Calling All Bird Nerds

[Drifa]

Ah, poor pigeons. Now they will have to start over again. Though that may not feel that to be a bad thing, hahaha.

I caught this little downy woodpecker in the trees. I believe it's female, and it may be a young one. I say this because its feathers appear fluffed.

[Pele Alarion]

Ah, little woodpecker!

I got pics of young white storks (they still have dark beaks), probably getting ready to fly off south. *pout* Birds are already leaving.

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Bird nerds or not, here are some lovely pictures. Awesome to view.

[Pele Alarion]

Some more birds have come within the reach of my phone camera lately (was too lazy to set up the spotting scope in attempt of better pics). @Lail and @Drifa I wonder if these would brighten your day:

1) A tiny goldcrest flew into my window and sat for a while resting before taking off again. Such a little cutie!



2) There is one white heron who visits the reeds right within easy view from my window each day to fish. Wonder if he will leave for south or not...



3) Also, caught this funny sight of two hooded crows. A crow kiss?

[Lail]

ooooo that goldcrest is so adorable!! it reminds me of a golden-crowned kinglet and they are nothing but delightful and fill me with much happiness.

could the crows be a parent and juvenile and the juvenile is still trying to beg food off the parentals?

I had a family of goldfinches at my feeder this summer and the juveniles were a hoot to watch as they got older. one of them chased mom around and around trying to get food but she wouldn't give in. I think she was over it. meanwhile, dad was perched on the feeder and stuffing his other baby with food.

[Drifa]

Kissing crows is very surreal. They always appear to me so aloof. I miss seeing cranes. Not many in the city. And what a cute little bird. It is the smallest bird in Europe, I read. So you see them often, Pele?

I haven't been bird-watching lately. I have been busy, and it has gotten hard to see them now that the cold weather is upon us. I did capture these in August. Now, generally, I do not feed birds people food. But I had a few bread ends after my breakfast, and it was a lovely summer morning, so I sat outside and threw the bread on the lawn. I had two visitors. We have crows and ravens in our area. I am sure this was a raven; it had the familiar voice I heard before landing on the road in front of the house. And, of course, there are gulls all over the city.

[Pele Alarion]

There have been many reports of goldcrests running into windows lately, perhaps they are migrating and get confused by reflections of sun on window panes. I had never seen one so up close before, just seen them in flocks flittering through bushes and chirping merrily.

Hmm, Lail, it might be a juvenile and parent crows - I think the crows in the nest across the street had 2 or 3 chicks this year. I do not know enough to identify which are youngsters.

Drifa, those pics are lovely! I'm considering setting up the feeder soon, for now just feeding pigeons occasionally (only wish they would not return the favour by pooping on my balcony).

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Hello, absolutely not a bird nerd but coming in peace. Wondering specifically for your thoughts, no doubt more charitable to the birds than mine, of birds and glass.

Specifics. Five or more sparrows - very small brown birds - must have hopped - on legs - through the door looking for crumbs. When I step inside they all rise up with their wings and ping from closed window to closed window till sooner or later, unless I get windows and doors open in time and use a broom for direction - they will fall stunned on the floor and into the mouth of a dog or cat.

These birds cannot do glass. No generalizing. But this lot certainly have no clue. I have no patience. I want them out not because I care about them but only because the cat/dog ending gets messy and is more work.

Honestly would be happy to hear it from their point of view, or at least yours.

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Now I feel uncomforable. Like my bad name with eggs has preceded me. Honestly, it was a genuine question. Actually, I'd even considered posting some pics of the great birds that migrate through here in the winters. But now I'm offended and think I'll keep my bird pics to myself.

[Pele Alarion]

@Chrysophylax Dives Now, now. You are hasty and not giving the slow folks time to appear!

Though I am not sure what to say beyond "poor birdies". I can't help wonder what they have discovered that is luring them into your premises... Must be something tasty!

I once found a dead crow under my bed... Grandma was at home and she said that a crow had come in, and she thought she had managed to chase it back out. Apparently not.

[Chrysophylax Dives]

Thank you for that, @Pele Alarion. The answer to your question is easy: a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old stalk the ground floor in the morning, moving bits of breakfast from one place to another at will and leaving bits of it in random places for no good reason that I can see. So there are lots of cornflake crumbs and the like.

On the crow, dead and under the bed - that almost sounds like an evil spell. I have had not unrrelated experiences, but not with a crow. And this does seem to arrive at a first real question, that being whether and how you 'bird nerds' distinguish the different birds - are some evil and others, like pidgeons, not of interest? Or do you open your hearts to all birds of whatever kind? (I would hope the former.)

[Pele Alarion]

Ah, the birds must have found a free-for-all table then, even at the danger of death.

I enjoy all sorts of birds, though would prefer them alive and outdoors rather than dead and under my bed. Have to be careful with keeping the balcony door open in summer though - I've caught pigeons wanting to enter a few times. My own fault, though - I did try to get them to eat from my hand.

[Chrysophylax Dives]

I am afraid to say that pigeons are largely responsible for my negative feelings towards birds. I have a neighbour who rescued a chick and actually walked around with a little pigeon on her shoulder. Yuk! I have an upstairs balcony where I was trying to grow plants this summer while two pigeons maintained a campaign to set up home. I am sorry to say, but I threw out their nests - along with the little eggs. And I lost count of how many times I did so. Their was no communication with them. I hung up shiny things and bigger shiny things but it was a waste of time. Eventually they stopped, but I think it was only because their nesting season was at an end. I guess that some years back when the balcony was unused for a summer they raised some chicks and now the place is hardwired into their brains.

It is this inability to learn that gets on my nerves. I had a pet hamster once who was incredibly stupid. These pigeons and starlings have even less brains.

However, I do not extend this hostility much beyond these two types. Sometimes walking I see what I think are eagles, which fly in their hunting circles and often circle quite low. I don't care if they are stupid because I really don't wish to talk to one close up. But I have only admiration from a distance.

[Hanasian]

It's been nine months since I moved away from my magpie friends, but have been accepted by the local raven clan.

This is Maw, the matriarch of a clan of four. She will get really close to me for bird treats, but isn't as bold as Muffin the Magpie was and won't hop on me (yet). She had an unfortunate run-in with a dog and got munched, but has come back though her left leg had been broken and she has a patch of raw breast. This pic was her being all prim and proper for the phone camera. I wanted to get a picture of her wounds but she quickly turned around and hid her breast and bad leg.

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Wow again there are really some awesome shots posted in here. Thanks for sharing these bird images!

[Hanasian]

An update on Maw. Not long after I took the last photo in December, she quit showing up. So did her mate Crowley. I got a bit worried as the only raven activity was brief flyovers by others. I sort of wrote her off as succumbing to secondary infection of her breast wound and the other ravens didn't want to have anything to do with us.

Then, last week, I look out the window and standing on the brick wall and peering in the window was Maw! I went outside with a few treats and she came down to the ground after I sat down and warily walked around me. She has a serious 'pirate-walk with her mangled leg, but has worked it into her routine. She has a 'skip' instead of a two-feet hop, and if she is going to stand somewhere for a while she drops to her belly. Good news is her breast has completely healed. There is just a small dent in her feathers to mark where her wound was.

Here she is on our back patio. You can see her bad leg really well in this first photo...



She was getting really close to me to get her treats. In this 2nd photo she is contemplating an ant while she determines the best way to get the treat I dropped right in front of me. She was thinking it was too close, but she did eventually get it. I am so happy my favorite Raven is ok.



Today, Maw and Crowley came by and perched in our Cypress tree in the front yard and they had their extended clan visiting. They were foraging the front yard of the neighbors....



There were eighteen counting Maw and Crowley up in the tree. Two had wandered out of frame to the right, and one had wandered left out of frame in this picture. The two closest in the pic are 'Zoom' and 'Bolt' the fledglings that Maw and Crowley had brought over back in November. They have lost their red gum-line and the last of their juvenile grey feathers.

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Hi Hanasian, those are some beautiful pictures you have posted.

[Pele Alarion]

@Hanasian Oh, I love your birds! So nice that they trust you.

[Pele Alarion]

I've only been able to get a shot at random hooded crows while out on my walks or running. They are not that skittish and don't mind posing sometimes. Here, from three different times at different locations:

[Aikári Salmarinian]

Pele: Those are very nice!