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Post by Whiskey Jack on Nov 22, 2004 11:08:39 GMT -5
Everytime I hear these birds you have pictured there, I am always sent back to my childhood. My brother used to take me to the zoo in Phoenix every year and the one thing that I always walked away remembering was the sound of the Great-tailed Grackle. Even though there were lions, anteaters, zebras and what not, there was just something exotic sounding in the voice of this common urban bird. It would transport my imagination to some far-off jungle faster than the Jaguars could.
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Post by eaglewoman on Nov 30, 2004 12:47:52 GMT -5
O.K. so I can't resist this post since it will get me that 100 post mark. Anyway, I was down at Beaver Creek last weekend and saw a great blue heron and a Kirtland's warbler. Birds are so freakin' cool. Eagle
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Nov 30, 2004 13:47:23 GMT -5
Congrats on the Mexican Grey Wolf status Eaglewoman! A Kirtland's Warbler! What a great sighting! That is one bird I have never seen before but would love to. We were down at Oak Creek over the weekend and saw a few very suprising birds, considering how cold it is. First off, a hummingbird flew by us, it was so fast we couldn't identify it or hear a sound it was making, but I'd be moving fast too if I knew that it was fixing to get really cold. That is the latest I have ever seen a hummingbird (North of Tucson anyway). We also saw a few Common Mergansers drifting along in the creek, and a Great Blue Heron. The best sighting though was a huge Belted Kingfisher that was hunting near the Trout Farm along the creek. By far, this was the biggest Kingfisher I have ever seen.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Dec 22, 2004 20:31:21 GMT -5
Well, my bird job has been amazing thus far! I always get a kick out of folks who think the high desert is some sort of wasteland, when it offers so much life to behold if you just take the time to look. So far: over 200 Horned Larks, many Sage Sparrows, a Red-tailed Hawk, Loggerhead Shrike, Rock Wrens, A few Common Ravens, an American Kestrel and a couple of Prairie Falcons. One of the Prairie Falcons actually swooped down about 10 meters in front of me, at eye-level.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Dec 28, 2004 10:48:12 GMT -5
Today was a day for Raptors! On I-10, coming in to Flagstaff early this morning I saw a Great-horned Owl flying low in the Pinyons, two Red-tailed Hawks looking for breakfast I presume, and a Bald Eagle perched high atop a dead Ponderosa Pine. My first Eagle sighting of the year, and it's about time too!
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Post by eaglewoman on Dec 28, 2004 16:13:19 GMT -5
Wow Crow, Those are great raptor sightings. The Eagle is like a kindred spirit to me, and I have come to find that seeing one is a great indication (for me anyway) that you are seeking the correct direction for your life's path. I feel so humbled that this is your first sighting this year. It makes me realize how so very fortunate I am because I saw 13 Bald Eagles last week alone. I spotted 3 on the jobsite down in Payson and 10, yesterday, perched in trees by Schnebly Hill Road. How good it makes my heart feel to see these majestic creatures on the rise. Cheers to you! Love, Eaglewoman
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Dec 28, 2004 16:32:48 GMT -5
Man Crow that's incredible. That sounds awesome being able to see such a variety of life out there while you're working.
We have some Harris hawks that live by my house that I've seen a little of lately. They left us a shredded up pigeon hanging from the gate to our house just a couple of days ago.
Those are some crazy raptors as they hunt in groups. One bird will chase an animal until it gets tired, and then another birds takes its place until the animal is caught. Then they share the meat. I certainly wouldn't want them on my trail.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Jan 10, 2005 14:46:43 GMT -5
Kit.. I agree, Harris Hawks are both beautiful and amazing hunters.
Eaglewoman.... Everytime I see an Eagle I think of ya!
I saw an odd sighting the other day, down at the Forestry building. I was standing in the parking lot, waiting for Emily, when I heard a strange honking sound. It took awhile for it to register in my mind that it was Canada Geese. I looked up and sure enough, there was a V shaped formation flying in the cloudy sky, about 13 total. I hope they can find some food beneath all this snow!!
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Post by eaglewoman on Jan 17, 2005 22:37:03 GMT -5
Howdy ya'll! I recently visited Florida, and I while I was there, I saw the greatest birds!
Wood Storks Crested Caracara Snake Anhingas Brown and White Pelecans Moorhens on and on and on!
If you love birds, I highly recommend a trip to FL.
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Jan 17, 2005 23:42:06 GMT -5
Crow man, I know what you mean about the Canadian Geese, I saw a big flock fly overhead while I was at my sister's, never forget that sound...that was only the second time in my life that I have seen them!
Eagle again wow on your Florida sightings...I like any bird that has the word Snake in it's name.. ;D
Over the break I saw what I thought was an incredible amount of Harris Hawks, I think I saw about 10 in one sighting...all of them near my sister's house in New River...I dont know if it was all the rain, thinking maybe it brought out all the little rabbits cause those Hawks were certainly hunting! I also saw/heard a Great-Horned Owl...and many falcon type birds...Crow I will need you and Sparrow's help in IDing them..they were about Kestrel size on up to a couple I saw about the size of a Harris Hawk...they looked like Kestrel's but I did not see the charecteristic rust color on their back...I was thinking maybe Prairie Falcons, is that possible? It was all near New River so it was scrub brush, creosote, and cacti...
The coolest thing I saw though was the Kestrel that lives around my parent's house...one morning I was chilling on the couch and just happened to be looking out the window when I saw the big whitish thing slam into my mom's birdcage outside...well at first I thought it was a cat, so I sent my dog out to chase it down...well when Monte turned the corner the Kestrel flew up off the ground!! I was really glad Monte did not catch it not it giving him a good thrashing of beak and talon!!! I had never seen this bird attack the birdcage before, they have been living around my parent's house for at least 6 years.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Jan 19, 2005 11:53:54 GMT -5
Man Stinger, that is crazy! That bird was looking for some fast food! It was probably a Praire Falcon, if not a Kestrel, they can be found in Arizona year round and they definitly like the desert! But....if there are canyons near New River, it could have been a Peregrine! Usually I can sort of tell them apart by the less dark facial markings on the Praire Falcon, sometimes they look black but usually they are brown. Eaglewoman.........you saw the infamous Crested Caracara!!! I bow down to you!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Feb 2, 2005 18:03:50 GMT -5
So yesterday was once again a good day in the field....I saw the biggest flock of Horned Larks I have ever seen in my life. 1000+!! It was an amazing sight. I also went on a hike through Diablo Canyon last week and saw some Dark-eyed Juncos, a Rock Wren and heard a lone Canyon Wren giving off its sad song. And later on that same day I went out to Raymond Ranch Wildlife Area to talk with Dave and Cheryl Belitsky.....Cheryl was a treasure trove of bird information, and her help was much appreciated. But out there I did manage to see an adult Bald Eagle near a water hole and a Northern Harrier swooping across the grasslands.
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Kitfox
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Posts: 149
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Post by Kitfox on Feb 3, 2005 17:22:06 GMT -5
That's awesome Crow. =)
All the ravens on campus are doing some spectacular mating displays. Flying in circles and swoops and crazy things like that. I guess this is a good time of the year to be looking up.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Feb 8, 2005 13:04:15 GMT -5
I think I spend more time looking up than I do any other direction...hence, my damn neck hurts all the time (and I tend to trip over thiongs a lot)! After the conference in Gallup, NM, Sparrowhawk and I made the journey up to Durango, CO. All we saw were two birds there....but we saw them in amazing abundance. The Black-billed Magpie and the Bald Eagle were everywhere on those snowy slopes and river banks. At one point I saw 3 Bald Eagles soaring and gliding passed one another up on a forested ridge.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Feb 8, 2005 16:13:47 GMT -5
Actually...now that I have given it some thought....we saw two more types of birds on the trip....on the way out of Flagstaff we saw a flock of Canada Geese flying in V formation over the highway, about 7 all together. And on the way up to Silverton, CO there was a Rough-legged Hawk perched high upon a tall telephone pole. And though I beleive that is all we saw, I'll probablly wake up in the middle of the night remembering a few others. ;D
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