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        Daily Chat >> General Posts >> Drat!
        
(Message started by: George_J on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:17pm)

Title: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:17pm

Was just sitting in the back of the house, fiddling on the computer, when I heard a series of loud "eeeeeeeeeeeee" "eeeeeeeeeeee" noises from the bird-feeding station in the back yard. It's the noise nearly all small birds make when they spot a hawk.

Then a gorgeous, fully mature Red-Tailed Hawk came barreling in for a landing. I don't think he was there for the birdseed.

Made a run for the digital camera, but he was gone by the time I came back. So no photos. :'(

Bummer.

Best,

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by BMoneeTheMoneeMan on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:19pm

U saying one of the small birds became lunch?

Ewww, that's disgusting. I am calling PETA!!

;)

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:22pm

on 01/15/08 at 16:19:21, BMoneeTheMoneeMan wrote:

U saying one of the small birds became lunch?

Ewww, that's disgusting. I am calling PETA!!

;)

Could be.

I'm going to keep an eye out, though. Maybe he'll come back for seconds.

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by LeLimey on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:22pm

Did you lay some fresh basil on the feeder tray forthe hawk George?! ;;D

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by LeLimey on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:23pm

... see if I had a knife I could cut some for you - not that I'm trying to labour the point or anything y'know...

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:27pm

on 01/15/08 at 16:23:43, LeLimey wrote:

... see if I had a knife I could cut some for you - not that I'm trying to labour the point or anything y'know...

Very thoughtful of you. I appreciate your willingness to help.

[smiley=eek.gif]

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by Paul98 on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:37pm

on 01/15/08 at 16:22:50, LeLimey wrote:

Did you lay some fresh basil on the feeder tray forthe hawk George?! ;;D

Whoever put the thought of a kinfe in the young'ins head is goona get it!

-P.

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by kimh on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:40pm

leave him some sammiges and keep yer eyes peeled ;;D

chips! (i mean cheers)
stinko

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by Annette on Jan 15^th, 2008, 4:53pm

He may have youngs in a nest somewhere nearby, and hopefully will come back for 2nds and 3rds and ....

Did you erect a sign for the littler birds to come eat at their own risk ? :P

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 15^th, 2008, 5:38pm

on 01/15/08 at 16:53:48, Annette wrote:

Did you erect a sign for the littler birds to come eat at their own risk ? :P

I probably should. We had a Cooper's Hawk zap a quail in the back yard about a week ago. The Red-Tail today was bigger--pretty impressive.

Ellen's chickens sure made themselves scarce--although I've installed netting over the chicken run to eliminate aerial assaults.

I guess when you feed birds, you feed ALL the birds, one way or another.

Best,

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by Annette on Jan 15^th, 2008, 7:51pm

Wow George, you are so lucky you get to see hawks in action in your own backyard ! Thats special !

I would love to be able to sit behind the glass door/window there with my camera :)

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by DennisM1045 on Jan 15^th, 2008, 8:02pm

Ok George, your plan is plain to see now. Your bird feeder is really just bait for birds of prey [smiley=laugh.gif]

We're loaded with Red-tails up here. They are impressive birds. Last summer two of them came to rest in trees in our back yard. We watched them throught the sliding glass doors till they rested up and flew away.

-Dennis-

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by kayarr on Jan 16^th, 2008, 10:32pm

We've got three owls and at least one hawk here. The owls screech every night around 10:00. I noticed the hawk when the cat was running toward us and the hawk landed a close branch since the cat had gotten too close the the house and the humans.

We've seen a cougar by the shed and had a coyote run along the inside of the side yard fence.

Fun thing that happened was Jeff and I were walking in the wood out back and the owl pooped right on his bald head. We laughed very hard! Love Birds!

:)

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 16^th, 2008, 11:46pm

on 01/15/08 at 20:02:17, DennisM1045 wrote:

Ok George, your plan is plain to see now. Your bird feeder is really just bait for birds of prey [smiley=laugh.gif]

You may be right, Dennis. Ellen told me that the Cooper's Hawk was back today when she got home from school. Sounds like he missed getting a quail though--they miss a lot. ;)

Best,

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by cynjeep89 on Jan 17^th, 2008, 12:09am

I've noticed a lot of mourning doves around here lately....more than usual, actually. I get a kick of the sounds they make when they take flight....kind of like a whiffle ball flying by at high speed. :)

We also have a beautiful red fox and her baby at the park across the street. Momma fox will let the baby wander a little bit away from her and then lets out a "yip" to call him back. Little guy has learned to listen to Mama very well.

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by artonio7 on Jan 17^th, 2008, 6:12am

George you'd be the right person to ask and I apologize in advance for hijacking the thread......

I've recently noticed a few birds that I haven't seen in these parts before... I've never been able to get a good picture of them so please bear with me as I attempt to describe them.

The male is about four or five inches long from tip to tip and has a bluish cast to his top feathers and a peachy to pale orange belly. The female is about the same size but grayish. They have a very similar shape to a common sparrow.

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by deltadarlin on Jan 17^th, 2008, 8:57am

Hmm, could it be any of these?

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/191/overview/Barn_Swallow.aspx

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by artonio7 on Jan 17^th, 2008, 9:06am

on 01/17/08 at 08:57:50, deltadarlin wrote:

Hmm, could it be any of these?

http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/191/overview/Barn_Swallow.aspx

Kinda... 'cept it's tail wasn't as pointy and it didn't have such bright coloration.

Thanks though that's a cool resource!

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 17^th, 2008, 11:18am

on 01/17/08 at 06:12:40, artonio7 wrote:

on 01/17/08 at 09:06:18, artonio7 wrote:

Kinda... 'cept it's tail wasn't as pointy and it didn't have such bright coloration.

No hijack, Tony. Threads go where they go.
;)

I'm going to go on a few assumptions here, and a few speculations...

First of all, it's winter where you are, so I'll rule out the summer migrants. Second, when most people describe a "common sparrow", they're referring to the ubiquitous and foreign English Sparrow. So when they say that something is "sparrow-like", they're often describing not just the size, but an overall impression--behavior, movement, and so forth. So I'm guessing it's a medium-sized finch, about the size of an English Sparrow.

I'm also guessing that you live in an area that's either urban or suburban--at any rate, a place where there are quite a few people around. Finally, I'll limit it to birds that live in your area.

Here's my first guess--if it's wrong, we can try to narrow it down further.

http://sdakotabirds.com/species/photos/house_finch.JPG

A House Finch--Carpodacus mexicanus

The males have a lot of individual variation. The one in the picture is more reddish than many--they're often very definitely orangish or peachy on the breast and head. Some are quite pale, and some have the reddish or orangish color limited to the breast, with no coloration on the head. They've very successfully adapted to living around people.

Let me know if this seems right.

All the best,

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by artonio7 on Jan 17^th, 2008, 6:23pm

Thanks George,

I've got the house finch which builds its nests every year in my awnings... the cats love giving the babies voice lessons from inside the window.

It's not them. Yep I do live in a suburbanesque setting. These birds seem to be attracted to the Arrowwood Viburnum. The blue on their back is not vibrant and the peachy orange on their chest is a bit muted.

Hope that clears it up... lol

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 18^th, 2008, 12:02am

Hm.

Do they have a thick bill or a thin bill?

For now I'll presume we're talking about a thick-billed finch, like a House Finch or an English Sparrow.

When your birds are in the Viburnum, do they hang around in the bushes, jumping around from branch to branch, or do they hop around on the ground?

If they hop around on the ground, and sort of hide out at the base of the bushes where you can hear them scratching, that's pretty characteristic of Towhees. Here's a picture of an Eastern Towhee:

http://www.outdooralabama.com/watchable-wildlife/images/eastern%20towhee.jpg

Towhees are about the size of an English Sparrow, but they have a noticeably longer tail, that they usually hold up at around a 45 degree angle.

Are we getting any closer? :)

Actually, this is kind of fun.

Best,

George

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by artonio7 on Jan 18^th, 2008, 9:08am

wow... the Towhee's a pretty bird but not the lil bugger in question. Mine has a solid one tone breast, but the body type is similar in shape and size as well as the beak.
When in the Viburnum, they hang around in the bushes, jumping around from branch to branch.

This is fun. :)

with warm regards,
Tony

Title: Re: Drat!
Post by George_J on Jan 18^th, 2008, 10:08am

Well, I think they're going for the blueish-black berries that cling to your Arrowwood Viburnum during the winter--lots of finches, juncos, chickadees, waxwings, and other fruit-and-seed-eating birds will feed on Viburnum berries.

Any distinctive markings on the head or wings? Stripes, spots, etc.? Is the head the same color as the back? Have you noticed what color the legs are?

We'll figure this out.... ;)

Best,

George