Backyard Birding II

[SoTier]

When I hunted up my old Backyard Birding thread that I started in 2020 to add a new post, I got a message that I should probably start a new thread, so here is Backyard Birding II.    I thought that my original post remains a good starting point for the thread, so I included it here.

 

A great hobby to start during this pandemic is "backyard birding" which is learning to identify the birds in and around your house and/or neighborhood.  It's a great way to get yourself, your kids, your parents and/or grandparents interested in nature and science.  It's inexpensive.  It's not complicated.  You don't even need a yard ... a neighborhood park or a cemetery or even a grassy median (like on Bidwell Parkway in Buffalo) will work.  A window overlooking your neighbor's yard might even work.

 

To get started, you need a guide to birds.  I like the Audubon Society's Field Guide to North American Birds which I have been using since the 1980s.  It's pocket size, comes with a plastic like cover, and has photos, maps, and info about each bird in it.  Field Guide to Birds.  It's less than $16.

 

If you have a yard, you can buy a bird bath and set it up in a sunny spot that you can see from one or more windows or from a deck or porch.  Even a cheap plastic one will work fine.  In addition to seeing more birds, you may actually save some by providing water in dry spells.  Remember to clean your bird bath regularly as when the birds use it, it will get messy.

 

You can bring more  birds into your yard -- and see more birds -- using bird feeders of various types -- and cost.  Especially in the spring, migrating birds are towards the end of their travels and need ready sources of food.  I feed primarily black oil sunflower seed plus suet cakes but I also feed a fruit/nut mix and peanuts.  Don't buy those bird feed mixes sold in grocery stores as they have cheap filler seeds that birds won't eat and scatter all over the ground.  Tractor Supply has a nice selection of feeders and bird seed.  If you want some guidance, try the Wild Birds Unlimited on McKinley near the mall in Blasdell.  There's also a WBU in Amherst ... on Transit I think.

 

I have my tubular sunflower feeders out year around but that's not possible if you live in bear country.  Raccoons can also be problems, especially in the summers when young ones go exploring.   Many people have luck attracting hummingbirds with feeders or by hanging gaudy fuchsia pots on their porches.  I haven't, probably because as a gardener, my hummers go for the hostas, bee balm, and trumpet vines planted in the yard.   I also plant sunflowers -- generally by cleaning up the seeds/hulls from around the feeder poles and depositing that in a sunny spot along my side fence -- which attracts clouds of goldfinches when the sunflowers ripen. 

 

The great thing about backyard birding is that it's something you can do for the entire rest of your life, even when you are very old and not very mobile.  My late step-mother, who suffered from emphysema, loved sitting on her back porch watching the hummers coming to her fuchsia plants or sitting at her kitchen table watching the chickadees and cardinals coming to her seed feeders.

[SoTier]

In 1978, the bald eagle was listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act in the continental US outside of Alaska because of the effects of pesticides that had contaminated most of the lakes and rivers. 

 

In 2007, the bald eagle was removed from that list, and since then, its numbers have continued to grow thanks primarily to the decades of efforts to improve the environment.

 

Seeing eagles in and around Jamestown hasn't become as common as seeing robins or cardinals or bluejays, but it's not that rare an event any more, either.  At least one pair of bald eagles have been nesting in the Celoron area where Chautauqua Lake empties into the Chadokoin River for several years.  You can frequently see one of the pair flying over the lake from the Lakewood boat launch.   Tuesday I was out in a friend's backyard near Jamestown Community College, and heard a faint hunting cry of what was likely a hawk.  I looked up and saw a dark bird circling around very high in the sky.  As it turned, I saw its white head, and knew it was a bald eagle.   It's apparent mate then flew into view at a somewhat lower altitude with both its white head and tail clearly visible.  Eagles!  We watched them until they disappeared to the west.   This wasn't any exotic locale or even some rural area.   It was a small backyard in a fairly densely populated urban area.

 

 

[Irv]

Always liked this thread.  I have attempted to make a Niger Seed ball using a plastic cup for a mold.  So far.  Abject failure.    

[muppy]

I live between 2 canyons and we see a lot of different kinda of birds fly by and overhead. We have your usual turtle doves, crows, sea gulls, we have our share of birds of prey happening like parrefin falcon SP*

 

 

once I heard my dog barking her fool head off. I go to see what the heck and there was a barn owl on my back patio with a broken leg. Ugly break. My neighbors helped me to capture it in a towel, put it inside a clean trash can with some towels , took it to a animal rehab place locally to see if it could be saved. That thing was  LOUD and PISSED OFF. Pobrecita.

 

it looked like this

Edited February 10 by muppy

[SoTier]

That's a barn owl, Muppy.   They are common in California.  American barn owl

[muppy]

2 hours ago, SoTier said:

That's a barn owl, Muppy.   They are common in California.  American barn owl

I saw a white owl once but don't have a picture to prove it. That was in Wyoming

 

Yes  I did know what it was. I have no clue how it suffered such a horrific break and ended up in my back yard though 

[Augie]

 

I’m sure this was covered in the original thread, but how do you feed the birds without squirrels and birds dumping enough food to attract rats? We have a bird bath, but I’d love to have more visitors. We used to have hummingbirds and painted buntings when we lived in Hilton Head and they were awesome! 

 

Our neighbor in FL had citrus trees and she would beg us to take all the fruit we could before it fell. We were feeding a bunch of critters between our houses when we let it hit the ground. No bueno. 

[SoTier]

17 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I’m sure this was covered in the original thread, but how do you feed the birds without squirrels and birds dumping enough food to attract rats? We have a bird bath, but I’d love to have more visitors. We used to have hummingbirds and painted buntings when we lived in Hilton Head and they were awesome! 

 

Our neighbor in FL had citrus trees and she would beg us to take all the fruit we could before it fell. We were feeding a bunch of critters between our houses when we let it hit the ground. No bueno. 

 

I seldom have an issue with squirrels because there's not a large squirrel population in my neighborhood, plus I have a dog whose purpose in life is to protect his turf from intruders, especially squirrels and pigeons, but for most people, there are some types squirrel resistant feeders.  For small birds, there are cylinders in wire-cages that will only allow small birds (sparrow size)  to get to the feed.  For other birds, there are both tube and platform feeders that are designed to close when heavier critters like squirrels try to get to the feed.  Squirrels are notorious for defeating most supposedly squirrel-proof deterrents, however.   Sometimes people will try to lure squirrels away from their feeders by feeding them corn, either shelled or on the cob.

 

I think that preventing rats from scavenging among discarded seed is an easier problem to deal with than raiding squirrels.  The most important thing to do is to feed quality bird seed without fillers.   "Quality bird seed" is seed that birds will eat even if it falls on the ground since some birds like doves, juncos, and cardinals like to feed on the ground or close to it.  The most common edible seeds are sunflower seeds, white millet, peanuts, and niger (thislte) seed.  Cheap seed mixes have filler seeds like milo (grain sorghum) which most North American birds don't like so the ground feeders won't clean them up.  You can also buy hulled sunflower seeds and millet so there's no debris on the ground.   I feed black oil sunflower seed, hulled millet, and peanuts in shells all in separate feeders plus a mix of hulled sunflower seeds, millet, peanuts and chopped fruit in both a hanging feeder and a platform feeder on the ground all year.   I also hang suet cakes in winter.

 

If you are a gardener, planting flowering plants that provide birds with food will also attract birds.   I don't hang hummingbird feeders because the hummer come to my garden to feed on the hostas, trumpet vine, and bee balm blooms.  I scatter some left over sunflower seed on the south side of my garage to create a sunflower patch that attracts goldfinches in clouds.  Chickadees feast on the echinacea (coneflower) seed heads all fall.  When I had a choke cherry near my pond, I would gets dozens of birds feasting on the ripe fruit, frequently birds that only visited my urban yard for the fruit like gray catbirds.   Unfortunately, I lost the tree in a storm a few years ago, and the sapling choke cherries at the end of the yard aren't bearing yet.

[Saxum]

We do have issues with rats so we need to clean up food regularly.   

We also have naughty birds which will dig through bird feeders trying to find more sunflower seeds even if feeder does not have any dumping other seeds (i.e. Safflower seeds) on ground.

 

I have stopped with the feeders now and just put out suet (interesting to see them feeding for suet spins since it on a chain), bowl of seeds dependent on weather and bread. The squirrels and rats seem to be unable to get to suets with it hanging from chain hanging on another heavy chain between fence and house so we can leave it out.

 

The bread is the most interesting thing for my wife brings some leftover wheat leftovers which are center pieces of these wraps which her teams need to separate.  Hard to describe but the birds love them and I break to pieces and the sparrows and chickadees will grab them and take bring them to area where the live. Sometimes when I go out they will line up on fence between front and back yard and wait for me to throw the bread.  

 

Sometimes the birds grab the bread and hide under my car which is usually in driveway since I work from home. Closer safe place to eat.

When we were walking our dog she was acting strange around car and we told her it is just the birds.  The birds pay her no mind and will eat with her laying less than 5 feet from seed bowl which was strange.  In evening when I was picking up leftovers seeds and bread there were unusually three pieces of their favorite bread near car so I picked them up and decided I needed to back up car and clean up under car.  When I did that I found a dead rat there with its eyes poked out and many other peck marks in face.  Only thing I can figure out is rat went under car to get food from birds and they defended their stash.  Cleaned up leaves, dirt and rat and waiting to see if birds return there to eat.  

 

 

[SoTier]

While walking my dog this morning in Bergman Park, I spotted two hawks (possibly red-tailed hawks) hunting over a large grassy field of 4 acres or so.  Their calls alerted me to look up.  Just as I located them, a crow showed up to harass them.  Mr Crow was soon joined by 3 compatriots and the hawks departed.  The behavior of crows and other smaller birds harassing raptors is called "mobbing".

Edited February 21 by SoTier

[sherpa]

20 hours ago, SoTier said:

While walking my dog this morning in Bergman Park, I spotted two hawks (possibly red-tailed hawks) hunting over a large grassy field of 4 acres or so.  Their calls alerted me to look up.  Just as I located them, a crow showed up to harass them.  Mr Crow was soon joined by 3 compatriots and the hawks departed.  The behavior of crows and other smaller birds harassing raptors is called "mobbing".

 

We have a lot of hawks around here, daily patrolling our property.

We always here the newborns in the spring in our woods.

When I first retired I looked into falconry as a hobby.

I have some property here and access to a lot more close by.

I was shocked how complicated the process was. You have to go through an apprenticeship.

Gave up that thought.

 

I did get a commercial drone license though, and did many real estate photo things.

Every time I fly the thing, the local hawks will come over and check it out.

If they get too close, which they usually do, I just zoom climb the thing.

I don't think they can figure that out, so they always back off enough for me to get things done.

 

[SoTier]

3 hours ago, sherpa said:

 

We have a lot of hawks around here, daily patrolling our property.

We always here the newborns in the spring in our woods.

When I first retired I looked into falconry as a hobby.

I have some property here and access to a lot more close by.

I was shocked how complicated the process was. You have to go through an apprenticeship.

Gave up that thought.

 

I did get a commercial drone license though, and did many real estate photo things.

Every time I fly the thing, the local hawks will come over and check it out.

If they get too close, which they usually do, I just zoom climb the thing.

I don't think they can figure that out, so they always back off enough for me to get things done.

 

 

I have always loved raptors, going back to when I was a kid growing up in the country and would hear screech owls in the nearby woods.   They're my favorite birds. 

 

[SoTier]

Today's sighting at Bergman Park -- a flock of a dozen turkey vultures apparently drinking from some large puddles in a dirt roadway at the back end of the park.   I saw one swinging low over the field well before my dog and I came around the shoulder of the hill, so I knew they were there.   I expected to see a carcass but there was nothing there, so it had to be the water.  They were very big with huge wing spans.

 

It was interesting to watch them fly off.   They all faced the same direction -- southwest, into the wind -- before taking off when they realized I was coming their way.  I guess that was the best way to get air under their big wings.   They also took off in three waves as if they were in a formation rather than in a single flock like pigeons or ducks might do.   Normally, vultures nest and roost on cliffs so that they can catch thermals to help lift them, so that was quite surprising!

[DrW]

This morning my wife sends me a text message saying: "There are geese in our front yard, enjoying the sprinklers." Canada and Cackling Geese are nothing special in our suburban neighborhood. Thus, I did not bother to have a look and stayed in bed. A few minutes later a pic arrives, and it turns out the "geese" are... Turkeys. I would have loved to see them and add them to my "yard list".

 

The "geese"...

 

 

Edited March 4 by DrW

[Saxum]

I had a turkey vulture on top of my gazebo on my back porch facing the 2.5 wooded acre lot behind house.

No dead animals in my yard that I know of so I am assuming it was looking for a flat raised spot to rest while looking/scenting for food in wooded acre lot.

[SinceThe70s]

This doesn't qualify as backyard birding, but back in January my two sons and I were playing a round of disc golf at Heckscher State Park on Long Island - it's right on the Great South Bay. It was a foggy day to begin with that got progressively worse and then as it got late in the day and was getting dark visibility was ridiculously low. The course was empty and there were no bikers or dog walkers. Not gonna lie - it was getting kind of creepy without what happened next.

 

Walking between holes there's a marshy area that you cross and all of a sudden to our left we here this extremely loud noise, look over through the fog and can barely make out a freaking huge bird taking off to fly away from us. I'm gonna guess it was 10 yards away but it all happened so fast and was so disconcerting that I can't say for sure - except that this bird was freaking huge and close and the flapping wings was loud.

 

After consultation with an expert - my sister who does a lot of boating on the Great South Bay - the operative guess is it was a Great Blue Heron (up to 6 foot wingspan) but honestly there's no way to know for sure, could have been a pterodactyl as far as I was concerned.

 

Good times.

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

9 hours ago, Punching Bag said:

I had a turkey vulture on top of my gazebo on my back porch facing the 2.5 wooded acre lot behind house.

No dead animals in my yard that I know of so I am assuming it was looking for a flat raised spot to rest while looking/scenting for food in wooded acre lot.

[SoTier]

On 3/3/2024 at 8:31 PM, SinceThe70s said:

This doesn't qualify as backyard birding, but back in January my two sons and I were playing a round of disc golf at Heckscher State Park on Long Island - it's right on the Great South Bay. It was a foggy day to begin with that got progressively worse and then as it got late in the day and was getting dark visibility was ridiculously low. The course was empty and there were no bikers or dog walkers. Not gonna lie - it was getting kind of creepy without what happened next.

 

Walking between holes there's a marshy area that you cross and all of a sudden to our left we here this extremely loud noise, look over through the fog and can barely make out a freaking huge bird taking off to fly away from us. I'm gonna guess it was 10 yards away but it all happened so fast and was so disconcerting that I can't say for sure - except that this bird was freaking huge and close and the flapping wings was loud.

 

After consultation with an expert - my sister who does a lot of boating on the Great South Bay - the operative guess is it was a Great Blue Heron (up to 6 foot wingspan) but honestly there's no way to know for sure, could have been a pterodactyl as far as I was concerned.

 

Good times.

 

 

 

Even in good weather, Great Blue Herons in flight look odd.  In fog and diminishing light, they definitely have to look like something out of "Jurassic Park"!

[Sweats]

If by "backyard birding" you mean shaking my junk at the neighbors every morning, I've been "backyard birding" for years.

[Saxum]

On 3/5/2024 at 12:41 PM, Sweats said:

If by "backyard birding" you mean shaking my junk at the neighbors every morning, I've been "backyard birding" for years.

 

So your neighbors think the chickadee taking roost in your yard is cute.