Feeding Wild Birds

[ValerieJ]

From the ones I have seen here, the Ravens aren't that much bigger than Crows but have a different shaped beak.

Grackles aren't half the size of a crow.

Yeah, we have some pretty big ravens.

 

[alinas2010]

View attachment 4173612

See all the "hair" above the nares? This is a Crow/Raven characteristic, not a Grackle thing. Ravens have a thicker more of a down turned beak tip as well. This bird is too small to be a Raven, even 3 months old Ravens are nearly as large as their parents, it's a Crow. It's not a baby either as it doesn't have that red "gape flange" that extends from inside of the mouth to the corners of the beak on the outside. This red color when the bird opens its mouth signals mom and dad to feed it. The red disappears as the bird matures months later.

Wow that was so informative, thank you for sharing! Such funny timing too bc a blue jay visited the feeder yesterday and I couldn’t figure out why its mouth looked funny. But that’s it! It had pink around the beak.

 

[TwoCrows]

Wow that was so informative, thank you for sharing! Such funny timing too bc a blue jay visited the feeder yesterday and I couldn’t figure out why its mouth looked funny. But that’s it! It had pink around the beak. View attachment 4173663

Yep, sounds like a baby Blue Jay!

 

[ValerieJ]

Thought I'd share this on the difference between the raven and the crow. At least in Washington, size is a definite difference, but there is so much more. The flight variation is also noticeable in the wild.

https://birdfact.com/articles/raven-vs-crow

 

[R2elk]

American Robin

 

[sourland]

Saw the girl monitoring the wild turkeys this morning. 6 of the 8 monitored hens are still alive. Two have hatched poults, and two are about to hatch poults.

 

[R2elk]

Walked through the field on my way to the mailbox. Checked on the Mourning Dove nest. Mama did a "broken wing" exit.

 

[fuzzi]

My Droll Yankee feeder dropped a screw that held part of the perches together. It's lost.

I improvised.

The feeders come with a lifetime guarantee. I've had two of them about 20 years, just had to replace the plastic cylinder once.

And the wire I used for the repair came off a roll of hardware cloth, was what kept the fencing from unrolling.

 

[R2elk]

 

[sourland]

The lone 'Phoebe' hatchling fledged yesterday. Not certain whether it was a Phoebe or a Cowbird. At home one of the transmitter hens has joined with the hen and four poults. Still awaiting the return of some of last years birds - especially the bearded hen.