BIRDS -- even more bird mafia discussion

[LongRider]

16 hours ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

Probably a Northern Mockingbird. They are well-known night-singers, especially during breeding season. 

They sing in Northern Cali too and woke me several times last year.   Little bastards, I hoped their goddamn singing would attract predators and shut them the hell up.  
The mockingbirds have been coming back lately and hopefully any night concerts will be sung far away from me.    

[TheLastWolf]

20 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

What damn bird sings at 2:00 am?

Coincidence.... Peacock orgy woke me up at the same time, or same time in my time zone 

[Wilbur]

On 4/9/2021 at 5:51 AM, Xray the Enforcer said:

Things that I would look at to distinguish between HV and RCK: 
First thing I'd look at is patterning on the wing coverts -- with HV, you only really see the white wing bars; with RCK, it looks like "dark, white, black." It's that bottom black bar that to me really stands out in the field.

Second thing I'd look at is shape and placement of the white around the eyes. In HV, it's concentrated on the bottom of eye and toward the back. In the RCK, it's in the front and back of the eye, but nothing at all along the bottom. 

Third thing, bill shape. Notice HV has thicker, shorter bill, while RCK has a longer, thinner one. I'd ask myself "is the bill about as thick as the diameter of the bird's eye, or is it thinner than the diameter of the bird's eye?" 

[Carefully reads this again, then a third time, considers pictures taken this morning, slowly backs away from submitting them to eBird...]

[Fragile Bird]

I’ve been listening to the robins during the day, and I think my 2:00 am singer is, in fact, a robin.

[Mlle. Zabzie]

2 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I’ve been listening to the robins during the day, and I think my 2:00 am singer is, in fact, a robin.

So, it could still be a mocker.  They are amazing mimics.  

[Xray the Enforcer]

9 hours ago, Fragile Bird said:

I’ve been listening to the robins during the day, and I think my 2:00 am singer is, in fact, a robin.

That can happen too, especially during breeding season. Although sometimes it's actually a mockingbird mimicking a robin! You can tell the difference if the bird repeats the same sets of notes three times in a row. If it sounds like it's stuck in a time loop, it's actually a mockingbird. 

[LongRider]

My bird sightings lately have been one hummingbird who perched on branch near me while I was admiring some roses.   As he turned his head left and right his head feathers would show a metallic scarlet color.  Stunning!

Last week spotted a few California Quail, first I’ve seen in a while. 

This morning I heard an odd sound and looked out the window to see a male wild turkey standing in my neighbor’s driveway.   This is my 3’rd turkey sighting this spring.  

I’ve seen turkeys in some local open spaces, but I guess they found their way to town. 

[Fragile Bird]

I regularly go to the cemetery where my parents are buried to walk around, because there are few people there, and my neighbourhood park is packed with families with their kids, people walking their dogs, joggers, and old men meeting their buddies.

There are lots of robins, and lots of these dark birds that in my mind I’ve called crows even though I was sure they weren’t. Yesterday I took a hard look at them and they seem to have shiny dark green heads (or dark blue) and dark brown bodies. Looking at a list of birds of Ontario, I think they’re grackles. Interesting to have a name, I had no idea.

[TheLastWolf]

https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=748612

https://theprint.in/theprint-essential/aphrodisiac-meat-sport-why-arab-royals-hunt-bustard-in-pakistan-why-india-banned-it/584173/

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/bustard-poaching-in-pakistan-desert-shocks-wildlife-activists/article34338082.ece

Pakistani jingoists hunting the extremely endangered avian for it's name

And I'm outraged not because I'm an Indian. As a matter of fact, I support Einstein's united world govt, pool resoucrces etc. And like decent Pak cricketers too.

Dr. Salim Ali (the ornithologist I told @Xray the Enforcer about) recommended The Great Indian Bustard to be the national animal of India, I t was defeated by the Peacock.

The latter is almost rabid, humongous population explosion (remember the orgy?), farming affected while the former is >100 in the wild.

GIB was rejected due to its name vulnerable to mispronounciation. Bastards.

[TheLastWolf]

Plus old...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/13/asia/thousands-birds-dead-india-intl-hnk-scli/index.html

[lady narcissa]

So Chicago's beloved piping plovers - Monty and Rose - have returned here for the summer.  I find it utterly amazing that they find their way back to the same beach, year after year.  Especially since apparently Monty spends the winter down in Texas and Rose spends her winters in Florida.  Yet they both showed up within a day of each other.

https://news.wttw.com/2021/04/26/reunited-monty-and-rose-both-confirmed-montrose-dune-time-get-reacquainted

[Wilbur]

It is "Flying Banana" week here in Scottsdale.  The Yellow Warblers and all their cousins like the Wilson's Warbler, etc. along with the various Orioles, have decided to manifest themselves in all their glory.

It is always a delight to see these bright, cheery birds and know that Summer is knocking on the door.

[TheLastWolf]

Whoo whoo! 

Finally rejoined Ebird

[Xray the Enforcer]

Warbler neck** is real. I mean, I knew that, but I haven't actually had to deal with it for years. But after not birding or weightlifting for more than a year, this spring migration is doing brutal things to my shoulders and neck. So all you neophyte birders out there: warbler neck will go away once migration is done, and I can post some exercises and other tips on how to avoid it in the future. 

**neck and shoulder pain you get when you spend hours staring directly above you into the tops of trees to see warblers during migration, because many of them like the tree canopy and they are small and move quickly. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

Despite the above suffering, I saw a ton of birds in only two hours yesterday. I was low-key leading a birding group of mostly brand-new birders and there were just ridiculous numbers of birds out. Like 9 warbler species in a single tree, Baltimore Orioles all over the place, and we saw both cuckoo species regularly found in New York state -- these are actually difficult to find, and to find both of them within 10 minutes of each other is *chef's kiss*

[Luzifer's right hand]

I have been watching a swan nest on my way to work. It is on a small tributary of the Danube that is next to the bike path I take.

Not real bird watching I guess but you can see the little ones now. 

[Xray the Enforcer]

4 minutes ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

I have been watching a swan nest on my way to work. It is on a small tributary of the Danube that is next to the bike path I take.

Not real bird watching I guess but you can see the little ones now. 

that is totally "real" bird watching. Any time you take notice of birds is bird watching! BTW you can tell a female from a male swan when they are incubating eggs -- only females incubate the eggs. Once the birds hatch, it's more difficult because both males and females mind the cygnets. 

[Luzifer's right hand]

49 minutes ago, Xray the Enforcer said:

that is totally "real" bird watching. Any time you take notice of birds is bird watching! BTW you can tell a female from a male swan when they are incubating eggs -- only females incubate the eggs. Once the birds hatch, it's more difficult because both males and females mind the cygnets. 

Ah interesting. I noticed both sleeping on one day when I walked home from work after a late shift. It is not the quietest spot they picked. 

[Zorral]

7 hours ago, Luzifer's right hand said:

I have been watching a swan nest on my way to work. It is on a small tributary of the Danube that is next to the bike path I take.

 

I'm envious.

Here in NYC, just from Brooklyn's Prospect Park, a  friend reported she saw in a single day over 71 different species.  We're in a primary migration route, so this time of a year everybody shows up, just like in the Before times, all our friends from different parts of the country and the world would show up here too, from New Year's week through the second week of January.

[TheLastWolf]

Hey guys I need help. I deleted the Google account with which I signed up for Ebird first. Now I rejoined using a new account. My old account still exists. Not vanished with deleted g account. What to do? Whom to contact? 

[email protected]

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