Alexandra
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Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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Activity 1: Birds are important in our area especially since we are in an agricultural district and grow a lot of plants as well. They take care of the pesky insects and worms (I’m not even going to get started on Jumping Worms- we need to find some aggressive attack-chickens for those!) and also make our lives more enjoyable. Activity 2: - Decreasing plastic- good for the birds and the ocean! - Increasing native plants- we garden extensively, and love seeing birds. We try to attract as many birds as possible with colors, but I think we could go even further. Activity 3: We have started seeing more birds in the past two years that we have in the past. We now have an established flock of Red-breasted Grosbeaks and some Carolina Wrens that hang out. We’d never seen them before at the farm. Also saw a Bald Eagle for the first time in our fields. Activity 4: I want to start keeping a log of bird sightings and get more into photography and nature journaling. We have a good family friend who is a nature photographer, it would be nice to go out with her and see how she gets her photographs.
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Activity 1: Yes, my notes are helpful, especially with Sparrows and some of the Woodpecker species we have in the area. I take pictures of them and also use Merlin to verify that my guesses are correct. I have a life list that's starting to get some bulk to it. Activity 2: We do the annual Great Backyard Bird Count.
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Activity 1: The swamp- in the summer, there are blue herons, sometimes ducks and Canadian Geese. We’ve even found 11 Turkey Vultures in a dead tree before! The house- smaller songbirds and Woodpeckers, sometimes there will be a Pileated Woodpecker pair that come close. Activity 2: There are species at Down House that are more chicken-like (Rose-ringed Pheasants), songbirds (Warblers and Wrens), insect-catchers (Flycatchers) and Birds of Prey (Sparrowhawks and Kestrels). These are in more rural areas with trees, open fields, some houses- the countryside. I confirmed this using Google Maps. At Sevenoaks there are definitely more waterbirds. There are Geese, Ducks, Grebes, and Cuckoos. These birds like larger bodies of water, farmland and marshes with hedges or bushes. I looked on the map- there are a group of water reserves close by and a large country club (we know the geese like this!).
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1. Great horned owl- Threatening display: The owl expanded its wings and puffed up, opened its eyes really wide and snapped her beak. It was interesting to see that her pupils were different sizes. I saw this in a different species of owl on a video, but not this one. 2. Mourning doves and Blue Jays spend a lot of time at the feeder- they just sit for as long as they can and ignore the other birds. At one time there were 8 Mourning doves on the horizontal feeder! The smaller birds, like cardinals, will say for 20 seconds and leave. On this Cam, they all will take multiple seeds. 3. Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinal pair, Mourning Dove, and the American Crow These are the typical northeastern birds. We see them daily. Identifying them is pretty easy, but I have to admit, the Mourning Dove’s coo, until recently, I thought was an owl because of the “hoo-hoo” sound.
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Activity 1: Northern Cardinal- The Northern Cardinal stays put-does not migrate. Stays in eastern US. Blackburnian Warbler - The Warbler starts in the very norther part of South America (Colombia/Venezuela) and migrates to the southern part of Canada/northern north America. Scarlet Tanager- Northern south America to eastern north America Western Tanager- West coast of Mexico to western America; leaves later than other birds Ruby-throated Hummingbird- Southwestern Mexico to the entire eastern half of the US Rufous Hummingbird- Western Mexico during the winter and Washington during summer Sandhill Crane- Southern and midwestern US to northern US and Canada Yellow-bellied Flycatcher- Winter months in the southern peninsula of north America then during the summer northern Canada. Activity 2: Year-round residents: American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco Seasonal residents: American Tree-Sparow (non-breeding months/winter), Evening Grosbeak, Gray Catbird I have seen all of these around our bird feeders. The Grosbeak I have only seen once in my life. We mostly have Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. Activity 3: Male American Goldfinches - Summer: Very bright yellow, black and white wings - Winter: mousy-brown color and lose their vibrancy, the wings maintain the same black and white pattern but are not as strong colored as they were in the summer. Common Loons - Summer: black head, white neck band, checkered black and white back and wings, red eyes - Winter: dark grey with a white breast, belly and wing lining. Eyes darken to a deep reddish-brown Activity 4: My favorite spot is our birdfeeder. We have a lot of species that show up during the year. In 6 months, I would expect to see Red-winged Blackbirds, possibly the Pileated Woodpecker couple that live near us, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Goldfinches, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks (maybe Evening Grosbeaks too!). Year-round we have Blue Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, a variety of Woodpeckers (Downy, Red-bellied, Hairy), Mourning Doves, and an array of Finches.
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- Activity 1: Blue Jay vs. Downy Woodpecker- the Woodpecker is much smaller in size, the Blue Jay has a crest and much larger beak and legs.
- Activity 2: Colors (black, grey, brown)1. Chickadee- black capped with white cheeks, black throat, brown belly, short stubby bill, large head 2. Red-breasted nuthatch- black head with white stripe above eye, white throat, brown/orange chest and belly 3. White-breasted nuthatch- White face black cap, blue-grey wings and back. Small spot of brown/orange on belly and undertail.
- Activity 3:1. Downy Woodpecker- Went to trees and suet cakes, flew back to tree, scaled and came back. They have interrupted flight with gliding. 2. Male Northern Cardinal- Goes to the feeder for seeds or will go to the ground and will peck. Will stay on the branches near the feeder and will look for the opportunity to get on. 3. Junco – Generally come in groups. Some will be on the ground and others will go to the feeder. They scratch with both feet but I have also seen them just peck a the ground. Will be very territorial on the feeder and chase other birds, including their own flock off.
- Activity 4: One of my favorites is a black-capped chickadee.- Size: larger than a finch, smaller than a robin - Shape: round body and head, short neck, very small beak - Color: black head with white cheeks and back of neck, brown chest and belly, grey and white back and wings - Habitat: northern united states, southern part of Canada through Alaska - Sounds: “chick a dee-dee-dee-dee” very high pitch squeaky voice, raspy at the end
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I've never heard of this bird before- it is seriously cool and very colorful! Thanks for sharing! -Alex, NY
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Activity 1: My favorites birds were 1) Kakapo, 2) Long-tailed Manakin and 3) the Common Loon Activity 2: We have a pretty active birdfeeder outside of our kitchen window. We regularly see the regular array of upstate NY songbirds (Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Cardinals, Juncos, Tufted Titmice (Titmouses?), lots of woodpeckers (Downy, Yellow-bellied Woodpeckers, even a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers in the summer). There is a Grouse that lives in our woods. I've never seen him, but we can hear him "thump" when we walk through. Activity 3: My favorite birds are Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. They come around in the summer and fall in group and this past year I saw their close relative the Evening Grosbeak for the first time!
Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)