Eastern Phoebe: question re: fledgling birds' first flight from nest
9 years ago
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fledglings/dinner guests/oh heck
Comments (6)It's a fortunate wren family to have built on your terrace. If you ever go mosey around some of the pest forums, you'd find more than a few souls who are of the mind that a bird nest anywhere near their home is a nuisance and will remove it, whether legal or not. It has always amazed me as well, when talking to aquaintances how their eyes glaze when I start telling them about the bird families who share my world. They just don't "get it". The very nice things about carolina wrens, Marda is that they are very adept at flying directly from the nest when they fledge. You see other birds, like in the thrush family who spend weeks on the ground depending on cover to keep from predators as their parents feed them....See MoreEastern Phoebes
Comments (10)Dawn, believe it or not I do have peach colored ornaments. Nothing traditional for me. My peach tree is sterile so the only thing I have is web worms which have already started. I refuse to have the tree sprayed so I will take my little torch and have a web worm barbque. That is how my grandfather did it and he never lost his trees or burned anything he was not suppose to of course I was always on garden hose watch. I got where I would get my tomatoes just before ripe and put them in the kitchen and let them ripen indoors. The mockers were not eating them, just pecking like they were playing. The problem seems to be they figure out which are ornaments and which are tomatoes, according to some of the garden lore, so you have ornaments hanging and the tomatoes are stilled pecked up. The mockingbird goes back to the same area where they were born to raise their little ones, so you end up with mockers that are like family members. I have one that meets me each morning before I leave for work and flutters around while I do garden inspection. Then each evening he is back by the backdoor waiting on me. Guess I have a pet and dont know it. MH: I did not have any cardinals for years. I started putting song bird food out all through the year and now they make morning runs and evening runs to the feeder. Cardinals are very picky about where they eat. They are not big on the usual bird feeder but prefer the saucer type that is hanging from the trees or poles. I also put my feeders in the shade with quite a bit of shrubs and a large tree nearby, they feel better protected. I also have a shallow bird bath for all the birds. My father was a bird watcher and raised birds so I got a some data from osmosis from him. If you give them the right set up they will eventually show up, it may take a while, but it is worth it. I have had as many as 5 males at one time eating and fluttering around. Oh, I did notice, dont hang your hummer feeders close to your regular feeders. The hummers in my area seem to be very aggressive and run the other birds off, well, not the jays or the mockers, but they are really not your usual bird. Oh, yeah, bird feed they seem to like: small oil sunflower seeds or the song bird mix you get at the old wally world seems to be the diet of choice. Well, that was probably more than you wanted to know, but I got on a roll and Dawn and Susan can tell ya sometimes I do go on. Happy gardening and bird watching. Steffie...See Morefirst post - bird food that sparrows dont eat?
Comments (51)I know nothing about birds i have had a small wooden bird house on my porch for 20 years i have had small sparrows or wrens living there and mating there for years This year i bought a hanging house like feeder which is hung about 4 feet away i never knew that people hate house sparrows i enjoy watching thrm sitting on top of the bird house once or twice i saw them at the feeder not much action I filled the feeder with classic wild bird food i hope i see more birds in the Spring any advice for me about seeds or sparrows i have never had a problem i just wanted to feed thrm thanks for your advice...See MoreLast pictures of my fledglings...maybe
Comments (17)How close was I to these fledglings? As close as I can auto focus with a 300mm f/2.8 lens, which is about 8 feet. They got so used to me bringing the meal worms that they would fly right up to the feeder while I was putting them out. I have had them actually brush my arm. Of course, I don't have my camera in my hand and it wouldn't do me much good if I did, since I can't auto focus that close. I usually move to about 10 feet and fire away. They tend to ignore me. It's hard not to get a pretty shot of a bluebird, especially if it is sitting still. They are simply photogenic. I have this fancy equipment so I try to get them in action and catch them doing unusual things or get close ups that allow us to see them better than we do in real time. Their individual feathers, for example, are very beautiful, but they usually move so fast we don't get the chance to see and appreciate them. And can you imagine seeing your reflection in his eye? Here's a shot I like from a few days ago. It has a lot going on in it. It was taken when Papa was starting to chase the fledglings out of the yard. In the center is a HOSP that was trying to steal a meal worm. Papa is coming in from our position to chase the HOSP. One of the fledglings senses Papa is coming and moves to get out of the way. After he hits the HOSP, Papa continues on and chases the fledgling for good measure. Thanks for all the kind comments. Dave...See More- 6 years ago
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