Yeah, and hilariously territorial. Tea kettle - tea kettle - tea kettle is the mnemonic for their song Degausser. They almost always sing from an exposed area as well. Very loud and always super proud of themselves.
We have a ton of them, love their songs / calls. They absolutely love mealworms & are pretty hilarious to watch at the feeders, as they are messy as hell & seem to toss 95% of the food off the feeder… much to the benefit of the squirrels
Saw nighthawks and swifts. You’d have to listen to the calls though. I’d recommend sleeping but if you’re like me, 3AM means I’m up for good and fucked for the day.
sounded like a nighthawk from this suggestion. that shrill sound is maybe why i thought it was a goose from far away? anyway, it's unclear if they're talking shit or being friends
i tried to record them talking but it sounds like butt and my heavy breathing. they are just yelling back and forth. the owl is definitely in my backyard. the other guy isn't very far either
'The most amazing find': First barn owl nest in over 20 years confirmed in Wisconsin Spoiler Karla Bloem, executive director of the International Owl Center in Houston, Minnesota, said it all started at the end of September when someone sent her a Facebook post from the Coulee Region Humane Society’s Wildlife Rehabilitation program showing a young barn owl they picked up in La Crosse. "I’m like, 'Holy Moly!' I just about jumped out of my chair," Bloem said. "I couldn't wait to call them and find out more about it." A resident had called the humane society after finding the young owl on the ground in their backyard. After talking with the property owner, Bloem got permission to investigate further. She said she knew immediately the owl must have come from a half-dead silver maple tree on the property. Her husband navigated an endoscope, a stiff wire with a camera on one end, up the tree’s many cavities looking for signs of a nest. "My husband’s moving the camera around, and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, there’s legs!' And we moved it up, and whoop! There’s three barn owls in there. So that was the most amazing find ever. That was just unbelievable," Bloem said. It’s the first barn owl nest confirmed in Wisconsin since 1999. The species became so rare during the early 2000s that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources removed the barn owl from their endangered species list in 2014 due to "a lack of records." DNR conservation biologist Ryan Brady said barn owls are a very widespread species of owls, with populations on every continent except Antarctica. But in the United States, they tend to stick to western and southern states to avoid cold and snowy winters. "We’re at the northern edge of where it's usually found. It likes open grasslands and generally warmer climates than where we’re at," Brady said. "But it declined pretty strongly during the latter part of the 20th century due to the loss of habitat and loss of nest sites with less abandoned barns and cleaner farming practices." He said the decline was seen across the Midwest as farming moved more toward row crops like corn and soybeans. Brady said barn owls need open grasslands or pastures to hunt and had previously relied on older barns with livestock in them as a warm place to nest during winter. "For us to have a bird nesting here... it's really a good thing for the species and maybe a testament to some of the grassland protection and restoration that’s occurring, some of the wetland restoration work, and then some of the nest box programs that are occurring in adjacent states," Brady said. He said the return of barn owls could also be the result of milder winters in Wisconsin thanks to a changing climate. Bloem, who has been an owl educator for over 20 years, said she frequently hears from older generations that they remember seeing barn owls in Wisconsin. "If I’m doing programs in a nursing home or something and I talk about barn owls, many of them saw barn owls when they were young growing up on farms. So they were more common in the Midwest until (the) '50s, up to (the) mid-'60s or so," she said. But Bloem said she had a hunch the owls were present in the region in the last few years after she picked up wild barn owl calls on a recorder at her organization’s aviary in 2014. Last year, she got a grant from the Minnesota Ornithologist Union to buy automated recording units to listen for them. "They’re all in different locations and I have, just this year, recorded wild barn owls in five of those six locations," Bloem said. "So they’re here, they’re showing up, but they're super good at not being detected." She said barn owls aren't talkative like most other owl species, despite being known for their blood-curdling screech that Bloem likens to a fan belt going out on a car. After moving one of her recorders to the nest in La Crosse, she found the adult owls rarely make noise and the young communicate with soft shushing sounds. "They’re very nocturnal. Most owls are at least crepuscular, so you see them at dawn or dusk, and barn owls are just not," Bloem said. "They’re really good at not being seen. People don’t hear them much. So what we’re finding is they’re here more than anybody knows." Brady said the DNR gets frequent reports from residents who think they’ve heard the barn owl’s unique screech. But he estimates that 99 percent of time, what someone has heard is the call of a young great horned owl. "So you have these two sounds that are sort of a single high-pitched scream — one from a very, very common species that's in just about every neighborhood in southern and central Wisconsin, and one from a very, very rare species," Brady said. He encourages anyone who thinks they’ve heard a barn owl to send a recording of the call to the DNR for confirmation. Now that people know barn owls have returned to Wisconsin, Bloem said she’s hopeful residents will start keeping an eye out for the bird and help clear up the mystery that still surrounds the elusive species. That’s also why she worked with other wildlife officials to make sure the young barn owl in La Crosse was banded before being returned to its nest, helping track movement of the species.
What got you all into bird watching? What was the bird that got you hooked? My family has always had feeders around but for me, it was spotting an Oriole years back migrating into the area for the spring / summer. That coupled with spotting a Pileated woodpecker that scared the shit out of me on a walk. Those are some pretty damn big birds. I’ve really grown fond of waterfowl this past year living so close to a river.
My late FIL was an avid birder. Early 2000's, young Nachos was courting his daughter and agreed to go out with him on a new year's count. Had a total blast. Bonded with a good man and learned to appreciate simple the joys of our avian friends. Going forward, it's how I honor him - by educating my kids/friends, and trying to be a better steward of the earth.
When I was a kid, the California Thrasher looked so cool to me. They have a crazy curved bill, and are very skittish, so it always felt like an accomplishment to see one. As an adult getting back into it, seeing a Scott's Oriole for the first time got me good. (Not my pic) Birding is what really makes me feel relaxed and content. I'll just take some edibles, or beers, or both, and just go hike and see what I see. Sometimes alone, sometimes with others. I feel so much happier after I get a good day in, and it took me far too long in life to realize that.
Anyone else doing the CBC this year? Our group is doing it 12/18. Start at zero dark thirty looking for owls then go until sunset. One of my favorite days of the year.
Maybe next year for me. I’d like to go out with my dad before he gets too old to do something like this.
They’re all over the place here, mostly feasting on the abundance of privet berries, which may be that godforsaken plants only good purpose. The winter flocks of blackbirds have arrived at my feeders as well. Mostly redwings with some cowbirds and grackles, but I just spotted a rusty mixed in with them which is always cool to see.
Love my northern flickers that I have been seeing. They seem to behave like woodpeckers in that they A) aren't jittery B) seem to feed solo. I'm assuming they are closely related. Edit: Clip from my nest camera
One of my favorite birds, and not just because it’s Alabama’s state bird. Flickers spend more time on the ground (often looking for ants) than any other woodpecker species, so you can get some pretty good views of them since they aren’t as fond of feeders as others.
One of the things I enjoy about California is how many endemic species of birds we have. The Allen's Hummingbird primarily hugs the coast, and we have them year-round in L.A. The Oak Titmouse only hangs around the dry oak environments from Southern Oregon down to Baja. Allen's Hummingbird Oak Titmouse
Those Allen’s pics are stunning, Popovio That gorget I absolutely can’t wait for my hummers to return
Taken during afternoon walk, in my 'hood. I just need to break down & grab super telephoto lens Spoiler
Saw some stuff. Spoiler American White Pelican Black Phoebe Red-crowned Amazon Great Blue Heron Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron
Raised in AR, lived in Nashville and a 5 year stint in Tallahassee. I have never seen this kind of blue bird before. This pic was taken on my game cam in SE Arkansas on the LA boarder. It is beautiful, but what kind of blue bird is it? Eastern BB?
Thanks, usually only get crows and turkeys that bunting is beautiful Also, when I was in Nashville (Bellvue) I had an amazing variety of birds I never saw in AR
Forgot this: Back yard backs up to a woody area and creek (like a small greenspace). On Christmas afternoon my daughter says omg come look! About three trees into the woods there is a hawk eating his kill. Adjust meal and it is a 3 to 4 foot snake. Pretty cool Wasn't an adult red tail, not big enough and I think had bare longer yellow legs
Our resident red shoulders absolutely slay snakes. I’ve probably seen them taking over 20 to their nest in the last few years. Neighbors who frequently work outside has seen at least 3-4 times more than I do.
The first bird I saw today was a Merlin; it was posted in a tree above me when I got out of my car. Then a B2 stealth bomber did a fly-by right over me on its way to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. Pretty good morning. Spoiler Acorn Woodpecker female. Yellow-rumped Warbler Red-tailed Hawk Brewer's Blackbird female
Spoiler Ruby-crowned Kinglet Nuttal's Woodpecker (male) Lesser Goldfinch (female) Townsend's Warbler (not sure if immature) California Scub-Jay