Fluffy Butt Acres: Stories of our flock

[Ponypoor]

The chickens are on lockdown at DVC. I heard coyote calls in the bushes not to far away from my yard this morning. They will have to stay inside for a while...

BFTP Tax:
View attachment 3744381
"Gotta stay inside!"

Oh gosh yes that’s scary! Better safe than sorry for sure. I plan on finishing the run here with with electric fencing. For raccoons, foxes, coyotes, etc…

Meanwhile your gang is looking awesome

 

[lightm]

@lightm @BY Bob
I’m so behind. 30 pages in one day, how is that possible???

I’m not an expert! I love looking at them though, and ID’ing is fun for me. Try Broad-Winged Hawk. Fits the area too. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Broad-winged_Hawk/id

The only thing I know about is to look at certain elements showing on the body and what they generally mean. So- yes, the red across-the-breast stripes and the banded tail would send you to Coopers or Sharp-Shinned. But the upper mottled markings look like a juvenile, because mature hawks of those have a more solid grey, slate solid coloring. There’s a “cap” look to the head and nape also, and here the nape is pretty vertical stripes. So then, when you guess immature and check a picture, you see that the breast markings there are completely different, they are vertical brown stripes. It can’t be an immature Sharp or Coopers.

So then I went looking at the “similar species” information, looking for the right combination of banded tail, sideways striped breast, mottled upper markings & striped nape. Also, geographical distribution. From the possibilities there, and without size indications, Broad-Wing fits. This is a big bird, a buteo, not an accipiter. Buteos have big blunt shaped wings, big bodies, they are birds that soar, accipiters have lean bodies, long pointed wings, fast maneuvering agile flyers.

@lightm I’m sticking with it after reassessing and looking again. You would see more facial markings in a Merlin or Peregrine, and the feather markings aren’t right for either - whether it’s male, female, adult, juvenile or in-between. Also, very strange in my opinion to see one end a hunt on the ground, just my intuition is saying these birds want to end up perching on a branch or something, they don’t do a lot of hopping around once landed.

You’ve given more information re size. The light morph Broad-Wing still fits. It is a very small big bird - roughly 13 to 17 inches long. Hunts in forests, under the canopy, the blunt wings give them the ability to do tight turns, but they don’t have speed with it I don’t think.

@BY Bob Another possibility is that it’s some weird in-between stage for a juvenile /adult Sharp-Shinned or Coopers, but the nape feathers still don’t seem right. The better long-shot match is a Red-Shouldered Hawk, but that’s going bigger than any here, 17-24 inches.

Thank you for such detailed information. This is very impressive and I am learning. Broad-Wing it is! I am trying to learn the hawks that show up here.

More tax for hawk talk: Poopy in the motion

 

[featherhead007]

From Gumbo?

I’m looking at old posts from you PTR about Gumbo. Where is he? Is he okay?
Anything happen to him while I was away?

 

[featherhead007]

Senior citizen - cranky, old people, you know, the ones with all the disposable income

And disposable underwear!

 

[Ponypoor]

I started to cut the grapevine disaster and trim off all the dead branches.
But Sir Jaffar stopped me from doing anything else to the grapevine. He flogged my ankle with his toes. So for now I leave it alone.

Be careful not to overdo it - might be just as well Jaffar flogged you, don’t too much at once.

 

[featherhead007]

. Don’t say anything like that about Gumbo. I’m trying to save him from being culled

Did I save him?

 

[featherhead007]

Did I save him?

 

[featherhead007]

Oh gosh yes that’s scary! Better safe than sorry for sure. I plan on finishing the run here with with electric fencing. For raccoons, foxes, coyotes, etc…

Meanwhile your gang is looking awesome

 

[featherhead007]

Be careful not to overdo it - might be just as well Jaffar flogged you, don’t too much at once.

I need to build up my muscles. Try to return my strength. I am working hard on that. Yes I get sore, but I work through it and I feel a little stronger each time I do!
Christmas season just killed my strength and I gained weight
I want to lose about 30 pounds (will need to adjust Marie’s trim, to accommodate the weight loss)
And I feel better when I’m busy burning calories!

 

[featherhead007]

I’m looking at old posts from you PTR about Gumbo. Where is he? Is he okay?
Anything happen to him while I was away?

Has anyone heard the status of Gumbo?