BIRDS (and how to look at them)

[Ice Queen]

14 hours ago, Lily Valley said:

Dinner time over at the Eagle nest!  Waiting breathlessly on the second egg.  http://www.pixcontroller.com/eagles/index.htm  Looks like some good discussion over there on the chat channel too!  Cool!

There are some very knowledgeable people there who have been doing this for years, even before the cams were in place. I really enjoy it. We also have a second nest that you can see on the same site. Egg #1 due to hatch on March 31 and Egg #2 on April 3. 

Last winter, the Hays eagles' nest tree blew down in a wind storm and they built a new one in record time, but it was so far away from the cam that you couldn't see anything. So in the fall, Pixcontroller put up a new cam that's in a much better position than the old one. The new shots are amazing.

After that, falcon cam  

[Lily Valley]

I got a SPECTACULAR view of the white-winged dove's mating dance.  I mean....I'm not sure I even have words for this tail-bobbing, side-stepping, wing-stretching display.  Makes my sexy dance look AMAZING.  Standing on one leg and showing off one wing, big tail flips, nearly fell off the fence.  I was all, "Go HOME fool, you're drunk!"   His audience stared in amazement for a moment and flew away.

@Xray the Enforcer was this territorial behavior instead?  Either way it was remarkable.  Birds are VERY entertaining right now.

[Larry of the Lawn]

Kestrels are back on the power lines along my road!  Saw three yesterday on the way home and one this morning!

[Xray the Enforcer]

10 hours ago, Lily Valley said:

I got a SPECTACULAR view of the white-winged dove's mating dance.  I mean....I'm not sure I even have words for this tail-bobbing, side-stepping, wing-stretching display.  Makes my sexy dance look AMAZING.  Standing on one leg and showing off one wing, big tail flips, nearly fell off the fence.  I was all, "Go HOME fool, you're drunk!"   His audience stared in amazement for a moment and flew away.

@Xray the Enforcer was this territorial behavior instead?  Either way it was remarkable.  Birds are VERY entertaining right now.

The big tail flips are indicative of mating behavior, for sure. Aggression is mostly chasing other birds and the aggressor "slapping" its wings.

[Lily Valley]

5 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

The big tail flips are indicative of mating behavior, for sure. Aggression is mostly chasing other birds and the aggressor "slapping" its wings.

OMG, I did my impression of this dance for the roomate (because I just found my summer clothes today) and between the arm-stretch and pit-sniff and the butt waggle I can guarantee we're all going to be doing THE BIRD this summer at the pool.  (It was a hit). 

No wing slapping from this guy, it looked way more like "The Hustle:  An Interpretive Version for the Very Emotive At This Particular Moment About This Particular Fence-TYVM"  I've been seeing bits and pieces of this masterpiece for about 3 weeks from the White Winged doves, but usually they're so boring and wobbly I ignore it.  I thought all that tail flap was all, "WHOA?  HOW DID I LAND UPRIGHT???  Am I WALKING OR IS THIS AIR REALLY FIRM??"  That dove / pigeon family just looks so GOOFY moving around in the world.  I suppose I do too.  I am SURE I do now after performing his dance.  Really, he got all Karate Kid there for a sec.

Edit:  In the other news of springtime cuteness:

TK (The best cat ever) has taken to waiting for me to wake up in the morning and tell me about what the pigeons roosting in the neighbor's rafters have been doing.  He comes over with a BIG STRETCH and then says, "Good Morning, have you seen what the birds are doing?"  He then will direct my attention to the appropriate window,make sure I'm looking the right way and then settle down for a pet while he chirps at the birds.

For those of y'all who don't keep cats, they will do the weirdest thing where they chirp at prey when they are NOT in Hunting Mode.  As if any mousie or bird is going to be fooled and come by for a chat.  I do see how some animals from legend may have been tricked.  When TK does this his whole body is low and relaxed.  He'll burrow (in blankets, if abed or in the garden if outside and TALK BACK TO THE BIRDS).  My personal theory is that they are pishing to get the bird's attention so ANOTHER cat can eat it.

 

 

 

[Ice Queen]

It looks like Egg #2 might not hatch after all.  Part of the shell from #1 got overlaid on top of #2's shell, and it might not have been able to break through both layers before the poor thing ran out of air. But there are still 2 days to go before it's deemed not viable. If it would hatch, the problem becomes the age and size difference between the two eaglets. #2 might well starve to death or be killed by the older, bigger one. Sad, but such is eagle world. 

[Lily Valley]

I'm still holding on to hope for the second eaglet!    

[Ice Queen]

43 minutes ago, Lily Valley said:

I'm still holding on to hope for the second eaglet!    

It's not looking good but they haven't officially declared it not viable. Six days between eaglets is a long time in eagle world and it may be better if it doesn't hatch at this point. The other pair at Harmar are due to hatch any day now, though! 

Edit: Oh dear. They just launched a new osprey cam. I'm going to need a 12 step program soon.

https://www.visitbutlercounty.com/osprey-cam

[Lily Valley]

Watching the feedings all day.  LITTLE FUZZBALL!

@Xray the Enforcer now that I am aware of the wing flipping, I can't under it.  The sparrows do it to me now that I'm out on the balcony.  I'm all, "Sir, this is MY nest and you're eating at MY table.  FLAP YOU!"

[A True Kaniggit]

9 hours ago, Lily Valley said:

Watching the feedings all day.  LITTLE FUZZBALL!

@Xray the Enforcer now that I am aware of the wing flipping, I can't under it.  The sparrows do it to me now that I'm out on the balcony.  I'm all, "Sir, this is MY nest and you're eating at MY table.  FLAP YOU!"

They are quite literally flipping you the bird.

In your defense, I shall cuss out any sparrow that happens to cross my path.

(I do the same things to starlings, but that's for different reasons. Purple Martin murdering bastards)

[Seli]

In the car passengering through the western Netherlands, spotted some couples Barnacle geese, who apparently have started to breed here in the last decades. And in addition to the normal couples of Mute Swans in the fields there was also a huge group of them, which apparently can be a group of young individuals who are not ready to breed yet.

I also did spot some great egrets, who seem to stay around rather than only visit for winter. As well as some of the better camouflaged but traditionally more common grey herons.

 

[Mlle. Zabzie]

So there is a WSJ article this morning about identifying gulls and the birders who “enjoy it”. Best quote compared the practice to single malt scotch - either you love it or don’t know why you’d bother. 

[Lily Valley]

2 hours ago, Mlle. Zabzie said:

So there is a WSJ article this morning about identifying gulls and the birders who “enjoy it”. Best quote compared the practice to single malt scotch - either you love it or don’t know why you’d bother. 

LOL!  I'd be interested in that one.  I can appreciate the sentiment.  I like to distinguish them by CALL.  When they first got here this springtime they screwed up my Fish Crow or Juvenile Crow game listening game.  I think the ones circling MUST be laughing gulls, because I can't imagine that there's another gull that  can jeer quite as spectacularly.  I don't know that I'd ever sit with my binoculars and agonize over the gulls at city park, though.

[Xray the Enforcer]

12 hours ago, Mlle. Zabzie said:

So there is a WSJ article this morning about identifying gulls and the birders who “enjoy it”. Best quote compared the practice to single malt scotch - either you love it or don’t know why you’d bother. 

One of my people is quoted in that article

 

[Ice Queen]

We have another little bobblehead at our Harmar nest! 

Egg #2 at Hays was deemed not viable. So that pair only has one eaglet this year. 

[Mlle. Zabzie]

17 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

One of my people is quoted in that article

 

Awesome!!!!

[Lily Valley]

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat Lady in Training said:

We have another little bobblehead at our Harmar nest! 

Egg #2 at Hays was deemed not viable. So that pair only has one eaglet this year. 

So sorry to hear that, but happy about Harmar!  When did it hatch?

[Ice Queen]

48 minutes ago, Lily Valley said:

So sorry to hear that, but happy about Harmar!  When did it hatch?

Yesterday morning. There is still one egg left so we're on PIP watch. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

On 3/28/2018 at 7:51 AM, Lily Valley said:

I got a SPECTACULAR view of the white-winged dove's mating dance.  I mean....I'm not sure I even have words for this tail-bobbing, side-stepping, wing-stretching display.  Makes my sexy dance look AMAZING.  Standing on one leg and showing off one wing, big tail flips, nearly fell off the fence.  I was all, "Go HOME fool, you're drunk!"   His audience stared in amazement for a moment and flew away.

@Xray the Enforcer was this territorial behavior instead?  Either way it was remarkable.  Birds are VERY entertaining right now.

Voyeur! 

[Tears of Lys]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2018 at 8:51 AM, Lily Valley said:

I got a SPECTACULAR view of the white-winged dove's mating dance.  I mean....I'm not sure I even have words for this tail-bobbing, side-stepping, wing-stretching display.  Makes my sexy dance look AMAZING.  Standing on one leg and showing off one wing, big tail flips, nearly fell off the fence.  I was all, "Go HOME fool, you're drunk!"   His audience stared in amazement for a moment and flew away.

@Xray the Enforcer was this territorial behavior instead?  Either way it was remarkable.  Birds are VERY entertaining right now.

Sounds like his dance rivaled Elaine's on Seinfeld. 

 

We've got soooo many woodpeckers around right now, it's crazy.  I've gotta start a birding journal and logging in the sightings and finding out what kinds they are.  Some of the calls and songs you hear from them are downright awe inspiring.