Hello Everyone; Just wondering if there are any birders on this forum? Lisa K

-- Lisa K (magpie@fsi.net), May 05, 2001

Answers

Hi, Lisa, We're avid bird watchers in our own back yard. Whenever we go on trips we always take our Peterson's with us to identify birds we're not familiar with. What part of the country are you located in and what kinds of birds do you see in your back yard.

We get Cardinals (we have a pair living in our spruce trees), gold finches, Hairy & Downy woodpeckers, nuthatches, Titmouse (or are they mice?), Phebies, house sparrows and occasionally Grosbeaks and, of course, grackles, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, robins, and starlings. Would love to attract hummingbirds and Purple martins.

Thanks for reading.

-- Dianne in Mass (dianne.bone@usa.net), May 05, 2001.

Hey Lisa, been a birder since I was old enough to walk. My granny taught me and I am teaching my grandchildren. We try to make our 40 acres as attractive to the birds as possible and at one time or another have been visited by every bird found in our area, as well as frequent accidentals.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), May 05, 2001.

Hi Again; I live in Zion,IL. I have just started birding a short time ago. So far I have seen the House sparrow,Finches,Cardinal,BlueJay and a couple Grackles.I have had Goldfinches and this morning I had a Indigo Bunting. In my book it doesn't say they are feeder birds but I guess they will eat what they can:) Diane(not Masss) where are you from? Li

-- Lisa K (magpie@fsi.net), May 05, 2001.

YEP. I've been a birder for years, love learning all about them. I have 4 Roufus Sided Towhees sometimes in the winter, 3 Eastern Bluebirds, Chick-a-dee-dee-dee's, Nuthatches, Eastern Bluejays, Stinkin' Starlings (who have 3 nests of babies in my eaves right now), lots of woodpeckers, Cardinals, Mockinbirds (love them), Juncos in the winter, Sparrows of couse, Big Honkin Vultures, Red Tail Hawks, Goldfinches (leave them some thistle plants), Mourning Doves, and lots of crows who chase the Hawks.

Once I had a Cowbird here. Did you know the Cowbird lays it's eggs in other birds nests? Lazy bugger. Barn Swallows, King Fishers?, and I think Meadowlark, yellow, who sings to me each year. He always comes to the garden. I'll think of some more as I am out today.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@hotmail.com), May 05, 2001.

I am in South Central Michigan, Tekonsha is the closest town. We have a pair of Indigo Buntings and I finally saw the Hummingbirds are back. Also Baltimore Orioles, Rose Breasted Grosebeaks, all sorts of little warblers and kinglets in the woods. Along the creek is a Wood Thrush (my husband calls it the tin-can bird because it sounds like it is calling into a tin can) Belted Kingfishers and Great Blue Heron. We had a pair of Snowy Egerts in the marsh (never saw them here before and don't know why they were here or where they were on the way to) Do you keep a life time list of sightings?? Well, I am back to the outside after a small lunch break. Blessings to all

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), May 05, 2001.

Love those birds! In my current digs, my feeders are attracting Goldfinches, Song Sparrows, Gold Crowned Kinglets, Bluejays, Evening Grosbeaks, Purple Finches,Mourning Doves, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Chickadees, Boat-tailed Grackle, White and Chestnut breasted Nuthatches, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers,Slate Juncos, Crows, and Starlings. The cowbirds haven't shown up yet, which is okay, the starlings are annoying enough. Also abounding are Great Blue Herons, Green Herons, Mallards, Canadian Geese, Tree Swallows,Kingfishers (just saw a pair two days ago!),Herring Gulls, Red-winged Blackbirds, Robins,Sand Hill Cranes are on the upswing, an occasional Thrush, and on one occasion, Pelicans!! NOT at the feeder tho. Heard the nighthawks out already, and one year a Whippoorwill landed right on the deck outside the house and called for the better part of an hour.

Sometime visitors include Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Norther Orioles, White-eyed Vireo, Olive Flycatchers, Black-masked Blue Warblers, Canadian Jays (Whiskey Jacks), Canadian Grosbeaks, Snow Buntings, What I took to be a Bobolink showed up at the farm once, I've seen Wood ducks out nesting in the wild, everyone loves the Loons of course (who fly over and let out a ripping laugh right over head when you don't know they're there and make you jump a foot in the air). All kinds of hawks(Redtailed, sharp-shinned, Sparrow, etc) and Bald Eagles, Osprey, etc, Horned Owls, Screech Owls, Barred Owls are regular neighbors as well. My dogs used to go and bark at those darn eagles that were roosting in 'their' trees.

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), May 05, 2001.

Hi Lisa, and all My eight year old (homeschooled) son is a beginning bird watcher, and keeps a notebook of all of his sightings. He got an identification guide for Christmas, and reads everything he can get his hands on about birds. He is especially interested in birds of prey, but can name quite a few others, and is kind enough to keep up a running commentary for me whenever we go outside *grin*

-- Kristin, in La. (positivekharma@aol.com), May 05, 2001.

Spring arrived fully in southern Maine today when I saw a hummingbird and heard an oriole! I saw a small hawk (didn't get a positive i.d.) stalk then make an attempt at taking down a male robin two days ago. I was working in the garden at the time and my movements (watching the whole scenario go on over my head) spooked the hawk, who then flew off. There always seems to be several nesting pairs of various species around the house, gardens and barn. There seems to be a story for every pair! Go and watch and learn new stories.

-- Sheryl Adams (radams@sacoriver.net), May 05, 2001.

We live in the country and I can't imagine listing all the birds we see out here. I know a Blue Heron visits the pond. Right now we have a pair of Ladderback Woodpeckers visitng our suet, so I'm hoping they will nest nearby. Every morning, a Cardinal sings itself silly...what a wonderful sound. One day, a few years ago, I saw a Bald Eagle glide across the field behind the barn. Just by those experiences alone, I couldn't imagine living in a city! God bless.

-- Ardie from WI (a6203@hotmail.com), May 06, 2001.

I'm in central MO and have many of the birds mentioned earlier. I was really fortunate in the last few weeks to see a pileated woodpecker twice. They are getting pretty rare but we have so much forest around us and a good number of large old trees on our wooded areas that I guess they have adequate habitat locally. I've only seen one other and that was years ago in the county just west of us.

I love waking up to bird song, including the chickens. It's the best serenade!

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), May 06, 2001.

I used to be a very serious birder. In the early '80s (before livestock!) we used to take two-week vacations and go to birding areas in the west: Malheur Lake in S.E. Oregon in particular; Kauai,Hawaii (some REAL rarities there and going extinct fast...) and lakes and shorelines on various flyways. I still take the binocs and a book when we go most places, but I'm not that aggressive anymore and we don't plan our trips around particular seasons.

We have a pileated woodpecker who lives by us....we see him every week. Also have that stupid bald eagle who attacked and ate four of my ducks (but has since moved on, apparently...)

Our latest enjoyment is the baby kildeer out in our pasture. Mama is very vocal and protective.

btw, my favorite bird is the White Pelican. I love their grace, both in the water when they team fish, and in the air when they soar so gracefully. Big white birds against a deep blue sky....

Good luck birding!

-- sheepish (the_original_sheepish@hotmail.com), May 07, 2001.

Love it! Somebody should start a weekly thread! Grandson Nik, age 6, is beveloping birding skills. Have all the usual here. Last week we say a prothenotary warbler. Was it ever beautiful! We are in NE corner of IN, on MI line. Lots of lakes. Love to watch sandhill cranes in the fields.

-- Cora-Vee Caswell (coravee@locl.net), May 08, 2001.