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BetterLekNextTime
Jul 22, 2008

It's all a matter of perspective...
Grimey Drawer

ThePopeOfFun posted:

Can’t quite id this guy who has been hanging around the neighborhood and causing much strife amongst the jays. I’m thinking Prairie Hawk, but I’ve seen him on the ground with dark gray plumage. Maybe peregrine falcon? Midwest USA



Looks like an accipiter (Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned), and the habitat looks good for it too. Peregrines are much more tall building/power tower/tall dead tree next to a wetland with ducks.

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ThePopeOfFun
Feb 15, 2010

Ah yeah, they look very close. I’m guessing Cooper’s for the size. I’ve turned my place over looking for my binoculars to no avail!

God Hole
Mar 2, 2016

hey friends! I've had a couple of interesting incidents lately that have motivated me to seek this thread out before diving into the research on my own

my tldr question is this: are birds known to have cross-species friendships or engage in protective behavior of other species?

I live with my parents in a pretty rural, forested area. Probably 3 out of 4 mornings I'll look out the kitchen window while I'm making coffee and see a little brown bunny in the middle of the yard foraging for food. I remember thinking the first few times I saw it that this bunny isn't very bright, it is very exposed out there in the middle of the yard with no cover.

I will also often see a distinctive red, black-faced, be-mohawked bird (google tells me this is a northern cardinal) hanging out in the trees back there, swooping from branch to branch in a beautiful red flash. I assume both of these animals make their homes nearby but one thing to consider is that the boundaries between my parents' property and all the neighbors' properties are left to grow wild so it's a pretty active wildlife thoroughfare, so I'm not even sure if these are the same animals each time. Regardless two incidents in recent weeks have me scratching my head.

I was driving home recently, making my way around the S-bend that leads to my parents' road (which also happens to be adjacent to my parents' property) when all of a sudden I see a red upside-down arc flash mere feet in front of my windshield, causing me to pump the brakes. I was processing that a bird had just swooped me when, as I was coming around the bend, I see a brown bunny smack dab in the middle of the road. so I come to a stop, allowing the bunny to take way too much time considering its options before it decides to escape off into the bushes.

Then, not even a week later, as I was letting my dog out first thing in the morning, I absentmindedly opened the door without checking the backyard for wildlife and... there was the bunny right in the middle of the yard. My dog tensed up and then immediately bolted toward the bunny who was just Not Moving.

Then, as if everything was happening in slow motion, me standing by the back door with my hands on my head in horror watching this all unfold, my dog at full gallop ready to tear this bunny apart, I saw a familiar red arc materialize in the air above the yard. The cardinal dropped from the branches up above and swooped right in front of my dog, the nadir of its arc like a foot in front of my dog's face. He stopped dead in his tracks and the bunny ran off unharmed.

I'm aware I'm probably anthropomorphizing here but tbh I am having a really good time imagining this no-nonsense cardinal is reluctant friends with their oblivious bunny friend and is constantly having to get them out of trouble.

Anyway I bought some binoculars and plan to spend more time looking at these fascinating creatures.

Bananaquiter
Aug 20, 2008

Ron's not here.


The logical/cynical explanation would be that the cardinal has a nest nearby.

Birds do have mixed species foraging flocks for safety (ie chickadees and titmice) so maybe it could extend to mamals too? A rabbit might be a nice sentry to have.

Dopefish Lives!
Nov 27, 2004

Swim swim hungry
I once saw a male Cardinal feeding mulberries to a hungry baby Robin (by the time I retrieved my camera, he was gone), so maybe some of them have a strong paternal instinct.

Corla Plankun
May 8, 2007

improve the lives of everyone
If I remember correctly Cardinals are one of the few (maybe only?) kinds of birds that will feed their adult partner so maybe cardinals in particular are just big softies.

I kinda dislike them because they make so many different noises constantly but maybe I should pay more attention to them being comrades and try to appreciate them more.

BetterLekNextTime
Jul 22, 2008

It's all a matter of perspective...
Grimey Drawer

God Hole posted:


I'm aware I'm probably anthropomorphizing here but tbh I am having a really good time imagining this no-nonsense cardinal is reluctant friends with their oblivious bunny friend and is constantly having to get them out of trouble.

My guess is cardinals are pretty common in your area and are using some of the same forest edge habitat that bunnies also use. Could be a time of year when the male cardinals are a little more active for whatever reason plus they have shared predators like cats and (at least historically) Homo sapiens so it might not be Cardinal protecting Bunny but Cardinal protecting itself/family and bunny happens to be there too. And bunnies aren't always the smartest.

quote:


Anyway I bought some binoculars and plan to spend more time looking at these fascinating creatures.
Yes!

Leif.
Mar 27, 2005

Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester
Some can: cattle egrets and livestock come to mind.

That Works
Jul 22, 2006

Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy


I live right up next to a really great stretch of New England forest and have a ton of diverse birds at our feeder and in the woods beyond. I am also a fairly decent amateur woodworker and I think it would be fun to build and put up some birdhouses on the property.

What I'd like to know are if there are any good resources for optimal sizes/dimensions for birdhouses for different types of birds along with advice on where to place them to be most likely to be used? I don't care about these being ornamental or interesting looking per se, just more looking for some set of parameters of "you have wood thrushes and they want something roughly this size mounted this height and away from x,y,z etc if possible. Any info out there?

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BetterLekNextTime
Jul 22, 2008

It's all a matter of perspective...
Grimey Drawer
Maybe start here?

I'd also recommend seeing if there's any bluebird or other nest box trails near you to see what works to keep the local predators out of the boxes.

Good luck and have fun!

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