Birding... Anyone?

[Uni-Vibe]

I quit "birding" when I got married.

[arptsprt]

Poke fun? If we dont find wonder and take pleasure in the world around us, why are we here?

To be honest, I get more pleasure from birds now than I did when I was younger.

Andy

I see what you’re saying. I’ve fished and hunted my entire life (mostly flyfish now) and the enjoyment of just being out in the woods is what it’s all about.

I apologize if this was too far off your topic, but what I'm getting at is that I totally understand, and share, your fascination and appreciation of your local bird and wildlife populations.

No apologies necessary. We have a local guy here who’s a falconer. I’ve talked to him many times about his hobby. What you do is some cool stuff and the connection you have with your birds is amazing.


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[Circle_10]

I’m not a hardcore birder in that I won’t drive six hours to get a glimpse of some rare warbler or something but I do enjoy birds and over the years have picked up a lot of knowledge about them and have become much better at identifying the different species both visually and via their songs.
Even when I was a young kid I was kind of a nerd for wildlife and nature and that continued into adulthood. The expansion of my bird knowledge over the last decade or so is just the logical progression of that I think.

[Send it...]

Enjoy taking high quality photos of birds of all types. Some good pics over the years. Also enjoy glassing bids.

[arptsprt]

I saw your post and thought, I love to dove and quail hunt. I guess my read was wrong, but I live in a Bird sanctuary, they are going crazy every morning and its nice to hear them. We have multiple hummingbirds that are cool to watch. They fly like an alien ship, so fast left right up down...light speed. Very cool birds. If you have not seen them move about, its pretty cool.

PB

Ha ha. Dove hunting is my favorite wing shooting. Nothing better then group after group of doves coming through and you can’t load the shotgun fast enough. I know our dove hunting “up north” is nothing like you have down there though.

We do get hummers that migrate up here in the summer. In fact, we’re going to hang a feeder out for them too. They are incredible. I love the sound they make as they whip by too.


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[dmd08]

I'm not a birder but you can put me in the hummingbird camp. I put out a couple feeders and find great joy in watching them. They're fantastic.

[WillieThom]

We’ve got a family of Red-Shouldered Hawks I have been watching for a year or two. Their nest is just about 300 meters east of our back porch in a wooded area that has a few acres of fields on the other side and our residential neighborhood on this side.

And then every now and again, I’ll hear either a Great-Horned Owl or a Barred Owl at night or during the wee hours. I’ve spotted the Bard Owl a couple of times, but one or the other used to be around quite frequently until the hawks started nesting nearby. Since then, it’s rare to hear Great-Horned Owls and though I do still see or hear a Barred Owl semi-regularly, it’s getting more rare, as well.

I’ve actually read that once Red-Shouldered Hawks migrate for the season, a lot of times Barred Owls will take over their nests so that will be interesting to see if it happens later this year.

But yeah. I’m into birds a little. Even if it is just in my own little world.

[Co-gnARR]

It is something I've always been interested in, especially since I've been in many regions of the world and found different species and their habits fascinating. Many times when I am out in the woods, following game trails and looking for signs of elk and deer I sit and watch the birds for a bit. Today, at my job site, I saw what I think is a juvenile falcon of some sort, but I don't know enough about falcons or hawks to identify it. I'm really curious now, because it solves a mystery- remains of pigeons have been showing up lately and most people think its from feral cats.

[Bulletdog]

Today, at my job site, I saw what I think is a juvenile falcon of some sort, but I don't know enough about falcons or hawks to identify it. I'm really curious now, because it solves a mystery- remains of pigeons have been showing up lately and most people think its from feral cats.

Look at the eye. Falcons all have a malar stripe. A dark stripe/bar that runs through the eye. If no stripe then its a hawk or Goshawk. Wouldn't be a juvie this time of year. Eggs are either not quite hatched yet, or just hatching now. Females tend to stay on the nest in the early days after babies hatch and the males do most of the hunting. Males are 33% smaller than the females, and that is why I suspect you thought it was a juvenile. Because of the smaller size. Babies are full size about 12 weeks after hatching, so a 12 week old female will be a third larger than her adult father.

All flighted birds develop that fast after hatching. This is why most people who haven't raised pigeons think they've never seen a baby pigeon.

[Co-gnARR]

Look at the eye. Falcons all have a malar stripe. A dark stripe/bar that runs through the eye. If no stripe then its a hawk or Goshawk. Wouldn't be a juvie this time of year. Eggs are either not quite hatched yet, or just hatching now. Females tend to stay on the nest in the early days after babies hatch and the males do most of the hunting. Males are 33% smaller than the females, and that is why I suspect you thought it was a juvenile. Because of the smaller size. Babies are full size about 12 weeks after hatching, so a 12 week old female will be a third larger than her adult father.

All flighted birds develop that fast after hatching. This is why most people who haven't raised pigeons think they've never seen a baby pigeon.

Excellent feedback, thank you. My glimpse of the bird was brief, and it appeared smaller than other hawks or falcons I've seen. It was also from 50+ ft away, and the bird went to ground between outbuildings when I came around the corner, nearly invisible amongst the gravel. I found it beneath our cooling towers, and it flew low along the ground, landing a dozen yards away. At that point it went to ground, since it was in a horsehoe of outbuildings. I expected to just lift off and fly away- unsure if it was injured or instinctively staying low to keep itself from getting picked off by other birds. It might have been a kestrel,based upon a quick search for hawks and falcons known in my area. I am certainly intrigued, and I plan to scout that part of our facility a bit more discretely now that we might have a pigeon hunter taking up residency. And if so, this bird is welcome to stay.

https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/...erican-kestrel