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The thread for birds and birding

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  • #16
    Re: The thread for birds and birding

    Originally posted by burd View Post
    Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
    Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten hockey,
    While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
    As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my roof window.
    `'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my roof window-
    It's probably only nothing though.'

    Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
    And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
    Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
    From my old programs surcease of sorrow - sorrow for Badger teams of yore-
    For the rare and radiant team that once could win-
    Nameless here for evermore.

    And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
    Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
    So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
    `'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my roof window-
    Some late visitor entreating entrance at my roof window; -
    It's probably only nothing though,'

    Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
    `Sir,' said I, `or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
    But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
    And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my roof window,
    That I scarce was sure I heard you' - here I opened wide my door; -
    Darkness there, and nothing more.

    Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
    Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
    But the silence was unbroken, and the darkness gave no token,
    And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, `Gopher whore!'
    This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, `Gopher whore?'
    Merely this and nothing more.

    Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
    Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
    `Surely,' said I, `surely that is something at my window lattice;
    Let me see then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
    Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
    'Tis only Dubber and nothing more!'

    You're a complicated dude, Gurth.

    Burd, in the Birding thread?

    And with this!?!


    It's all too much. Heavy stuff there bro...

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    • #17
      Re: The thread for birds and birding

      Well, if we're talking about the birds...

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      • #18
        Re: The thread for birds and birding

        Crane Cam is up, courtesy of Rowe Sanctuary. Woot!

        http://rowe.audubon.org/crane-cam

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: The thread for birds and birding

          Originally posted by Farce Poobah View Post
          Crane Cam is up, courtesy of Rowe Sanctuary. Woot!

          http://rowe.audubon.org/crane-cam
          Neat.

          I had my 20th species of bird show up at my feeders this year, an eastern towhee. Birds should starting coming through on migration soon, can't wait to see what shows up next.

          #21 came later in the day. A northern mockingbird showed up and chowed on some suet for a little while.
          Last edited by Proud2baLaker; 03-09-2013, 09:34 PM.

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          • #20
            Re: The thread for birds and birding

            Been dabbling in some more bird drawings:

            American Kestrel
            *****http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s480x480/578068_650671178614_1381046309_n.jpg******

            American Goldfinch
            *****http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/734124_650594497284_971804890_n.jpg******

            These are both going to friends.

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            • #21
              Re: The thread for birds and birding

              Spring is here. I am starting to see more of the migratory birds showing up. Had 2 Rose breasted grosbeaks partaking in some safflower. Today I had a hummingbird show up in my back yard (Ruby-throated) looking for food. Problem is I dont have a hummingbird feeder yet. He must have just heard from all other other birds that I have the greatest restaraunt in the area. haha. Will probably pick up a hummingbird feeder and make some sugar water sometime this week. Counting the hummingbird thats 27 species at the feeders since i put them up in January (that I have seen and know of).

              Also wanted to post this. The Indiana DNR has worked with AEP (a power company) to place a nest box at the top of the 26 story AEP building in Fort Wayne, IN. There is a nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons using the nest and they have a cam up there so you can watch the nest. Looks like its not live per say but takes a photo every 15 seconds. Looks like they may be sitting on an egg...not sure. Here is the link: http://www.aep.com/environment/falconcam/

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              • #22
                Re: The thread for birds and birding

                There is a loon in our pond right now. Not a usual visitor here in the suburbs, but our pond is one of the few open water spots around this year. Been quite a few of the usual buffle heads and similar migrating ducks but the loon is a little unusual here.

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                • #23
                  Re: The thread for birds and birding

                  I don't know if there is a website that does this, or if other cities have something similar. In the Boston Science Museum, they have an exhibit with lots of different kinds of birds in it (replicas not the real thing) and on a computer screen nearby you can pick one and play its call. It was quite instructive: I can hear maybe six or eight different kinds of bird calls where we live and to be able to associate the call with the bird making it is quite helpful.
                  "Hope is a good thing; maybe the best of things."

                  "Beer is a sign that God loves us and wants us to be happy." -- Benjamin Franklin

                  "Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." -- W. B. Yeats

                  "People generally are most impatient with those flaws in others about which they are most ashamed of in themselves." - folk wisdom

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                  • #24
                    Re: The thread for birds and birding

                    Originally posted by goldy_331 View Post
                    There is a loon in our pond right now. Not a usual visitor here in the suburbs, but our pond is one of the few open water spots around this year. Been quite a few of the usual buffle heads and similar migrating ducks but the loon is a little unusual here.

                    I would guess your larger urban lakes get them each year?

                    They stop here in Madison each spring. My wife works downtown and hears them in the morning, which she says is quite surreal as it's a sound she used to only associate with the North Woods.

                    I've gone down and shot photos a few times as you can get them right from shore or from the Monona Terrace. Here's the best one I've gotten...

                    *****http://i820.***********.com/albums/zz128/Gurtholfin/Loon_zps060cb1f0.jpg******


                    This fellow was about 40 yards from the Terrace.

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                    • #25
                      Re: The thread for birds and birding

                      Originally posted by Gurtholfin View Post
                      I would guess your larger urban lakes get them each year?
                      Correct. But this year the larger lakes are still ice locked. I should clarify that the pond we live on would be a lake in Wisconsin - it's about 5 acres and 'Sconny uses 1 acre as the cut-off. In MN it's a pond.

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                      • #26
                        Originally posted by FreshFish View Post
                        I don't know if there is a website that does this, or if other cities have something similar. In the Boston Science Museum, they have an exhibit with lots of different kinds of birds in it (replicas not the real thing) and on a computer screen nearby you can pick one and play its call. It was quite instructive: I can hear maybe six or eight different kinds of bird calls where we live and to be able to associate the call with the bird making it is quite helpful.
                        Try the Cornell lab of ornithology all about birds. Enter the bird you are looking for and yu will get all the info including the calls.
                        I would also recommend birding.aba.org. The site will provide you with a link to every states most recent bird sightings.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: The thread for birds and birding

                          So, driving in my neighborhood and come upon what appears to be a rabbit chasing a crow across a front lawn as it is taking off. As we get closer the crow becomes airborne and flies about 15 feet in front of us and we can clearly see the baby bunny in its beak. Mama rabbit was left on the lawn looking clueless as ever.

                          I'm the first to hate on the billion or so rabbits that are in our hood, but I didn't need to see that.


                          A few years ago a crow had a baby squirrel treed in our back yard and I chased it off. Didn't need to sit there and watch it dismember a baby squirrel. Plus, we have a certain simpatico with the squirrels in our yard.

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                          • #28
                            Originally posted by Gurtholfin View Post
                            Plus, we have a certain simpatico with the squirrels in our yard.
                            Squirrels of a feather?

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                            • #29
                              Originally posted by goldy_331 View Post
                              Squirrels of a feather?

                              I feed them my nuts.

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                              • #30
                                Re: The thread for birds and birding

                                So I'm not really much into birding personally, but I saw something kinda interesting yesterday. There's a hummingbird in the back yard that we've seen off and on for a good while now, but I just noticed yesterday it had this odd pattern. It would stay still, hovering about 10-15 feet above the ground over a small tree or bush, making some soft chirping/peeping sounds, for probably about 10 seconds or so. Then it would fly pretty much straight up, I'd guess at least 100 feet, and then do this J shaped dive-bomb between our house and the neighbor's, stopping and hovering over the tree again. Somewhere from the bottom of the J to the hover point, it made a much louder, single chirp. It followed this pattern for at least a good 10 minutes, and that's just when I started watching.

                                The tree is actually in the neighbor's yard, and behind hedges, so we couldn't see what was in there. We were thinking maybe there was a squirrel, bird, or nest in the tree, and maybe there was some harassment going on one way or the other, but couldn't tell for sure. Anyway, I was just wondering if you guys had seen something like that before, or knew what it was doing?

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