Amateur Audubon - A Thread for Birders

Discussion in 'The Mainboard' started by Lucky24Seven, Apr 27, 2019.

  1. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    Been a little over a year since the thread was created, props to Lucky24Seven. Cool that we have a lot of TMB'ers who give a shit about birds.
     
  2. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Glad I’m not the only nerd on here. Thanks guys. Let’s keep it going.
     
  3. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Love seeing these little shits
    C236D484-D10B-4A84-B12E-4DAEE83F931B.jpeg D943BC9C-2664-44FD-97AF-36973ADC7302.jpeg 12EF08F0-843C-479A-B2CB-657AF10152A4.jpeg

    I’ll have to change out the oranges and put fresh jelly out later tonight now that they’re around.
     
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  4. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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  5. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    I’m so jealous of y’all that get orioles all summer
     
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  6. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Took it through a screened window. Didn’t want to open the back door to get a cleaner picture and scare them off. First time I saw them here this year.
     
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  7. pez

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    This guy hanging on our fence today

    1CBA472D-3B4C-4A96-876A-6D4BF67F1F27.jpeg
     
  8. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Do you recommend any type of food source for Orioles besides oranges and jelly? They seem to feed on this like crazy for about a month and then I don’t see them anymore. I’ve tried suet with insects, but had no luck last year.
     
  9. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    Could be they switch things up when they start breeding, or move on. Oranges and jelly are the best bets
     
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  10. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    The ones I have are borderline obsessed with the birdbath. Almost think it's as much a draw as the food.
     
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  11. LeVar Burton

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    Saw my first hummingbird of the year at my house yesterday. LETS GO!
     
  12. WillySaliba

    WillySaliba Well-Known Member
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    In 10 years or so I’d love to get into Falconry. Definitely would need to move and have some property a bit up north from where I am now. I met with a local chapter before but I just don’t have the adequate time to find a location to work, drive and train at this stage in my life.
     
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  13. Tiffin

    Tiffin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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    I'd love to give it a go as well. We've got the land, but I know there's a lot of regulations and training I'd need. I already decided since I named my dogs after Greek mythology I'd name any raptor after Norse mythology.
     
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  14. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    Just saw a male scarlet tanager on one of the neighborhood mulberry trees. I’m always taken aback by how saturated and vibrant their colors are to the naked eye. I’m honestly not sure if there’s a bird that competes with them in that regard.
     
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  15. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    Male painted buntings are pretty stunning
     
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  16. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    They definitely are, but to me their colors don’t “pop” like a scarlet tanager’s do. I’ve never seen a vermillion flycatcher but I’d imagine it’s a similar. Maybe it’s just the red and black too, because I’m an absolute sucker for red-headed woodpeckers as well.
     
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  17. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    I think for me it's the bright yellow birds. Male goldfinches in breeding plumage especially. When I lived in Nebraska I had 10-15 that would drain my finch socks 2x a week. Was awesome to look outside and see 5 on each sock.
     
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  18. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    What kind of binoculars do you guys use for bird watching? What’s your preferred magnification?
     
  19. Tiffin

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    I've been using my grandpa's Simmons 7x35. He used them for hunting, we got them when my grandma passed last Dec.

    Tbh, I guess it's been a long ass time since I've used binoculars because now my right eye is so dominant that I generally have to close one eye to see anything. Kinda sucks. Guess I need to get a single eye scope of some kind.
     
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  20. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Damn, sorry to hear about your grandma passing, but that’s pretty cool your got your granddad’s binos.

    I’ve really wanted to get a high power set of monoculars (?) for hunting / birding purposes. But it’d be overkill for the blind I got and in the backyard. I don’t do any stalking while hunting, yet...
     
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  21. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    Swift Audubon 8x42. Put them through tons of shit when I was working seasonal jobs and they never flinched
     
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  22. Tiffin

    Tiffin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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    Usually see red-bellieds, but caught a gorgeous red head this morning on a drive.
     
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  23. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    Hummingbird feeder is officially out. Got Wrens building a nest along with Bluebirds in the back yard. Also spotted the female Oriole. Been seeing a few Cardinals flying in and out of my Willow bush the past few weeks, so hopefully get a nest in there, too.
     
  24. DexterRutecki

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    Yeah, prothonotary warblers are up there, too.
     
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  25. Tiffin

    Tiffin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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    Been hearing a bird the past couple nights, any god resources for songs? Sound like it's in the top of a small tree. Something like ABCB in town. Idk.
     
  26. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    I use the Audubon app. It's huge storage wise, but you can have the guide and the calls when you're hiking and don't have service.

    Only thing is, you would be shooting in the dark going off a call alone. I don't think there's a call ID feature.
     
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  27. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    I forgot BirdGenie is an app to ID calls, I've just never used it.
     
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  28. Lucky24Seven

    Lucky24Seven Ain't nothing slick to a can of oil
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    I use the Merlin Bird ID app. Has bird lists to download based on areas and stuff and also has bird calls. But like Popovio said, I think you’d be in the dark just going off calls.
     
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  29. ashy larry

    ashy larry from ashy to classy
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    why wife’s cat has had to stay inside the last few weeks and my backyard ecosystem has returned

    :blessed:
     
  30. Funshot Residue

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    Somebody help a fella out with some whipporwhill info. Hear them at the house. Have been told they are ground birds and red-eyed in a light. If that's true, I saw one on the road this morning. Great mountain sound to have a drink on the patio with, but the pup doesn't care for it.
     
  31. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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  32. Tiffin

    Tiffin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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    The red wings are in full force around the Mississippi River plains.
     
  33. AIP

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    This guy would take stale bread right from my hand
     
  34. blotter

    blotter Aristocratic Bum
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    Birds making up for lost time here in North Dakota. Cot damn they are thick, picked up a camera and will be adding to the thread when it's not snowing. Also shout out to my grandpa(rip) for planting those treelines and hedgerows around the property 40+ years ago..
     
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  35. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    Catbirds are one of my absolute favorites
     
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  36. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    Migration in your area is pretty fun. Go out to some of the WPAs around you and look for shorebirds and ducks.
     
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  37. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    Got blackpoll warblers, American redstarts, and red-eyed vireos in the yard this morning
     
    #487 Owsley, May 10, 2020
    Last edited: May 10, 2020
  38. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    Going up to the mountains tomorrow to see what I can find. Hoping for some violet green swallows.
     
  39. Tiffin

    Tiffin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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    Back down by the gulf. Seagulls are trash birds, but always cool to see the Pelican catching a wind and just hovering next to the bay bridge. Also caught a group of at least 3 downy woodpeckers in some trees earlier.
     
  40. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    *Gulls. There are no seagulls

    /audubonthreadcunty
     
  41. bigred77

    bigred77 Well-Known Member
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    saw a beautiful mallard duck and mate today down by the water
    Such a beautiful bird

    Sorry my phone was on the charger, so no pic
     
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  42. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    There's a Mandarin Duck at my local botanical garden. Pretty dapper looking bird, ngl.

    [​IMG]


    This is the eBird checklist for where I'm going tomorrow. Some people I know went there on the 26th of April.


    https://ebird.org/checklist/S67861006
     
  43. cutig

    cutig My name is Rod, and I like to party
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    We start point counts here for Georgia DNR in a couple weeks. I'll have to report some of my lists ITT
     
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  44. blotter

    blotter Aristocratic Bum
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    Will do. I know you're aware of the water table up here, we've got a growing situation that gets a fair amount of activity. I go down at sunset since it broke if the weather is decent

    [​IMG]

    I was shocked how much it grew over a decade between visits, but it makes a nice sunset

    [​IMG]
     
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  45. WillySaliba

    WillySaliba Well-Known Member
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    We have a pair we see every morning and evening here. They come to our feeder and they really are almost too comfortable. We walked within 20 feet of them this morning with the dogs and they dgaf.
     
  46. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    Had an awesome day of birding. Went up the mountains from the coast side, came back through high desert, and got to see a lot of different habitats. Knocked out 3 lifers: Scott's Oriole (male and female) Black Chinned Sparrow (male), and a Hermit Warbler (female). Saw a lot of stuff I don't normally see around my house. Birding with a hash oil vape pen is pretty sweet too.

    First spot was 7800 feet up. 9 out of every 10 birds was a Violet-Green swallow, they have a feeding frenzy up there this time of year. Highlights were a White-Headed Woodpecker, a few Pygmy Nuthatches, and some Red Crossbills (almost never see them down in LA).

    table mountain.jpg

    Went about 4 miles and 1000 feet down the mountain to where there's a sag pond (water trapped in a depression because of the San Andreas Fault). Saw the Hermit Warbler here, as well as a bunch of Brewer's Blackbirds, Western Bluebirds, Mountain Chickadees, and Acorn Woodpeckers. Also saw a Western Wood Pee Wee.

    jackson lake.jpg

    Drove down to the desert next. It's high desert so you have Joshua Trees mixing with Pine and Juniper, just a really cool area. Saw the pair of Scott's Orioles and the Black Chinned Sparrow here. Also saw a desert thrasher, but I couldn't ID which kind.

    desert.jpg

    Gained some elevation and hit up this patch of Cottonwoods near the road, there's still snow on the mountains I came from. Saw a male Bullock's Oriole, a bunch of Barn Swallows and Cowbirds, and something that looked like a White Breasted Nuthatch but wasn't (still haven't figured it out).

    cottonwoods.jpg
     
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  47. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    Man, that sounds like an unreal day. Getting a new lifer is always big, but 3 in one day that close to home is insane.

    Any description on the unidentifiable nuthatch-like bird? It wasn’t a brown creeper, was it?
     
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  48. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    Yeah, I googled Brown Creeper and did not get the results I was expecting.

    Could be the light was throwing the color scheme off, but it seemed basically dark grey body, light grey breast, maybe some darker pattern on the wing bars. It acted like a Nuthatch, just seemed super muted color wise.
     
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  49. Owsley

    Owsley My friends call me Bear
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    Bushtit or wrentit?
     
  50. Popovio

    Popovio The poster formerly known as "MouseCop"
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    It was bigger than a Sparrow, smaller than a Robin. I'm sure the mystery will only continue.