reserve in Maryland with a US colleague, and notching up over thirty species, most of which I had never seen before and indeed never even heard of!

Sad to see trees being cut down, even if it's for something environmentally useful like a railroad. The Kenyan forest reserve that we're in this weekend has a high voltage power line running through it, and one of the foresters was explaining to us the short- and long-term consequences whenever the utility workers come to cut and trim trees along the power line. An old forest is a complex interconnected organism, and even relatively small human interactions can have a big impact.

171TempleCat
Redigeret: maj 21, 2023, 5:05 pm

>170 John5918: Oh, I know the railroad could actually be environmentally beneficial as folks use it rather than cars. And it definitely is convenient and opens up the attractions of the city to those of us who always get lost driving in it (somebody steals all the street signs!)

Close by there are several National Wildlife Refuges, state parks, rivers, lakes, wildlife conservation areas and, of course, the ocean, so the loss of my backyard copse isn't the end of the world, but I still felt heartsick watching the bulldozers and *huge* saws demolish every tree and bush. It was an awful surprise as they hadn't told us that it would happen. On the other hand, the gigantic machines that were used to build the whole railroad infrastructure were endlessly fascinating!

Now that you've made me think about it and do the sums, I am feeling a little better about it all - thanks, John! 🙏

172SilverWolf28
maj 21, 2023, 11:17 pm

I saw/heard a bunch of birds today: Bluebirds, Mockingbirds, Turkey Vultures, Black Vultures, a Red-Tailed Hawk, Martins, Starlings, a Phoebe, and a Red-headed Woodpecker. I'm in the southeast USA.

173Tess_W
maj 22, 2023, 5:32 pm

Midwest sightings 5/21: Bluejays (dozens), Bluebird, Turkey Vulture, Cardinals-both male & female, ruby throated hummingbirds, house sparrows, song sparrows, robins, red-tailed hawk, morning dove, red-winged blackbird, cowbirds, and American goldfinch. I put out jam & oranges today to try to lure in a Baltimore oriole, but nobody showed up except the ants!

174John5918
maj 23, 2023, 3:19 am

>168 John5918:

Having mentioned that great wetland experience, I've discovered (I think) that I can share my eBird list in case anyone is interested - https://ebird.org/checklist/S138934622

175TempleCat
Redigeret: maj 23, 2023, 11:00 pm

>174 John5918: That was a great three hours, John! I'm fascinated by the Whydah, but I'd love to see the Speckled Mousebird whose tail drags him down when he's flying. I'm picturing it behaving something like a toddler with a diaper-full.

176TempleCat
maj 24, 2023, 5:40 pm

American Robins, House Sparrows, Chimney Swifts

(really sparse day - everybody must be taking a nap!)

177perennialreader
maj 24, 2023, 7:14 pm

In Tennessee
Brown Thrasher
White-breasted Nuthatch
Goldfinches galore
Carolina chickadee
Downy woodpecker
Red-bellied woodpecker
Well, that's 6.

178Tess_W
maj 30, 2023, 8:00 pm

Saw many today, but one that I had not seen before and it took me about an hour on the net to identify it. But I think I observed a female Orchard Oriole.
I only watched it from the side view, about 15 feet away, and it appeared to be a type of a blackbird with only a beige stripe on the wing. I did not see the breast. All the description of actions and habitats fit. The pic is not mine, but from Audubon.

179Tess_W
jun 24, 2023, 10:53 am

The usual suspects (sparrows & robins), female Cardinal, Pileated Woodpecker, Bluejay, Bluebird, Red-Winged Blackbird, Cowbird

180John5918
jun 24, 2023, 11:04 am

That reminds me, I spent an hour yesterday morning birdwatching at the village dam, which is full now after heavy rains in April. Birds included a pair of Egyptian geese, a pair of Blacksmith lapwing, a Hamerkop, a good few Common bulbul and Superb starling, a Brown snake eagle, and a big flock of more than forty Wattled starling, the first time I've seen the latter.

181John5918
jun 25, 2023, 4:18 am

Just now there was a pair of Verraux's eagle right outside my window, circling below me and soaring above, actually taking a great interest in my dogs, although at 40kg each they're too big to be potential prey even for a large eagle! I usually find eagles very difficult to identify, but I was able to identify these from the clear markings on their backs as they flew below me on the edge of the Great Rift Valley.

182Tess_W
Redigeret: jul 28, 2023, 10:14 am

Not five birds today, just one! These little wrens (Carolina) keep attempting to make nests in my umbrella table on the patio! I have taken to folding the umbrella down when I'm not out there. This morning I saw that they are now attempting to go up the umbrella even when closed. They are snagging the material in attempts to get underneath and needless to say I don't appreciate the bird poo on the table! Any suggestions on how to discourage these wrens from nesting inside an umbrella? Have had the umbrella table for years and this is the first year this has ever been a problem. I don't mind the tree frog who makes a nest at the top, but no birds!

183John5918
jul 29, 2023, 11:04 am

Saw an Abyssinian scimitarbill in my garden, a first for me. Nice looking bird, and even nicer name!

184Traveler65
aug 11, 2023, 8:45 pm

Many of the usual, including: California Quail, California Scrub Jay, Bewick's Wren, Blue-gray gnatcatcher and Oak Titmouse

185nrmay
Redigeret: aug 26, 2023, 10:51 am

ruby-throated hummingbird
male and female eastern towhees
mourning dove
house finch

186Tess_W
aug 26, 2023, 10:23 am

American Goldfinch
House Finch
Red-winged blackbird
cowbird
Eastern Bluebird

187TempleCat
Redigeret: sep 15, 2023, 12:31 am

I didn't see five yard birds in my yard* today - only three and they were all the same species - European Starlings, in their winter garb.



*Boston 'burb, Massachusetts, USA - though, technically, they were at the top of a neighbor's tree, not directly in my yard, but I saw them from my yard, so I figure they count.

188John5918
Redigeret: sep 20, 2023, 2:42 am

I'm back in South Sudan this week and the birds I'm seeing every day in our compound include Grey-backed fiscal, Pin-tailed whydah, Red-cheeked cordon bleu, Ruppell's starling, Beautiful sunbird, and Northern yellow white-eye. On the road just outside I saw loads of Red bishops, and an African grey hornbill.

Edited to add: and just now, a long crested eagle.

189TempleCat
Redigeret: sep 22, 2023, 11:05 pm

Northern Harrier, Double-crested Cormorant, Mallard Ducks, American Black Duck, and an Eastern Phoebe (pictured)


These weren't actually in my backyard, just fairly close by at Denahy Park in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Arlington reservoir in Arlington, MA.

190varielle
Redigeret: feb 5, 6:13 pm

Today we’ve had:
Spoonbills
Egrets
Storks
Blue herons
And a mystery hawk. Couldn’t get close enough to see what kind.

ETA: this is in St. Augustine, Florida.

191JerBa
Redigeret: feb 5, 6:59 am

In southern Baden-Wurttemberg, close to Lake Constance
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Common Chaffinch
Eurasian Siskin
European Goldfinch

Seeing as there seem to be few European contributors, I thought I'd change things up a little

192perennialreader
feb 5, 8:44 am

Of the 14 species I saw in my yard yesterday, my 5 favorites were:

Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Cardinal
Dark-eyed Junco

193Tess_W
Redigeret: feb 8, 7:46 am

In midwest Ohio today I observed:
plethora of Blue Jays The jays are the only birds I have seen out and about even in frigid weather
Red-headed woodpecker
Northern Cardinal/both male and female
Black-headed cow-birds
tons of sparrows--probably many different types

194JerBa
Redigeret: feb 15, 1:46 pm

Spring is moving along nicely here in southern Germany: lots of song from the local birds in the mornings now. Five of today's loudest/commonest songsters are
Mistle Thrush
European Robin
Short-toed Treecreeper
Great Tit
Marsh Tit

Also the first butterfly of the year (a brimstone) in the garden today

195vwinsloe
feb 17, 10:09 am

I had two Eastern Bluebirds eating from my feeder for the very first time today!!! Whoo hoo!

Also had the usual suspects:

Red-bellied Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
American Goldfinch
House Finch

196jessibud2
feb 18, 1:42 pm

Nothing exotic but I do love the goldfinches!

Goldfinches
juncos
downy woodpecker
male and female cardinals
red-breasted nuthatch

and a -%*%# pigeon (if anyone knows how to discourage them, I'll be forever grateful!)

I'm in Toronto, Canada

197NorthernStar
feb 26, 6:25 pm

Today at my feeders in northern BC:

Black-capped chickadees,
boreal chickadees,
red-breasted nuthatches,
both downy and hairy woodpeckers,
pine grosbeaks,
evening grosbeaks,
blue jays,
common redpolls (and I'm fairly sure there were a couple of hoary redpolls in the flock), and
Canada jays.

This is more than 5, but my all of my most common winter visitors, except for the ravens.

I'm particularly happy to see the redpolls. They used to be my most common winter visitor until last year, when they almost disappeared. It was quite a change from daily flocks of 30-50 to rarely seen. This year I'm seeing small flocks of up to 20, which is still down from past years, but much better than last year. Last year the nuthatches and boreal chickadees were also rarely seen, but they only come by 1s and 2s, so it wasn't as drastic a change.

198JerBa
feb 27, 11:08 am

>197 NorthernStar: is it possible that last year there was a good seed crop in some of the local tree species and therefore no redpolls? We see that here with bramblings: when the beech trees have a mast year, there isn't a brambling to be seen in the garden, but if the crop fails they're all over the feeders like a rash...

On-topic:
Marsh Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Greenfinch
Chaffinch
Magpie

199JerBa
mar 9, 7:28 am

Hawfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Black Woodpecker, Grey-headed Woodpecker...

200vwinsloe
Redigeret: mar 25, 3:35 pm

I had at least 20 Cedar Waxwings! They've been here two or three times in the last week. Audubon told us to plant some Eastern Red Cedars because the Cedar Waxwings eat the juniper berries, and it finally paid off.

I'm continuing to get Eastern Bluebirds, too, along with Carolina Wrens, Song Sparrows and the rest of the usual suspects at my feeder.

201Tess_W
mar 26, 8:06 pm

Robin, Crow, Turkey-vulture, Red-Tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove

202ulmannc
I dag, 2:09 pm

Woodpecker (downy?), Wren, Black Capped Chicadee, some sparrows (didn't look closely), and cardinals. I hear a pileated woodpecker blasting away across the street (dispite the size, they are hard to see). SE PA