losthighway wrote: Sun Feb 06, 2022 5:35 pm We saw a couple bald eagles on our neighborhood walk. Their urban sightings around here are suprising.

My parents live near North Bay Ontario and Ospreys were the raptor-du-jour. We would watch them fish for hours. Better than TV.
Cut to a few years ago and out of nowhere Bald Eagles moved in and now they're everywhere? Never, ever thought I would see them as common as they are there now - totally awesome. then? THEN? Golden eagles. Full on on fantasy-file upgrade. My spouse and I were shored from a canoe on a little spot we call "Hell Island" (46.284559506628426, -80.03872878149777) and a golden eagle takes off from the tree right beside us, felt the wind from the wings and everything, magical.
so maybe get ready?

here in san diego I never tire of seeing the red-tailed hawks and occasional peregrine falcon - absolutely amazing. We had a talkative red tailed hawk move into the tree behind us and our squirrel garden problem was solved. Salud!

Two year ago we hiked around Zion national park and a ranger stopped us to see a CALIFORNIA CONDOR. My apologies to the people behind me in line for the wait.

Sorry about the thread I get excited.


Edit: corrected coordinates. The google sat images these days are so good I get lost remembering old views!

I may have seen an eagle yesterday. It's not unusual to see falcons around here (sometimes they hang out on the fences or utility poles a bit!) but this seemed different (wider, narrower wingspan) and though it was kind of far, may have had a long, light-colored neck. Whatever it was it was going after something, moving very swiftly.

brephophagist wrote: Fri Feb 04, 2022 7:00 pm I throw out a few kibbles for the crows in a some spots my dog and I pass on our daily walks. Sometimes they'll follow us for a few blocks. Their late-afternoon happy hours are sometimes pretty crazy, just the sound of it. Hundreds of crows cawing away from perches on a few adjacent tall trees.

My dog and crows do not get on. She has been attacked by them twice. The second time, I was laughing at how scared and wimpy she was of being dive-bombed when the (same?) crow did the same to me and hit me in the back of the head. It felt like it cuffed me with its wing, rather than its claws or beak, which seems like a crazy strategy when a busted wing leaves you incredibly vulnerable. It was shocking, but didn't hurt or break the skin. It was an incredibly odd moment. We hurried home, with me giggling uncontrollably.

Apparently corvids are incredibly intelligent, and very good at recognising and remembering, and get very territorially defensive when nesting. My dog is incredibly stupid, but since that time, I have seen her flinch and whimper as if she's hurt when a bird's shadow hits her.

I have four hummingbird feeders just outside my home office window. Lots of Annas, as well as Black-chinned and Costa's hummingbirds. I go through about 3/4's of a pint of food per week.

Last fall a small flock of Cedar Waxwings came through and fed near my window for a couple days. Those were pretty.

Out in Oregon we see a lot of Bald Eagles nesting everywhere. Some osprey along the Columbia river through the Gorge.

You'll see Peregrine falcons, about one every couple miles along I-5 all the way from Wilsonville down to Eugene. The Peregrines in downtown Chicago were always a cool sight. You'd see a pigeon wing, or leg or some pigeon part laying on the sidewalk walking to/from the office and know they were having a good hunt.

We have a couple of Kestrels in the neighborhood that I see from time to time. Every now and then you'll hear a songbird freakout and notice the Kestrel nearby.

Portland is crow country. They don't roost in my nabe, but in winter downtown will have thousands and thousands of crows roosting in the security of downtown trees and parks. In summer they roost in Irvington where some of the bigger deciduous trees in the city are located. The Stellar and Greys Jays are also fun to watch, smart and pretty too.

I've needed frequent breaks from watching the news lately... my daughter has recently gotten into watching webcams of bald eagle nests. This is a particularly good one - brand new eaglet emerged in the past day; the other egg is supposed to hatch in the next few days:

The feeders have been busy with the onset of the cooler seasons. The chinaberry tree that supports my feeders has shed its leaves and seems to invite more visits from my avian friends. No berries this year, as a result of last year’s deep freeze. The tree is in recovery and must spend its energy economically. This will reduce visits from Cedar Waxwings and Robins, as they feed on the berries in the winter.

The usuals are ever-present. Cardinals, Titmice, Carolina Chicadees, House Sparrows, Bewick’s Wrens, and Ladderback Woodpeckers. The Lesser Goldfinches are back, as are the Yellow Rumped Warblers. The latter can be a bit of a bully bird, but it’s good to see so much yellow at the feeder again. The female Red Winged Blackbirds are back, and they can be bullies, too. Males and female RWBs flock separately, and I rarely see the males and their beautiful flashes of blood-red.

The Blue Jays are usually year round, but notably absent. Maybe they don’t like the feed I’m serving. They can be a belligerent pain in the ass to the other birds, but I respect them. There’s one that imitates a Red-Tailed Hawk as it approaches the feeder, in order to frighten the other birds away. I find it clever and amusing. I’m fascinated by Corvid intelligence.

Austin has a large population of Monk Parakeets. I saw a dozen or so of them drinking from a puddle of water. They never visit my feeders, but that’s fine by me. Their shrill squawk can be a nuisance.

There was a Roadrunner hanging around my back porch a month or so ago. It wasn’t able to see me through the sliding glass door, and I was able to study it up close. I’d never really noticed the red and blue coloration on its head until I saw it up close, a streak above its eye to its “ear”. Gawky and prehistoric in appearance, I’ve always found Roadrunners amusing. They’re members of the cuckoo family. If there is any indicator species of my own preferred range, I suppose it would be the Roadrunner.

I found a big dead crow yesterday. I considered taking it home but I don't have time to learn taxidermy.

Other than the six feathered friends (three budgies, three cockatiels) I have flying around in my loft on a daily basis, the backyard feeder has been relatively quiet as we have entered winter, aside from about a half-dozen extremely fluffy mourning doves that are still hanging around the free food.

jfv wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 4:11 pm Other than the six feathered friends (three budgies, three cockatiels) I have flying around in my loft on a daily basis, the backyard feeder has been relatively quiet as we have entered winter, aside from about a half-dozen extremely fluffy mourning doves that are still hanging around the free food.

I have a difficult time viewing the Whitewing Doves that hang around my feeder as anything other than a backup food supply. I had a friend back in Arizona who used to pick them off with a bb gun and dress them for dinner.

Dave N. wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 4:47 pm

jfv wrote: Sat Dec 10, 2022 4:11 pm Other than the six feathered friends (three budgies, three cockatiels) I have flying around in my loft on a daily basis, the backyard feeder has been relatively quiet as we have entered winter, aside from about a half-dozen extremely fluffy mourning doves that are still hanging around the free food.

I have a difficult time viewing the Whitewing Doves that hang around my feeder as anything other than a backup food supply. I had a friend back in Arizona who used to pick them off with a bb gun and dress them for dinner.

I don’t think I’d ever resort to feasting on them, though these doves are practically hand-tame. Probably could just catch them and not even need a gun.