Todd, good on you for caring about one of God’s little creatures. And THANKS very much for pulling this thread up. I’d not seen it before, and have been really inspired as I’ve read and looked through the posts. Thanks Dude.
" Rooster " said:
Holy Crap is that Darren O’Day in his youth?
Mommy fed him a lot of worms…he grew up to be about six and a half feet tall and must be making five million a year. You can buy a lot of nests with five million bucks.
We have a pair of special goldfinch feeders, and for several years we had lots of goldfinches hanging around. Especially if the weather was at all damp or rainy, for some reason they really liked to feed then. And there were almost always several of them perched in the nearby tree.
But in February 2015 the goldfinches suddenly vanished. Just a few times since then, we’ve seen one or two finches, but they never stay long.
I assume that something scared them off, possibly a Cooper’s hawk. Those show up in our yard from time to time. But we’ve had Cooper’s hawks here before and it never kept the goldfinches away for so long.
When we first moved here 20 years ago no one had put out feeders I guess. Took awhile but we soon had lots of finches, golden and house, more sparrows then than now it seems. Still a lot of finches and a bunch of migratory birds in the summer. We have hawks/owls and so on around, does not seem to scare them off. Lots of darned blackbirds this year, so only using the hanging feeders, then can’t eat out of them very well. Like David, we also have a pond that is part of the railroad. Also a smaller pond with a stream and that is real popular for bathing/drinking.
I just have a pond, and some small trees. That has attracted a lot of birds to my yard. They used to line up on the fence in the evening for their baths. If one bird took too long of a bath, the others would start squawking at it, it was actually kind of funny. But for the past few years, that hasn’t happened as much. Last year we had 3 pairs of blue birds that frequented the pond, as well as a pair of Cardinals. I am wondering if they will be back this year.
Linda and I went over to the local college to photo the garden but it was closed for Good Friday. So we went through Orange Park Acres to see the horses, etc.
We happened upon this house that had a corral with 6 miniature horses (but bigger than G-scale) so she photoed them for a while. Then we went down the street and she photoed the goats and cows at another residence.
Then we went a bit further and came upon a house where the people were out with their chickens of various types (about 15-20). They were very nice and asked us into the yard so Linda could get better pics.
They had something I had never seen before! This is a cross between a turkey and chicken and called a turken. They had a couple of these. I told them that if they can get a duck in there, instant “turducken.”
WARNING GROSS BIRDS AHEAD!!!
Then they asked us if we saw the **********'s down the block. I said no and asked where they were. They said they were at the same house that had the miniature horses, but just a bit further up the block. So we went there and they had three of these guys. Positively prehistoric looking and looks to be the decendant of raptors.
Can you tell what it is???
Looks like an Emu to me! Some folks here in RI keep them. Not sure why?
BTW: That’s a Naked neck Chicken. It’s not a cross between a Turkey and a chicken.
Correct on both accounts, although the naked neck chickens are also called “turkens.” Makes plucking easier. I guess the owner was mistaken.
BTW, those emus were taller than me if they stretched up and would put their heads right through the fence and follow (bite???) a finger if you let them.
So, all they really need to do is breed this chicken for webbed feed and they can call it a “turducken.”
# Naked Neck (Turken)
Who knew turkeys and chickens could interbreed? This bird looks like a turkey due to its “naked neck”, but it’s all chicken! It was bred this way to be easier for cooks to pluck.
Shame that they don’t know their own poultry. I always find out all I can before taking on any living thing on our little farm. Including plants! Just good husbandry.
Devon Sinsley said:
Birding can happen everywhere.
Yes it can !
This is a video of the Northern Flicker Woodpecker calling. Pay close attention to it’s call.
This is a video of the Northern Flicker Woodpecker on a STEEL roof today (aka my garage) hammering away for like 5 minutes. You can here it’s call at the very end. When I first heard it I dropped to the floor as I wasn’t sure what it was considering the current times. Hell even the BIRDS are going nuts.Glad I took some video though as it is pretty funny…wonder what it’s pecker looks like after that hammering?
Turn up the speakers!
Editing because you really can’t make this stuff up !!!
Years ago when I was a teenager we heard that sound outside our house and located
it to a woodpecker on a corrugated tin panel in the corner of our property, watching it thru binoculars it was hitting the tin so hard the bird was bouncing from the vibrations. After he flew off we went and there was a fairly deep pocket drilled into the tin, it was not through but I’m bettering it was an inch deep at least. Wish we had video way back then to show people
At least twice a month I have to pound on an inside wall to get that peckerhead to quit drilling on my home!
I’d rather throw a rock at it, than takes it’s picture!
John Caughey said:
At least twice a month I have to pound on an inside wall to get that peckerhead to quit drilling on my home!
I’d rather throw a rock at it, than takes it’s picture!
You have a steel roof too ?
Rooster ’ said:
John Caughey said:
At least twice a month I have to pound on an inside wall to get that peckerhead to quit drilling on my home!
I’d rather throw a rock at it, than takes it’s picture!
You have a steel roof too ?
Nope, he works under the eaves!
Cool video.
I’m not a full-fledged birder, just a casual fan of birds. A few weeks ago I bought my first pro-quality zoom lens, 100-400mm. It’s a beast, weighs over three and half pounds and has totally silent autofocus so it can be used for video as well as stills. Anyway, I’m hoping to use it to get some birds on video, as well as other wildlife.
Scott McDonald said:
Did a little birding before and in between the National garden Railway Convention and the National Summer Steamup in Northern California.
Ladder Backed Woodpecker
Ladder-Backed Woodpecker by Scott McDonald, on Flickr
Hi, Scott. I missed this thread when it came around a couple years ago (thanks, Rooster, for reviving it!).
What you have there is a Nutall’s Woodpecker, rather than a ladder-backed. The giveaway is the solid black on the upper back - ladder backed would show the ladder pattern all the way up to the neck. If you were in the Bay Area for the NGRC, there are no ladder-backs in that neck of the woods.
This guy sings outside our bedroom every morning.
My Red follows me about until I get him a nice fat peanut in the shell. I can’t throw at him, but under his branch where he can jump cautiously from branch to branch, while my foot ball plump quail look for shelled nuts…
His harem also wants shucked, but away from the quail and curved bills …
The thought of pictures occur a tad late …
Can you tell what it is???
That is am Emu,
There are thousand near where I live.
When driving on an outback road I had 4 of them running parallel to me for a short distance (travelling at 100KmPH) , when they did a 90 degree turn straight across the road I was not driving all the fast suddenly.
Their cousin is a cassowary it has the reputation of being the world’s most dangerous bird. Cassowary - Wikipedia
If you are walking through the Australian rainforest and come face to face with one just back away slowly especially during breeding season and if it is a female with young.
On the advice of wildlife experts I do not put feed out for the wild birds on a regular basis so that they do not become dependent on me.
I do have a bird bath that is used by heaps of wild birds for drinking water and the occasional bath.
Take my hand, I can save you