|
BetterLekNextTime posted:Hard to say, but I'd guess one of these three: Hmm, both the blue jay and the tufted titmouse songs have a slight curl down in pitch at the end of each note. In the one I hear, each note is perfectly flat, though the third note is sometimes slightly lower than the first 2. The black capped chickadee so far sounds like the closest, none of the calls on the website match exactly. They're at least flat notes but they sound a little too high for what I'm looking for. Maybe it's just a creative chickadee... e: btw which app do y'all recommend more for a beginner, the Audobon app or the Cornell Merlin app
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 18:18
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 17:13 |
|
|
alnilam posted:Hmm, both the blue jay and the tufted titmouse songs have a slight curl down in pitch at the end of each note. In the one I hear, each note is perfectly flat, though the third note is sometimes slightly lower than the first 2. My most used apps are Sibley and iBird pro. I haven't used Merlin much- I think it's probably better if you don't know anything, but if you can pretty reliably get your birds down to "it's a sparrow" or "it's a warbler" then probably one of the more traditional guides would be better. And if you end up really getting into it, then you'll probably want several because they all have different figures or images. I think depending on where you are in PA you might have Carolina Chickadee or even hybrid Carolina x Black-capped. There's a narrow hybrid zone that's been drifting north.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 18:48
|
|
|
I should have mentioned "free." I do already have a nice physical IRL paper bird field guide book, but I don't always carry it with me.
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 19:22
|
|
|
re: Great Backyard Bird Count: Also, since I never get tired of bragging about my yard list:  
|
|
#
?
Feb 12, 2018 23:50
|
|
|
Well this is kinda crazy, the other day in Calgary a Northern Pygmy Owl caught a Bohemian Waxwing. Video of it eating the Waxwing while all the nearby birds freak out https://www.facebook.com/theafterno...G_jhERKzMh7oLO8
|
|
#
?
Feb 17, 2018 15:42
|
|
|
That's pretty rad. Looks like he's trying to take on one of those giant bags of kettle corn.
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2018 00:20
|
|
|
Welp, I have achieved a near-minimum-possible entry into the world of eBird. I just submitted my Great Backyard Bird Count: a grand total of 2. Not 2 species, 2 individual Black-Capped Chickadees, that I almost did not see, just hear, chasing each other through the bare branches of the small trees at the base of the slope, on the shore of the St Laurence at Quebec City. The eBird maps show two hotspots near where I was. I went up the observation tower that I think must be one of those hotspots, but I didn't make my count there because I saw nothing except some crows on the side of the tower blocked from view and there were many people around. I walked out onto the ice, hoping to see something like a gull or a mallard that hadn't migrated, but nope, nothing. So I walked a ways down the path to a point where some picnic tables were sticking up out of the deep snow, just off the path, and I sat on a table and scanned everything I could see with my binos. At minute 14 the chickadees showed themselves, but I was already certain of the ID from their calls. So now my lifetime stats are binary - just a big field of zeros and a few ones.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 00:07
|
|
|
ExecuDork posted:Welp, I have achieved a near-minimum-possible entry into the world of eBird. I just submitted my Great Backyard Bird Count: a grand total of 2. Not 2 species, 2 individual Black-Capped Chickadees, that I almost did not see, just hear, chasing each other through the bare branches of the small trees at the base of the slope, on the shore of the St Laurence at Quebec City. The eBird maps show two hotspots near where I was. I went up the observation tower that I think must be one of those hotspots, but I didn't make my count there because I saw nothing except some crows on the side of the tower blocked from view and there were many people around. I walked out onto the ice, hoping to see something like a gull or a mallard that hadn't migrated, but nope, nothing. So I walked a ways down the path to a point where some picnic tables were sticking up out of the deep snow, just off the path, and I sat on a table and scanned everything I could see with my binos. At minute 14 the chickadees showed themselves, but I was already certain of the ID from their calls. Hell yeah, every bird is good bird
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 00:17
|
|
|
I actually managed to get out and get a lifer today. There’s been a Greater White-Fronted Goose hanging out with a flock of Canada Geese at a reservoir nearby for a few days. I have bad luck with waiting too long to find rarities in my area, and getting there too late, but it was there. I also got an early season Killdeer.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 00:32
|
|
|
I submitted my first Great Backyard Bird Count this morning. Eight mourning doves, one ring-necked dove, three blue jays, two northern cardinals, two tufted titmice, a gray catbird (heard, not seen), and a northern mockingbird.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 02:14
|
|
|
ExecuDork posted:Welp, I have achieved a near-minimum-possible entry into the world of eBird. I just submitted my Great Backyard Bird Count: a grand total of 2. Not 2 species, 2 individual Black-Capped Chickadees, that I almost did not see, just hear, chasing each other through the bare branches of the small trees at the base of the slope, on the shore of the St Laurence at Quebec City. The eBird maps show two hotspots near where I was. I went up the observation tower that I think must be one of those hotspots, but I didn't make my count there because I saw nothing except some crows on the side of the tower blocked from view and there were many people around. I walked out onto the ice, hoping to see something like a gull or a mallard that hadn't migrated, but nope, nothing. So I walked a ways down the path to a point where some picnic tables were sticking up out of the deep snow, just off the path, and I sat on a table and scanned everything I could see with my binos. At minute 14 the chickadees showed themselves, but I was already certain of the ID from their calls. Birding is like that sometimes. Sometimes you're in the right place at the right time, and other times it feels like a struggle just to find anything. There are definitely things you can do to increase your odds, like going at the right time of the day (i.e. as early morning as possible), knowing good spots, and identifying calls and things that you didn't notice previously. But if the birds just decide they don't feel like showing themselves, then good luck! I've noticed a big influx of rare bird alerts due to the GBBC activity, and also reports at my local places from several people who appear to be new to eBird, which is cool. Except one of them reported 2 Cassin's Finches in their yard here in eastern PA, with no photos or description. I don't want to say that I know for sure that that's wrong, but something tells me it is! Hopefully someone can correct them for next time.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 04:03
|
|
|
I'm currently back east helping my dad move. He'd taken down all his feeders except for a suet feeder so not as many birds as we would usually get. One fox sparrow that he didn't think he'd seen yet this winter, and of course most of the birds were new for me this year. Pretty bummed that the timing worked out this way because usually when I'm visiting we do a ton of birding but this time it's all depressing moving poo poo.  Execudork- I've been there... did a Christmas Bird Count in upstate New York one time the day after getting 2 feet of snow and we got only a couple dozen species after freezing our asses off all day. BetterLekNextTime fucked around with this message at 04:34 on Feb 19, 2018 |
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 04:32
|
|
|
Sometimes the wildlife comes to you. https://i.imgur.com/cTX8M3N.webm
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 14:35
|
|
|
That will make for a cozy nest. I can tell spring is approaching because I'm starting to hear local songbirds getting to work establishing their territories.
|
|
#
?
Feb 19, 2018 14:40
|
|
|
http://www.audubon.org/news/why-northern-cardinal-yellow
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2018 01:08
|
|
|
why northern cardnal yello how birb get pigmant
|
|
#
?
Feb 24, 2018 02:09
|
|
|
Spent the whole day driving around Nowhere, WI as a last ditch attempt to see a Snowy Owl this season. 9 were reported in an area, but didn't see any. Found an owl pellet, but no owl. Oh well! Next year, maybe.
|
|
#
?
Mar 6, 2018 22:43
|
|
|
I'm watching blue jays start to get feisty with dogs and humans and one another here in Toronto. (It seems early but I'm new here.)
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 03:44
|
|
|
WrenP-Complete posted:I'm watching blue jays start to get feisty with dogs and humans and one another here in Toronto. (It seems early but I'm new here.) The American League is really starting to get out of hand.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 05:26
|
|
|
I drove across Wyoming today and saw 16 eagles. Nine were mature bald eagles but the rest could be either golden or juvenile balds. It’s hard to tell at highway speed.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 05:44
|
|
|
lord funk posted:Spent the whole day driving around Nowhere, WI as a last ditch attempt to see a Snowy Owl this season. 9 were reported in an area, but didn't see any. Found an owl pellet, but no owl. Bummer! Winter isn't over yet, maybe you have another chance? Aw man, Joburg, now you made me miss Wyo. Golden and dainty little Rough-legged hawk were always pretty common this time of year. I went to try to photograph a hummingbird nest that I found a few weeks ago in a regional park, but it was abandoned today First of season House Wren was not much of a consolation, although coming across a little pond full of tree frogs was pretty cool.
|
|
#
?
Mar 7, 2018 06:43
|
|
|
https://i.imgur.com/nfXGs9J.mp4
|
|
#
?
Mar 13, 2018 23:23
|
|
|
So I'm playing Rainbow 6: wildlands, which is set in Bolivia, and I'm crawling through some grass enroute to go merk some dudes, when I notice this hawk sitting on a tombstone surveying the scenery. I'm like, this bird is very realistic, like it looks like an actual bird. It even looked familiar. So I go grab "Birds of Chile" off the bookcase (the closest hard copy guide I had to Bolivia), and sure as poo poo, there it is! A Variable Hawk, juvenile at that! I called my partner over and showed her, and she's like yeah we saw one of them in Peru, remember? And yeah, they do range in Bolivia. Yeah Ubisoft games might be pretty formulaic, but their attention to detail is beyond reproach. I'll have to try and get a screenshot. Virtual Bolivia bird checklist, +1!
|
|
#
?
Mar 14, 2018 00:19
|
|
|
I've spammed this in Dorkroom, but figured I'd try here too. Anyone wanting a capable, used bird photo rig, I'm selling one. Prices dropped to $375 for the camera, and $575 for the lens, or $900 for both, but make me an offer. Camera is about 7 years old but barely used over past 3 years, and lens is ~3 years old.BetterLekNextTime posted:For Sale- if you want both I'll do it for $1k
|
|
#
?
Mar 24, 2018 18:21
|
|
|
I saw a flock of 20 or so Mountain Bluebirds today. They were hanging around waiting out the snow storm. 
|
|
#
?
Apr 6, 2018 05:13
|
|
|
We used to get them on our windowsill in the middle of snowstorms since it was shelter in the middle of pasture, they'd just fluff up and wait it out I wish I'd had a better camera situation when I lived way out of civilization like that, the bird life was incredible. Here we just get miscellaneous juncos yelling on our balcony and the world's most insistent mourning dove.
|
|
#
?
Apr 7, 2018 15:41
|
|
|
I miss mountain bluebirds. I remember finding a couple of nests in badlands way the heck out in the sage. Pretty cool.
|
|
#
?
Apr 10, 2018 16:53
|
|
|
Mountain bluebirds are still on my wishlist. My dream is to spot one in MD. I love this time of year here cause the freshwater marsh birds are around. King Rail, Virginia Rail, Bittern, Sora, all that good stuff. Maybe another Yellow Rail if we're lucky.
|
|
#
?
Apr 13, 2018 19:51
|
|
|
Just saw a bittern yesterday. Usually I have to work a little harder to find them, but this guy was out in the open. Yolo Bypass Bittern-1857 on Flickr Yolo Bypass Bittern-1848 on Flickr
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2018 22:17
|
|
|
Very handsome among all those bright greens!
|
|
#
?
Apr 14, 2018 22:58
|
|
|
BetterLekNextTime posted:Bummer! Winter isn't over yet, maybe you have another chance? Oh hey haven't reported back here, but yeah we saw one! Went down to the port of Milwaukee early morning one day and spotted him. Got some pretty long-distance pics, but there he is!
|
|
#
?
Apr 18, 2018 18:45
|
|
|
BetterLekNextTime posted:Just saw a bittern yesterday. Usually I have to work a little harder to find them, but this guy was out in the open. Its great when they do that. Leasts are a lot more trouble to get a look at, in my experience anyway. Had a pretty cool sighting the other day with a couple Little Gulls that got thrown slightly inland after a night of bad weather.
|
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2018 03:15
|
|
|
Kawalimus posted:Its great when they do that. Leasts are a lot more trouble to get a look at, in my experience anyway. I haven't seen a least bittern in forever- I love those guys. Yeah, definitely much harder to find. I've been birding in my local park pretty regularly for the past few months. Today I got my 100th species there according to eBird!  Violet-green swallow. I was worried it was going to be collared dove. There's a decent chance I'll get my county list over 200 this weekend too. I'm going on a field trip through one of the local Audubon societies to the east part of the county. The target birds are some cool ones like Phainopepla and Lewis's Woodpecker.e: I'm dumb– trip was actually in different counties than my home county. Still an awesome day- got a lifer (Bell's Sparrow), both eagles, and nice looks at Lewis's and Phainopepla. Also Bobcat and Elk. But I did drop my binoculars at some point and now there's a big chip in the glass in one of the eye pieces
BetterLekNextTime fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Apr 22, 2018 |
|
#
?
Apr 20, 2018 23:53
|
|
|
Little bird was just eating and chirping nonchalantly about 4 feet from me on the balcony, it was great 
|
|
#
?
Apr 23, 2018 01:03
|
|
|
I have a question about ducks. If this isn't a good place to ask, I apologize! The other day by the creek, I heard a ruckus. There were two mallards, a male and a female, and first it looked like the male was chasing the female around. I don't know much about ducks, but I figured this was some sort of courtship thing. But then the male stopped chasing the female, but she kept quacking and making noise and waddling around while he just watched. Then the male flew into the water and a little bit later she flew the opposite direction, still quacking. It just seemed interesting to me, like maybe she was trying to get his attention but he got bored. I tried looking on the Internet, but most everything says that males are usually the aggressors and show-offs when ~love is in the air~. I don't know. Like I said, I'm not up on duck behavior and this wasn't crazy like they started flying backwards or anything. I just wondered if she was trying to get his attention/affection or maybe if they were playing or something. That is my duck story and question. 
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2018 19:05
|
|
|
Vato posted:I have a question about ducks. If this isn't a good place to ask, I apologize! The other day by the creek, I heard a ruckus. There were two mallards, a male and a female, and first it looked like the male was chasing the female around. I don't know much about ducks, but I figured this was some sort of courtship thing. But then the male stopped chasing the female, but she kept quacking and making noise and waddling around while he just watched. Then the male flew into the water and a little bit later she flew the opposite direction, still quacking. Hard to know, sometimes animals just do silly things! Male ducks can be rapey jerks, so maybe the male was not her mate and she was trying to call her mate to come defend her honor? Or maybe it was her mate, and she was just trying to get him to come with her to an area where she needed his defense against other rapey males. Or maybe she was just agitated about some other animal you didn't see.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2018 20:05
|
|
|
Yeah male ducks are enormous assholes who really like raping hens. Ducks tend to skew male, so female ducks can be really choosy about who to mate with, and unsuccessful males just try to forcibly mate with any undefended female they can find. Female duck vaginas are full of painful twists and dead ends to try to prevent getting pregnant from forced mating. Anyway, it sounds like he might have forcibly mated with her, and once that was over, he was basically done and could go back to chilling in the water while she continued to protest before flying off (she wasn't going to accept him as a mate to help defend a territory and raise chicks). It's possible her chosen mate has been killed or that she's a young duck who hadn't yet chosen a mate who would help defend her. Drakes aren't exactly brave but will defend their mate against other drakes for that season since they want to produce their own offspring.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2018 20:42
|
|
|
BetterLekNextTime posted:I haven't seen a least bittern in forever- I love those guys. Yeah, definitely much harder to find. You know funny enough, I just got a great look at a Least a week or so ago. Probably my best look at one ever. I should complain more about birds I don't get to see. Lewis' I always dream will just show up here. Itll never happen but I hope. Collared dove is a funny one for me cause I had my life bird after locking my keys in the car in Florida. I noticed the doves sounded weird and what do you know! Too bad about bins. Other recent findings have included Orange-crowned Warbler, my nemesis(to find myself), and a backyard Summer Tanager, a rarity here. Warblers are finally coming through in numbers so its time to hunt!! My new nemesis warblers? Those darn hybrids!! The Lawrences and the Brewsters. Kawalimus fucked around with this message at 00:52 on May 2, 2018 |
|
#
?
May 1, 2018 23:33
|
|
|
Here's a bad picture of an uncommon visitor to my feeder. I've not seen a rose breasted grosbeak in years!!  I lost my poo poo over this, I really hope he comes back.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2018 02:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 15, 2024 17:13 |
|
|
I love Grosbeaks, they always make me think of an Oreo dipped in strawberry jam.
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2018 03:52
|
|
