Posted on 02/06/2016 10:52:59 AM PST by Islander7
Hey there! Been missing your bird threads. Looked out the window this morning and saw several doves fighting over the bird feeders. Inspired me to ease up the road a bit to an osprey nest I've been keeping an eye on.
The pair there have raised their fledges for at least the past four years. This is likely their time using this nest as the rotting pine sways precariously in even the slightest breeze.
At any rate, I thought about you. Hope you are well and able to get out.
Enjoy!
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I’m pretty lucky to get to see Pileated Woodeckers almost every day here in central Indiana. Last spring/early summer, I got to see 4 of them at once. I believe the mom was showing the two kids where the food was (one of our feeders), but I didn’t grab my binoculars in enough time to discern if the fourth was another female or dear daddy. It was a sight to see, and a wonderfully noisy several minutes from my family room window.
I finally ID’d my first Sharp-shinned Hawk just the other day. I was so excited to finally figure out who he was.
What a cool job!
Love your photos! Which are the birds in your fifth and sixth photos? A yellow bird and the one after it? Thank you! I’ve never seen those two before.
Is your first photo an indigo bunting?
But it might be a she, not a he. In the accipiter group (sharp-shinned, Cooper's, and northern goshawk), the females are bigger than the males.
Yeah, I know, scary stuff...
***About 3 years ago I watched 2 male Pileateds fighting over a female, that was quite a sight!***
That’s pretty cool!
And that is an indigo bunting in the other photo.
Yes it was VERY cool! We have very tall water oaks in our yard and in the neighbors yards on both sides. The Pileateds flitted around high up in the trees but in clear view of us on the ground for nearly an hour. The female followed the males around cheering them on the entire time. I hope I get to see that again!
Thank you, I guess I haven’t seen the goldfinch that closeup before. We have them all the time, but I’ve forgotten that they are so bright yellow. Right now they are still olive colored here, and will return to the bright yellow closer to the spring.
I have seen a rose-breasted grosbeak one time, but couldn’t figure him out for quite a while. As you may have guessed, I’m a newcomer to birdwatching, but I have several feeders (8?) set up for viewing from my big picture window. We live at the edge of the woods and have a small creek several hundred feet away from our home, too, so we do see a decent variety.
I hope to see an indigo bunting sometime, but I must be in the wrong location. I’m still very new to Indiana, but am loving it here. The birds are helping me make the adjustment!
Hmmm, I don’t know whether it was male or female then. There was no other object for me to compare it to, but I’m guessing it was around 15-16”. Are the females markings different? What should I look for the next time I see it? It’s come around twice in the last week.
1) The female Cooper's is the largest. If it looks real big, it's a female Cooper's.
2) The male sharp-shinned is real little (relatively). If it looks real little, it's a male sharp-shinned.
Now the problems: the male Cooper's is barely bigger than the female sharpie. And they look a lot alike. But here are some helpful ID tips:
Cooper's Hawks have rounded tail tips while sharpies have squared off tail tips. Also, Cooper's Hawks have big, prominent heads (the birder slang is blockhead), while sharpies have small heads with almost no neck (birder slang is pinhead).
Nevertheless, sometimes the ID can't be definitively made. On my survey form, one of the options is "Unknown Accipiter." Even expert birders will be forced to use that option occasionally.
They’re fun to have around. There have been four at our place for a while. Noisy, rowdy and having a good time.
Thanks!
Yes, indeed I love Texas.
You’ve no idea how hard it was for me getting all that stuff on the ‘bio’ page. (I’m such a dummy when it comes to computers LOL )
Yes, you’re correct about where the Whoopers were photographed.
Add me please
It seems like it had a smaller head, and I’m almost certain it had the squared off tail. It was smaller than most of the other hawks I see around here, like the Cooper’s or the Red-shouldered ones I see from time to time. It had a few very quick pumps of its wings and then had a short glide when it flew away. I’m not very good at determining size when it’s not close by and there’s not really anything to compare it to close to it. I guess I should work on that. Thanks so much for your expertise.
West/central Wisc.
Yes.
Great shots! What kind of camera do you use?
Panasonic DMZ-TZ5...an old cheapo.
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