Posted on 03/05/2005 8:07:37 AM PST by sweetliberty
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As it turned out, the previous thread on this topic generated a lot of interest and several people recommended doing it as a regular thread, so here is the second installment.
How you go about creating a bird sanctuary in your yard, or outdoor space, will depend on a number of givens, some which can modified, and others over which you have no control. One of these is geographical location or climate zone. If you live in the Colorado Rockies, you are not going to attract Cardinals, no matter how many black oil sunflower seeds you put out, and if you're on a beach in Florida, it's a pretty safe bet that there will be no snow buntings visiting your yard, the cornucopia of insects notwithstanding. Of course, if global warming keeps encroaching on us, we may soon find Alaska overrun with Parrots and Flamingos, but, I digress.
Within any given area, there are a variety of habitats, so no matter what your specific location, it is possible to vastly increase the types and numbers of birds in your immediate environment by modifying your habitat to make it more bird friendly to a wider array of birds native to your region.
Another "given" is your available space. If you live in a cottage in the woods by a stream, you will obviously have a lot more options available to you than if you live in an urban apartment with nothing more than a small porch or balcony. Of course, I think the majority of us live somewhere between those extremes. The point is, even if you have nothing more than a porch, you can still make it bird friendly, thereby increasing your enjoyment of these highly entertaining creatures. If you don't even have so much as a porch, I would suggest moving!
The purpose of this thread is to share ideas for maximizing our outdoor spaces to make them appealing to birds and butterflies, to share our experiences and knowledge or expertise, photos and resources. The discussion is pretty free-flowing and may expand to include gardening, landscaping and related topics. The direction the thread takes will really be up to the FReepers who post on it. We can focus on a different topic every week or two, or just keep it open and casual, updating the thread periodically. The main thing is that we learn and have fun.
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Where's the black? On the wings, stomach, head, back, all of the above?
Not a common murre is it? black and white. They are normally a coastal bird. I've seen them in the Seward and Prince William Sound areas. They're about 16-17 inches long compared to a raven's 22-27 inches.
Not a common murre. Midway between gray jay and raven in size and posture, shape. Not a gull at all. At first I thought it was a raven from its song, which could have been a raven having some fun, and from first glance it was ravenlike until I noticed the white. In flight it shows a lot of white. The color is coal black and brilliant white in large solid areas, wings and body. There may have been a second one, but probably not. Thin bill, moderate length. Seemed shy and uncertain. Almost seemed tame, flew off slowly, but a big, strong bird about half the weight of a raven.
Found the following mention of a white raven in Fairbanks: (http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/articles/ADNWhtRavenFbx.htm). Maybe it had some mixed color offspring.
Other birds that came up in my search include the swallow-tailed kite. Large black and white hawklike bird 22 inches long, weight about 40% of a raven. But it would be thousands of miles out of range.
Maybe you have an accidental from Asia. (Watch out for the bird flu.)
You might try ABR Inc. there in Fairbanks. They've got some bird experts on staff.
I see that I needed to put a space after the htm in my link.
http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/articles/ADNWhtRavenFbx.htm
Not a raptor. Not the 'white' raven. Still thinking magpie, somebody's pet bird that got out.
You can find a recording of an Australian magpie here: http://www.northamptonshirewildlife.co.uk/sgallery.htm
Sound like your bird?
The Australian magpie is a close match in many ways. This one had more white and the colors were more sharply defined on the edges. Like the Dell cow spot box. I didn't have something shiny to lure it in if it was a magpie. Unless the bird was way off course, it was probably somebody's pet and I hope it has the sense to get out of town if it can't deal with cold weather. Winter is coming. He can probably take 40 below, but I wonder about his food supply. There was an alpaca loose here last summer, nobody could catch it but it didn't make it. Escaped pet.
Hubby and I were getting our morning coffee when ALL the birds around the hummingbird feeder went ballistic!
It was just getting light, and looking outside, we saw a Great Plains rat snake hanging from the oak tree with a hummingbird in its coils.
Hubby got some great pictures, and I posted them on my website so it wouldn't hog JimRob's bandwidth:
If you hate snakes, DON'T look
(and for all you fellow fans of our little feathered FRiends....the poor little hummer was already dead when we found them.)
:(
I fret some over mine. There are so many of them, and there are two cats that are always hanging around lately watching the feeders. I've taken to feeding the cats in hopes that full bellies will make them less inclined to see the bird feeders as "cat feeders."
Some of the birds have been behaving strangely today. Pretty funny. I watched as the Bluebirds chased off the Cardinals so they could have their evening bath undisturbed. Then one of the hummers actually chased a Chickadee off his spot on the wire where he jealously guards "his" feeder." At one point, he came back and there was a Goldfinch hanging on the wire that supports the hummingbird feeder. Hummer looked a bit surprised, like "what's up with that?"
It's nice to actually have a day that I can watch them a bit. I've been working days, evenings and weekends for weeks now. I did work for a little while this morning, but enough is enough. I decided to just come home and relax. It isn't like the work is going anywhere.
I'm a little late to this thread, but those are great pictures. What type of camera are you using. With mine I have to get so close that the subjects fly away!
I'm hoping to attract more birds to the yard this winter. We also need to get a couple houses out, ours had to be taken down since the wood was rotting.
Love birds and we enjoy the cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, robins, waxwings and many others in our yard!
Amazing pictures indeed! Sad to be sure but what are you gonna do? I wonder how the snake caught the Hummer. I'd think that a Hummer would be one of the most challenging prey for a snake..... always flitting about and all.
I awoke to a swarm of Blue Jays this am who were scolding a Hawk who was hiding out in the trees awaiting the usual activity to begin down below at the feeders. Jays are commonly the first birds to alert on threats and other birds benefit from their vigilance.
Thanks for the ping.
Good for you! No one can do their best work without taking time to 'recharge'.
You said the birds were acting funny......maybe they were gossiping about how they were all actually getting to SEE the lady that fills their feeders!
LOL!
LOL!
The best we can figure is that the snake was in the tree waiting for the pre-dawn feeders.
With hummers darting toward the feeder, then backwards away from it, he probably got her when she was traveling backwards toward the overhanging tree limb.
Those types of snakes are practically invisible against the bark... the UP side is that snakes typically MISS more often than not.
Another interesting aspect was that after the snake was on the ground, it struck at my husband a couple of times while several hummers dove at it.
The University of Texas has good info on the snake. Hubby sent them the pictures to see if they'd like to use them on their website.
We usually only have ruby throats here but I don't think that's what this one is.
It seems that there are fewer male hummers around and the females have taken to guarding the feeders. Are they like some other species where the males go ahead to find their winter habitat? There are a couple of males around, but it seems they're outnumbered by the females by at least 5 to 1, maybe more.
I'm not really sure. You have about the same male/female ratio that we do. Male Ruby Throats are tolerant of females around the feeders, but instantly attack if another male approaches it.
I know hummers send out scouts ahead of the mass migration, but I don't know if those scouts are exclusively male or not.
Unlike most other birds, Hummers aren't monogamous.
Some birds, such as House Wrens and hummingbirds, have multiple mates. This practice is rare, occurring in only about 2 percent of bird species. And when it does happen, it generally is difficult for the male to provide proper care for all of his broods. The males are most successful at this in habitats that are rich in resources.
After hummingbirds mate, the male will court and mate with another female. Females raise the babies alone. Closely related species of hummingbirds will mate with each other with crosses occurring between Anna’s and Costa’s hummingbirds.
I was watching a male Cardinal last night. There were two females on the ground next to him. He gave some food to one. He then went to give some food to the other. She seemed to get very indignant and flew away. He sat there looking confused like, "what'd I do?" I actually think Cardinals are mongamous, though, aren't they? Not sure what that was about. Perhaps one of them was one of the juveniles. It was getting dark, so I couldn't see them real clearly.
Some birds are only "seasonally" monogamous, or are monogamous for as long as the breeding season lasts. At the next breeding season, they usually find a different mate.
Perhaps one of them was one of the juveniles.
ROFL! Juvenile Cardinals have more than their share of 'tude. We had one female last year that had 3 juveniles to feed...2 males and a female. They spent a LOT of time during the day screaming at her from the fence, the trees, or any other place they thought they could be heard- "Feed ME!" "Feed ME!".
Poor thing was worn to a frazzle by the time they were old enough to find their own food!
:)
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