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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 14, 2004 13:23:15 GMT -5
I forgot about the Yellow-rumped Warbler! That was great! I also remember seeing/hearing a Marsh Wren, Cooper's Hawk (we even got to look at it thorugh a nice scope and you could actually see the red eye that it had.), Phainopepla, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Virginia's Rail, Sora, Violet-green Swallows, Red-tailed Hawk, Great-blue Heron, Osprey, Mourning Doves, Gila Woodpecker, and a ton of Sparrows! Lark Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Brewer's Sparrows, House Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and Black-throated Sparrows!
I could have easily stayed there all day.
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Post by eaglewoman on Apr 14, 2004 19:43:57 GMT -5
Your right! I could have stayed too...as long as I brought food! I was hungry. I loved birding with all of you. I've been birding for almost a year, but I really like being around the folks that KNOW birds. You know them like they were your own brothers and sisters.
Now for my sightnings. I love House finches and starlings. I have a bird feeder that brings in the finches. I love listening to them when I walk to school. You can almost distinguish where one territory is from the next by call position alone. I saw two starlings today chillin on top of the bio building. I love it when they squeak!
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Post by eaglewoman on Apr 20, 2004 13:36:04 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300] MORE BIRDS MORE BIRDS!!!!![/glow] Today I went birding with Crow, Sparrowhawk and the rest of our awesome ornithology class down at Oak Creek. We saw at least 30 different species of birds. Here are some of my favorite sightings today. I saw a common black hawk perched on a rock right next to the creek. Later we saw black chinned sparrows, summer tangers, house and Buik's wrens, and a Painted redstart. It was fantastic as usual! Have a great day!!!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 23, 2004 9:08:12 GMT -5
Here's a nesting report...... On that great trip Eaglewoman was talking about, we all also saw a nesting House Wren. Also, on a tragic note, my neighbors told me that they have a pair of House Finches nesting in their driveway every year. The nest has usually been successful, but this year they found two dead babies had either fallen out of the nest or been dumped out. They also noted that this was the earliest they had ever seen them with babies. Do you all think they could have froze or something? She was asking me about it but I wasn't sure what to say. But the House Finches are acting like they are going to try again, so we'll see what happens.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 26, 2004 12:37:41 GMT -5
Saw some great birds at the Raymond Ranch Wildlife Area over the weekend, the highlight of the trip being the White-faced Ibis. Man, this bird looks like its straight out of the rainforests, and there it was in a high-desert pond catching food. Heres a picture of one... There were also Blue-winged Teals, American Pipits, and Killdeer. Heard a Broad-tailed Hummer and a Black-chinned Hummer too, and an American Kestrel soared over our heads at the campsite. Finally, that night as the wind sung me to sleep and I prepared to dream about Bison, a Great-horned Owl hooted in the distance, saying good night.
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Post by eaglewoman on Apr 26, 2004 15:46:17 GMT -5
For the past two days, I have seen violet-green swallows flying around my apartment complex. It seems so awesome and strange to me because I rarely see them without a large body of water around. Hmmmm..I wonder what's going on?
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Post by Chromiusdomius on Apr 28, 2004 11:11:52 GMT -5
Hey Crow! That's a great picture of the White-faced Ibis. Did you take that picture?
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 29, 2004 13:42:06 GMT -5
No, I wish! I don't know who took it , otherwise I would have given them credit, it was just off of some bird site on the web. Emily did take some pictures of the Ibis that she'll hopefully be sending Stinger real soon, along with a some pictures of a Ringtailed Cat and a frog of some sort. I just thew the picture up there for folks to see it if they hadn't ever seen one. It was an odd sight out in the desert, that for sure Eaglewoman, Sparrowhawk and I were at a BBQ kind of by your place a year or so ago and we saw some Violet-green Swallow and some Red-winged Blackbirds everywhere too. We thought it was weird too! I think there are some marshy areas along the Rio there that offer up some nice sized pools for the wetland birds periodically throughout the year, but I am not sure where exactly.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 30, 2004 11:37:09 GMT -5
A good friend named Tom and I were just standing outside the Bio Annex having a cup of coffee and enjoying the sun. We looked up and saw about 3 Cliff Swallows flying around enjoying the sun too.
Man, when I walk my dog in the mornings now I am hearing so many birds its unreal! Mostly its the usual, Great-tailed Grackles, House Sparrows and the like, but everyonce in awhile a new song will break through the common chorus and make Cinder and I go off our normal route trying to track down some bird. I have to sharpen up the old vocal identification skills because every winter I forget half the birds I once new and must relearn them all. Thought I heard a Western Tanager the other day, near the public library, but could defenitly be wrong about that. Have a great day you all!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on May 3, 2004 10:26:23 GMT -5
Sparrowhawk and I were doing some mist netting down on Roosevelt Lake over the weekend. We were trying to help Suzanne Cardinal band and put transmitters on more Southwestern Willow Flycatchers. And though they were verywhere, and very active too, none came to the net. Total we saw 5 (but maybe heard more) WIFL's, and they are gorgeous and friendly birds to say the least. We did catch some other birds in the mist net. 3 Song Sparrows, 2 Yellow-breasted Chats, an Abert's Towhee, 2 Lucy's Warblers and 2 Yellow Warblers. They all seemed very healthy and ready to breed. It is a bird paradise down there! Also saw some Western and Pied-billed Grebes, a Spotted Sandpiper, some Common Yellowthroats, Say's Phoebe, Greater Roadrunner (of course), Gambel's Quail, Great Blue Herons, and hordes of Turkey Vultures. On the way down there and back we saw 2 Wild Turkeys too, just grazin' by the road.
Stinger, we will be down ther to vist you for sure over the summer!
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Post by eaglewoman on May 3, 2004 11:28:04 GMT -5
Hey everyone, I had a great weekend birding all over the state! On Saturday, I woke up on the Paiute Reservation to teh sound of Gila woodpeckers screeching. Then I found myself at the local fish pond watching some amazing things. 10 white faced ibises flew over the pond for about two hours. One of the locals there told me that in all of the 40 years she has lived there, she has only noticed these birds there in the last two weeks. They are really amazing birds! I also saw two willets, which are look like rails, only smaller. They were so tame. Other birds there were killdeer, rough-wing swallows, yellow warblers, scrub jays, white throated swifts, red-wing blackbirds, and a Golden Eagle. On Sunday, I went birding out at White horse lake while my boyfriend reeled em in! I highly reccommend this place for some fantastic birding. Double-crested cormorants and great blue herons sat on the bank and ruffled their feathers for us. Also, two ospreys and a Bald Eagle flew over us several times in search of the perfect fish. One of the ospreys dove down and got one only abotu 100 yards from where we sat. Such a great place!
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Post by eaglewoman on May 4, 2004 11:54:54 GMT -5
As I sit here and write this, there is a pretty little cliff swallow sitting in the trees next to the window of my office.
Just lovely!
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Post by eaglewoman on May 6, 2004 10:23:01 GMT -5
So I just want to say that birds are freakin' awesome. O.K. so, I guess that sums it up.
Love, Eaglewoman
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Post by Whiskey Jack on May 6, 2004 10:32:10 GMT -5
I second the notion!!
I'd also like to say that when I hold up a feather to the sun, and I look at the structure and colors that filter through the feathers vanes, I actually can know the meaning of the word "perfection".
Man, Eaglewoman, this calls for a change of the ol' avatar. You have inspired me!
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Post by eaglewoman on May 10, 2004 10:17:24 GMT -5
So I had a pretty good bird weekend...Come to think of it, most weekends are good bird weekends. Anyway, My folks are really bringing the birds in with their feeders, and old trees. I love sitting in their front yard because it is a bird paradise in the middle of the suburbs. In their yard alone I saw Northern Mockingbirds, House finches, House Sparrows, White wing doves, Mourning doves, Sonoran (Inca) doves, Grackels(Which are totally cool by the way), Gila woodpeckers, verdins, hummingbirds, and lots of other awesome guys.
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