# Birdwatching



## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

I saw this movie last month called "The Big Year" starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson.

It's a film about birdwatching. These people run around the lower 48 United States and try to spot as many different bird species in 365 days to get the record. The current record is 745. 

I love birds (except when they crap on my car and my deck) and I like watching them whenever I can. 

Here are some of the species that are around my area.

Saw one of these yesterday. A Red-throat ed Hummingbird.

One of them almost kissed my wife......musta thought she was a bird-feeder.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

We've had a family of Morning Doves nesting outside my bedroom window for about 5 years now. The kids keep coming back every year.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

There's a large family of these Wild Turkeys that live in the fields down below my house. They usually come up into the yards and yesterday I saw a fellow doing this on someone's driveway.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

I usually see a few of these out in the field munching on a dead rabbit or something.

Turkey Vulture.


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## Sherry (Apr 28, 2012)

When I was watching that movie, I thought about how if I ever won the lottery and became independently wealthy, that would be a fun way to spend a year of my life...not to really attempt to win it, but just for the experience.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

This is an Acorn Woodpecker.

We have a lot of these around here.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

Sherry said:


> When I was watching that movie, I thought about how if I ever won the lottery and became independently wealthy, that would be a fun way to spend a year of my life...not to really attempt to win it, but just for the experience.



It would be pretty cool.

I'd never get near as many as they did. They had people spotting them for them and they must have spent thousands on plane tickets.


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## Douger (Apr 28, 2012)

Watch ?


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

There are several families of Swallows that live just outside Dunbar Cave which are protected. They are very beneficial. They eat insects on the wing. They eat hundreds of mosquitoes every night.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

There are a couple families of these over at LBL (Land Between The Lakes)


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

Douger said:


> Watch ?



What kind of bird is that?


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

Blue Jay

Usually when I see these they're fighting smaller birds. They pray on other birds eggs. So they're usually being chased by an angry parent.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

Cardinals usually hang around here during the Winter.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

I grew up hearing these when I was a kid. 

Meadow Lark

They're the Montana State Bird.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

Robin

Whenever I work in the garden or mow the yard one of these is close by when I get done.

If I water the garden this guy is right out there looking for worms.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 28, 2012)

Down at Dunbar Cave we had a few of these Winter over. By last year there were at least a hundred of them that stayed all through the Summer. This year there are very few. I guess they found a better place to stay. 

Canadian Goose


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## freedombecki (Apr 29, 2012)

Wow, mudwhistle. Those are some beautiful birds. I really love birds. We have a pair or two of egrets out back every year.  Last year a pair trained their 3 chicks all summer and finally, flew away just before cold weather set it. They do not like company, though. They're off to the tall pines when you go for a walk by the lake. 




​


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## Big Black Dog (Apr 29, 2012)

We have many bird feeders in our yard.  As a result, there are tons of birds here to watch.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 29, 2012)

freedombecki said:


> Wow, mudwhistle. Those are some beautiful birds. I really love birds. We have a pair or two of egrets out back every year.  Last year a pair trained their 3 chicks all summer and finally, flew away just before cold weather set it. They do not like company, though. They're off to the tall pines when you go for a walk by the lake.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



We have some of those on post. Big suckers.


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## mudwhistle (Apr 29, 2012)

The Love Monkey said:


> We have many bird feeders in our yard.  As a result, there are tons of birds here to watch.



I don't have any bird-feeders, just lots and lots of trees. 

Birds are everywhere. When I water the garden they splash under the sprinkler.


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## freedombecki (Apr 29, 2012)

mudwhistle said:


> The Love Monkey said:
> 
> 
> > We have many bird feeders in our yard.  As a result, there are tons of birds here to watch.
> ...


Birds are a real trip.


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## dilloduck (Apr 29, 2012)

mudwhistle said:


> Down at Dunbar Cave we had a few of these Winter over. By last year there were at least a hundred of them that stayed all through the Summer. This year there are very few. I guess they found a better place to stay.
> 
> Canadian Goose



These suckers cover the gold courses with shit that looks like green packing peanuts. Hundreds of em---Doesn't anyone hunt these buggers?


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## Peach (Apr 29, 2012)

I used to live near some of these:

Google Image Result for http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2010/191/c/f/A_Family_of_Peacocks_by_Tay_Anne_12.jpg


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## mudwhistle (Apr 29, 2012)

dilloduck said:


> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> > Down at Dunbar Cave we had a few of these Winter over. By last year there were at least a hundred of them that stayed all through the Summer. This year there are very few. I guess they found a better place to stay.
> ...



Kind of hard to do on a state park.


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## mawlarky (May 1, 2012)

One of the thousands of starlings in my area


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## mawlarky (May 1, 2012)

One of the resident thugs


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## mawlarky (May 1, 2012)

an Irish Robin which is a different species to the american bird and a lot smaller


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## mawlarky (May 1, 2012)

A tiny Marsh Wren, you could hold 3-4 of these tiny birds in the palm of your hand


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## Intense (May 1, 2012)




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## Intense (May 1, 2012)




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## George Costanza (May 1, 2012)

mudwhistle said:


> The Love Monkey said:
> 
> 
> > We have many bird feeders in our yard.  As a result, there are tons of birds here to watch.
> ...



Mud, did YOU take all of the photos of the various birds you have posted here?


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## mudwhistle (May 1, 2012)

George Costanza said:


> mudwhistle said:
> 
> 
> > The Love Monkey said:
> ...



I wish.

I found photos of the birds I see just about every day.....except the woodpecker. Those are pretty rare.


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## mudwhistle (May 1, 2012)

Intense said:


>



Amazing those Maccas can out live us.


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## Intense (May 2, 2012)

Robert Moses State Park, 9/02/2010, just before Hurricane Earl hit.


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## freedombecki (May 2, 2012)

mawlarky said:


> A tiny Marsh Wren, you could hold 3-4 of these tiny birds in the palm of your hand


Oh, that's nice mawlarkey. I have the Lennox porcelain version of Marsh Wrens on the mantel above our fireplace.


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## mudwhistle (May 4, 2012)

When we were in Miami my wife got within a foot of this guy who seemed to be waiting to get a bite of bait fish from some people that were fishing off the pier.

Brown Pelican

Took this with my Blackberry






A better shot from Bing images


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## rdking647 (May 8, 2012)

a least bittern with breakfast


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## rdking647 (May 8, 2012)

skimmers at sunrise


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## sitarro (May 11, 2012)

mudwhistle said:


> Down at Dunbar Cave we had a few of these Winter over. By last year there were at least a hundred of them that stayed all through the Summer. This year there are very few. I guess they found a better place to stay.
> 
> Canadian Goose



Love these, a flock lived at my apartment complex when I lived in Colorado......... birders will frown on you if you say Canadian Geese..... they are Canada geese. 

I've worked on numerous golf courses in the Northern parts of the country where a lot of these Canada geese can be found. There are a number of dog trainers that sell specially trained Border Collies to golf course for a lot of money, I've been told some go for 4 grand. They spend their entire day on the golf course chasing geese. The geese finally get tired of it and move on. I saw one at a course in New York, it was one of the first. He was 2,500 dollars and was doing well until he was near a tee box when someone hit a drive with a metal
driver. The loud ping scared the shit out of him and he took off into the woods, they never saw him again. After that the lady that was training the dogs started using recordings of people hitting those drivers in the training sessions.


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## sealybobo (May 11, 2012)

mudwhistle said:


> I saw this movie last month called "The Big Year" starring Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson.
> 
> It's a film about birdwatching. These people run around the lower 48 United States and try to spot as many different bird species in 365 days to get the record. The current record is 745.
> 
> ...



I lost my dog 2 years ago and I don't want to take care of another animal again so I decided to make the squirrels, chipmunk and birds my pets.  I buy all kinds of nuts so the squirrel & chipmunk eat good.  Not just regular peanuts.  Cashews, Pican, Wallnuts.  The squirrel actually knocks at the door.  So cute.

So I finally figure out that the majority of the birds at my deck are American Sparrows, but there are several different kinds of sparrows and finch and I've seen a lot of them.  To many to remember all of them but maybe 5 different kinds if you know what to look for.  

But since I started paying attention, I've also seen Chicadee, Robin, Duck, Doves, 2 Blue Jay, 2 Cardinals, I've seen Hummingbird but not often.  I live on the lake so we of course have geese and swan and seagull on the lake, but they don't come to my courtyard.  The Mallards do though.  Don't know what they are doing, but its cute.  There are about 2 or 3 other lake birds I'm forgetting right now.  Some of them dive in the water to catch fish and they can go deep.  Loons?  

Ones I didn't realize where even there until I started paying attention Dark Eyed Junco, Starling, Tufted Titmouse.


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