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Forum birdwatching 2009

The addition to the bird table isn't half attracting the species.

Although the goldfinches led the stampede to the nyjer seeds, the massed ranks consist of siskins by the half-dozen, bickering about who gets on the perch. They can empty that feeder in 24 hours if they try. I've also seen quite a few of a new species, absolutely tiny little brown birds, half of whom (the males?) have a little bright red patch on the top of the head. They stay on the ground and pick up the leavings.

I at first thought goldcrest, but the pics of goldcrests show a yellow crest and these have no yellow at all. There's something called a firecrest, but these don't quite fit the bill and according to the book we don't have firecrests here anyway. What can they be? My pics so far are blurred and don't provide a good ID.

Tonight I saw goldfinches, siskins, a yellowhammer, a pair of greenfinches, a chaffinch, a coal tit, a couple of bluetits, the tiny red-headed things, a starling, a brown starling-sized thing I couldn't identify, two collared doves and a woodpigeon - all in the five minutes or so while the microwave was heating the evening meal.

Rolfe.
 
The addition to the bird table isn't half attracting the species.

Although the goldfinches led the stampede to the nyjer seeds, the massed ranks consist of siskins by the half-dozen, bickering about who gets on the perch. They can empty that feeder in 24 hours if they try. I've also seen quite a few of a new species, absolutely tiny little brown birds, half of whom (the males?) have a little bright red patch on the top of the head. They stay on the ground and pick up the leavings.

I at first thought goldcrest, but the pics of goldcrests show a yellow crest and these have no yellow at all. There's something called a firecrest, but these don't quite fit the bill and according to the book we don't have firecrests here anyway. What can they be? My pics so far are blurred and don't provide a good ID.

Tonight I saw goldfinches, siskins, a yellowhammer, a pair of greenfinches, a chaffinch, a coal tit, a couple of bluetits, the tiny red-headed things, a starling, a brown starling-sized thing I couldn't identify, two collared doves and a woodpigeon - all in the five minutes or so while the microwave was heating the evening meal.

Rolfe.



Redpoll?
 
Scrub Jay eyeballing a Mockingbird.. and a Killdeer leading me away from something.. and a Mockingbird pair.. One of them joined the Jay on the Juniper bush.
 

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I saw one of Tricky's yellow house finches today in my backyard.

Since I took the picture of the finch that seemed a little out of the range of normal house finches I have been watching house finches fairly carefully (I'm pretty sure now that the finch I posted a picture of earlier is a house finch). And out of nowhere, a yellow one came by today. Not some arguably yellow orangeish sort of yellow, but stone cold, goldfinch style yellow. I watched it for awhile to make sure the light wasn't playing tricks. It was completely yellow where a house finch is usually red.

It seems surprising that this kind of color difference can be explained by diet. I would have thought this guy was eating pretty much the same stuff that the other house finches were.

On a different subject I was on a hike today in Santiago Canyon and came across some cowbird traps. I've seen traps like this in this area for years, but I hadn't thought much about them. According to the information on them they're collecting the cowbirds for some kind of study. I'm not so sure of that. I think they may be collecting them to kill them because of fears that they might out compete native birds.

One really amazing things about these traps is that for the most parts they seem to only trap cowbirds. There were only cowbirds in them today. How in the world are they so selective?

I took a picture of them if anybody was interested in seeing what they look like I'd post it.
 
On the cowbird traps:
I should have guessed, there are many sites about them, with plans and strategies for attracting, feeding and killing the birds.

It still wasn't clear to me how they are so successful at selectively capturing mostly cowbirds. One clue might be that apparently it is routine to stock the traps with a few cowbirds that then go on to attract other cowbirds.
 
Linnets perhaps? More likely at a bird table.


Definitely redpolls. I've looked them up in a couple of books. They're very small, smaller than the coal tits. I think I saw one on the seed feeder this morning, but their main habitat is the ground under the feeder, picking up what the siskins have dropped.

Don't think I've seen a linnet.

Rolfe.
 
This is an image of the bird I was asking about I think.

It seems to be a common bird around here but it is elusive. There seems to some red in the underparts that doesn't show up in this image.

 
31474a13de8e81563.jpg


Collared Flycatcher
 
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Seen in the western suburbs of Denver, Colorado on May 18.

Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
House Sparrow Passer domesticus


Seen and photographed on May 20 in the foothills just west of Denver.

Lazuli Bunting Passerina amoena

 
Over the month of May I have personally seen

Bald Eagle
Osprey
Common Gull
Black Headed Gull
Mallard
Muckovy Duck
Snowy Egret
Wood Stork
Blue Jay
Cardinal
 
I was on holiday in Provence and I saw
great crested grebes
magpies
sparrows
collared dove
wood pigeon
black headed gulls
common tern
herring gulls
flamingoes
egrets (white with black bill and legs - I think was egrets anyway)
grey herons
black winged stilts
mallard
shelduck
widgeon
crows
jackdaws
rooks
bee eaters
storks (the ones that nest on churches)
coots
moorhens
swallows
swifts
cuckoo (heard not seen)
ibis
starling
pied wagtail
cattle egret (I think - white egret sized but with a yellow bill and a small tuft/crest)
mute swans

was not sure what these were so would be glad of an identification
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3546490175_477d44d889.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3546496359_b7aae94af5.jpg?v=0
 
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Over the month of May I have personally seen

Bald Eagle
Osprey
Common Gull
Black Headed Gull
Mallard
Muckovy Duck
Snowy Egret
Wood Stork
Blue Jay
Cardinal
Thanks for that FSBlueApocalypse and welcome the the Forum and our particular corner of it.

While we're compiling this list we also want to get a general (or indeed specific) location for the sightings. What state are you in (or town/area)? If you would rather keep it private, contact me in Private Messages.

I'm helping the OP, Kotatsu, collate the data for the forum website (in my sig, and woefully out of date).
 
I was on holiday in Provence and I saw
great crested grebes
...
ibis
...

was not sure what these were so would be glad of an identification
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3546490175_477d44d889.jpg?v=0
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3546496359_b7aae94af5.jpg?v=0


The first is a white stork Ciconia ciconia and the second is an excellent shot of a purple heron Ardea purpurea. They're much more timid than the usual grey herons so it nice to see one reasonably close!

Was it a Glossy IbisWP? I think there are some free-flying feral Sacred IbisWP in the south of France, but the glossy is much more likely.
 
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I just told the tale of the concussed swallow to the regular PM room attendant who has been absent for a week. He said, "swift, you mean?" "No, Calum, I had it in my hand and it was a swallow."

We haven't definitely identified any swifts this year at all. I'm still trying to get the mama-swift-feeding-babies pic from him.

Rolfe.
 

House and Tree?

egrets (white with black bill and legs - I think was egrets anyway)

Coming from a country where we have bugger all egrets -- I fell in love with them instantly in Japan, though; they are one of the reasons I want to go back -- I don't know one from the other, really, but if it has black legs and black beak this time of year, it's Little Egret, isn't it?


I am assuming Carrion Crow here, but the Guide (Mullarney, Svensson, Zetterström) has neither subspecies really breeding in much of Provence...

Other than that, I have added everything up to today, and will send the list to EHocking tonight. I still haven't added my own observations, but will start with that now...
 

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