ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Mar 22, 2017 10:30:22 GMT
We have had very few birds in the backyard so far this year. I wondered if removing three large trees last September has made the yard much less attractive to birds, but a fellow "birder" I happened to meet last week, who lives on a wooded acreage told me that she has not seen any of her usual winter birds either. Very strange. Monday, the first day of Spring, was a beautiful sunny day. A message came on my bird watching list that migrating Trumpeter Swans had arrived in the next town to the west of us. It didn't take us long to decide to drive the 90 km to take a look. A few Canada Geese gathered on the frozen river.
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Mar 22, 2017 17:44:48 GMT
So beautiful, rags. Thank you!
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Post by sandrainsydney on Mar 22, 2017 23:08:02 GMT
I'll second that, it was well worth the drive.
sandra
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Post by sandrainsydney on Mar 23, 2017 0:03:53 GMT
Night parrot sighting in Western Australia shocks birdwatching world A group of four birdwatchers from Broome has photographed Australia's most mysterious bird, the night parrot, in Western Australia. The sighting is all that more remarkable when you consider that the night parrot was thought to be extinct until three years ago, and that the photograph was taken in a patch of spinifex 2,000 kilometres from where the bird was first rediscovered in Western Queensland. While the group described the parrot as a "fat budgerigar", the sighting was the equivalent of winning the bird watching lotto. "I grew up knowing that the bird was extinct and didn't expect to ever see one in my life," says Adrian Boyle from Broome, part of the group that found the bird. "I just knew it was a fairly small green and yellow parrot that used to live in deserts in spinifex countries that was sort of the unseeable, that it was the holy grail if you get to see one." READ ON & check out the photo of the south end of the northbound bird & check out the 5 earlier articles
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Post by meganl on Mar 23, 2017 6:12:23 GMT
Lovely pictures. When Roy worked in the post office there was one man who would sometimes just disappear it seems he had worked a deal with the gaffer that he used his holidays to go twitching, a text message and of he would go usually for a few hours but he once disappeared for four days he had heard of something rare in Orkney, the trouble with something so far is it might have moved by the time you reached the island.
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Mar 30, 2017 3:17:50 GMT
Sandra, Those four birdwatchers must have been beyond thrilled to not only see the night parrot, but also get photos!
I've noticed in my birding group that, thanks to the ubiquitous digital cameras, including those in phones, the "experts" can no longer ignore reports from "lesser beings" who claim to have seen something rare. In the past, such sightings were assumed to be mistaken identities. Hard to argue when the reporter can provide photographic evidence.
So true, Megan, The chances of a bird remaining in any location for long are slim. Nevertheless, it's always worth a try when it's a rare bird. I've been lucky a few times.
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Mar 30, 2017 3:27:59 GMT
Yesterday a flock of 30+ Brewer's Blackbirds landed in my backyard and began eating some of the seed that had fallen during the winter and was exposed again when the snow melted last week. They spent some of their time in my Spruce trees, seeking shelter from the rain, prying eyes, and the neighbours' cat. Here are a few of them, foraging: And in the trees: Adult Female Adult Males (breeding plumage) Drab Adult Male (nonbreeding plumage)
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Apr 29, 2017 5:45:40 GMT
This week's outing was a two hour drive to the land of ice and snow, the "gold rush town", Barkerville. We stopped along the way at the Jack of Clubs rest stop beside the still frozen lake of the same name. Because the parking lot had regularly been cleared of snow throughout the winter, the grassy ground surrounding it had thawed. A flock of about 50 American Robins were feasting on the hapless earthworms emerging from their wintry homes. The worms were not giving up without a fight which a robin sometimes lost. The early bird gets the worm. For the early worm, the outcome may be less favourable.
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Post by sandrainsydney on Apr 29, 2017 14:35:00 GMT
great pics, rags
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Post by meganl on May 14, 2017 5:51:34 GMT
Lovely pictures
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on May 16, 2017 11:09:15 GMT
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Post by sandrainsydney on May 16, 2017 15:01:39 GMT
beautiful hummingbirds (& the others aren't bad, either!) I saw my hummingbirds in the window display of my favourite charity shop, the one I call into after craft group each Wednesday - the volunteers couldn't sell it to me cos it was on display & the window display lady was not at work, but if I called tomorrow ... So I called & she said I could buy it, so I took a train & a bus & bought it! Only $6 & I didn't really need another scarf ... there are lots of videos of people feeding hummingbirds on youtube - & 150 hummingbirds on feeders on a verandah! Attachments:
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on May 17, 2017 6:04:49 GMT
Very pretty print on the fabric, Sandra. Quite a range of different hummingbirds. Will you use the fabric as a scarf, or do you have another purpose in mind?
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Post by meganl on May 17, 2017 7:11:34 GMT
Your birds are so colourful great pictures
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Post by sandrainsydney on May 17, 2017 8:58:16 GMT
Rags, Ive worn my scarf on occasion, I had no ulterior motive for buying it.
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