Re: Birds of the Garden

countrynaturals 11/3/2019, 9:49 am

Scorpio Rising wrote:Good story!
put the hummingbird feeder away last weekend!

We usually have at least one hardy soul that stays all winter, so our feeder stays up. okay

**sanderson** 11/4/2019, 2:54 pm

The humminbirds are just getting real active around the feeders now, and will continue for a couple+ months. Mediterranean climate here.

The bird feed will go out after the first frost or freeze.

countrynaturals 1/1/2020, 1:44 pm

We've never had California Quail in this neighborhood. Haven't seen them since 1999 in our old location. They were here for about 5 minutes this morning. I never did get a good shot. Their little topknots are so cute, but you can't see them here unless you know where to look. Sad

countrynaturals 1/3/2020, 12:34 pm

We have a new woodpecker and the old ones aren't happy about it, so it may be gone soon, but I was able to get one good shot of it.

I looked it up. He/she is a Downy Woodpecker. Supposed to be the smallest in North America, but I swear we've had a smaller variety. Maybe that one wasn't a true woodpecker, but something similar.

countrynaturals 3/8/2020, 9:48 pm

The turkeys are back. Today, we had 2 males, showing off for the girls. They're standing back-to-back in this pic. I wish I could have gotten a better shot, but this was the best I could do.

**Kelejan** 3/10/2020, 1:14 pm

countrynaturals wrote:We have a new woodpecker and the old ones aren't happy about it, so it may be gone soon, but I was able to get one good shot of it.

I looked it up. He/she is a Downy Woodpecker. Supposed to be the smallest in North America, but I swear we've had a smaller variety. Maybe that one wasn't a true woodpecker, but something similar.

I looked it up as well in my Reader's Digest book of North American Wildlife and that also says it is the smallest woodpecker.

I had to hunt for my book as I have not looked at it for some time. I found the book cover flap flap located on page 118 and there was your little woodpecker. I remember now looking up another woodpecker some time ago to see whether it was male of female. I think this little Downy woodpecker both M and F must look alike.

OhioGardener 3/10/2020, 2:03 pm

We have lots of Eastern Downy Woodpeckers, though they are very defensive of their "territory". The male has a small red spot on the nape that the female does not have.

**Scorpio Rising** 3/10/2020, 8:27 pm

Love my woodpeckers! I commonly have Downy and Snowy...saw a bunch of turkeys coming home from work today out in the country! Love them.

countrynaturals 3/11/2020, 11:29 am

Got 'em!

**Scorpio Rising** 3/11/2020, 5:15 pm

So cool!

**sanderson** 3/15/2020, 7:05 pm

Scorpio Rising wrote:So cool!

+1

**Kelejan** 3/16/2020, 1:06 pm

At the beginning of winter we had a flock of of twenty turkeys plus a hen still with 12 half-grown offspring crossing my property and as the season wore on the poor hen and her brood did not turn up, and one by one the turkey's numbers dropped and now we have three left. Sad

OhioGardener 3/16/2020, 5:37 pm

The coyotes are wiping out the wild turkey population here. Hardly ever see any in the area.

countrynaturals 3/16/2020, 6:00 pm

Kelejan wrote:At the beginning of winter we had a flock of of twenty turkeys plus a hen still with 12 half-grown offspring crossing my property and as the season wore on the poor hen and her brood did not turn up, and one by one the turkey's numbers dropped and now we have three left.

We have fluctuating numbers, too. Yesterday, there were 23. Today, only 11. I think some of them split off and form other groups. Sometimes they get back together. Also, we lost all of them for several months when hunting season came around last fall. Our neighbor swears they're smart enough to head for the mountains in the fall. This year, they stayed gone until a couple of weeks ago.

**Kelejan** 3/18/2020, 8:10 am

OhioGardener wrote:The coyotes are wiping out the wild turkey population here. Hardly ever see any in the area.

Mother Nature's way. No turkeys then fewer coyotes and the turkeys will come back, in numbers of course as they will be new turkeys.

OhioGardener 5/27/2020, 5:28 pm

Today, for the first time ever I got to see a Pileated Woodpecker in our yard. Behind the house is an old Maple tree stump which has rotted down to ground level. A beautiful Pileated Woodpecker was busy pecking that the stump to get the grubs within the decaying wood. Unfortunately, I could not get its picture - as soon as I quietly opened the door so I could get a picture it took off and didn't come back. Hope we get to see more of them here!

**Scorpio Rising** 5/27/2020, 6:38 pm

OMG!!! OG, that is so cool! I have a basically dead pear tree in my back yard. I am going to cut most if it out but leave habitat.

I love those birds, so large!

**Kelejan** 5/28/2020, 8:41 am

OhioGardener wrote:Today, for the first time ever I got to see a Pileated Woodpecker in our yard. Behind the house is an old Maple tree stump which has rotted down to ground level. A beautiful Pileated Woodpecker was busy pecking that the stump to get the grubs within the decaying wood. Unfortunately, I could not get its picture - as soon as I quietly opened the door so I could get a picture it took off and didn't come back. Hope we get to see more of them here!

They make quite a noise, don't they, O.G. We have had them nearby for several years, and there is an easy way to tell if they are male or female by the way their red poll is shaped. It is easy of you can remember which way they point, but I would have to look in my bird book to remember.

Emily49 5/28/2020, 8:32 pm

OhioGardener wrote:Today, for the first time ever I got to see a Pileated Woodpecker in our yard. Behind the house is an old Maple tree stump which has rotted down to ground level. A beautiful Pileated Woodpecker was busy pecking that the stump to get the grubs within the decaying wood. Unfortunately, I could not get its picture - as soon as I quietly opened the door so I could get a picture it took off and didn't come back. Hope we get to see more of them here!

That is my favorite woodpecker! We get all 7 of PA's woodpeckers in our yard. The pileated is a shy one.

**Scorpio Rising** 10/16/2021, 4:42 pm

So, I haven’t seen a hummingbird for at least a coupe weeks but I did change the feeder. Thinking I would thwart the bugs that are desperately in search on nectar, I put out a dish type feeder. Never saw another hummer….

Just put out the bowl feeder in case somebody needs some sustenance on their flight…

**Kelejan** 10/16/2021, 6:10 pm

During the time we had that hot spell we had a few humming birds sipping at the runner bean flowers. it was lovely to see them. Years ago when I went out to refill the feeder I ha about twenty humming birds around my head. A memory that stays with you forever.

OhioGardener 5/8/2023, 3:02 pm

A pair of Killdeer have their nest in our gravel driveway. Such a fascinating bird.

Can you spot the eggs in the gravel?

Here is a closeup of the nest.

**sanderson** 5/9/2023, 2:22 pm

Wow! Traffic cones!

We have 2 fledgling doves in the back yard and we have to be real careful. Mom (or dad) is doing the broken wing dance for us. I have no idea how doves have managed to survive. They throw 3 twigs together and call it a nest. This happens every year.

**Scorpio Rising** 5/14/2023, 8:29 pm

sanderson wrote:Wow! Traffic cones!

We have 2 fledgling doves in the back yard and we have to be real careful. Mom (or dad) is doing the broken wing dance for us. I have no idea how doves have managed to survive. They throw 3 twigs together and call it a nest. This happens every year.

Well this was a mixed Mother’s Day for sure….my poor Mourning Doves built a crappy nest (as always) on my camp stove, next to my grill.

When the guys came to open my pool, I had them use an alternate entrance and power source so as not to disturb her/him. They were very sweet about it….

This morning, something is wrong with the one 1 egg….mama did not return to sit, but she or he did return to look. It looks wrong, maybe waterlogged? Not sure….bummer….

**sanderson** 5/15/2023, 8:49 pm

How has the species managed to survive with their crappy nest-building skill? My two fledglings finally fell victim to a cat. Sad

The parents were really sedate the next morning. This happens every year.

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