Backyard Birding List

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 5:57 pm

if anyone needs it, this 10 hours (!) of soothing night time lake sounds, featuring lotsa loons:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIyd6Sw1DVw

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:47 pm

What's a good beginner's app/site for ID'ing birds?

Eagle Rock, Los Angeles:

Parrots (Red headed probably)
Canadian Geese
Ravens
Pair of Hawks
Endless hummingbirds
Mourning Doves
So many others I need to work on identifying
Stray cat with her 4 kittens in the garage
Box of bees captured during the first week of quarantine on the property that get to stay on the property.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:55 pm

There’s an app made by Cornell University called Merlin that I’ve been using! You tell it what size the guy is, what color, where you saw ‘im and where you live and it gives you a list of contenders.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:55 pm

Also...box of bees?

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 1:20 am

ritchey wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 4:29 pm I remember as a kid driving in some blighted West Texan landscape and my parents saying hey look vultures, and I forced them to pull over to the side of the road and let me lie down in the dirt to see if they'd come try to eat me. I remember my mom saying "honey it won't work" but when I asked "why" it was like it was too tiring to explain so instead they just pulled over and let me lie in the dirt for awhile (it didn't work).

What if it HAD??

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:12 am

One time in perhaps the year 2001 Jona and I had to pick Phil up from the airport very early in the morning, like 4 a.m. somehow, and we did, and dropped him off at his truck where he was going to sleep for awhile before we met back up for breakfast. On our drive home we were so loopy and tired we started talking about how birds were actually called "zubs." Jona told me about "that sea zub that lives by the ocean? Flies around trash" and other zubs. At breakfast we told Phil about zubs. And forever after--now TWENTY YEARS after that moment!!!! Guys what the hell--I still think of birds as zubs pretty regularly, I would say half the time I think of a bird I think that it is called a zub. Red zub, yellow zub. Big zub. Now Gary calls them zubs too. And so the world keeps a'turnin'

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 4:48 am

Bub zubs

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 6:52 am

I love Jona "telling you about zubs."

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 7:37 am

hahaha FLIES AROUND TRASH

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:42 am

yourfriendclaire wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:55 pm Also...box of bees?

Just... a bee box? mini zubs home? bee hive that is a box that a beehiver will harvest? Not sure all these terms. But he is going to try to get a natural hive that he cuts out of a hallow tree limb and bring it here as well which would be even cooler. (for film thread - if you haven't watched Honeyland HIGHLY recommend if you are into docs or bees or pioneering)

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 10:43 am

yourfriendclaire wrote: ↑Tue Apr 14, 2020 7:55 pm There’s an app made by Cornell University called Merlin that I’ve been using! You tell it what size the guy is, what color, where you saw ‘im and where you live and it gives you a list of contenders.

ty! Adding to my list. I know ornithologists use iBird but I'm intimidated even though maybe I shouldn't be...

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 11:58 am

I just stood and watched a Mockingbird sing in an old sycamore tree for several minutes

uncleboatshoes · Post by **uncleboatshoes** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 12:57 pm

I just saw a hawk (sharp-shinned hawk, I think) in one of the trees in my front yard and then it flew about 6 inches over the top of my Suburu car into the backyard.

That was cool for me. I'm a fan of predators of the sky!

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 1:24 pm

Nice one, Steve!

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:00 pm

Just back from the woods. By the stream I found a crime scene. It's hard to tell from the picture but the feathers are like neon orange and black. Very cool halloween zub. I don't know from birds but this seemed big and rare. Not sure what predator might have gotten it, maybe a raccoon? Couldn't see any prints in the mud.
Does dead remnants count as bird watching?

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:03 pm

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:34 pm

friend here says Northern Flicker, Male (Red-shafted)

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:36 pm

greetings.

alexshred420 · Post by **alexshred420** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:40 pm

Did you know picking up bird feathers is illegal?
https://infinitespider.com/illegal-feat ... her-atlas/

Except
Pheasants
Most Pigeons
Ruffed Grouse
Turkeys
Quail
Chickens
Bobwhite
Eurasian Collared-dove
House sparrow
Mute Swan
Greater Prairie-Chicken
House Crow
are legal

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 5:32 pm

Pretty bird!

rcnederveld · Post by **rcnederveld** » Thu Apr 16, 2020 6:16 pm

Phil wrote: ↑Thu Apr 16, 2020 4:00 pm Just back from the woods. By the stream I found a crime scene. It's hard to tell from the picture but the feathers are like neon orange and black. Very cool halloween zub. I don't know from birds but this seemed big and rare. Not sure what predator might have gotten it, maybe a raccoon? Couldn't see any prints in the mud.
Does dead remnants count as bird watching?

I found feathers like this on a hike in the Angeles Crest Forrest and always wondered what it was! That bird is beautiful!

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 5:19 am

WHOAAAAAAA
HALLOWEEN ZUB MURDER

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:08 am

OMG, just sooo many horny street zubs!

tomcarroll.online · Post by **tomcarroll.online** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:45 am

Highland Park, L.A., CA

Very excited to have spotted a
x Hooded oriole
Somewhat excited to have spotted
x Rufous Hummingbird

Evan.V.N.S.J. · Post by **Evan.V.N.S.J.** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:55 am

Edmonton, Alberta:
-Magpie
-Magpie
-Several magpies together
-Confused crow
-Distant magpies
-Occasionally a chickadee, etc.

I'm not complaining, they are beautiful and fun to watch. But I think they scare the other birds away. Corvids not COVID 2020.

The geese will probably be returning soon. I also love what they look like in the sky in groups but hate them as individuals on the ground. They are bad! Once we were taking a walk and there was a lone goose under a bridge acting suspicious, and we basically had to reroute in order to avoid certain goose-doom. That video game is not lying!!!

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:03 am

tomcarroll.online wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:45 am Highland Park, L.A., CA

Very excited to have spotted a
x Hooded oriole
Somewhat excited to have spotted
x Rufous Hummingbird

Welcome Tom! Oriole is a big deal. Thought we spotted one the other day but it turned out to have been a goldfinch (also yellow)

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:27 am

Goose on the ground is my least favorite zub/geese in the sky my favorite: “no explanation. No point in lookin’ for one neither”

Except the explanation is indeed that goose on ground is terrifying, mean as nails, and bad as all get-out

freddy · Post by **freddy** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:31 pm

My favorites are the chickadees. They are so fat and jolly and their heads are comically large for their bodies!

We have one that comes to our window birdfeeder occasionally. He'll come and bully off a house finch or goldfinch, then just grab a single seed and dash off. We also saw a pair of them hollowing out a nest out of a dead tree. I've gone to check on them again but didn't see them. I'll try again soon.

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 2:50 pm

Thanks for sharing, freddy! Truly one of the better birds.

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 7:53 pm

Evan V.N.S.J: are Canada Geese just referred to as “Geese” up North?

Evan.V.N.S.J. · Post by **Evan.V.N.S.J.** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 8:24 pm

Great question.

But I think they call them Canada Geese here too?

There was a mild controversy about whether they should become the national bird awhile back and AFAIK the arguments were basically:

Pro: It has "Canada" in the name
Con: Literally everything about them is horrible, and they are hated by everybody

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Wed Apr 22, 2020 10:09 pm

Just keep those Dino-Bulldogs up in the air, there will be no problems!

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:40 am

: Screen Shot 2020-04-23 at 10.38.24 AM.png (128.17 KiB) Viewed 11173 times

Googled Canada's national bird and got this somewhat misleading information.

Evan.V.N.S.J. · Post by **Evan.V.N.S.J.** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:16 pm

Unofficial National Bird of Canada is a hell of a CV line for the humble gray jay though

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:23 pm

hahaha

tomcarroll.online · Post by **tomcarroll.online** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:24 pm

Just saw a Dark-Eyed Junco in Eagle Rock! only ever seen them at high (4000 ft+) elevations prior to today

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Thu Apr 23, 2020 1:24 pm

Evan.V.N.S.J. wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:16 pm Unofficial National Bird of Canada is a hell of a CV line for the humble gray jay though

Plus don't forget the a.k.a. "Whisky Jack"

BAD. ASS.

brain.of.bird · Post by **brain.of.bird** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:20 pm

yourfriendclaire · Post by **yourfriendclaire** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 6:54 pm

WE ARE BLESSED

Welcome brain.of.bird! I would like to brag briefly to everyone here that I have visited brain.of.bird’s Australian country garden and it’s as charming as you’re imagining. I think I even saw where the Bower birds usually fuck around? Did we see some blue trash?

This board is positively cosmopolitan now. Three continents! Four countries!

RCH · Post by **RCH** » Fri Apr 24, 2020 7:32 pm

A starling is going to try to nest in our eaves. What should I do? Cut it off with a chainsaw?

m o l l y · Post by **m o l l y** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 1:51 am

Look at all those outback birds! I liked seeing them. They are all so new to me!

As I have made clear before, all I see from my windows are dirty horny pigeons. But Brussels has has, in Belgium's classic tradition of absurdity, a ballooning parrot population. The trees are swarming with them. It is fun to see them pecking the ground for seeds amongst their street-zub brethren.

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 4:15 am

OUTBACK ZUBS AND BELGIUM PARROTS???
NOW I'VE SEEN EVERYTHING

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Sat Apr 25, 2020 6:13 am

Not half as cool as a bower bird or a horny pigeon but we just had an Eastern Phoebe in our backyard.

One of the better AMERICAN birds.

G

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 8:17 am

https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=ht ... isual=true

alex · Post by **alex** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 9:59 am

I am going to let this thread motivate me to put bird feed in the feeder outside my window, which I haven't been doing a good job. Let's see who comes.

meadows · Post by **meadows** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 10:56 am

Gary, this is very beautiful

GARY-19 · Post by **GARY-19** » Sun Apr 26, 2020 11:10 am

Indeed it is. Thank you for listening, Sal.

G

Phil · Post by **Phil** » Mon Apr 27, 2020 2:58 pm

Yesterday we were eating our pb&j's up on the hill and very faintly some honking was audible. Through the cracks in the trees I saw them, the Canada geese flying in formation
BUT LIKE HUNDREDS
I lost count, like when you're in eastern Montana and trying to count the infinite snake of train cars in the distance. It was so many geese, all in an endless huge asymmetrical V heading NW, presumably up the inside passage toward northern BC/SE Alaska.
The sound of so much honking but super high up in the sky, godlike.

Evan.V.N.S.J. · Post by **Evan.V.N.S.J.** » Mon Apr 27, 2020 3:01 pm

oh god they're coming back

ritchey · Post by **ritchey** » Mon Apr 27, 2020 5:38 pm

SO GNAR DOG
RADICAL GEESE