Birdwatching Chat Thread

[Chickens are awsome]

WE have some wild turkeys, Chickadees, 1 gold finch, quite a few barn swallows, and some other little song birds.

 

[Isadora]

I saw a male goldfinch here the other day. I was happy to see him. So bright and happy looking.

 

[GravityWaves]

On Mother's Day, I saw my first Baltimore Oriole of the year, and 160 miles away, my sister spotted one, too. It's significant for us because orioles were one of our late mom's favorite birds. I keep a painting of one in my guest bedroom.

Yesterday, a gray catbird darted around while I was doing some early yardwork. Later, high winds tossed the eggs out of a robin nest in my gable of my garden shed. I was relieved when I checked one of the eggs, and there was only a yolk -- no baby yet. I'm sure she will try again, but I hope she chooses a better location.

And, I have been hearing -- and occasionally seeing -- the male ring-necked pheasant who calls almost every day from one of the surrounding farm fields. He is magnificent.

That's excellent about the orioles! I bet it was really uplifting for you both to see one on Mother's Day.
I totally got duped by a catbird once when I thought there was a stray kitten just in the woods. I looked for it for a minute until I saw the bird fly off. lol
Idk if we have any true wild pheasants around here, probably more likely that some released birds survive for a while, but I've heard of some people seeing them. It really is a sight when a cockbird busts up out of cover!

 

[PioneerChicks]

I saw the first Rufous Hummingbird of the year! I hung out by the feeder to try to get pictures of any hummers that came, and there he was! I also saw a Cedar Waxwing by himself, and he let me get pretty close to him.
The Rufous:
View attachment 3103087View attachment 3103088
The Cedar Waxwing: (Sorry the picture isn't that good.)
View attachment 3103089

So pretty!

For at least 20 years I've had one or two birdhouses for bluebirds. Last year they had 2 broods and fledged at least 10 young. I saw 5 eggs a couple weeks ago and checked on them again last evening. From what I can tell, all 5 are alive and well! View attachment 3104987

Awesome! I wish we had more bluebirds around here! Ironically, I've never seen a Mountain or Western Bluebird in Idaho, and Mountain Bluebirds are our state bird.

 

[azurbanclucker]

 

[Callender Girl]

I decided to tackle my original perennial bed this morning. It is horribly overgrown and I've got hours more work to do. But, I took a little break this morning when a gray catbird -- who must be nesting somewhere close? I keep seeing it in the yard -- decided I needed a serenade. It perched on the old swing-set-turned-bird-feeding station (that I'm not filling this year) and offered an interesting concert for several minutes.

Although people mostly think of catbirds as "meowing," they can also mimic other birds, and this little catbird was going through all of its paces.

As I was heading into the house for lunch, a male goldfinch flitted by, and when I returned this afternoon to continue waging weed war, I spotted my first hummingbird of the year.

I think the birds are trying to be encouraging! Either that, or they're all laughing at me later. I'm enjoying them. no matter what.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

I saw some sort of yellow warbler yesterday! It was flitting around in the pine tree. I couldn't get a picture of it, but got a good look through the binoculars. It was mostly bright yellow, but its wings were duller, and it had a black splotch on its forehead. Any ideas about what it was? It definitely wasn't a goldfinch, it was a bit smaller and didn't look right.

 

[Bakbuk]

I saw some sort of yellow warbler yesterday! It was flitting around in the pine tree. I couldn't get a picture of it, but got a good look through the binoculars. It was mostly bright yellow, but its wings were duller, and it had a black splotch on its forehead. Any ideas about what it was? It definitely wasn't a goldfinch, it was a bit smaller and didn't look right.

Check out Wilson's Warbler.

 

[HorseGirlAbby]

Check out Wilson's Warbler.

That's probably what it was, as it didn't look like any other warbler that lives around here. I hope he comes again!

 

[Bakbuk]

That's probably what it was, as it didn't look like any other warbler that lives around here. I hope he comes again!

I hear tell they're common in the pacific states during migration.