Bird Sightings 2014 - 2015

[Smart Red]

I have several red-tails around the place. They nest nearby. They have never seemed to be a problem -- with the adult chickens. The few chicks I've raised so far have been well cared for by momma. My RTs seem to prefer snakes and barring that, field mice and chipmunks.

It is the Cooper's Hawks that migrate through here spring and fall that I would worry about. They would take a chicken, cat or smaller dog. Nope, I don't care for them to stop by often.

 

[digitS']

You think so, @Smart Red ?

Hawks are difficult to identify because of "polymorphism." Dang, my spell checker knows that word!

I've been trying to decide how to be confident that what I see so often are Sharp-shinned. That fairly well confirms that I've got them id'ed. The owls are death on cats here but those accipiter hawks are too small.

If Cooper's are bigger and half as aggressive as Sharp-shinned, they must be something! The little accipiters can't seem to be anywhere near their nests without raising holy heck. Noisy, noisy birds - must be completely unafraid of nest-robbers. I've seen them, going after sparrows under bushes, on foot.

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

Spotted a hawk standing in the river this morning. It was checking out the mud hens clustered closer to the shore. Huge bird! I wish I'd had my camera.

 

[Lavender2]

Strange coincidence yesterday, I was doing some dusting (that itself is strange ).. but I took my grampa's mounted pheasant off the hutch to dust it, looked out the patio door and there, on a downed tree by the pond ... a ring-necked PHEASANT! I can hear the cackle of the males quite often but only see them occasionally. A pretty common bird around here, but that was too cool!

Grampa's pheasant is something I really cherish, it was his first bird, sometime in the 1930's. I need to ask mom if she knows the exact year, I would like to put that info on the bottom of the mount.

 

[journey11]

Wow, in very good shape for 80 years later!

 

[Lavender2]

Wow, in very good shape for 80 years later!

If you knew what that bird has been through ..
Grandma never let Grandpa display the pheasant upstairs, it was kept in the basement on a bookshelf. She didn't like it and it didn't fit their decor. My 5 siblings and I played down in the basement often when we would visit and lets just say, lucky that bird still has some feathers! When I think of that now I could slap myself! Mom gave it to me because it would look nice in our rustic house and DH was given his shotgun since he was the only one who hunted at the time. Believe me, my kids were taught to not play with the pheasant!

 

[thistlebloom]

I would venture to guess that if your wild pheasant came and looked in your window it would scare the stuffing out of him and he'd make a wide detour around your property!

Very cool that you have that memory of your grandpa.

 

[Carol Dee]

Snow Days are for the Birds! I am so glad I filled the feeders before this storm hit. Happy Birds... Sparrows, Juncos, Starling, Gold Finch, Purple and House Finch, Chickadee, Downy woodpeckers, Sapsuckers and Cardinals busy cleaning them out.
I caught a few in the act.

Bird Haven in the Honey Suckle Vine

Purple Finch

Gold Finch (back side)

Cardinal

Chicadee

Cardinal, Starling and Sapsucker.

 

[so lucky]

Yesterday I looked out and saw a strange bird sitting on the crook of the shepherd's hook where our birdfeeder hangs. DH is more of a bird expert than I am, so I had him look at it. turns out it is a sparrow hawk. I had never seen one up close....and this was only about 12 feet away! Beautiful markings, tail constantly flicking. We couldn't figure out what he was doing this close to the house, but he stayed in the area quite a while. I will try to find a pic...not one I took. Here's one.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

We call those American Kestrels, I've never heard them called Sparrow Hawks before, interesting. The local nature center here had one that they were trying to nurse back to health, it had a broken wing. It's amazing seeing them up close.