# Bird Watching



## Michelle420 (Sep 22, 2019)

If I could afford it I'd take a year and travel and go bird watching. But instead, I can only look at bird photos around the world. Post your favorite bird  I see lots of middle fingers.


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## JoeMoma (Sep 22, 2019)




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## Natural Citizen (Sep 22, 2019)

I dig bird watching a lot. I have feeders and strategically planted trees and shrubs all over the place. Winter is likely my favorite time to watch them. Very colorful. Dunno if I have a favorite. Maybe Blue Jays in the winter time. Woodpeckers are kind of neat. And those American Goldfinches, they come in olive green and yellow, they populate my sunflowers.


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## Hossfly (Sep 22, 2019)




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## rightwinger (Sep 22, 2019)

Hummingbirds are amazing creatures to watch. 
Aggressive for such a small bird


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## petro (Sep 22, 2019)

All I have to do is go outside.
I see far too many too post the pictures.
Eagle and hawk sightings daily. Sandhill Cranes roam our neighborhood,  they stand over 3 ft tall. Every species of North America has visited my lot. Even tropical Orioles and Hummingbirds during the warm months. Two families of Eastern Bluebirds live in the boxes I put out back. Turkeys and Pheasants have roamed in. Annoying woodpeckers eat my house.
Even in winter, the woods are full of life.


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## Michelle420 (Sep 22, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Sep 22, 2019)




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## petro (Sep 22, 2019)

rightwinger said:


> Hummingbirds are amazing creatures to watch.
> Aggressive for such a small bird


I keep a feeder on the picture window. Can see them as I watch TV. 
See them up in the northern woods a lot. Even had one buzz around our boat on the lake. They are still around, but I bet they head south real soon. Getting chilly at night.


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## Michelle420 (Sep 22, 2019)




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## Natural Citizen (Sep 22, 2019)

petro said:


> Getting chilly at night.



It feels great, I've been spending a lot of time out on the porch in the evening and night lately. Apple picking season type of chilly. It's probably my favorite time of year, these next couple months.


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## Dekster (Sep 22, 2019)

petro said:


> rightwinger said:
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> > Hummingbirds are amazing creatures to watch.
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I haven't seen any in about a week after the temps dipped into the 40's one night (and was back in the 90's today).  I have a feeder, but they mostly have been frequenting a couple beds of zinnia and one with Mexican sunflowers.  The zinnias are looking rather horrible.  I would rip them out for aesthetics, but the little butterflies are still showing up.  I guess the big ones have either migrated or died.  We had about 4 regular ruby throat hummers this year, or at least I saw 4 at once one day.


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## petro (Sep 22, 2019)

Dekster said:


> petro said:
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Saw them today, we had a stretch of warm last week. I bet they will be gone within the week. They really buzz the feeder a lot before they go.


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## rightwinger (Sep 23, 2019)

petro said:


> rightwinger said:
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> > Hummingbirds are amazing creatures to watch.
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Ours headed south around Labor Day. I keep a couple of feeders by our kitchen window


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## petro (Sep 23, 2019)

rightwinger said:


> petro said:
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I think my hummys bailed today. Haven't seen them. Cold front moved in yesterday. That was it.

Summer is done.


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## Hossfly (Sep 23, 2019)

petro said:


> rightwinger said:
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I have 2 feeders and 8 little devils who fight from dawn til dusk. It's still in the 90s in North Texas so I'll have them until they're ready to go south, then I'll take the feeders down til spring.


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## petro (Sep 23, 2019)

Hossfly said:


> petro said:
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North of Twin Cities here. Usually they are gone about a week earlier,  but we got a recent wave of warm weather.
I will leave the feeder out a few more days for any passing thru.

They do fight like little devils over that feeder. One hangs out in the tree watching and attacks every other that tries to get to it.

I notice them a lot more even in the north woods. Once you recognize them they seem easier to spot.


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## baileyn45 (Sep 24, 2019)

Seeing this bird in bright sunlight led to the purchase of my first field guide. It was simply neon, blew my mind.

Indigo Bunting


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## kiwiman127 (Sep 24, 2019)

baileyn45 said:


> Seeing this bird in bright sunlight led to the purchase of my first field guide. It was simply neon, blew my mind.
> 
> Indigo Bunting



Indigo Buntings are very cool, they are rarely seen. I usually see them in June a few times..
They actually have black feathers but the pigment, when in the sun appears a denim blue.


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## Michelle420 (Sep 28, 2019)

blue jay


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## Michelle420 (Oct 5, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Oct 5, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Oct 5, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Oct 5, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Oct 5, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Oct 5, 2019)




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## Thunk (Oct 5, 2019)

I'm not really into type of birds...but I enjoy watching birds doing the back-stroke in the birdbath   

Look at all the happy creatures dancin' on the lawn...bother me tomorrow...today I'll find no sorrow...dooo dooo dooo lookin' out my back door


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## baileyn45 (Oct 9, 2019)

drifter said:


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Great picture. Obviously a great conversation on the right, "these guys are boring me" on the left.


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## baileyn45 (Oct 9, 2019)

drifter said:


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OK, I have to ask, what in the hell is that? Looks like a shot from Jurassic Park.


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## Hossfly (Oct 9, 2019)

baileyn45 said:


> drifter said:
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The *shoebill* (_Balaeniceps rex_) also known as *whalehead*, *whale-headed stork*, or *shoe-billed stork*, is a very large stork-like bird. It derives its name from its enormous shoe-shaped bill. It has a somewhat stork-like overall form and has previously been classified with the storks in the order Ciconiiformes based on this morphology. However, genetic evidence places it with the Pelecaniformes. The adult is mainly grey while the juveniles are browner. It lives in tropical east Africa in large swamps from Sudan to Zambia.[2]


Shoebill - Wikipedia


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## baileyn45 (Oct 9, 2019)

Thunk said:


> I'm not really into type of birds...but I enjoy watching birds doing the back-stroke in the birdbath
> 
> Look at all the happy creatures dancin' on the lawn...bother me tomorrow...today I'll find no sorrow...dooo dooo dooo lookin' out my back door


Probably a good attitude, Bird watching seems to have a penchant for becoming obsessive. Someone told me once that you're not a true birdwatcher until every vacation revolves around a swamp, grassland, beach, forest...

For me it cracks me up, amongst my family and friends I'm the bird expert. Around real birdwatchers, I might have breached the beginner status.


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## baileyn45 (Oct 9, 2019)

Hossfly said:


> baileyn45 said:
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Not buying it, I'm sticking with Jurassic park!


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## baileyn45 (Oct 9, 2019)

Funny story about birdwatching. Many years ago I decided to take my golden retriever to a new state park to let her run, in Ohio by the way. So I head out to Crane Creek SP(now Magee Marsh, part of Ottawa NWR). I get there, instead of miles of forest there are hundreds of cars, 400-500 people and a quarter mile boardwalk through a swamp. Oh, and a sign, No Pets. So I went next door to the wildlife area to run the dog.

Intrigued, I went back the next day without the dog. The first people I met was a young couple from Germany. We got to talking and eventually I asked, "so what brought you here?". They said "we're here to see the warblers". I said, "I know why you're HERE, but what brought you to the US". Their response, "we're her to see the warblers". I responded, "you came from Germany to a swamp outside of Toledo, Ohio to see birds?" Yep. Who knew.  I was obviously ignorant of my own backyard.

The next year I spent a couple of hours with a Japanese family at the same place. The father was working in Chicago and travelled there to see the warblers. That and as the father repeatedly told me, to go to Cedar Point, "Japanese people love roller coasters", he repeatedly assured me. And many Japanese know of Cedar Point. Who knew?


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## Michelle420 (Oct 9, 2019)

Birds are really pretty and interesting.


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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)

Birds


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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)

Vultures: Natural History Notebooks


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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)

30 million years

There is evidence to indicate the Flamingo evolved at least *30 million years* ago, perhaps longer. In fact, many believe that those fossils may be as far back as we have found but they certainly aren't where Flamingos began.
*Flamingo Evolution - Flamingo Facts and Information*


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## Hossfly (Nov 30, 2019)

A RED HEADED DOUBLE BREASTED BED THUMPER


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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)

23-20 million years

Fossil records of modern ostriches and other members of the Struthio family date as far back as the Early Miocene, some *23-20 million years* ago. Ostriches are the world's largest living birds. They stand up to 2.75 metres tall and males can weigh 155 kg (more than 24 stone).Jul 21, 2011
*Ask an expert: How long have ostriches been on ... - The RSPB*


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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)




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## Michelle420 (Nov 30, 2019)

Pompadour Cotinga - Introduction   	     | Neotropical Birds Online


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## petro (Nov 30, 2019)

Hossfly said:


> A RED HEADED DOUBLE BREASTED BED THUMPER
> 
> 
> View attachment 292557


I could watch that all day.


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## Michelle420 (Oct 14, 2020)

I have a big bird feeder now and my boyfriend made a place for the pigeons as well. The birds visit all day long and I love to wake up and see them.


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## Michelle420 (Oct 22, 2020)




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## Michelle420 (Oct 22, 2020)




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## petro (Oct 22, 2020)

All the migratory birds have flown south, and won't see them until the spring thaw. I was surprised to see a few Robins in the snowstorm today. Bet they won't stay long now. 
Winter will be Chickadees, woodpeckers, Eagles and Hawks, and the few Geese that hang out in the thawed waters of the Mississippi river.


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