birds
Posted By: elonmt on 2008-01-24
In Reply to: Hey fellow bird watchers... - annabanana
I am originally from NY/NJ and am fairly new to NC but last week saw a whole bunch of robins in the yard. I thought it was early for them. Then, we had snow. Does anyone know what is going on? Also, have what I think is a hawk that I see all the time on the roof top across the street. He has a tail with strips. I think it is a hawk. Amazing..
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birds
Your Goffin found a perfect home! That's EXACTLY what they want and need!!
I had a pink Mollucan (like a Goffin but bigger) who was my "baby" and she too had to be held all the time with her head resting on my chest or she'd scream so loud you could hear her houses down the block from me. Sometimes only the hard of hearing can find them to be acceptable pets because of this but they are SO affectionate!!! They are said to have the intelligence and demanding nature of a toddler. Your former Macaw comes in at around a 5- to 7-year-old. Greys are rated at 9 years old intelligence-wise but I disagree and think Macaws and Greys rate higher based on owning many and seeing what they can do. I've bred/owned many kinds of birds for many years. If you want a small parrot who just pretty much sits and thinks and keeps quiet but is company, get an Eclectus. They are affectionate but quiet and pretty much trouble free, not obsessed with curiosity like a Grey! Pionus are good too.
Just watch whatever you use around the house that has an odor or scent. Birds can die in a matter of minutes before you realize what is happening. Reptiles react too so be careful with them. And never use Lysol around a rabbit, especially to clean the cage.
Feel free to e-mail me if I can ever be of any help. I'm posting this here in case others watching this thread have birds, use candles and self-cleaning ovens and Teflon, especially this time of the year.
Birds of a feather....
well you get the idea. I just saw a picture of them in my weekly dirt magazines so guess they are still hanging out.
Cats eat birds.
I no longer put feeders anywhere near my yard but I'm not going to punish my cat for eating a bird.
Watching birds
That is so cool. I know there are lots of beautiful birds around here (N FL), including woodpeckers (have pecked trees to prove it lol), but I never thought to actually watch and document them.
The other night around 1 a.m. I was walking my dogs and there were probably 4 or 5 owls (I counted 4 for sure) situated within may a 100-yard radius. They kept 'talking' to each other. Each would repeat the previous 'chant.' It was really interesting to listen to them. They really had a rhythm goin'!
My son's GF said she saw a hawk on the fence a couple days ago. Wish I could have seen that!
But... shameless confession... my favorite bird is the vulture. They are magnificent... I know many people don't like them because of what they do for a livelihood, but I love them.
Anyhow... happy bird-watching. And thanks for sparking a potential hobby over here :-)
Complaints about birds sm
Have one of those neighbors who complains about everything, dogs, cats, and birds. I have a few feeders, do not feed from the ground, etc. Anyway, even in this cold northeast weather, I can hear the birds chirping away. I tell my husband they are saying "thanks for keeping up the feeding," as many must be totally confused with the on-off weather we had this winter. Week after Christmas it was near 70 one day. I love the cardinals and we have one what we call "crazy bird" who loves to make noise in the dark. I will not stop feeding my feathered friends, use squirrel-proof feeders but find some, along with cats, will sit under the feeders just hoping to get themselves a bird who happens to be within reach. Haven't seen a "capture" yet. How can people complain about birds? Geez, I love to hear them sing and I love it in the summer when they keep the bugs off my flowers. I guess I'm just venting. I don't understand how people can hate animals, birds included. BTW I have 3 feeders, one back, front and side, not an over-abundance.They say they like to keep pristine cars and property. In my mind, they may as well be dead.
Because wild birds are not usually fed
grain that has been tampered with by man and has all kinds of questionable additives, and even usually contains dead chicken waste. I grew up in the poultry capital of the US and it's a wonder I even still eat chicken!
feed the birds
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Eye_Is_on_the_Sparrow
Snakes mean one thing to birds......
xx
Speaking of cats getting birds...sm
We have 2 feral cats that we feed (they've been trapped, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, then released, as the feral cat groups advise). They're actually very tame with us now. We've named them Isabelle and Nigel.
We have a covered patio area, almost entirely enclosed, where we feed them and have beds for them, so our dogs can't get to them (we call it the *cat house* LOL).
About a month ago, we went out to feed the cats at night, as usual, when what should fly into the cat house but a baby/young bird! It caught Isabelle's eye *immediately* (Nigel didn't seem to notice/care) but it was up high and she didn't move towards it. She seemed to be more focused on my husband as he prepared her food. I thought about trying to shoo the bird away with a broom, but I didn't want to startle it and send it right towards the cats.
Well, next thing you know, the baby bird decides it's time to fly away. As soon as it did, Isabelle took off after it at warp speed. It was amazing, really. She was up and over the fence after it in the blink of an eye. We stood there in shock, thinking there's *no way* she could have caught it. She was too far away from it when it took off. But then a few seconds later she jumped over the fence back into the cat house with it in her mouth, already dead.
Poor little thing. I wonder whatever possessed it to come in the cat house with 2 humans and 2 cats, at night. So sad, but that's the circle of life, I guess. ;o(
You were surprised she got it? A cat's instincts for birds, especially, are sm
great. They keep their eyes on it and it's over. Especially a young one. So sad. I hate the circle of life. All of our goats were attacked and killed by neighborhood dogs a few weeks ago and people are telling me, "Oh well, that's what dogs do!" I wanted to slap them.
I feed birds on the lake
quite often and really enjoyed doing it. I have seen others do as well and I do not see them becoming aggressive as a result of this. I also see the geeze and ducks feeding on their own when not being fed by humans. I have deer in my neighborhood and as much as I would love to feed, know this is not a good idea and should not so I don’t. I think that other mother is a total jerk for her reaction, though.
Not nice to insult birds like that. nm
!
Birds and Mother Nature sm
The birds tell us a lot. The morning of the Great Blizzard of ྊ I could not hear myself think for the noise of the birds everywhere. I live in the NE, I had a feeling they were trying to tell us something. I packed up everything I had that day and left for home and stocked up. I was not able to get out for the whole next week and my husband could not get home. I was fully prepared, but did not know for what. They do warn us! Lots of acorns here this year as well which means it is supposed to be a bad winter. The same thing happened in 1978 with the acorns. We shall see!!
I have been noticing birds at night
also. I did find out some owls don't sound like owls at all, so that might be one explanation, but it is very strange to be walking the dogs and having birds calling out. Or being in the house and coming outside at midnight to see why birds are squawking.
Used to have one at Wild Birds Unlimited
think there is a web site - that was mirrored on the other side. It has been a while but they had one at their store where I shopped and the goldfinches were right there outside the window totally oblivious.
Fun, huh? I love watching the birds
and I have my desk set up by the picture window so I can watch them and the squirrels, too. I have a pair of red-breasted nuthatches that are regular visitors to my back yard. They are new here this year and they are just adorable. We also have a few Cooper hawks that cause trouble from time to time. My favorite bird is a Carolina wren. The bird I would like to see most is a pileated woodpecker. Do you have a back yard list or just a life list? I only have the back yard list.
The Birds by Alfred Hitchcock.
x
Small birds keep nesting in my ferns on the
xx
Have seen lots of birds do this with those fake bird-like
sdf
Just something so soothing about watching birds. BTW, one of my cats
defintely knows there is a new bird in the house. Don't worry, it is impossible for him to get to them. Still working on a name, my daughter went to the site suggested above and has a list for me.
My kitty has her own video, with birds, squirrels, etc. - sm
She gets a real kick out of it, especially the moths and the chipmunks. She always trys to reach out and grab the chipmunk!
Now that it's summer, though, I've got bird seed and hummingbird feeders outside the window, so she can watch the REAL THING all day long.
global warming...I'm in S. Florida and birds
this is NOT normal......been in Florida 30 years and never heard birds in the middle of the night unless one is in the Everglades....and I'm not located there.
Been going on for almost a year.........it's very bizarre to me.
I'm in SoFla, but have my air conditioner on to sleep. Birds
xx
The birds in my yard need body guards
I have a few birdfeeders out in front of my office window for something to enjoy while I'm working. The squirrels come and the birds visit. Lately there has been a hawk (for lack of knowledge I'll just call it a hawk, it's some kind of big predator), swooping through and picking off birds right off the feeders, and now it has even tried to fly off with the squirrels. He sits up in my trees and waits to attack. Now I fully know this is the way of nature and he needs to eat to, but does he have to do it while I'm watching. Is there anything I can do to get rid of him (keep him away, not kill him or anything)?
things that kill birds and their care
You have to be careful what is in the candles. I don't burn them with birds around. Self-cleaning ovens will also immediately kill birds, as will a Teflon-coated pan that overheats. Also be careful with home permanent solutions, room deodorizers, and DO NOT USE FEBREZE (yes, I am shouting because so many people use this and it is a KILLER for birds). Just be careful with any of these types of things. Birds are ultra sensative to inhalants. Better not to use them at all.
Regarding the eggs, if you remove them she will just lay more before she's had a proper rest and that will deplete her of calcium. While she's sitting on her eggs, her body is rebuiding for the next clutch. Try to find things that resemble the eggs in size and color, like marbles, beads, etc. Put them in place of the eggs. Don't let her see you doing this. Warm them in your hands first (NOT HOT) and sneak them in one at a time when she's not looking. She should sit on them and you can pitch the eggs. But let her sit until SHE abandons them so that she maintains proper calcium.
Also, if the eggs aren't fertile, there is no problem in letting her sit on them. Take them out and hold them up to a light, like a light bulb or a flashlight, and look into the egg. If you see red lines or a solid dark mass, you've got babies. If you see just space and yolk, you've got a dud. She can sit on duds and get her rest and you won't have to worry about babies. Not all eggs are duds, though. You have to look at each one. Date them lightly in PENCIL and then you can tell when you last looked and keep checking until you're sure they are duds.
Keep plenty of cuttlebone around for her calcium and sprinkle baby bird handfeeding formula on her food to give her extra supplements for the egg laying whether duds or not. It's good for her. Even if you don't want babies, her body needs to be replenished with this stuff to keep her healthy. This is a good treat anytime for a bird.
I'm sorry to hear about your experience with babies before. Many times the youngest die in the next because the larger ones get on top of them and they don't get the food. Finches are tricky. I'm crazy about them but they do need careful watching. Parrots are SO much easier to raise!!! Guess you don't want to suggest that to your kids, though LOL!!!
Feel free to e-mail if you have questions!
Love birds, too, but once you get hit on the head or in your eye with a plop of poop,
s
I feel like I am in an Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Birds.
I am sitting here at home, at my desk, and a bunch of black birds are flying past my window. When I got up to look out my window, and my front entire front lawn and side lawn are covered with black birds. Glad I am not in a phone booth. Very strange to have so many of them in one place. Guess they are getting ready to go south for the winter, but today it feels like a muggy summer day, 70 degrees at 9 a.m. in northern NJ.
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