Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[ChicoryBlue]

Interesting. hawks here in summer: red tailed. In winter, rough legged with some red tailed... I know of a couple of spots with paired red tailed there year round. I'm going to be looking more closely at this.

I did notice Rough-Legged Hawks are much more west than New York!

 

[micstrachan]

@micstrachan

You certainly got it right with the coconut oil.
I gave amber some after her breakfast this morning and she actually did a normal poop. I was not able to take a picture. That's the first normal poo in god knows how long

I used too mix it in their layers feed but it never worked like this. Thanks ever so much

Yay!

 

[micstrachan]

Cloud. The FBF view.
View attachment 2881963
Cloud. The fluffy all over view.
View attachment 2881964

It cracks me up that you have a super fluffy now! I believe you like them more sleek; is that correct?

 

[rural mouse]

Thank you! I can’t wait to get back home so I can try figuring this out!
Back next week at the peak week for red-tailed hawks.

If there's any kind of raptor rescue/rehab center near you, they would be a great resource. Also look into some local bird watching groups. Experienced birders to go with are great! Some can even id by sound alone on every bird in the area.

 

[micstrachan]

Here's a few quick tips that I use: Eagles are definitely day hunters, you will not see them in dim light or at night. Owls have blunt heads and your first impression is a small body relative to the length and breadth of the wings (like a bullet with wings too big for it). Eagles soar with their wings horizontal to the body, and from below it looks a lot like a paper airplane with squared-off rectangle wings, there's not much "point" to the wing tips. They are also very steady flyers. Vultures hold their wings in a V-shaped dihedral (looking at it horizontally), and that makes them pretty unsteady in flight, so you see them kind of tippy with any cross-breeze or wind change, dipping one wing or the other.

Here's a good short page on the basics of the three types of "hawks"
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/fall-2021/look-introduction-identifying-raptors-flight

Here's all about our friend
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-tailed-hawk

The following is very cool, an animated map showing the migration patterns and dates for your chosen bird, here I put in Red Tail Hawk (@BY Bob and RC check out what PA looks like in early November). You might have to join ebird to see it? It is free. They have been collecting data from volunteer users and have gotten some really robust visualizations of it now.
https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/rethaw/abundance-map-weekly

I misspoke earlier - it's the Rough-Legged Hawk, not the Red-Shouldered Hawk, that for the Northeast is mostly north and we don't see it except seasonally
https://ebird.org/science/status-and-trends/rolhaw/abundance-map-weekly

This is such an awesome post. Thank you! Yep, it’s that typical call #2 I’ve been hearing lately. Red Tail Hawks (plus sharp shinned, Cooper’s, and red shouldered, as well as golden and bald eagles and great horned owls) live here, but some are more elusive than others!

 

[micstrachan]

Happy Friday

From Legertha

View attachment 2881908

Great shot, Bob. Did you have to lay down on the grass to get it?

 

[micstrachan]

Is it crumbles vs pellets? None of mine have ever been willing to eat pellets.

I give mine a mix of crumble and pellets to keep it a little more interesting for them. They used to only eat crumble.

 

[micstrachan]

I think so too! They are in my trees .View attachment 2881855

This is from last April at my house!

 

[LozzyR]

Happy Friday

From Legertha

View attachment 2881908

Just gorgeous! Stunning!

 

[Shadrach]

It cracks me up that you have a super fluffy now! I believe you like them more sleek; is that correct?

That is correct. Someone like this fits the bill nicely.