Any bird watchers?

[SkiWhiz]

My favorite bird is Duck, they taste so good. Just kidding, the closest thing to Indigo Buntings that I have seen up here is a Bluebird. We don't see many but from time to time a Baltimore Oriole will come to our feeders, I think they are a beautiful bird. We also get many Humming birds & them little yellow birds whatever they are called. Steve.

 

[Ed in KC]

Ed you have any luck with Humming Birds ?

Yeah, some--they don't stay around my yard for long, but they hang out here while my flowering shrubs are blooming. I never have put out a hummingbird feeder.

 

[booker]

I got a feeder out but havnt been able to atract any

 

[Ed in KC]

My favorite bird is Duck, they taste so good. Just kidding, the closest thing to Indigo Buntings that I have seen up here is a Bluebird. We don't see many but from time to time a Baltimore Oriole will come to our feeders, I think they are a beautiful bird. We also get many Humming birds & them little yellow birds whatever they are called. Steve.

Baltimore Orioles are beautiful, they come by my feeder every now and then. I have some little yellow birds too, Goldfinches, but there's quite a few yellow ones.

 

[Ed in KC]

I got a feeder out but havnt been able to atract any

One of my neighbors had a couple hummingbird feeders out, but I have some kind of flowering shrub that they love, don't know what kind of shrub they are, but they bloom for a week or so, and the hummingbirds and bees love them. I've heard that it can take a long time for the hummingbirds to discover the feeders, so I'll bet you'll eventually get them.

 

[booker]

Are the shrubs red? was told they love the red flowers

 

[SkiWhiz]

This is kind of off topic but thought that you might enjoy the story. Many years ago we came home from somewhere and a pigeon was in our garage we didn't pay much attention at first but there just seemed something unusual about the pigeon. It didn't seem to be afraid, then we noticed a band on its leg, I forget now what the band said or if it even did say anythng. My Mom would call to the bird and it would fly down and land right on her shoulder. She named it Billy Bob, somehow the newspaper heard about it and came here and done a story about it and put it in the newspaper. That bird showed up every summer for 3 or 4 years and one summer it never came back, not sure what ever happened to it, we still talk about Billy Bob from time to time. Steve.

 

[SkiWhiz]

I got a feeder out but havnt been able to atract any

Humming birds seem to be a very picky eater, my Mom mixes up some kind of red liquid that they really like. I think they like sweet tasting food. Steve.

No matter how sweet she makes it - it still tastes bad. She has mixed some up and left it in the refridgerator and I have mistaken it for red kool aid. Yuck!!! Steve.

 

[booker]

 

[Ed in KC]

Are the shrubs red? was told they love the red flowers

No, they're white, and when they bloom put off a smell kind of like honey. They get purple berries later. Here's a pic:

 

[booker]

Nice pic Ed Pretty sharp

 

[Ed in KC]

This is kind of off topic but thought that you might enjoy the story. Many years ago we came home from somewhere and a pigeon was in our garage we didn't pay much attention at first but there just seemed something unusual about the pigeon. It didn't seem to be afraid, then we noticed a band on its leg, I forget now what the band said or if it even did say anythng. My Mom would call to the bird and it would fly down and land right on her shoulder. She named it Billy Bob, somehow the newspaper heard about it and came here and done a story about it and put it in the newspaper. That bird showed up every summer for 3 or 4 years and one summer it never came back, not sure what ever happened to it, we still talk about Billy Bob from time to time. Steve.

Cool story! It reminds me of a story in the paper about a lady that has a hummingbird come to her house every fall, but it's some type of hummingbird that lives in the northwest, and wouldn't normally ever come to this area.

 

[SkiWhiz]

Cool story! It reminds me of a story in the paper about a lady that has a hummingbird come to her house every fall, but it's some type of hummingbird that lives in the northwest, and wouldn't normally ever come to this area.

I forgot to mention(its been along time) that the pigeon would come into our house with no fear at all, it would follow my mother where ever she went, she could and did walk up town with it on her shoulder. I think that bird thought it was a dog. Steve.

 

[Carol K]

Thanks for the photo never saw an Indigo Bunting before. Since moving here to South Dakota, we have noticed quite a few birds that we didn't ever see in Connecticut. The most colorful one we've seen so far is the pheasant. They are out and about along the roadsides now. It seems they like the gravel? I can't think of any other reason why they would be so close to the road.

 

[SkiWhiz]

Thanks for the photo never saw an Indigo Bunting before. Since moving here to South Dakota, we have noticed quite a few birds that we didn't ever see in Connecticut. The most colorful one we've seen so far is the pheasant. They are out and about along the roadsides now. It seems they like the gravel? I can't think of any other reason why they would be so close to the road.

Maybe to get to the other side, sorry Carol I couldn't refuse . Steve.

 

[funnyfarmman]

The pheasant eats gravel to help grind up food in the digestive system. Many birds do this including doves.


cb

 

[Calvin]

A bird no one had seen before yesterday

Okay, it's this specific one that nobody saw before me. It's a newly hatched cardinal in the nest with its unhatched sibling. I have my doubts that the other egg will hatch. There were three eggs originally. We get many species at our feeders, especially during migration seasons. Last night was the first sighting of the year for an Indigo Bunting. The Orioles showed up last week as well as the grossbeaks and many pairs of robins are camped out on nests of 3-4 eggs each. The chickadees, downy and hairy woodpeckers, juncos and cardinals stay with us year round with as many as 7-8 pair coming to the feeders at the same time. We also feed pheasants and have had a parade of wild turkeys stroll through one day. We have counted as many as 20 -25 different species in a day during peak migration. I have to keep an old milk can full of sunflower seeds in the pantry to reduce the trips out to the barn and shed to get more. We are noticing greatly reduced numbers of mourning doves as more state now have hunting seasons on them

 

[Ed in KC]

Nice pic! There have been three pairs of Cardinals that come to my feeder this spring, and there's some kind of rivalry between two of the males, which I don't understand. Most days there are also three pairs of doves, and now a couple of babies, so they're plentifull in this area. One bird we don't have around here is the pheasant, but there are a small amount about twenty miles north of here.

 

[Ed in KC]

Thanks for the photo never saw an Indigo Bunting before. Since moving here to South Dakota, we have noticed quite a few birds that we didn't ever see in Connecticut. The most colorful one we've seen so far is the pheasant. They are out and about along the roadsides now. It seems they like the gravel? I can't think of any other reason why they would be so close to the road.

This part of the country is loaded with migratory birds, going from Canada south, then back again. Theres a wildlife refuge near Mound City Missouri, which every year has millions of birds during peak migration, it's amazing, here's the link: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/SquawCreek/

 

[Calvin]

What a couple of days can do.....

Here is an updated pic of the baby cardinal. Meanwhile, at the feeders, 6 pairs of grossbeaks, a handful of Orioles, and two male Indigo Buntings at the same time. And all the other usual visitors plus the first hummingbird of the spring.

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