Any birders? Share your photos!

[shadoj]

@floridakeysskibum That chick is so cute! Glad they're doing well.

Had some excitement here on my block as a policeman netted/rescued 10 mallard ducklings out of a storm drain on Thursday. Involved some flushing via hydrant from one side of the street to the other. Mama duck was quite worried but got all the babies back. And no one managed to run either the cop or ducks down (phew... ahem, it was close, though)!

 

[TNtoTaos]

Just wanted to add... if any of you are on iNaturalist, I'm shadoj there too! Trying to document the native species moving back into the north part of an ongoing restoration of a local favorite park (trout brook / spring-fed). Just taught a fellow first-time visiting photographer what a drumming grouse sounds like! (whump. Whump. Whump.. Whumphmp whupmpmphmph). Or something. Gets you in the gut. Silly birds.

I'm lorraine454

 

[Christy]

@floridakeysskibum That chick is so cute! Glad they're doing well.

Had some excitement here on my block as a policeman netted/rescued 10 mallard ducklings out of a storm drain on Thursday. Involved some flushing via hydrant from one side of the street to the other. Mama duck was quite worried but got all the babies back. And no one managed to run either the cop or ducks down (phew... ahem, it was close, though)!

I was driving along the edge of a park with a lake here in Seattle recently and I saw 6 or 7 people and one duck gathered around a storm grate. Hopefully that ended okay.

 

[VickiK]

Spotted this birding article today.

 

[VickiK]

Spotted this birding article today.

I read this today and found it was more advertising than information. The most interesting thing about it was the poem by Robert Frost at the end read by Sean Bean. Even there, I quibbled because the subtitles read 'guilt' instead of 'gilt'.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

another batch of chicks hatched saturday. I noticed a broody hen, and followed her to her secret stash of eggs under my neighbors mailbox...17 eggs in the clutch. 16 hatched, and 15 have made it to day 4. Here they are with their first water bowl experience. Considering many of them were in the bowl, I’d say it was a success. And then there’s Jr. helping me work. she’s my favorite chicken, slightly handicapped with a splay leg. she turns 2 on Mother’s Day, so she’s still doing well despite almost being hawk food a couple of months ago and needing stitches! This girl can hop!

 

[floridakeysskibum]

I detoured into the salt flats on grassy key today to look for my relocated chickens ( the neighbor the next street over collected @ 10 chickens and relocated them @ 8 miles up the road) my hairdresser says they live near her, so I’ll occasionally do a drive by to find them, but still no luck. Instead today, I found a lone rosette spoonbill. Apparently there were @ 20 RS the other day :(

 

[VickiK]

Sort of related comment: Amy Tan is an avid birder and an excellent bird artist along with being a great writer (Joy Luck Club and many others), AND at 74, still plays in her rhythm dominatrix role in the Rock Bottom Remainders band.

 

[santacruz skier]

Sort of related comment: Amy Tan is an avid birder and an excellent bird artist along with being a great writer (Joy Luck Club and many others), AND at 74, still plays a dominatrix in the Rock Bottom Remainders band.
View attachment 26569

And I believe has or had a home on the Truckee River.

 

[Christy]

We have nesting boxes at our cabin but I've only seen swallows use them. I noticed something in the hole yesterday morning, grabbed the binoculars, and saw a pair of Northern Saw Whet Owl eyes starting back at me (North America's smallest owl!). We figured out it's a fledgling, then later in the day, saw TWO pair of eyes. How many are in there? At this stage their father will be caring for them, bringing them food for a month and teaching them how to be owls.

They clearly haven't learned that they are supposed to be "extremely nocturnal" yet, as one or the other spent most of the day staring at us, whether we were on the deck or in the house (just sitting on the couch I could see his/her eyes boring into me), with their super intense eyes. I've never been so unnerved by a baby animal.

I don't have a good camera up here so this is cell phone through binoculars.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

We have nesting boxes at our cabin but I've only seen swallows use them. I noticed something in the hole yesterday morning, grabbed the binoculars, and saw a pair of Northern Saw Whet Owl eyes starting back at me (North America's smallest owl!). We figured out it's a fledgling, then later in the day, saw TWO pair of eyes. How many are in there? At this stage their father will be caring for them, bringing them food for a month and teaching them how to be owls.

They clearly haven't learned that they are supposed to be "extremely nocturnal" yet, as one or the other spent most of the day staring at us, whether we were on the deck or in the house (just sitting on the couch I could see his/her eyes boring into me), with their super intense eyes. I've never been so unnerved by a baby animal.

I don't have a good camera up here so this is cell phone through binoculars.

View attachment 26781
View attachment 26782

Oh how adorable!! We have a blind owl at the wild bird rescue I visit regularly and he is so darn cute!!

 

[BlizzardBabe]

I have this print at the top of my staircase. He/she looks "unnerving" even in a photograph!

Spotted Bandit - Northern Saw-whet Owl

Capture the charm of the Spotted Bandit – Northern Saw-whet Owl by Thomas D. Mangelsen. Available as a Print, Framed Print, Canvas, or Metal Print, this captivating portrait of one of North America’s smallest owls brings natural beauty and wonder to any space.

www.mangelsen.com

 

[Divegirl]

We have nesting boxes at our cabin but I've only seen swallows use them. I noticed something in the hole yesterday morning, grabbed the binoculars, and saw a pair of Northern Saw Whet Owl eyes starting back at me (North America's smallest owl!). We figured out it's a fledgling, then later in the day, saw TWO pair of eyes. How many are in there? At this stage their father will be caring for them, bringing them food for a month and teaching them how to be owls.

They clearly haven't learned that they are supposed to be "extremely nocturnal" yet, as one or the other spent most of the day staring at us, whether we were on the deck or in the house (just sitting on the couch I could see his/her eyes boring into me), with their super intense eyes. I've never been so unnerved by a baby animal.

I don't have a good camera up here so this is cell phone through binoculars.

View attachment 26781
View attachment 26782

Several years ago while our condo development was undergoing a massive renovation this little guy somehow showed up. He was outside my office window staring at me. I opened the window and took the screen out and stuck my phone out the window. Hung out for a bit staring and then quietly left. Took me a while to figure out what species, thought it was a juvenile of another species it was so small - nope - a Northern Saw Whet Owl

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Remember in 2020 when a Northern Saw-Whet Owl showed up in the Rockefeller Plaza Xmas tree? I think they captured it and released it back in Oneonta where the tree originated. Happy story.

 

[Christy]

One of them made the leap! (Look left of the box). We came back to the city last night and we'll go back up to the cabin Thursday night. I wonder if we will see them again. Apparently they will remain in the area and their father will teach them how to hunt, but they may not be so visible to us.



This is the first time I've had a nesting box. I hadn't thought too much about it but I have learned that we are going to need to get up on a ladder and clean this thing out before winter. Eek.

 

[VickiK]

@Christy you might to check out the owl box setups of Robert E. Fuller. He's an artist and wildlife advocate in England, with a presence on Facebook and Youtube.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Northern flicker female in our barn box

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Northern flicker male taking his turn at manning the nest. Babies are so loud!

 

[snoWYmonkey]

short eared owl
With a 6 year old samsung phone...lol

 

[BlizzardBabe]

Not a good time to be a chipmunk.