Desiree
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Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
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DesireeParticipantWhat a handsome bird. That yellow is gorgeous. That is a beautiful photo. It must have been really exciting to capture it.
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DesireeParticipant
@Kim These are wonderful. I’m about to read the flight chapter in the ornithology course, and I bet I’ll come back to look at that first photo. It’s beautiful; you can see exactly what the wings are doing. Where is the feeder? Is it in your yard? I love my backyard birds, but I have to say that if that’s your backyard, I am covering yours a little.
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DesireeParticipantI don’t have any advice. (I have had no luck attracting hummingbirds), but I was wondering if you’ve had any results with your feeders and if you’ve got any pictures. I love hummingbirds, but I haven’t seen any in person since I was little and lived up north.in reply to: Hummingbird sugar #724328
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DesireeParticipantThat was my first time hearing a recording of a nightingale. That was incredibly beautiful. I live in New Orleans, and I love going for walks in the early morning to hear the cardinals and the mockingbirds. I also really enjoy (though I know their sounds aren’t as pretty) the fish crows and the American crows and the blue jays. The mockingbirds have a very distinctive sound they make when they’re trying to chase something (a cat, me and my dog, a crow) out of their territory-it sounds incredibly annoyed; there is no mistaking for anything other than a get-away sound. I loved to hear what someone else listens to and what familiar sounds there are in another place, especially now that I’m not traveling anywhere. Thank you. That was really great.
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DesireeParticipantI see crows everywhere in New Orleans. There’s a church with a tall clock tower a few blocks from where I live, and I love watching the crows sit on the tower and call. In my immediate neighborhood, they like the tallest trees and the live oaks, and I’ve seen nests in the live oaks. I do think attitudes about them are changing. I think this is at least partially due to findings about how smart they are.in reply to: Consequences of Urban Life #636399
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DesireeParticipantThe crows in my yard all seem very healthy, and they are always cooperative-a few times I have had a falcon fly into the yard and once there was a hawk, and when this has happened crows from other areas in the neighborhood seem to show up to help chase it off. Lately the American crows have been more aggressive with the fish crows, but I don’t know why. It may have something to do with the breeding season? A few years it got really cold in New Orleans (cold for New Orleans anyway), and I noticed a limping crow in the street being attacked by a stray cat. I picked the crow up and brought him inside, and the next day he seemed better, and I let him go. I think he was struggling with the foot injury and the cold though because he came back the next morning, and I fed him and kept him inside again (he seemed to like going under my desk), and that seemed to have done the trick because the next time I put him outside he flew away. I thought the injury had something to do with the cold weather, but now I wonder if it was something else. I don’t usually take in injured wild animals, but nobody else would pick him up, and I couldn’t just watch him get attacked.in reply to: A Real Murder of Crows #636365
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DesireeParticipantAnd maybe breeding outside the pair bond is another way of making up for any genetic weaknesses that might be caused by inbreeding?in reply to: Secret Sex Lives #636361
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DesireeParticipantI also notice that they somehow know when I’m headed home (where I will always give them something to eat if I see them waiting in the Chinese elm) or if I’m headed away from home. Sometimes they follow behind me when I’m walking home and sometimes they go ahead of me and just wait in the tree. The younger ones seem to be more curious and like to follow me more and they get closer to me. I wonder if that’s because the older ones have figured me out and have satisfied their curiosity and know I’m going to feed them.in reply to: Creative Crows #636231
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DesireeParticipantSometimes when I throw peanuts up on the roof, the feral roosters in our neighborhood fly up and try to chase the crows away. The crows handle this by having one crow stand in front of the rooster and while the rooster chases him the other crows eat the peanuts. I think it’s brilliant.in reply to: Creative Crows #636229
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DesireeParticipantI haven’t seen any of the large roosts (like Michele I would love to hear tips on where to find them), but quite often towards the end of the day I see a lot of crows busily and noisily flying off to what I’m assuming is their roost. Right now all the birds in my yard seem to be extremely busy feeding and taking care of young birds. I don’t notice as much grouping together with the crows even at the end of the days. They are all business right now.
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DesireeParticipantI have seen large gatherings of crows at Audubon Park and close to the park in a tree by the Mississippi river. Audubon attracts a lot of birds all year around. We can almost always find big groups of ibises there. Once in spring when I was walking my dog we saw a group of little parrots descend on a Japanese plum tree. They were very noisy and very beautiful. I’d heard about that flock, but that was the only time I’ve seen them.in reply to: Life in a Flock #636187
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DesireeParticipantMy favorite thing that the family in my yard does is when they bring the fledglings into my yard for food. I love seeing the young crows, and I love watching them loudly beg their parents for peanuts. I also like it when the fledglings hang around in my yard. Two years ago there were two that were especially curious and would watch me whenever I was in the yard. They were talkative and so funny. I loved having them around. Sometimes the fledglings resist opening the peanuts by themselves and look like they get frustrated and annoyed; they keep up that loud aaaaa aaaaa aaaaa call until the parents or siblings open a shell for them and feed them. Honestly, the west Nile business terrifies me. There was such a scare about it a few years ago here (in New Orleans). It’s heartbreaking, and I’m sorry for anyone who was observing birds who died from it.in reply to: Home and Family Life #636149
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DesireeParticipantI was very happy (and surprised) to hear about the crows that had been tagged and observed for so long. I think it’s wonderful that the people working on the crow research are able to track family relationships. I really wish I could do this with the crows I feed, but unless one crow has some unusual feature or personality tic, I have a hard time telling the ones in my yard apart. I also was surprised and very charmed by the elderly crow’s white face feathers. In the picture he looks dignified and wise. I hope the younger crows are taking his advice.in reply to: Crow Research Techniques #636071
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DesireeParticipantI have a very hard time in general identifying birds in flight. Crows aren’t too difficult for me in New Orleans where I live, but I’m sure if I lived where you do with crows and ravens I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference until I heard their calls. I love your advice about watching to see how they group together and where they go. I did not know ravens are usually single or in pairs!in reply to: Crow Not Crow #636017
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DesireeParticipantI live in New Orleans, Louisiana and have been feeding and watching a family of crows and a pair of fish crows in my yard for years. Both kinds of crows seem to recognize me when I’m out walking-I don’t know how they can recognize me, but they follow behind or fly in front and caw whether I’m alone, with my dog, or with my children, and if I’m heading back for my house they wait in my Chinese elm or on the shed roof where I throw food for them. (They love unsalted peanuts in the shell, but sometimes I give them leftover roast chicken too.) One of the neighbors said they go after baby birds, but she feeds them too. I think attitudes about them have started to change, at least in the city. They are a daily source of joy for me. I especially love it when the baby crows are brought over by the adults toward the end of summer. I love how insistent they are about being fed. I am more than happy with the crows, but I do wish I lived some place where I could see ravens too.in reply to: What is a Crow? #635796
Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)