Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Oct 27, 2004 20:46:04 GMT -5
Poor bird. I didn't know you were such an expert at bird health. I've found injured birds before back in Phoenix, just common birds, and tried to take care of them, but they just die. I don't really know what I'm doing, though. I never thought about the risks involved with having unmarked windows, but that's a good point. Thanks for letting us know about that!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Oct 28, 2004 13:53:41 GMT -5
Kitfox, It's hard to take care of birds, no doubt about it. I think its great that you have tried though, sometimes intervention is the only way to stave off an unessecary death. If you ever find a bird here in Flagstaff that needs help I can give you a couple of numbers to call where you can take the bird. If its a native bird, just call Game and Fish Department and they can help, if its non-native (i.e. House Sparrows, European Strarlings etc.) do not call Game and Fish, there are other places that will help. I honestly wish I knew more about taking care of birds. My long term goals are two-fold, I would like to become a teacher and I would like to utilize the land I have by turning it into a Wildlife Rehabilition area. One of these days.... . I used to take care of birds though....long story...but at one point I had over 100 birds in my care. I learned a lot from that experience indeed, but not enough.
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Oct 28, 2004 20:58:34 GMT -5
Thanks! And 100 birds, wow? Long story or not, how'd you manage that?
And best of luck with your dream. That'd be quite an accomplishment. If anyone can do it, though, I bet it'd be you. =)
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Nov 9, 2004 15:11:39 GMT -5
It was a job I had, where I met some amazing people and some even more amazing birds, but it ended rather badly due to a strong disagreement between myself and the proffessor in charge of the study. I learned a lot there and still have one damn good friend from the whole experience. And I wish I could live up to your compliments my friend, one day perhaps....but thanks for believing in me, it means a lot. __________________________ Anyone been out birding in this damp and gray weather? I haven't seen that many birds lately myself but I acquired a new job that is basically one that pays me to go watch birds (Hallelujah!), so hopefully I'll have more sightings to put up soon. If anyone is interested though, there has been several Common Loon sightings over at Ashurst Lake and Upper Lake Mary. Defenitly one of the most gorgeous water birds, and a rare sighting here in our neck of the woods too.
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Nov 9, 2004 22:18:46 GMT -5
I saw this one real strange bird. It was all black, and it made a "caw" noise. I hear they're very rare. I snapped a picture of it though. Seriously though, I did see a bird that I don't see very often. I'm not sure what it was (maybe it was a common bird that I just haven't seen). It had a red face and a distinct call. It took me a while to find it on the tree but fortunately it kept calling out so I was able to find it. I took a picture of it, too (been carrying my camera around with me a lot), but it's pretty hard to see it in this pic. It's the best shot I could get.
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Nov 9, 2004 22:45:34 GMT -5
Hey Kit, yeah that first bird is pretty rare, I mean rare to not see them getting into some kinda trouble!! Man I love Crows and Ravens!! They are such neat birds, except when they get into your garbage or camping stuff but hell even then I dont mind them too much!!
The second bird, I think might be a Northern Flicker, hopefully Crow or Sparrowhawk can confirm my guess!
Either way, great pics man!!
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Post by eaglewoman on Nov 10, 2004 8:40:30 GMT -5
Good job Sting! It is a Northern Flicker ....AND GOOD JOB KITFOX ON THE GREAT PICS!
The flicker is an awesome resident woodpecker. They like to eat ants, and they have the greatest mating calls! I just can't wait for you to hear it in the spring. Nothing like it, I tell you! The males have the red malars (cheeks)...so it looks like you snapped a boy, kitfox!
Keep those pictures coming! What a great way to learn about wildlife!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Nov 10, 2004 9:25:27 GMT -5
Man Kit, amazing pictures! Do you mind if we put those up on the Wildlife Society website? So you got a shot of one of my relatives, huh? Not only is it a great picture of an American Crow, but its a good shot of one of the defining fieldmarks that differentiate it from the Common Raven (besides the obvious one; size). If you look at the tail you can kind of see that it is rounded, more so than wedge shaped, that is a great and quick way to tell the difference between these tow cousins while they are in flight. And the ol' Red-shafted Northern Flicker. Eaglewoman, I love their mating call too! It's so loud and penetrating, sometimes I can hear a Flicker calling from miles away it seems. In fact, I met one Flicker that apperaed to have found an edge over the rest in terms of who could communicate the loudest. I heard a clanging that was so loud and so obnoxious in my neighborhood that I had to find out what was going on, especially since it seemed to be coming from up high. So I narrowed it down to this metal street lamp down the street, and sitting on top of it was a Northern Flicker just banging away on it (like it would a tree). Any Flicker in town could have heard this guy!
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Nov 10, 2004 13:05:13 GMT -5
Thanks for the compliments on the pictures. I haven't really photographed much before, so if they're good pictures I think credit goes to the camera. =)
And yeah, you can use these on the wildlife homepage. ^^
Thanks for the lesson on differentiating crows and ravens. I was actually going to ask you that but you beat me to the punch.
Hehe...I had no idea that was a woodpecker. Woodpeckers are awesome. ;-) And that's really funny about how it was on the street lamp, Crow.
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Nov 13, 2004 2:57:33 GMT -5
Hello. There haven't been many people on the forum lately. o.o; Anyway, I've got a couple new pictures I took today.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Nov 13, 2004 13:48:42 GMT -5
Oh man...I am speechless in regards to that shot of the Raven. It looks like a portrait! Amazing! I must ask man, what kind of camera do you have, and how much was it (if that isn't too personal). Emily and I had a bunch of stuff stolen when someone broke into my truck over the Halloween weekend, including a digital camera! We're looking to get another one though, and yours seems like its pretty amazing. And the Hairy Woodpecker shot is a nice one too! I love the colors in it. There is another species that is almost identical to the Hairy Woodpecker here in town, and its called the Downy Woodpecker. It's virtually the same coloration, but the downy is slightly smaller. The best way to tell between the two is by the length of the bill. If you see one, just imagine taking the bill off and measuring it against the head. If the bill and head are relativley the same size, it's a Hairy Woodpecker, if the bill is smaller than the head, it's definitly a Downy.
And yeah Kit, I agree, the forum is experiencing a lull. I think the semster is beating down pretty hard on some people, as well as folks whose jobs tend to pick up speed in the Winter months. But I'll be around man, even if it's 2 in the morning.
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Nov 14, 2004 3:24:23 GMT -5
Thanks for the comments. ^_^ I like that shot of the crow as well, it came out really nice. I generally take a bunch of shots and usually at least one comes out nice like that. I really have no clue what I'm doing with this photography stuff, though. It's all the camera and a little bit of photo editing. ~_^
It's a Powershot S1 IS. It runs $350 at Best Buy. I got a bit of a discount though cause I have a friend who works there... Anyway, cheapest place in Flag to get it is probably the camera store at the mall, but it's 400 there. You can also get it online for around $315 dollars if you know where to look, but then you have to pay shipping and stuff (but no tax).
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Nov 16, 2004 23:22:13 GMT -5
On Sunday I was supposed go to Tempe to see a gathering of about 60 or so Cardinals but Chrom and I did not make it! Too bad too, cause they beat the Giants!!! Sorry I felt like I needed to post something here! Just one of my moods! ;D ;D
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Nov 18, 2004 15:17:17 GMT -5
I'll tell you what Stinger, Cardinals can be pretty ferocious, and I have no doubt that they can beat up on Giants anyday, but I hear they don't stand a chance against Eagles or Falcons (and are ther still Ravens in Baltimore?).
Here some news from Audubon for ya bird lovin' folks out there, kind of depressing though........
Many Bird Populations In Decline, Data Show Almost 30 percent of bird populations in North America are facing a "significant decline," the National Audubon Society said yesterday in its first "The State of the Birds" report. The group studied data from 1966 to 2003 for 654 bird species. Most dire was the finding that 70 percent of the species in grasslands -- such as the eastern meadowlark, bobolink, short-eared owl and greater prairie chicken -- are doing poorly. In shrublands, 36 percent of species are not doing well, including the northern bobwhite, painted bunting and Florida scrub jay. In forests, a quarter of bird species are declining; in urban areas, 23 percent; in wetlands, 13 percent. The group described the losses as abnormal and said they could be seen as ecological indicators of problems that people are or will soon be facing. The group called for more protections for habitats and increased conservation efforts.
...............this stuff all came from a newspaper, but I think there is more reports on it at the Audubon website if your interested in chaecking it out.
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Nov 20, 2004 16:19:44 GMT -5
Here's some birds I saw yesterday. Nothing real special in terms of the birds I believe, but the picture came out nice. =)
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