2017: For the Birds and Bird lovers CAUTION LARGE PHOTOS

Should I relax the Image Rules for this Thread

  • Yes, with a warning about large images

    Votes: 5 100.0%
  • Yes, but in the way I will explain in a post

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No; standard AW image rules are fine

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    5
  • Poll closed .

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I'm currently in New England, the opposite coast from my now-home, but a place I used to call home.

The birds are both similar, and very different. I thought I'd start keeping a list of the birds I see as I see them, and maybe, even post some pictures.

I'm posting pictures or links to them as I see the birds, even of the common birds.

I'd love it if others would join me. If you don't have a picture, go ahead and link to one!

ETA: I added a poll about images in this thread.

ETA: As Admin, and in discussion with El Jefe, I'm relaxing the image constraints for this thread. These are the usual size constraints. Let's see what works best, but I'm going to ask people to use 72 DPI, still, and I'd suggest trying to keep images within say 800 x 800.

Remember that you can alway link to a spiffy, large hi-res version.
 
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Chris P

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Ooh! Birding is one thing I really wish I had more time for.

At the in-laws over Christmas in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I saw a bunch of evening grosbeaks. We had a different grosbeak growing up in Iowa, so these yellow fellows were really quite something.
 

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Ooh! Birding is one thing I really wish I had more time for.

At the in-laws over Christmas in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I saw a bunch of evening grosbeaks. We had a different grosbeak growing up in Iowa, so these yellow fellows were really quite something.

Evening Grossbeaks are one of the birds I'm hoping to see here. They're common in the winter, especially when there's snow, and they're addicted to sunflower seeds.
 

Chris P

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They do go nutso over the black sunflower seeds. When I saw them I flashed back to my days in Uganda and thought they were weavers. I thought "Nah, can't be."

I live so close to Chesapeake Bay and other natural areas, there is really no reason I'm not out every weekend adding to my list.
 
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mrsmig

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I feel the same way, Chris P. There are spots over in Alexandria, VA near the waterfront that are supposed to be Bird Heaven, but I've never been. Huntley Meadows in Springfield, VA is amazing, too, but I've only visited once.

And now I'm headed to NYC for the foreseeable future. I guess I better get familiar with Central Park's birding scene.
 

Chris P

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I feel the same way, Chris P. There are spots over in Alexandria, VA near the waterfront that are supposed to be Bird Heaven, but I've never been. Huntley Meadows in Springfield, VA is amazing, too, but I've only visited once.

And now I'm headed to NYC for the foreseeable future. I guess I better get familiar with Central Park's birding scene.

You mean there are more birds here than Eastern sparrows, robins and pigeons?

Enjoy NYC! I've never been there but it's on my list for a long weekend someday.
 

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I feel the same way, Chris P. There are spots over in Alexandria, VA near the waterfront that are supposed to be Bird Heaven, but I've never been. Huntley Meadows in Springfield, VA is amazing, too, but I've only visited once.

And now I'm headed to NYC for the foreseeable future. I guess I better get familiar with Central Park's birding scene.

There are a LOT of really nifty birds in Central Park.
 

ElaineA

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Also Prospect Park!

And also-also, (not bird-related, but...) in November a humpback whale was spotted feeding in the Hudson so you might get a whale-sighting in while you're there, too! Keep your eyes peeled Mrs. Mig and report back! :D (Linking photo because the best pictures are too big for posting here on AW)
 

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Great idea!

Parks --esp. if they have ponds -- are marvellous places for bird watching. Get out there and have a look!

I'm determined to keep a bird list this year. First bird for 2017 was an orange-footed scrubfowl. Like brush-turkeys, they build big mounds of soil and/or leaves in which to incubate their eggs. Brush-turkeys are comparatively modest in their construction efforts; scrubfowl have no restraints. Here's a video of one building a nest mound at Cairns Botanical Gardens. (Not my video.)

Other notables for New Year's Day: tooth-billed bowerbird, black-faced monarch, helmeted friarbird and golden whistler. (My pics. Taken earlier.)
 

mccardey

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I'm in - I love birds, always have, and we have so many species around us down here in the Highlands. I just wish my eyes were younger and quicker at spotting them. These are the kids that play up outside my studio window... Superb Blue Wrens.

Wait - you can't see them till I get my settings sorted out. Helix is on it....
 
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shakeysix

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Love the blue wren! Had no idea they existed. Is the other going to turn blue? Do you have winter and summer birds? Took a turn around the salt marsh this evening. Saw the usual suspects: juncos blackbirds, a few meadowlarks but the geese, cranes, pelicans, egrets and herons are gone. Sad place right now. Maybe they are vacationing in Central Park! --s6
 

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Not including pets, I've seen a single sulfur-crested cockatoo so far this year. But this sounds like a great idea to practice with my new DSLR. Mission: photograph every single bird that crosses my path.

Wait, monotonous non-stop chirping from outside! Yep... It's a noisy miner. I'll upload it later.
 

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I'm in - I love birds, always have, and we have so many species around us down here in the Highlands. I just wish my eyes were younger and quicker at spotting them. These are the kids that play up outside my studio window... Superb Blue Wrens.

Wait - you can't see them till I get my settings sorted out. Helix is on it....

Oh! Those are so pretty.
 

Chris P

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My camera isn't good enough for bird shots, so I'll have to link as I find them. Now I'm looking forward to the springtime and getting these birds spotted.
 

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Shakey, we have migratory waders that fly down from Siberia and China for the summer. There are a few species that migrate from New Guinea, although many of those have permanent populations in northern Australia. There are also two species of migratory parrot and both are critically endangered -- orange-bellied parrot and swift parrot. These tiny guys spend summer in Tasmania and fly across Bass Strait to southern Australia in winter.
 

jennontheisland

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We have hummingbirds at our feeders, but only males. Not sure why. We had one female the first year, but haven't seen any since, only red throated Anna's males. Today, on a walk by the bay, we not only saw a female, we followed her to her nest and watched her sit in it. Pics are on my partner's phone, but holy cow, we finally saw a nest!
 

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My camera isn't good enough for bird shots, so I'll have to link as I find them. Now I'm looking forward to the springtime and getting these birds spotted.

That grosbeak was a pretty good start. The North American birds are exciting for us southerners.

Not including pets, I've seen a single sulfur-crested cockatoo so far this year. But this sounds like a great idea to practice with my new DSLR. Mission: photograph every single bird that crosses my path.

Wait, monotonous non-stop chirping from outside! Yep... It's a noisy miner. I'll upload it later.

It's the same here with Lewin's honeyeaters.
 

mccardey

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We have hummingbirds at our feeders, but only males. Not sure why. We had one female the first year, but haven't seen any since, only red throated Anna's males. Today, on a walk by the bay, we not only saw a female, we followed her to her nest and watched her sit in it. Pics are on my partner's phone, but holy cow, we finally saw a nest!
I would love to see a hummingbird.
 

Roxxsmom

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We have hummingbirds at our feeders, but only males. Not sure why. We had one female the first year, but haven't seen any since, only red throated Anna's males. Today, on a walk by the bay, we not only saw a female, we followed her to her nest and watched her sit in it. Pics are on my partner's phone, but holy cow, we finally saw a nest!

Cool. I'm pretty sure an Anna's hummingbird female was nesting in the big tree in our front yard one year. She came to our feeder frequently, defended it fiercely from other hummingbirds (Anna's are the Jack Russells of the bird world), and always darted up to perch somewhere in that tree between trips. But I never spotted it.

A friend of mine had one make a nest (two years running so far) under her patio shade, near her kitchen window. The second year, she set up a remote-operated camera between trips when mama bird was preparing the nest. she (the friend, not the hummingbird) posted some pictures on FB of the babies as the developed from tiny, pink hatchlings to fledgelings. It will be interesting if mama bird (or maybe one of her daughters, if they survived past adolescence) returns to nest there again. It's actually a good place--out of the wind and weather, protected from predators, and near a feeder and a garden with flowers.

I would love to see a hummingbird.

I didn't realize until fairly recently that hummingbirds are limited to the so-called New World. They are amazing little birds. I remember reading a novel with a biological faux pas a while back; it had hummingbirds visiting hanging baskets in a Mediterranean setting.
 
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jennontheisland

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I would love to see a hummingbird.
They're adorable and vicious! And it's kinda terrifying when they hover a foot in front of your face. I'm glad I wear glasses because I'm pretty sure one of them was contemplating testing my eyes for nectar!
 

jennontheisland

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Cool. I'm pretty sure an Anna's hummingbird female was nesting in the big tree in our front yard one year. She came to our feeder frequently, defended it fiercely from other hummingbirds (Anna's are the Jack Russells of the bird world), and always darted up to perch somewhere in that tree between trips. But I never spotted it.

A friend of mine had one make a nest (two years running so far) under her patio shade, near her kitchen window. The second year, she set up a remote-operated camera between trips when mama bird was preparing the nest. she (the friend, not the hummingbird) posted some pictures on FB of the babies as the developed from tiny, pink hatchlings to fledgelings. It will be interesting if mama bird (or maybe one of her daughters, if they survived past adolescence) returns to nest there again. It's actually a good place--out of the wind and weather, protected from predators, and near a feeder and a garden with flowers.

I didn't realize until fairly recently that hummingbirds are limited to the so-called New World. They are amazing little birds. I remember reading a novel with a biological faux pas a while back; it had hummingbirds visiting hanging baskets in a Mediterranean setting.

We've done everything we can to convince them to nest on our balcony, but we're too high up; the nest we found was maybe 2 m up, and we're on the third floor. I think I've seen them eyeing my partner's hair as potential nesting material though.
 

ElaineA

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Took a turn around the salt marsh this evening. Saw the usual suspects: juncos blackbirds, a few meadowlarks but the geese, cranes, pelicans, egrets and herons are gone. Sad place right now. Maybe they are vacationing in Central Park! --s6

They're here, Shakey. You can have the geese, but leave us the herons, 'kay?

I have daily flocks of dark-eyed juncos, black-capped chickadees, Northern Flickers, a spotted towhee couple, robins, and 3 extremely martial hummingbirds, along with other random individuals I can't quite ID.

One of the hummers has a nest in my most sheltered rhododendron bush. I think the other 2 are nesting in the neighbor's yard, so my local bully (an Anna's) is very territorial. I see it fly from the bush to the feeders if the others (which appear smaller, but are probably still Anna's. I think they're the only ones that overwinter) come near. S/he also perches on one feeder that has a bulbous nectar bottle (sitting where I can see it from my writing perch) and watches the bottle for the reflections of the other birds. S/he gets a wider view! Amazing, really.

(Anna's are the Jack Russells of the bird world)

*preens*

Yes, yes they are.