Occasional birdy thread....

May 7, 2016 | FReepers

[patriot08]

Thank you. So nice of you to make a nice comment on my paltry little photos. :)

[Paleo Pete]

I just checked out the first link I saw in a search for Chickadee nesting. Saw what I needed, didn't have to look further. I look up birds and other things all the time, sometimes I get lucky and the first link or two I try works out, sometimes I search for 20 minutes without finding a thing worth using as a reference...

I pasted the wrong link, here's the Yellow Breasted Chat that should have been in the previous post.

I started building Bluebird nesting boxes around 30 years ago, had 3 in the back yard at one time, all 3 used every year for around 10 years. Now I have 2, a Chickadee box, and one built for Tufted Titmouse but the Prothonotary Warblers seem to have taken it over.

I put in the 2 Bluebird boxes, 1st one was in use in a couple of days, 2nd one had residents almost as fast but Carolina Chickadees were competing for it, still do 3 years later. So I looked up the info, Chickadees like an entry hole 1 1/8" diameter so I built one. Second day it was up I watched a Tufted Titmouse try and peck at the entry hole to enlarge it, so I looked up more info and built them one too. Entry hole 1 1/4". (Bluebirds like 1 1/4 to 1 1/2, I use 1 3/8.)

Nothing happened for a month or more then one day I saw a yellow streak fly across the yard when I went to get the mail so I sat at the door and watched. I was surprised to see this little bird come back later and pop into the next, Prothonotary Warbler. Not the best shot I have but my internet connection sucks, half the pages don't want to load...

Then later on last summer this is who moved into the box after the birds moved on.

That's a macro taken with the 135mm ens and an extension tube.

Not easy to decide what else to post, I have just over 1500 shots on Flickr, but I think I promised someone a Kingfisher shot...

Female Belted Kingfisher taken with Pentax K-x DSLR and Vivitar 200mm M42 lens several years ago. Lucky shot, I had very little time to focus, never expected to get anything close to this...she flew over before I could react, I was looking the other direction, then turned and flew back toward me, I caught her in mid turn.

A more recent shot, with the replacement 200mm Vivitar, the lens is not as good as my first one, but now and then I get a keeper. This is an immature Little Blue Heron. First year birds are white, 2nd year are mottled grey and white, at the end of the 2nd year they develop their adult plumage coloring.

Guess that's it for now, I have loads more at my Flicker page if anyone would like to look.

Flickr Page

[EinNYC]

Loved it! Thanks.

[fidelis]

Great shots. Thanks for sharing.

[Hot Tabasco]

Nice photos, thanks!

BTW, in the last photo of the bird house, that's one ugly bird...........LOL!

Is it a toad?

[Islander7]

Been superb here in the highlands. Rare this time of year.

[Islander7]

Thanks for contributing to the thread. I love the pelican shot. They are such clowns on land, but masters of the air.

[Engraved-on-His-hands]

Neat!

[Islander7]

There isn’t much you can do short of covering the window. He will keep up until he kills himself. Had one do the same thing to the outside mirror on my truck. He mangled his beak so badly he could no longer eat.

[Islander7]

Thanks for your pics. Very nice work.

[patriot08]

Thanks.
I happened to be down at the marina here in Corpus, Tx where the shrimp boats come in, and saw all the pelicans lined up waiting for a ‘handout.’ The shrimpers would occasionally toss them a fish or something they found in their nets.
They would all scramble for it, then line up and wait patiently for the next handout.
I thought it was really cute. :)

[patriot08]

Native Texan:
“Your photography is outstanding..”

__________________

I agree. Absolutely magnificent.

Did you know that where I live (Corpus Christi, Tx) is considered the ‘birdiest place in Tx? (USA?)

We get many bird watchers from all over the U.S :)

Wish I had a camera and the know how to capture some of the birds here. :)

.
.

[Paleo Pete]

Some sort of frog or toad, probably either Gray Treefrog or Bird Voiced Treefrog, hard to tell without a close inspection. Probably a Frog, the terms are generally confusing, but a toad is actually still a frog. “A true Toad is a member of the family Bufonidae, while a frog is any anuran, hence a Toad is also a Frog”. (Harper and Row’s Complete Field Guide to North American Wildlife, Eastern edition)

I didn’t try to take the frog out and handle it, just took some pictures. THe major differences are small, type of webbing on the feet, warty or fairly smooth skin, and Toads generally have a large paratiod gland at the shoulders. (Don’t ask me what that is, I haven’t read into the descriptions.) So I would probably have to take it out and handle it, look at the overall camo pattern and check for that gland.

Thanks everyone for the compliments.

[Ditter]

This Cardinal is only his way to killing himself. He doesn’t keep at it for as long and he doesn’t hit it as hard as he did.

[Ditter]

On is way not only.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I love them all. What an amazing journey they make each season, just to make us smile...and drain our pocketbooks for birdseed, LOL! (It’s worth it!)

[FamiliarFace]

***I love them all. What an amazing journey they make each season, just to make us smile...and drain our pocketbooks for birdseed, LOL! (It’s worth it!)***

I agree, it’s so very worth it! My pocketbook is most definitely draining more quickly in the last year since we installed a feeding system. Most everyone in my family marvels at the variety of birds we see here in central Indiana. We are blessed to have so many feathered friends.

[MotorCityBuck]

Hello Fellow Michigander! Sorry about not responding. The weather here last weekend was finally yard work worthy. My favorite is the Cardinal. Mostly the female as of late. As I have been setting up more bird feeders around my place I have gotten a better look at them. There very cool in there own right, and have more colors than the male. I am in full agreement on the Robin as the State Bird. He chickens out come Winter. LOL. Maybe the Chicken would be better as I see more, and more around my area. Many neighbors are raising them now. Crazy. However as long as they don’t bark ALL Day at me I’m OK with it.☺ The Robins around my area also do not look good Color wise. They are faded, and don’t look right. More like the Bird version of the Walking Dead! Enjoy the coming weather!! MCB

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Well worth it. If anyone complains about your bird seed bills each month, just tell them, “It keeps me out of the bars!”

LOL! :)

[TheConservativeParty]

Hey there! Sittin’ here in the sunroom, enjoying the many birds at my feeders.

Wonder if you want to do a new post about winter bird sightings.

Chickadees, nuthatches, yellow finches , woodpeckers of 2 kinds, etc.

That’s some of the birds visiting my feeders today in southern Wisconsin.