Wow, such a strong bird. The snow really helps illustrate the power of those talons. Good shots, Claire. Last week a red tail hawk chased one of the little birds at the feeder directly into the rhododendron below my office window. Hawk didn't get the little guy, but after smashing into the shrub, the hawk did stop long enough to poise on the railing of the deck. Was very surprised to have him perch that close to the house. Naturally, by the time the camera was on, the hawk was off.

But this morning, Mrs. A. Goldfinch stopped for a rest in the cherry tree. She seems to be wearing one of those universal looks that means something different to each person who sees it.

Very nice photo, Jane, of a very self-possessed little bird. I think it may be a Mr., not a Mrs. Goldfinch with those brilliant black and white wing and tail markings. On his way to being bright yellow, but not nearly there yet.

The turkeys have been getting rambunctious lately and taking to flight without being chased. A few days ago a couple of turkeys were flying up to and between trees. They seemed to particularly like the old Norway spruce which has a great crop of cones this year. I was standing in the kitchen with my camera in my hands, so mesmerized by the sight of flying turkeys that I forgot to photograph them. I gave myself a dope slap too late.

I've been hearing occasional stomping noises on the roof and this morning on the deck - when I looked out this morning I saw a flock of turkeys looking as if they'd been cannonballed by a compatriot. Must be a hint of spring.

Claire

Great photos ladies! I love Goldfinches, Jane. I wish I saw more in my yard. Do you know what attracts yours? I have niger and thought that would do the trick, but they come and go. Yes, those talons are very noticeable on the snow. Turkeys on your roof, Claire? [g] So, I'm wondering, where do they sleep at night? Do they have nests somewhere?

That is some crop of cones in that Spruce. We notice more this year too. Plus there are a lot of short little spruce branches all over the ground which is unusual. The Pine next door has a ton of cones on the ground under it too.

Not much activity going on here. Still seeing the same three crows in the neighborhood. They've been here all winter and yesterday one flew into the yard and was pecking away at something on the lawn. I don't enjoy the crows for some reason. I did see a bird in the bath on Monday.

Does anyone have birds nesting in your garden? My shrubs are young and not nearly large enough to provide much cover, but I'm not sure I've added the best shrubs for nesting sites. I have a bird house I want to put up this year, but I have such a small yard and the shrub border is all along the fence line, so I don't think it would be a good idea to put it near the fence, where the squirrels could bother them. I don't want to put it in the lawn or the veggie garden. Has anyone placed bird houses?

I think that top photo of the turkey standing among the pine cones is a winning photo. No kidding, that was my first thought; the composition to me is terrific. That's a keeper, Claire.

PM, I'll take your crows - head 'em South. I like crows and we feed them every scrap of fat that comes off our meat and the skin off chicken (it's that heart thing). Without crows cleaning our streets, the taxes would be higher and disease more rampant. The crows seem more bright and articulate than many other birds and can mimic human speech. They also let me know when something is happening, like when a coyote or red fox are near, and, they try their best to chase the hawks away. Baby crows in the summer are fun to watch (according to me)and are quite dependent on the parents for a lengthy time. From what I've seen, crows are great parents. I'd miss them if the did not frequent my yard.

Hope this link works - it's fun to watch.

Kindly,
Jane

Here is a link that might be useful: Moe the crow

Jane, I have seen that video before and forgot that it was a Crow involved. I found that the most amazing story. I can hardly believe that a Crow would take care of a kitten. Thanks for the reminder, I am going to send this to my son who has cats. He will get a kick out of it.

Okay, well, I'll give it a try to adjust my attitude toward the crows. [g] I have not had any previous experience with them so I'll try to observe them more. I haven't seen anything that could possibly be a nest but I will take a closer look around the neighborhood. I just looked them up and they are supposed to nest 70- 100 ft up in a tree. I'm not sure our trees are that tall here. More like 50 ft. I could be off though. I do see squirrel nests in the tops of trees around. It would be interesting to see them with baby crows. I wonder if they will still be here by then.

There not around today. It's been raining. If they come close enough, I'll try for a photo.

Thanks for that link, Jane!

PM2: Turkeys supposedly roost at night in tall trees, and I've seen them fly up to the trees across the road late in the afternoon.

Other birds don't seem to nest in my yard. I'm not sure if it's just too heavily trafficked, or the House Sparrows attack the nestlings, or if it's simply easier and safer to nest in the surrounding woods. The parents will bring the fledglings to the feeders, but I won't know where they come from (except the general direction).

Jane: That video is great - I noticed that the list of related videos on the right has a lot more interesting sounding videos.

Sometimes one (like me) can anthropomorphize too much and read sentiments into a photo that just are not true. During the GBBC I saw some little birds far off in the local marsh accompanied by a gull. The gull seemed to be hovering protectively around the birds which didn't act at all afraid.

I wasn't sure of the identity of the little birds or the gull which seemed much lighter than a Herring Gull so, since I wanted to include the counts in the GBBC, I emailed the photos to my local bird guru. I mentioned that the gull seemed to be protecting the small birds.

Well, the guru dashed my theory and introduced me to the term "kleptoparasitism" - a lovely self-descriptive term. He said that gulls will hang around other birds that are catching food, and will snatch it away from them if they can. He confirmed my tentative ID that the little birds here are Dunlin and he said the gull is probably a Ring-billed Gull.

Claire

Photo is not outstanding,had to be quick from inside my office, but it looks like 5 bluebirds to me; 3 females, 2 males?, Claire? Maybe this year they will use the 2 nesting boxes I put up.

Separately, another thread has issues with the new advertising, but as of Friday, I have a new computer with Windows 7, using IE8 with Protected Mode:ON, and I don't see any advertising. Not sure why and maybe it'll change, but no ads on my screen as I write this.

{{gwi:1060436}}

Jane

Jane: sure looks like five bluebirds to me! (as if I've ever even seen a bluebird - probably too woody here). I hope they like your nesting boxes and produce many more cute little bluebirds.

I also don't get advertising (although I do get the new underlined items). In my case, I use Safari for a browser and under preferences I

"Block pop-up windows"

and accept cookies

"Only from sites I visit
Block cookies from third parties and advertisers"

I think I learned about blocking cookies the last time ads were an issue.

Claire

Very exciting to see so many bluebirds, Jane. I hope they will nest in your boxes this year. That would make for great photo opportunities. Nothing exciting happening here. I saw a Flicker yesterday, which seems earlier than I remember seeing them before.

Claire, I have Safari too and I have cookies blocked and pop up windows blocked and I still see the adds at the top and side of the page. At least they're not moving, but they are there. What version of Safari do you have?

PM2: I have Safari 4.04, although I think I've had the cookies blocked for the last few updates. I've never had a problem with advertising and I'm not really sure why.

Yesterday (Saturday) I woke up to see a little layer of snow on the ground and trees. It only lasted for a few hours before melting, but it looked really pretty. One of my first thoughts is always do I have to go out and shovel to expose the bird seed on the ground, but the squirrels did the work for me.

Lately the squirrels have been the first visitors to the food pantry and the birds mostly hang around and wait for the rodents to thin out. There were a lot more squirrels in the yard than shown here. The doves just watch from high up in the trees.

Here a cardinal watches from a squirrel baffle (sensible birds, Cardinals are) while a Blue Jay braves the horde.

Blue Jays seem to be short on patience and strong on bravery (or fool-hardiness).

Everything is brown and green again now, and I haven't seen turkeys for a few days.

Claire

Three days ago, back when it was still wintry, I saw two Carolina Wrens at one of my suet feeders. I'd never seen two at once before this.

Now with the grackle population building up (eight grackles today plus one cowbird), not to mention the starlings and squirrels, it's getting harder and harder for the wrens to get suet time.

Speaking of squirrels, you've got to admit they're cute, even when they're trying to decide whether to make the Hail Mary leap to the tube feeder.

and of course there is the little dinosaur called turkey foraging around. I love the iridescence of the feathers in the sun.

The big turkey flock has split up - I'm now seeing smaller groups which seem to be mostly juveniles. The adults are probably at the local singles bar (which one of my neighbors says is his backyard).

Claire

I love those carolina wrens, Claire, and nicely framed shot of the squirrel. Interesting how your bird population is changing. I haven't spent much time at the window lately. I get the impression there are no birds out there, but the feeder looks like it is being used a little since being filled over the weekend. The water in the birdbaths has been mostly liquid with three warm days in a row, but no takers there either. I seem to remember going through this lull in bird activities every year. Whoever was here for the winter is moving on and we wait for the next shift. The juncos are usually the first to go. I suppose the warm weather may have signaled to some that it was time to move.

I thought I saw a squirrel around here somewhere....

Oh well, I'll try to photograph the newly arrived red-wings and grackles but they won't hold still! Not a good shot, but it captures what it's like when nervous birds feed on the ground. They apparently see me move my camera through the window and take off.

I've seen two Brown-headed Cowbirds now and I really wonder what it's like to be raised in another bird's nest and maybe not see a bird that looks you until you're fledged. The first cowbird here stayed on the outside of the mixed flock, then suddenly there were two male cowbirds sticking close together. Last year a group of cowbirds slowly formed and then separated completely from the mixed blackbird flock. No matter what you think about brood parasites, it does make for interesting mating dynamics.

I've still got a few juncos here but most have left. About ten redwings and grackles today, and the birdsong is really loud with the SKREE of the redwings and the CREAK of the grackles.

Claire

Well, I'm not sure how not to anthropomorphize being stuck in my current human condition, so this Sharp-shinned hawk who frequented my heated bird bath looks like he has had tail trouble all day and needs to cool it off! I suppose dive bombing at a high rate of speed could create an after burner effect, lol. (hawks are not what I expected when installing this bath on my deck railing)

Jane

Come on, doesn't this hawk look like he's saying, "This darned thing has ached all day. Ahh, that's better."

Jane

Gorgeous hawk photos! So you didn't know you were installing a sitz bath?

Claire

Hi guys, boy Claire do you have a lot of squirrels...and Corunum I love those pics of the hawk. Very nice. The Bluebirds are nice too of course! I had a flock of 3 females and 2 males most of the winter (there were 4 females at first, but one disappeared about 1/2 through the winter).

Can you believe Spring is so close? I am still counting for PFW, although there is less activity at the feeders in the past few weeks. Some new arrivals - the Red winged blackbirds and grackles are here too, I also can hear a Wren singing in back, I think it's a House Wren.

And the Bluebird pair still seems intent on nesting in their snag. X my fingers, they will have good luck this season and the snag will not blow over while they're nesting because it is getting pretty decrepit!

Claire, that squirrel tail shot made me smile, and Jane, the hawk photos are great! Yes, it looks like he is chilling that tail!
No photos today, but, I still have juncos, tons of cardinals, the usual chickadees, and, of course the English sparrows...
just the other morning, as I was jogging past a small pond, I heard the r-w blackbirds singing their "conk-a-ree," first time this year for me.
Now I can't wait to hear those peepers!!

Emily

My squirrel population suddenly crashed last week, which may or may not be related to the red fox I saw running through the yard early one morning. Before that I'd look out and see the birds all flying off while the squirrels nonchalantly stayed put, so I figured another bird-eating hawk had appeared. However, when I looked out and saw no birds, no squirrels and a fox I realized that a new player was in town.

The suet is very popular now and the little birds have to grab any chance they get to eat. Yesterday a Downy Woodpecker was at the suet when a Carolina Wren had to decide whether to chance sharing the suet. The wren looked terrified at first when the downy noticed it:

The downy apparently decided not to make an issue of it and let the wren eat too.

When the wren finished eating and left, it looked like a mutual disdain event (I hope nobody saw me eating with THAT).

Claire

Early this morning the sun was bright (finally) and glinted off the Common Grackles at the feeders. Lots of grackles now. I may not have glamorous birds but they certainly are shiny.

The top grackle looked like it thought it was King of the World. For all I know, maybe it is.

The grackles on the ground were shiny too.

I like to have the grackles here because they eat defoliating caterpillars (other birds do too) - flying pesticides.

-----------------------------------------------------
I've been having an argument with a chickadee, or maybe several chickadees. Their "dee-dee-dee" call supposedly warns against predators, with the number of "dee's" corresponding to the level of danger. Yesterday and today I heard a "dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee" call when I went out to fill the feeders.

I find this enormously insulting since I'm feeding the little brutes, so I'm trying to call back a short "dee-dee" every time I hear the long "dee" call. It seems to be working, or maybe they're just amused, because the string of "dees" is getting shorter.

Claire (who really needs some spring)

That's funny about the bird calls, Claire. I wish I recognized more bird calls than I do. I'm pretty sure I know the Blue Jay, the Doves, the Cardinal, the Robin and of course the Chickadee, but that's it. I wonder if that Carolina Wren has a distinct song? I had the windows open yesterday and I heard this strange bird call out the window and had to go try to see what it was. It was a crow sitting in a tree about 20ft off the ground. It was sort of like a trill. A low vibrato in short bursts. Interesting.

I am not seeing the usual amount of birds this year. I have no idea why. We never let the feeders empty once all winter. The heated b*ird b*ath didn't work out because of being so close to the house I guess. I will have to think of some other way to do it next year.

Great hawk photo Jane. And I look forward to the grackles now too, Claire, because they feast on the Winter Moth caterpillars.

I'm starting a new thread that will load faster (Project FeederWatch #4 2009/2010). Please post there, if you are so inclined.

Thanks,
Claire