In loving memory of Kenis D. Keathley 6/4/81 - 3/27/22 Loving father, husband, brother, friend and firewood hoarder Rest in peace, Dexterday

Any Bird watchers here?

Discussion in 'Hobbies and Interests' started by metalcuttr, Nov 1, 2021.

  1. metalcuttr

    metalcuttr

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    And I don't mean watching British Gals! I am a very casual Birder. Don't keep notes or anything like that but it is exciting to have a close up encounter with a new or unusual bird. A couple days ago I was Chanterelle mushroom picking with a friend in a forested area and had this guy come flying up and settled about 10 ft up a tree right next to me and about 12 ft away. He knew I was right there and was totally unconcerned even when my buddy came up and we talked. We had a brief photo op then all hung around in a companionable way for a bit. He stayed there as we moved on. I think he was a Great Grey Owl and was about 18 in. tall. Pretty cool experience!

    owl(1).jpeg
     
  2. Ronaldo

    Ronaldo

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    Very cool!!. I enjoy bird watching. I put up feeders every winter and really enjoy watching them come and go.

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  3. bogieb

    bogieb

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    I enjoy watching birds at the feeder but I'm by no means any type of bird watcher. My mother is a better watcher than I am and her brother is really into it going on bird watching trips several times a year. I only know about when he goes to KS since he will invite my mom or stop to visit and I'm sure he goes to other states too.
     
  4. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Cant wait to see that owl pic cut into metal.:whistle:
     
  5. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

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    I always watch birds of prey when I can. Really cool seeing Bald Eagles! My wife has a parrotlet. PIA if ya ask me but it can talk up a storm when it wants to.
     
  6. WinonaRail

    WinonaRail

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    I'm a bit of a part time amateur ornithologist. I had a pair of owls that hung out in my yard late spring well into summer. Haven't heard them for several weeks. The one (great horned) was usually in a silver maple over my fire pit.
     
  7. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Very cool!
    I've done some eagle watching here. And we've been seeing a leucistic hawk for about 10 years. We've had a barn owl around here for the last couple summers. He spends all night squealing. Miss July likes to watch the hummingbird feeder.
     
  8. WinonaRail

    WinonaRail

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    Eagles are hard to come by here, although their numbers are increasing. We have feeders out year round for the usual song birds and hummers, although we don't do as much in the summer. Time to start loading them up for the winter.
     
  9. Biddleman

    Biddleman

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    That's cool metalcuttr . Im a casual bird watcher too. A few times had close encounters with hawks. Last encounter I was in tree stand. All of a sudden the squirrels disappeared or stopped where they were. Hawk landed on tree across from me. Was there for quite awhle then flew off.

    We have some owls around too. But haven't been able to catch a glimpse of them. I love hearing the different calls. Of course birds at feeder and we occasionally have bald eagles visit us.
     
  10. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

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    This was on a utility pole a few years ago on the way to a GTG. Had to stop and admire.
    IMG_3490.JPG
     
  11. billb3

    billb3

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    I was a bit interested in photographing birds a few years ago. But the equipment needed to get the quality shots I wanted was a bit more than I wanted to spend at the time.
    I've had wrens and chickadees fly in and check out what I was doing.
    Maybe the owl was hoping you'd scare a mouse or two from hiding an a meal opportunity would present itself.
     
  12. metalcuttr

    metalcuttr

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    The mouse idea crossed our minds. We thought about having our lunch there and tossing him half a ham sandwich!:beerbbq:
     
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  13. Ronaldo

    Ronaldo

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    I got to watch a couple Plieated Woodpeckers this morning while duck hunting. They are big birds and really neat to observe. No pics of Woodpeckers but I got some ducks.[​IMG][​IMG]

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  14. Horkn

    Horkn

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    I like to see as many bird species as possible. I started as a biology major in college, so I'll always be interested in most creatures. We love the owls, and have seen a rare snowy owl in years past. Sawheet and great horned owls are pretty common here. We had a pair of bald eagles flying overhead in the park this week. There's red tailed and chicken hawks as well as turkey vultures here too. Raptors are neat birds.
    We have typical songbirds here, but we've had orioles this year more than ever. My favorite birds are still the hummingbirds. Fascinating critters.

    Then there's the turkeys, which get more prevalent every year. They also get more daring and pretty soon I'll need to get them out of my flowers and plants I plant.
     
  15. The Wood Wolverine

    The Wood Wolverine

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    On my ride to work this morning, I was rolling along at a pretty good clip on the motorcycle. Crested a small hill and around a turn to spook a mature Bald Eagle out of a tree. I braked hard quickly and got an excellent view of it spreading his wings and flying away, and it turned its head to check me out. What an epic sight! Wish I could have gotten in on camera/video! So cool.
     
  16. PA Mountain Man

    PA Mountain Man

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    It's really cool to see Bald Eagles around here now. We see them often on the Breeches.
    That was a frosty ride this morning!:shiver:
     
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  17. Knothead

    Knothead

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    [​IMG]
    !Migration Alert! BirdCast is predicting a huge number of birds migrating across the Central and Eastern U.S. for the next three nights. It's also a good time to turn off nonessential indoor and outdoor lights for birds. Sadly, birds can be disoriented by light pollution, contributing to the hundreds of millions of birds estimated to die in building collisions in the U.S. every year. Learn more about our Lights Out project and other ways to help keep birds safe here: bit.ly/LightsOutForBirds #LightsOutTexas
     
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  18. bogieb

    bogieb

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    Cool map. For the Northeast, it is very low to none. Still early for the large migration here. I don't have any spring bulbs blooming yet (except fro 1 lone daffodil that is always a super early bloomer), and there are no leaves at all on the trees. Did notice last night that the crabapple has buds swelling and the neighbor's lilacs are showing that they will be ready to wake up soon too.

    At least my yard is green - the moss anyway :)
     
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  19. Biddleman

    Biddleman

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    Indigo bunting should be showing up in the next couple weeks. One of my fav songbirds.
     
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  20. Knothead

    Knothead

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    A hawk having a bad hair day

    [​IMG]
     
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