Bird Watching Club

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  • aviva5675
    aviva5675 Member Posts: 1,353
    edited April 2016

    Have bright yellow goldfinches in the last week, other finches all year round, cardinals, juncos, the usual..BUT I did see a bluebird yesterday driving thru Elgin! I was amazed-= he was just sittin on a fence. I saw a flash of blue and thought probably blue jay, but as we drove by I got a great look.

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    Snowy week in the North Country!

    *robins*

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    *purple finches* *goldfinches* *downy woodpeckers*

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    A male rose-breasted grosbeak posing for a pic. ;o)

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    I just got this pic of a female baltimore oriole in flight.

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited May 2016

    Great pics!

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    Thank You!! ;o)

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited May 2016

    Teka, love those birds. I saw a different bird in my mom's backyard today. I have to look it up because I have NO idea what it was. It looked the color of sparrow but pretty large and it was not interested in the feeders but was pecking around in the grass. It had a pretty long beak. Any ideas?

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    Nancy, any luck identifying the bird?

    ;o)

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited May 2016

    Well, I will rule out that one above for sure. LOL The bird i saw didn't have any teeth. It might have been some type of thrasher but I may never know for sure. I did see some real hummers today at this nature center that has a bunch of feeders all in a row. I was just scoping out if there were any worth photographing for another day, There were some but they weren't anything like I saw them in August before they were drinking up for a long migration. Then they would sit on the feeders for quite a while. These today were really fast and darting in and out where I doubt I could have got any pictures. Weather was nice today for a pleasant change for the clouds and rain we have had. I bought my first hummer feeder but will wait until I get back home from my mom's before putting it up. Can't wait to see how they do.

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    Nancy,

    Our neighbor further up the hill feeds a lot of hummers. We only have one hummer feeder.

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited May 2016

    My sister told me today that she is having a lot of hummers and Red breasted grossbeaks in her yard. She said she had eight grossbeaks and said they stay for quite a while before moving on through. I went to see the hummers at the nature center yesterday. I was just checking it out and did not have my camera. There were some hummers there but they have not come in force yet. In August when I was here (at my mom's that is) they were swarming like flies filling up for their long migration.

    I can't wait to get my hummer feeder up when I get back home and see what response I get.

    Have a nice week.

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  • mjsgumbas
    mjsgumbas Member Posts: 373
    edited June 2016

    Not sure what these little guys are, but the have tan bellies and crests on their heads and look like they are wearing masks. They are loving my white cherries....image

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  • auntienance
    auntienance Member Posts: 4,216
    edited June 2016

    Waxwings

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    MJS, thanks for sharing that. I will be on the lookout for them. They usually come in large flocks to my ornamental fruit trees. If I had a little more time and energy tonight I would post some of the pics I have gotten from the past.

    Nancy

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  • Wren44
    Wren44 Member Posts: 8,585
    edited June 2016

    We have fledgling flickers and crows in our back yard. It's a bit noisy around here.

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    I got back from a three week stay at my mom's. Going out with my camera is a good stress reliever as she has dementia and it is getting harder and harder. She is still living at home at 90 but I go back and forth to keep tabs on how things are going.

    This nature center in her town gives me so good practice at shooting hummingbirds. The setting is not very conducive to pretty pictures but I do have a hummer feeder finally but have not got it up yet at my house which I have hopes for getting some better shots. We'll see.

    Nancy

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    . I have been getting my flowers and garden in place since returning from my mom's. Here are some pics that I got.


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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited June 2016

    Wow, what great pics!!

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    Thanks Glennie. I was hiding next to garbage cans in the hot sun to get these pics. LOL That part was not so much fun but hearing the hummers fly in and chatter with each other before I could see them was really something. It is like they were doing a ballet show in the air as they were flying in to feed. I could watch them all day.

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  • aviva5675
    aviva5675 Member Posts: 1,353
    edited June 2016

    Love the pics! Since moving to Florida last month I put up my feeders and have been hoping for the best. Im in a rental house til end of the year and there are firecracker plants (the only flowers) in the back- and we've seen a female ruby throat coming to them- its wonderful!! I'm no good at pics but will try for some--- also have had 2 kinds of wood peckers, cardinals, tufted tit mice, doves and carolina chicakdees. Had my thistle feeder up for a few weeks but nothing at all- dont think its the right time of year? I'm an hour north of Tampa

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited June 2016

    I think it is too late in the year for the thistle feeder, Aviva. Seems like mine gets busy March-ish. But I'm 2 hours plus north of you. Do you have a Wild Birds Unlimited by you? They are my go-to source for local birding info.

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    Thanks Aviva. I was thinking you lived in the Chicago area before moving. Is that right? I hope you love it in Florida. You will get to have some interesting birds all year round I would imagine. I have several different bird feeders but am very anxious to get up my new hummingbird feeder. I am trying to figure out the best spot for it as I want to be able to take some pics from the inside of my house. I have an indoor cat so I don't want her to scare any away so still trying to figure it all out. Enjoy the warm weather.

    Nancy

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  • Wren44
    Wren44 Member Posts: 8,585
    edited June 2016

    Bandwoman, I don't think hummers worry much about cats. We had a feeder that suctioned to our living room window. We got a film that the cat could see thru but the birds just saw themselves. The one in front now is about 3-4 feet from the window and the cat watches all the time.

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  • aviva5675
    aviva5675 Member Posts: 1,353
    edited June 2016

    I was in Algonquin, Il before we moved down here to Florida. It is nice seeing different birds so far, but I do miss robins! I think we will get some in the winter tho, so that will be great. Will put the thistle feeder back up then also. I started thinking about a hummingbird feeder but don't need more ants around than there already are, so thats out. Will stick with plants to draw them. Not sure if there is a WBU near here, maybe Spring Hill, I'll have to check.

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    Thanks Wren. I may just put a shepherd's hood near my patio door and protected by a bush and near my birdbath. Hopefully my cat won't try to attack the patio glass as she does if birds get too close!

    Aviva, I have found my finches to be rather finicky when it comes to thistle. I bought a brand new bag of thistle at a farm store for my mom's feeder downstate and the birds wouldn't touch it. I ended up going to a feed store which sells birdfood and bought more thistle and the finches started coming. I know I have found you can't buy large quantities of it because it apparently goes bad and the birds won't touch it. Good luck. I don't know about the robins down there. I know the CA ladies who have moved from this area tell me they don't have robins and miss them. I am sure if you don't you will have many, many other birds to see that we don't have up here. Have fun.

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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited June 2016

    In my area, I don't see very many Robins. It is a rare and exciting event!

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    Nancy, lovely pics!!!!!

    Chilly last week and waited until this week to plant the 3 grape tomato plants in the vegetable garden.

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    Thanks Teka. It has been hot here and I am ready for some cooler temps which are coming in a few days. How are you doing?

    Nancy

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  • Teka
    Teka Member Posts: 10,052
    edited September 2017

    Nancy,

    I'm doing OK.

    Father's Day in the 90's.

    We're having cool nights and sleeping with the window open then waking up to robins singing!

    You've been feeling better?

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    Teka, I have good days and then some bad but in general I think I am much better than I was a few months ago. Thanks for asking.

    Joanne thank you and i am glad you found the thread. I finally got my first hummer feeder up at my house for the first time today. At this nature center where I took those pics it is a great place to practice because you have many birds coming in to feed as opposed to what you would probably see at your own feeder at home. Getting good pics of them does take a camera that can shoot fast and it helps to have a fast lens. The lighting has to be decent as well. I am using my tripod all the time now and that definitely helped to improve on blurry images. it does take a lot of patients and some luck in there too.

    Have a good night ladies.

    Nancy

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  • bandwoman1234
    bandwoman1234 Member Posts: 5,542
    edited June 2016

    For those of you fascinated by hummingbirds you might find this video interesting. This is the nature center that I get my hummingbird pics from when I am staying with my mom. If you watch the first 15 min you can see the main parts of it. If you just want to see some hummingbirds in action this is the place. They mention 40 hummingbird feeders. When I was there in May they are just coming in from their long migration and there weren't too many hummers then. However when I am there in August it is unbelievable how many there are. Enjoy.



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  • glennie19
    glennie19 Member Posts: 6,398
    edited July 2016

    Robin sighting in my back yard!! Rare for here,,, so had to report it!

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