Birds 2017

[ragdall]

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.

[maeve]

So beautiful, rags. Thank you!

[sandrainsydney]

I'll second that, it was well worth the drive.

sandra

[sandrainsydney]

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

[meganl]

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.

[ragdall]

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.

[ragdall]

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)

[ragdall]

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.

[sandrainsydney]

great pics, rags

[meganl]

Lovely pictures

[ragdall]

Sandra and Megan, thank you both.

The hummingbirds started coming back the third week of April.




Flocks of White-crowned Sparrows have come and most have moved on, already. I was able to find only one Golden-crowned Sparrow in the flock in the backyard.




Many hundreds of Yellow-rumped Warblers arrived several weeks ago. Only a few remain.




I was thrilled to see a brilliantly coloured male Purple Finch a few days ago, too. I'm hoping that he and his missus will nest nearby.





We've been enjoying watching the Western Tanagers who have arrived in town in large numbers. Their usual diet is insects, but it's been so cold this year that the insects haven't emerged yet.





The tanagers and warblers have been feeding on suet and on orange slices that I've hung on trees.



I hope our weather improves soon. One of the birders on my listserve reported with dismay today that tanagers are eating the bees as they come out from her hives. She put out orange slices, hoping to distract them from the bees but that only attracted more tanagers.

[sandrainsydney]

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:

[ragdall]

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?

[meganl]

Your birds are so colourful great pictures

[sandrainsydney]

Rags, Ive worn my scarf on occasion, I had no ulterior motive for buying it.