Look! A bird!

[mamselle]

Old forumites who attended the Kalamazoo meet up a few years back will remember the kerfuffle among the placid ducks and geese on the pond in the hollows near the K'zoo gazebo...

Two swans, squawking and dive-bombing the pond, scattered those poor birds soooo fast...then settled down into the open water they'd cleared, preening themselves as if to say, " See, it was really US you wanted to see, wasn't it???"

We were laughing so hard after we got over the shock...

M.

[Thursday's_Child]

Was in the bird food store a few days ago and overheard an 'I saw this odd bird in my feeder - can you tell from this crappy photo on my phone what it is?' discussion that ended up concluding it was an oriole.  I now have added grape jelly to the offerings, just in case there's one around!

[apl68]

While walking on a recent blustery morning, I saw a buzzard flying low enough overhead to see its legs.  I'd never seen one blown this way and that so dramatically.  It was either having a great time playing around, or desperately trying to regain control of its flight.  Or maybe both.

[apl68]

I had been hearing a rooster crowing on a residential street on my morning walks.  Not too surprising in our town.  But then I heard ducks quacking too.  Who keeps ducks in the middle of town?  I had to satisfy my curiosity by walking down the alley and peeking into the yard.  Sure enough, they had both chickens and ducks in their backyard pens.  And a big rabbit.  I felt sorry for the ducks not having even a tiny pond to float in.

[Thursday's_Child]

Available for about the next 10 hours only, although I'm sure they'll post it to the FB group - underwater video of an Anhinga hunting on the Coral City Camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i8ARjIeM2k.  Scroll back to 9:39:50

[namazu]

Available for about the next 10 hours only, although I'm sure they'll post it to the FB group - underwater video of an Anhinga hunting on the Coral City Camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i8ARjIeM2k.  Scroll back to 9:39:50

Oh, wow!  That's really cool.  It's around -3:51:30 relative to the end of the video.

[nebo113]

Got within about 20 feet of a wood stork feeding in a pond.  I was in a golf cart on a little bridge going over the pond, and it completely ignored us.  Took photos with my phone....then sorta hopped around giggling with awe.

[AmLitHist]

A northern mockingbird spent most of yesterday afternoon on the suet feeder on my front porch. I hope he stays through the spring and summer!

This morning, Kid #1 saw a banded kingfisher near her farmhouse.  I haven't seen one of those since I was a kid.

[Thursday's_Child]

Available for about the next 10 hours only, although I'm sure they'll post it to the FB group - underwater video of an Anhinga hunting on the Coral City Camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i8ARjIeM2k.  Scroll back to 9:39:50

Oh, wow!  That's really cool.  It's around -3:51:30 relative to the end of the video.

Glad you liked it!  It's actually not a video, but a live cam with the previous 12 hours available on rewind - and there's a link in the description for all the neat timestamps, so you don't have to watch all the time.  Despite being mostly fish, it's one of the cams that's been a life-saver for me during Covid.  There are some neat birdfeeder cams, too - Cornell, one in South Africa, at least one in Central America - Costa Rica IIRC.

[namazu]

Available for about the next 10 hours only, although I'm sure they'll post it to the FB group - underwater video of an Anhinga hunting on the Coral City Camera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i8ARjIeM2k.  Scroll back to 9:39:50

Oh, wow!  That's really cool.  It's around -3:51:30 relative to the end of the video.

Glad you liked it!  It's actually not a video, but a live cam with the previous 12 hours available on rewind - and there's a link in the description for all the neat timestamps, so you don't have to watch all the time.  Despite being mostly fish, it's one of the cams that's been a life-saver for me during Covid.  There are some neat birdfeeder cams, too - Cornell, one in South Africa, at least one in Central America - Costa Rica IIRC.

Yes, Cornell's Ornithology Lab has some great webcams.  Soon it will be nesting season for some of their featured birds.  I'm a big fan of the barred owls. 

Not live, but I recently enjoyed a documentary about a hummingbird nesting on a clothesline on someone's covered porch.


In my neck of the woods, I recently saw some towhees, which, despite being regionally fairly abundant, I rarely see. They were at a local farm where I get my eggs and produce.

[FishProf]

I saw an Eastern Bluebird today.  It is way to cold and early for that!

[nebo113]

Is anyone doing the Great Backyard Bird Count?

[Thursday's_Child]

Pine siskins in the feeder this morning after years of absence!  They, and the goldfinches and bluebirds, seemed to be mostly eating peanut pieces.  Chipping sparrows have also recently re-appeared.  If any other birds want to head out of the frozen stuff, I've got the welcome mat rolled out.

[apl68]

Some of the birds have been singing nicely in between spells of sleet.  They're not letting the weather stop them!  I was probably the only mammal stirring outside around here this morning.

[nebo113]

Yesterday was a good day for bird watching, perhaps because it was warm and sunny after days of chill and rain.  Northern harrier soaring behind the house.  Red tailed hawk soaring out front.  Went looking for spoonbill, but not where it had been reported, but did see bitterns, snowy egrets, great egrets.  Then saw a kestrel and another woodstork.  The wood storks are fascinating.  The other day I saw one feeding; it would wriggle one foot underwater, then snatch up a tidbit.  The wriggle the other foot and snatch up a tidbit.  The one I saw yesterday was sitting on the grass next to a pond, and I got with about 10 feet (in a golf cart) and it just sat there and sat there and sat there, until my dog startled it and it lumbered into the air.  And saw two gaters, one huge grand daddy on the grass a ways away from me, and one with its nose poking above the water in the pond, next to the wood stork.

Wish yesterday had been part of the GBBC.