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Post by ambercat on Feb 3, 2024 3:12:23 GMT
Ah, another pack of stunners, Carl. The kingfishers always grab me; we have not many birds so spectacularly feathered where I am the USA Rocky Mountain West. I love backyard birds, we have fed them here for nearly 40 years. We are sure we have enjoyed many generations of the same lines of birds, year after year.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 4, 2024 18:30:03 GMT
Ah, another pack of stunners, Carl. The kingfishers always grab me; we have not many birds so spectacularly feathered where I am the USA Rocky Mountain West. I love backyard birds, we have fed them here for nearly 40 years. We are sure we have enjoyed many generations of the same lines of birds, year after year. I just have a car park outside my flat! Usually only feral pigeons to see.
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Post by ambercat on Feb 4, 2024 20:10:59 GMT
Ah, another pack of stunners, Carl. The kingfishers always grab me; we have not many birds so spectacularly feathered where I am the USA Rocky Mountain West. I love backyard birds, we have fed them here for nearly 40 years. We are sure we have enjoyed many generations of the same lines of birds, year after year. I just have a car park outside my flat! Usually only feral pigeons to see. We live in the mountains outside a large Western city, surrounded on three sides by National Forest lands. Water, such as it is in the West, runs on our property, no traffic to speak of, abundant food sources and safety (we keep our cats indoors, except for daily strolls in harness and leash), all make our acre and a half an appealing stopover for migrant birds winging between summer and winter grounds. We are blessed. 🌞
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 4, 2024 20:39:42 GMT
I just have a car park outside my flat! Usually only feral pigeons to see. We live in the mountains outside a large Western city, surrounded on three sides by National Forest lands. Water, such as it is in the West, runs on our property, no traffic to speak of, abundant food sources and safety (we keep our cats indoors, except for daily strolls in harness and leash), all make our acre and a half an appealing stopover for migrant birds winging between summer and winter grounds. We are blessed. 🌞 You certainly are! Do you take photos of the birds?
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Post by Pippen on Feb 4, 2024 20:45:33 GMT
Carl LaFong, can you put out a bird feeder ? ... even a tray something by window will attract birds. Must be sparrows of various kinds by you in addition to the pigeons. If you feed them, they will come !
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 4, 2024 20:48:18 GMT
Carl LaFong , can you put out a bird feeder ? ... even a tray something by window will attract birds. Must be sparrows of various kinds by you in addition to the pigeons. If you feed them, they will come ! Nah, two messy! I’d be worried it would fall off .. I’m on the 3rd floor. Anyway y Mum has a garden and I stay there every other week so I do get to see a few garden birds there … blackbirds, robins, blue tits, starlings, jackdaws and wood pigeons mostly.
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Post by Pippen on Feb 4, 2024 20:53:04 GMT
Carl LaFong , can you put out a bird feeder ? ... even a tray something by window will attract birds. Must be sparrows of various kinds by you in addition to the pigeons. If you feed them, they will come ! Nah, two messy! I’d be worried it would fall off .. I’m on the 3rd floor. Anyway y Mum has a garden and I stay there every other week so I do get to see a few garden birds there … blackbirds, robins, blue tits, starlings, jackdaws and wood pigeons mostly. When I lived in the apartment on the sixth floor, I put bird seed out on the fire escape until people below me complained and the building superintendent said I had to stop! Why it mattered that there was a little bird poop on their level of the fire escape was a total mystery.
One time a sparrow hawk came and took a sparrow away to dinner !!! THAT was pretty awesome to see !
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 4, 2024 21:13:16 GMT
Nah, two messy! I’d be worried it would fall off .. I’m on the 3rd floor. Anyway y Mum has a garden and I stay there every other week so I do get to see a few garden birds there … blackbirds, robins, blue tits, starlings, jackdaws and wood pigeons mostly. When I lived in the apartment on the sixth floor, I put bird seed out on the fire escape until people below me complained and the building superintendent said I had to stop! Why it mattered that there was a little bird poop on their level of the fire escape was a total mystery.
One time a sparrow hawk came and took a sparrow away to dinner !!! THAT was pretty awesome to see ! My Mum has had Sparrowhawks in her garden once or twice. Beautiful birds.
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Post by ambercat on Feb 4, 2024 22:26:12 GMT
We live in the mountains outside a large Western city, surrounded on three sides by National Forest lands. Water, such as it is in the West, runs on our property, no traffic to speak of, abundant food sources and safety (we keep our cats indoors, except for daily strolls in harness and leash), all make our acre and a half an appealing stopover for migrant birds winging between summer and winter grounds. We are blessed. 🌞 You certainly are! Do you take photos of the birds? I have, Carl, in years past. I managed a few lucky shots of Evening Grosbeaks feeding the young ones. Western goldfinches flash by so fast, they can be challenging, but I have a few. Multitudes of photos of hummingbirds from when we used to keep 3-4 jugs of hummer juice hanging all summer. I have a stellar photo of a Steller's jay in flight from the feeder to the lawn; there might not be a more striking blue on the wing than mature Steller's jays. A tiny but annoying bit of tremor has crept into my hands, just enough to make nature photography a frustrating challenge; I'm afraid Audubon journals will have to continue to live without my work. 😉
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 4, 2024 22:35:47 GMT
You certainly are! Do you take photos of the birds? I have, Carl, in years past. I managed a few lucky shots of Evening Grosbeaks feeding the young ones. Western goldfinches flash by so fast, they can be challenging, but I have a few. Multitudes of photos of hummingbirds from when we used to keep 3-4 jugs of hummer juice hanging all summer. I have a stellar photo of a Steller's jay in flight from the feeder to the lawn; there might not be a more striking blue on the wing than mature Steller's jays. A tiny but annoying bit of tremor has crept into my hands, just enough to make nature photography a frustrating challenge; I'm afraid Audubon journals will have to continue to live without my work. 😉 Ah, sorry to hear about your little tremor. I looked up those birds you mentioned. All beauties. The Evening grosbeak looks a bit like our Hawfinch ..more colourful though:
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Post by ambercat on Feb 4, 2024 23:00:50 GMT
I have, Carl, in years past. I managed a few lucky shots of Evening Grosbeaks feeding the young ones. Western goldfinches flash by so fast, they can be challenging, but I have a few. Multitudes of photos of hummingbirds from when we used to keep 3-4 jugs of hummer juice hanging all summer. I have a stellar photo of a Steller's jay in flight from the feeder to the lawn; there might not be a more striking blue on the wing than mature Steller's jays. A tiny but annoying bit of tremor has crept into my hands, just enough to make nature photography a frustrating challenge; I'm afraid Audubon journals will have to continue to live without my work. 😉 Ah, sorry to hear about your little tremor. I looked up those birds you mentioned. All beauties. The Evening grosbeak looks a bit like our Hawfinch ..more colourful though: Oh, yes. That’s a large finch beak for sure. Our grosbeaks come in the yellow/black/white pattern of the Evening variety. They arrive in late Spring at this altitude, 8000ft, nest, brood and then disappear to even higher elevations for the hottest part of the summer. They return in late summer, fledglings in tow, to feed up and rest for the autumn journey to their winter grounds. We had a flat feeder for years, just a 10x10” board with low sides to keep some of the seed from getting thrown to the ground, where chipmunks and assorted squirrels were pleased to vacuum it up daily. Mobs of evening grosbeaks would congregate in the pine trees surrounding the house, swooping down to the feeder, where a dozen or more would munch seeds and chirp and chatter in the evenings, when else? It would look like a cocktail party out there on the branch of the tree. We regularly host a few pairs of breeding black-headed grosbeaks, Halloween birds with black and brilliant orange and rust feathers. These are among the pairs we believe to have returned year after year. Even more rare are rose-breasted grosbeaks, tuxedo-birds with black wings and backs and white bib chest. They also sport a rosy patch at the throat, varying from pale pink in juveniles to a bright rose-red in mature males. I grew up a city girl, barely aware of American robins and sparrows as local wildlife. Moving the the mountains in my 30's was a revelation. Exotic-looking birds were a only the beginning.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 4, 2024 23:37:12 GMT
Thanks for the info.
A few years ago I bought a couple of field guides for US birds but haven’t really looked at them much. Need to dig them out again!
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Post by ambercat on Feb 5, 2024 0:12:57 GMT
Carl LaFong, I just enjoyed a real-life wildlife peak experience. We watched a pair of mountain lions stroll through the backyard. It's a little early to see the big cats, not much prey moving around yet. Their coat color is unusual, a deep russet rather than the scrubby tan pelts they sport in summer. OK, back to real life in the kitchen. Stew and naan.
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 5, 2024 0:30:19 GMT
Carl LaFong , I just enjoyed a real-life wildlife peak experience. We watched a pair of mountain lions stroll through the backyard. It's a little early to see the big cats, not much prey moving around yet. Their coat color is unusual, a deep russet rather than the scrubby tan pelts they sport in summer. OK, back to real life in the kitchen. Stew and naan. I’m so jealous!
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Post by Carl LaFong on Feb 9, 2024 13:32:19 GMT
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