Rangerland Forum Information

[rightbug]

At the risk of outing myself as a giant geek, I will call attention to a fact that I have at times hinted about, which is the fact that I am somewhat obsessed with birds. I band owls, lead walks for New Hampshire Audubon, spend Fall afternoons sitting on top of a mountain counting hawks, take expensive boat trips out into the middle of the ocean to see birds that never come to shore and am constantly re-landscaping my backyard to be more bird-friendly. I drink bird-friendly coffee, keep binoculars in my glovebox, drive with one eye on the sky and keep endless lists of what I've seen where. This last bit is relevant here.

One of the things that got me so obsessed about birds in the first place is that, pretty much where ever you are in the world, you are surrounded by birds. Aside from pigeons, gulls and crows, most people don't tend to notice them but they are there nonetheless. Once you start noticing them you start noticing, not just how many there are around at all times, but how many different types have been right under your nose un-noticed your entire life. It's like Roddy Piper just handed you some magic sunglasses and you say to yourself, "How the hell did I not notice this before?!" Travel takes on a whole new dimension as well because when you go someplace you've never been before, you find that they have totally different birds which they take for granted but which are totally alien to you.

To illustrate the point, I thought it might be fun to post a picture of each new species I see over the course of the year. I should have started at the begining of the year but I didn't so I'll post ten at a time every day or so until I'm caught up. (I won't say how many species I've seen so far this year just yet. Try guessing.) The idea, of course, will be to pick the most beautiful pictures possible. Mostly they will just be random pictures off the web but sometimes they might be pictures taken by me or my friends.

Starting in January, the first birds will be mostly more common birds that we run across everyday, with some surprises mixed in.

Birds seen between January 1st and January 3rd:

1. Dark-eyed Junco


2. American Tree Sparrow



3. European Starling



4. Bald Eagle



5. American Crow



6. Downy Woodpecker



7. Cedar Waxwing



8. Blue Jay



9. White-breasted Nuthatch



10. Northern Cardinal

[Sed]

On Saturday I saw a pair of Baltimore orioles in my backyard - kind of an unusual sight in my area (generally see them once or twice a year). Also had a Great Egret land on the roof of my shed, and a Wild Turkey rooting around near my goldfish pond.

My older son has been covering birds at school and he's really getting into it. I'm planning to take him to the Audubon Center that's down the road from my house.

Pretty soon, the Yellow-Crested Night Herons will begin to appear again - probably the coolest looking birds that I get in my yard.

[rightbug]

On Saturday I saw a pair of Baltimore orioles in my backyard - kind of an unusual sight in my area (generally see them once or twice a year). Also had a Great Egret land on the roof of my shed,

Yes -- Spring migration is starting to peak so all sorts of unusual birds will be showing up in the next couple of weeks. You can put out oranges cut in half or even mealworms for the Orioles. They might even stay to nest as they do breed in CT and are happy in surburban neighborhoods.

and a Wild Turkey rooting around near my goldfish pond.

Not a migrant but a great success story as they had almost been extirpated from much of North America and now their populations are starting to boom. Folks who have only ever seen them on the side of a bottle of booze may start seeing them on country drives.

My older son has been covering birds at school and he's really getting into it. I'm planning to take him to the Audubon Center that's down the road from my house.

I've been there and it's great.

Pretty soon, the Yellow-Crested Night Herons will begin to appear again - probably the coolest looking birds that I get in my yard.

Wow -- That's a sweet yardbird.

I've updated the Starling picture in my first post with something better.

[jburns]

This guy has been roaming around the office complex. Not a very good picture because I was using my Blackberry and the fact that he wanted to rip my face off made my hands shake. I like how he was hanging out under the Pet Walk sign.

[Rick91981]

Wild Turkey rooting around near my goldfish pond.

Not a migrant but a great success story as they had almost been extirpated from much of North America and now their populations are starting to boom. Folks who have only ever seen them on the side of a bottle of booze may start seeing them on country drives.

I see them constantly. It can be really annoying when they are crossing the road and I have to stop and wait for them to get across! Fortunately the road crossing is rare. I usually just see them in the fields off to the side of the road.

[Sed]

Oh - we're lousy with turkeys in my neighborhood. I've been chased a couple of times when I've been out for runs in the state park by my house. I think that the biggest flock that I've seen there is about 36 or so, but usually I'll see a group of at least a dozen.

[rightbug]

This guy has been roaming around the office complex. Not a very good picture because I was using my Blackberry and the fact that he wanted to rip my face off made my hands shake. I like how he was hanging out under the Pet Walk sign.

He's standing there as a friendly reminder to go back in your office and pour yourself a large glass of bourbon to help you relax after a hard day of work before leaping into the stress of your commute home. Won't you please bring him a glass with some ice and coke in it?

[Nilan 666]

I could use some Wild Turkey right now.

[xcdudesquadloves...]

The town I'm from used to be known as Turkey Town. There have been plenty of sightings at my elementary school from time to time.

[Bleedin-Blue]

[Sed]

The town I'm from used to be known as Turkey Town.

THEN YOU LEFT!

[rightbug]

I could use some Wild Turkey right now.

That's why God invented travel mugs!

[Paul Smachetti]

My wife's heavily into bird watching. Most of the birds pictured at the top have made appearances in our backyard. My personal favorites are the Cardinal and Cedar Waxwing.

[Sed]

My wife's heavily into bird watching. Most of the birds pictured at the top have made appearances in our backyard. My personal favorites are the Cardinal and Cedar Waxwing.

I'm hoping to see a Cedar Waxwing at some point - we're loaded with Cardinals and Blue Jays, but no Waxwings.

[Bavoo]

There are these black irredescent (sp?) birds that show up and feast on the bugs (I assume) that are exposed after I cut the grass. They usually travel in groups of 3 or 4 and seem to root around between the blades (maybe seed eaters?). The colors are really nice in the sunlight. I'm in western Suffolk County, NY.

Ideas?

This post has been edited by Bavoo: May 11 2010, 04:58 PM

[Paul Smachetti]

There are these black irredescent (sp?) birds that show up and feast on the bugs (I assume) that are exposed after I cut the grass. They usually travel in groups of 3 or 4 and seem to root around between the blades (maybe seed eaters?). The colors are really nice in the sunlight. I'm in western Suffolk County, NY.

Ideas?

Starlings?

[Tex]

Starlings?

prolly grackles.

[Bavoo]

Those startlings look speckled...The are shiny black and irredescent

[Sed]

Cliff - do you have a particular guidebook that you'd suggest? I've been using Sibley's Guide. Oh, and I signed up for an eBird account about a month ago so that I could track our sightings with my son.

[Lester Patrick]

Cliff - do you have a particular guidebook that you'd suggest? I've been using Sibley's Guide. Oh, and I signed up for an eBird account about a month ago so that I could track our sightings with my son.

I like the arrangement of the Audubon guides. They are arranged by shape, and then when you get to the songbirds, they are further divided by color.

The great thing about this book is that you don't have to know the bird families and other technical stuff that only those who are advanced in the field would know.

http://www.amazon.com/National-Audubon-Soc...5286&sr=1-1

[Lester Patrick]

One thing I like to do this time of year is to watch webcams of bird nests. Kids especially like to see something like this. I especially like to watch cams of hummingbirds. I think they are the most fascinating of all. Here are 2 that just had the chicks hatch:

http://www.starrranch.org/blog/?page_id=23

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/Hummingbird-Nest-Cam

And these falcons in Rochester, NY should have the eggs hatch by the end of the week:

http://rfalconcam.com/rfc-main/multiView.php

[Sed]

Oh - here's my roof egret:

[Giac]

Oh - here's my roof egret:

♪♪♪ Egrets, he's had a few.... ♪♪♪

[Hockey101]

I like ducks. Birds are nice, like the blue jay, and eagles are awesome, like the bald eagle. But to me ducks have fascinating color patterns. And yeah, they taste good.

[rightbug]

I'm hoping to see a Cedar Waxwing at some point - we're loaded with Cardinals and Blue Jays, but no Waxwings.

Waxwings tend to be nomadic, roaming where the food is in large flocks. In winter you'll often find them in crab apple trees. I'm usually tipped off by the sound they make, sort of a high pitched whine. (Robins sometimes but rarely make a similar whine.) When I hear it I look up and usually find waxwings.

There are these black irredescent (sp?) birds that show up and feast on the bugs (I assume) that are exposed after I cut the grass. They usually travel in groups of 3 or 4 and seem to root around between the blades (maybe seed eaters?). The colors are really nice in the sunlight. I'm in western Suffolk County, NY.

Yes, I agree with Tex that they are likely Grackles. Look for the diamond shaped tail when they fly. (Starlings was also a good guess because Starlings are also irridescent and exhibit the same behavior.)

Cliff - do you have a particular guidebook that you'd suggest? I've been using Sibley's Guide. Oh, and I signed up for an eBird account about a month ago so that I could track our sightings with my son.

I use all of them and they all have their pros and cons. For beginners I usually recommend the book that I first used when I started getting serious, the Kaufman Guide. The Kauman Guide uses digitally enhanced photos which gives you all of the benefits of an illustrated guide (emphasizing field marks over realism) and photographic guides (not having to mentally translate an illustration to the real world.) I also like the layout of the Kauman guide and find that the likely candidates tend to be grouped together on the same page. It also covers the whole country which can be both a pro and a con.

The Sibley Guide is the one that most serious birders use. It's more technically accurate and chock full of great info but the illustrations can be a bit daunting for a beginner. There is also a sameness about all of the illustrations which comes from Sibley's personal style which makes them blur together in my mind, despite the fact that each illustration is highly technically precise. I have moved on to the Sibley guide as my primary guide as I find it answers the more technical questions that I have in the field these days but I still check Kaufman and my other guides frequently. One benefit of Sibley over Kaufman is that the Sibley guides are broken down into Eastern US and Western US. This reduces the possibilities when trying to narrow down the likely candidates. (Generally, the more local a guide, the more useful it is in figuring out what you are most likely to see.)

The National Geographic Guide is the most comprehensive. It features every bird that's ever been seen in the continental US. I like the layout and the accompanying text is excellent but I find the quality of the illustrations inconsistant. (There's not a single artist as in other guides.)

The Peterson Guide was my first guide (and really, the first modern field guide period -- Peterson single-handedly made birding accessible to the common man) and, while it was getting a little left behind by some of the modern guides, there have been some recent updates to it which make it a great guide again. Peterson's brilliant idea was that guides shouldn't feature highly detailed drawings, rather they should be simplified illustrations highlighting the keep field marks so that you can focus on what's important to making the ID rather than getting lost in the details.

I need to be better about updating Ebird, especially now that New Hampshire Bird Records uses it as their main means of gathering data. (Most states have records committees that have been collecting data from citizen scientists since the 50's. This data is all extremely important.)

This post has been edited by rightbug: May 12 2010, 11:08 AM

[rightbug]

New pictures! New birds seen between January 3rd and January 10th. 'Still knocking off a lot of the more common birds but a couple of nice treats thrown in.

11. Tufted-titmouse



12. Black-capped Chickadee



13. House Finch



14. Hairy Woodpecker



15. Morning Dove



16. White-throated Sparrow (You wouldn't believe how common these are.)



17. Common Raven



18. American Kestrel



19. American Robin



20. Carolina Wren



This post has been edited by rightbug: May 12 2010, 11:18 AM

[Sed]

I'll have to look more carefully, but I'm pretty sure that it's Carolina Wrens that we get nesting every year in the birdhouse on the shed (that you can see in the egret picture).

[rightbug]

I'll have to look more carefully, but I'm pretty sure that it's Carolina Wrens that we get nesting every year in the birdhouse on the shed (that you can see in the egret picture).

A perfect spot for them so it's a good bet. Look for the cream-colored eyebrow. If you don't see that but it's the same basic structure, with the short, erect tail and all, its probably a House Wren.

[leedsy99]

I thought this thread would be about hot British women.

[rightbug]

I thought this thread would be about hot British women.

We've already got tits and boobies should follow later in the year. No Double-breasted Bed Thumpers though.

[hoser]

I thought this thread would be about hot British women.

Must. Resist. Searching for Keeley Hazell at work.

[Rick91981]

I especially like to watch cams of hummingbirds.

Those fuckers are hard to get a picture of!

These were my best two taken last summer in the Adirondacks:

[Lester Patrick]

Those fuckers are hard to get a picture of!

And you did a great job!!!!


Cliff, is there any way you can put the downy and hairy woodpecker photos next to each other so we can compare (yes, I know that that sentence sounds strange)? I always have trouble telling the two apart.

[rightbug]

Cliff, is there any way you can put the downy and hairy woodpecker photos next to each other so we can compare (yes, I know that that sentence sounds strange)? I always have trouble telling the two apart.

Yes, here they are!





Plumage wise-they are almost identical so size is what you are really looking for. A way to remember is "Downy is Dinky, Hairy is Huge." My rule of thumb when I was starting out was, "If I'm not sure, it's probably a Downy." This would always be confirmed when I would see a Hairy and go "Damn! That's definitely a Hairy."

Size can sometimes be hard to judge without any point of reference but the size difference is very apparent when looking at the bill. The bill on the Hairy Woodpecker is much stouter while the Downy's looks small and stubby.

[Sideshow Raheem]

A Great Blue Heron has been menacing my father's koi pond for a few years. My parents live on the south shore of LI, but not super close to the water. I'm impressed that the heron found it because it's not a big pond by any means. It is very cool to see this giant bird stalking prey - it will land even when people are in the backyard.

[ultimate steve]

cant say ive ever had any interest, but these pictures are really cool. i dont ever see anything like these guys in my yar. pretty much all robins and some black ones. the occasional blue jay.

they are pretty amazing little creatures though if you think about it. plus theyre fucking dinosaurs.

This post has been edited by ultimate steve: May 13 2010, 10:26 AM

[Puckforbrains]

plus theyre fucking dinosaurs.

lucky them.




Seriously, this is cool Bug - appreciate taking the time to post these. I have been trying to get a good photo of a bird nesting in a palm in my yard, but no luck yet.

This post has been edited by Puckforbrains: May 13 2010, 10:36 AM

[rightbug]

A Great Blue Heron has been menacing my father's koi pond for a few years. My parents live on the south shore of LI, but not super close to the water. I'm impressed that the heron found it because it's not a big pond by any means. It is very cool to see this giant bird stalking prey - it will land even when people are in the backyard.

Yes -- People in my neighborhood run into this and we're pretty urban. I'm planning a pond in a year or two but I don't think it will be deep enough for koi.

[rightbug]

More photos! New birds seen between January 10th and January 12th. And now things start getting interesting as a friend and I played hooky from work and drove out to the coast on the 12th.

21. Rock Pigeon



22. American Goldfinch



23. Red-tailed Hawk



24. Ring-billed Gull



25. Herring Gull



26. Great Black-backed Gull (the largest gull in the world)



27. Horned Lark



28. Sage Thrasher. This is a bird of the American SouthWest and even out there it can be reclusive. For some reason they sometimes show up on the East Coast in winter, but very rarely. This was the first time I'd ever seen this bird, which made it a "life bird" (number 411). Two photos for this one, both taken by a friend of mine.





29. Snow Bunting



30. Northern Mockingbird

[Bleedin-Blue]

What about a shot of the rare white-rumped swallow?

[Sed]

A Great Blue Heron has been menacing my father's koi pond for a few years. My parents live on the south shore of LI, but not super close to the water. I'm impressed that the heron found it because it's not a big pond by any means. It is very cool to see this giant bird stalking prey - it will land even when people are in the backyard.

I get yellow-crested night herons and the occasional great blue - which is why I have nothing more expensive than Comets in my pond. Koi are a bit too rich for my blood.

[Rick91981]

And you did a great job!!!!

Thanks! This summer I am going to try and get pictures of the males as they have a nice ruby colored throat. The females are kind of plain looking.

[Lester Patrick]

Thanks Cliff for the woodpecker comparison photos.

[ultimate steve]

More photos! New birds seen between January 10th and January 12th. And now things start getting interesting as a friend and I played hooky from work and drove out to the coast on the 12th.

21. Rock Pigeon

echh fuckin rats with wings i hate these things

[Bavoo]

Re: The American Goldfinch...
Are they on Long Island? I saw 3 birds flying around that looked just like that this morning at my son's soccer game. They were flying and I noticed the bright yellow and black tail. I was even gonna post a description!

Thanks for making me more aware of my world, Cliff!

This post has been edited by Bavoo: May 15 2010, 11:20 AM

[Rick91981]

Re: The American Goldfinch...
Are they on Long Island? I saw 3 birds flying around that looked just like that this morning at my son's soccer game. They were flying and I noticed the bright yellow and black tail. I was even gonna post a description!

Thanks for making me more aware of my world, Cliff!

Very possible. They are common in Westchester so LI is probably well within their range.

[Lester Patrick]

Re: The American Goldfinch...
Are they on Long Island? I saw 3 birds flying around that looked just like that this morning at my son's soccer game. They were flying and I noticed the bright yellow and black tail. I was even gonna post a description!

Thanks for making me more aware of my world, Cliff!

They are all over the US, with several states having it as their state bird. A great website as to find range maps, what they sound like, etc., is from Cornell U:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/

[Sed]

Re: The American Goldfinch...
Are they on Long Island? I saw 3 birds flying around that looked just like that this morning at my son's soccer game. They were flying and I noticed the bright yellow and black tail. I was even gonna post a description!

Thanks for making me more aware of my world, Cliff!

I live right on the southern coast of CT, and we have them all the time in our yard.

[Sed]

I get yellow-crested night herons and the occasional great blue - which is why I have nothing more expensive than Comets in my pond. Koi are a bit too rich for my blood.

So remember the egret from last weekend? I just watched it gulp down one of the biggest goldfish in my pond.

[Bavoo]

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/

^^^ This. I had no idea this site existed. Great site for someone like me, with just a passing interest in birding. Maybe I'll be more into it now.