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Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2025 2:54 pm
by Mumbleypeg
doglegg wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 1:53 pm
bestgear wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 7:20 pm
This pair showed up this morning while I sipped my coffee, not sure if they are a mating pair but I would assume so, beautiful colors and unmistakably the Painted Bunting.
Awesome pics Tom. Absolutely beautiful bird.!
Awesome experience. And great pictures. We get Painted Bunting sightings a few times a year too. Always exciting to see such beautiful birds! BTW those in your pictures are males. The females are more of a solid lime-green without the red and blue. Here’s a picture I got on line (not my picture).
Ken
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 3:06 pm
by Dinadan
bestgear wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 7:20 pm
This pair showed up this morning while I sipped my coffee, not sure if they are a mating pair but I would assume so, beautiful colors and unmistakably the Painted Bunting.
Those Buntings are so bright that they do not even look real! Great photos, Tom. I do not see Painted Buntings often in my area.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 3:17 pm
by Mumbleypeg
Interesting that in most bird species the male is all gussied up in brighter colors, and the female is more drab and colorless. With humans it’s just the opposite!
Ken
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 5:25 pm
by doglegg
Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 2:54 pm
doglegg wrote: ↑Mon Apr 28, 2025 1:53 pm
bestgear wrote: ↑Sun Apr 27, 2025 7:20 pm
This pair showed up this morning while I sipped my coffee, not sure if they are a mating pair but I would assume so, beautiful colors and unmistakably the Painted Bunting.
Awesome pics Tom. Absolutely beautiful bird.!
Awesome experience. And great pictures. We get Painted Bunting sightings a few times a year too. Always exciting to see such beautiful birds! BTW those in your pictures are males. The females are more of a solid lime-green without the red and blue. Here’s a picture I got on line (not my picture).
Ken
Great pic of beautiful birds.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 5:59 pm
by Dinadan
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 6:06 pm
by Mumbleypeg
Good week for birding here. First sighting this year of two of my favorite birds, Barn Swallows and Scissortail Flycatchers. They always show up around May 1st, and entertain us all summer with their aerobatics.
Also saw a pair of Roadrunners (usually only see a single), a painted bunting, and bluebirds continue their families. Sorry for some of the picture quality - sometimes you’re lucky but mostly it’s “take what you can get”.
Ken
Edit: Great pictures Mel. Looks like I was posting at the same time you were. Cedar Waxwings are a favorite of mine too. We get them every year just passing through for a few days, stripping berries off the possumhaw that are native here.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 8:30 pm
by doglegg
Dinadan wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 5:59 pm
I have a lot of birds in my garden right now, with migration and mating season going on. Here are a few photos from the past week. First up a very fine pair of Eastern Towhees that are nesting in the brushy area behind my garden.
Towhee11.jpg
Towhee12.jpg
Next a couple of Catbirds. I have a cluster of Wild Blueberry bushes in my garden: many birds, including Catbirds love the berries.
Catbird11.jpg
Catbird12.jpg
And I still have lots of Cedar Waxwings about.
Waxwing11.jpg
Mel, we get Eastern Towers here in DFW but rarely, Cat birds and Cedar Wax wings regularly. Great pics. Thanks.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 02, 2025 8:31 pm
by doglegg
Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Fri May 02, 2025 6:06 pm
Good week for birding here. First sighting this year of two of my favorite birds, Barn Swallows and Scissortail Flycatchers. They always show up around May 1st, and entertain us all summer with their aerobatics.
Also saw a pair of Roadrunners (usually only see a single), a painted bunting, and bluebirds continue their families. Sorry for some of the picture quality - sometimes you’re lucky but mostly it’s “take what you can get”.
Ken
Edit: Great pictures Mel. Looks like I was posting at the same time you were. Cedar Waxwings are a favorite of mine too. We get them every year just passing through for a few days, stripping berries off the possumhaw that are native here.
Thanks for the great pics Ken.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 4:19 pm
by Waukonda
Indigo Buntings seem to be as common as Sparrows around here, so.......as I was out this morning I saw blue along the roadside. I was thinking it was a couple of male Buntings, and took a quick pic, looking at it later realized it was a Blue Grosbeak and an Indigo Bunting side by side.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 6:50 pm
by bighomer
My gracious goodness fellers those are great photos congrats and thanks for sharing. I love seeing the cedar wax wings, they've been showing up on my merlin sound app I've not been to spy one.they use to come in a flock to strip my old crabapple tree of the dried fruit.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 6:51 pm
by Dinadan
I really like that Scissortail photo, Ken. Roadrunner too ... it looks very predatory.
Very colorful Bunting and Grosbeak, Ike. Nice post!
bighomer wrote: ↑Mon May 05, 2025 6:50 pm
My gracious goodness fellers those are great photos congrats and thanks for sharing. I love seeing the cedar wax wings, they've been showing up on my merlin sound app I've not been to spy one.they use to come in a flock to strip my old crabapple tree of the dried fruit.
One of the many things I do not like about getting old is that my hearing for the high pitched bird calls has really declined. I seem to recall that Cedar Waxwings were veery vocal with their monotone call, but these days I have to be quite close to hear them.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 7:27 pm
by Waukonda
Mel, Ken, excellent pictures. I posted mine in a hurry this morning, and just now looked back at what I had missed. You guys have a really nice variety of quality pics!
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 8:00 pm
by Quick Steel
I am gob-smacked by the photos you all are offering Thanks for posting them. Mel, what a blessing to live in an area which presents you with such a great variety of nesting birds.
Today and yesterday I have been blessed (?) with flocks of Black-headed Vultures. Something dead along the fence line.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Mon May 05, 2025 11:28 pm
by doglegg
Wonderful pics!!!
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Wed May 07, 2025 12:15 pm
by Boji
Great pictures guys!
Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been enjoying the sunflower seeds the past few days
And Baltimore Oriole feasting on jelly. I think there are 2 pair in the area
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Wed May 07, 2025 1:39 pm
by doglegg
Boji wrote: ↑Wed May 07, 2025 12:15 pm
Great pictures guys!
Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been enjoying the sunflower seeds the past few days
IMG_8972.jpeg
And Baltimore Oriole feasting on jelly. I think there are 2 pair in the area
IMG_8960.jpeg
Both really pretty birds Boji.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 2:45 am
by Waukonda
Boji wrote: ↑Wed May 07, 2025 12:15 pm
Great pictures guys!
Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been enjoying the sunflower seeds the past few days
IMG_8972.jpeg
And Baltimore Oriole feasting on jelly. I think there are 2 pair in the area
IMG_8960.jpeg
Very nice!
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 3:26 am
by Mumbleypeg
Thanks for those pictures Boji. We are in the migration path for both species here but we don’t see either very often. Both colorful, beautiful birds.
Ken
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 11:15 am
by FRJ
Some bird life at the pond.
A Green Heron having a meal.
A pair of Canada geese with their brood.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 12:12 pm
by Waukonda
FRJ wrote: ↑Thu May 08, 2025 11:15 am
Some bird life at the pond.
A Green Heron having a meal.
A pair of Canada geese with their brood.
Great shots, Joe. Impressive that you were able to photograph that Green Heron, they aren't usually the kind to sit for portraits. Thanks for showing,.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 1:15 pm
by doglegg
Waukonda wrote: ↑Thu May 08, 2025 12:12 pm
FRJ wrote: ↑Thu May 08, 2025 11:15 am
Some bird life at the pond.
A Green Heron having a meal.
A pair of Canada geese with their brood.
Great shots, Joe. Impressive that you were able to photograph that Green Heron, they aren't usually the kind to sit for portraits. Thanks for showing,.
X2
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 2:00 pm
by FRJ
Thank you, Ike and doglegg.
For some reason, for better or worse, bird life at the pond seems to be more tolerant of people. Not always.
I do use the enlarging/telephoto feature on my phone but I did get close to the Heron.
There were two here the other day. Feeding at the edge of the rain swollen pond.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 2:10 pm
by Mumbleypeg
Great pics Joe.
I’ve noticed long ago that animals and birds will quickly flee a man on foot, but a man riding a horse, a tractor or a mower can get much closer before they flee.
I’ve taken advantage of that often.
Ken
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Thu May 08, 2025 4:00 pm
by FRJ
Mumbleypeg wrote: ↑Thu May 08, 2025 2:10 pm
Great pics Joe.
I’ve noticed long ago that animals and birds will quickly flee a man on foot, but a man riding a horse, a tractor or a mower can get much closer before they flee.
I’ve taken advantage of that often.
Ken
Thank you, Ken.
Re: Ornithology (Bird) Thread
Posted: Fri May 09, 2025 11:51 pm
by Mumbleypeg
This evening while out and about here, I fired up the Merlin app on my phone and laid it down to listen while I was working. To my surprise it detected a bird I have never heard of, the Sora. The app was unmistakably hearing a Sora, but I couldn’t see it. Looked it up and found it is a “shy secretive fairly small rail, found in 49 states throughout North America”, and “more often heard than seen”. “Fairly common”. Well you could a fooled me!
I never saw it, but here’s a couple of pictures from the internet. Anybody ever seen one?
Ken