SPRING AT LAST: Bird sightings, tomatoes.....

[Too Tall]

We have us a full on woodpecker infestation. They are great, we have Down, Hairy and Pileated and our murderous Gosshawk is back keeping check on the rabbit/squirrel and small cat population.

I'm preparing beds for Tomatoes and hot peppers but it's too cool yet to plant.

You?

[j44ke]

Wow, most people wouldnt know a goshawk if it was served to them on a plate, but that's definitely a goshawk. Supreme predators of the woodlands. Excellent sighting!

I've been feeding chickadees peanuts straight out of my hand today. They are eating like they haven't had food since last year. I think they are also stashing peanuts in hiding places for later. Hard winter for everyone.

[Too Tall]

I'd like to take credit for the pic. but that's a stock shot. He is like clockwork, arrives every year end of Feb. and is in our big oaks mid-day. They are butchers, crazy violent birds. I've seen him dive thru branches knocking off leaves to get a squirrel.

Holy he!! we have woodpeckers. If I can get an early morning audio recording I'll share. It is pretty hilarious, not all my neighbors share my amusement.

[Jonathan]

My tomatoes grown from seed are shoulder high already and I've already harvest two maters on a plant left over from the fall. The cukes are full steam ahead and peppers have been producing too.

[defspace]

I've seen a few crested caracara (caracaras?) on my rides this winter/spring. Cool birds. You'd think they were your standard vulture if you're not paying attention.

[j44ke]

I've seen a few crested caracara (caracaras?) on my rides this winter/spring. Cool birds. You'd think they were your standard vulture if you're not paying attention.

Texas? New Mexico?

[Tom]

bird.jpg

The view WFH out my office window the other day. Smaller than a crow, I know because they saw it and began mobbing. It had a smaller partner who got me excited because they kept taking sticks and trying to balance them on the branch like they'd nest right there. They have an attitude, too, because the little one took a run at a crow and the crow ran away.

[Too Tall]

Looks like a Redtail Hawk in winter kit. You are in the NE yes?

[Tom]

Too small for a redtail. Best guess would be sharp-shinned but the book says they're not tolerant of civilization. I saw it for at least a couple days, maybe it was just passing through.

[Too Tall]

Too small for a redtail. Best guess would be sharp-shinned but the book says they're not tolerant of civilization. I saw it for at least a couple days, maybe it was just passing through.

We keep field binoculars handy. There is a railroad right of way behind us that brings in an amazing amt. of wildlife for such a urban setting.

[Noteddy]

Red tails are busy especially since the snow cleared. They can get at the mice and voles and rabbits who are foraging. Saw a first redwing blackbird at the weekend. Woodpeckers - we have downey , hairy, and red-headed around. Love to hear them at work. Water is opening, so more to come.

Doesn't look much like spring here, but it does sound like it.

[j44ke]

bird.jpg

The view WFH out my office window the other day. Smaller than a crow, I know because they saw it and began mobbing. It had a smaller partner who got me excited because they kept taking sticks and trying to balance them on the branch like they'd nest right there. They have an attitude, too, because the little one took a run at a crow and the crow ran away.

It is a Sharp-shinned hawk. The smallest accipiter. The Goshawk is the largest and the Coopers Hawk mid-sized. There is a lot of size variation and overlap, because like many hawks, females are larger than males. So a male Cooper's hawk can be about the same size as a female Sharp-shinned, and female Coopers can be big enough they are frequently mis-identified as Goshawks. There are diagnostic differences that help separate everything out, but accipiters are bird-eating hawks, and this is their favorite time - lots of active little birds and no leaves for hiding. Plus they all should be pairing up and getting ready to nest (that's why the red-tailed hawks become so obvious this time of year.)

There are two bird books that are particularly good. One is the Sibley Guide to Birds and the other is the Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds. The former is an illustrated book and very good for detailed information. The latter is a hybrid photo/illustration based guide and particularly helpful for getting a sense of the attitude of the bird. But the best tool is a good pair of binoculars, preferably 8x40 power or higher.

[Nierman]

Hope to catch the resident Pileated WP at my folks' farm some day. Every time I'm on the phone with Mom, she's looking out the sun room window at it, but any time I visit it goes into hiding.

I can't hear the songbirds now over the emerging frogs.

As soon as the morels start in around here I'm sure to stumble across a drowsy tortoise and pant legs full of ticks.

[Too Tall]

Mmmm I miss MN early spring showers and Morels on fresh cut lawns.

Jorn, thanks for the good book references.

[defspace]

Texas? New Mexico?

Tejas.

I'm down on the coast. I get to see a cool mix of things that land locked folk miss out on.

[vertical_doug]

New England has birds too...

Attachment 79077

[Zimmermanbicycle]

Mocking birds are nesting in the beuganvilla again,corn is about 9",one giant Cherokee chocolate tomato is going into season three,just put in Japanese cukes,scarlet runners and some squash.
the green parrots are eyeing our blueberries but between the queensland Heeler and our Coopers hawk I hope to keep the f'ers of the berries and the Apricots

[defspace]

My bird mojo was off the charts yesterday.

Just before sunset, I saw an owl (barn own, I think?) flying off with a tasty meal. It was getting mobbed by grackles. It's rare to see an owl, but to see one in flight with a kill, that's pretty cool.

Tons of the usual suspects - starlings, grackles, terns, mockingbirds, some ducks too

Saw a loggerhead shrike, saw a belted kingfisher with what looked like a frog, a small yellow warbler-style guy dead in the shoulder.

I saw two birds I'd like ID help with:
They were in the grass, on the other side of the ditch. Smallish - about the length of a starling but slimmer. I only saw them from behind. They seemed more nervous than starlings or grackles. The most remarkable thing about them was their plumage - amazing iridescent blue-black. They reminded me of some sort of tropical beetle. I wonder if they were indigo buntings, just looking a bit darker than usual in dim light.

[Too Tall]

Early morning cherry trees are getting ready to explode. My hood is a popular place this time of year.

[Jonathan]

It won't be long now. I really enjoy the whole process of seed to salad or seed to sauce. This is Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter variety.