Birding!

[Ogertron3000]

A bunch of parrots that always come down for breakfast. No idea what they are, maybe Friller2009 would?
They are amusing to watch, the red and green ones are dearly and will eat out of your hand and sit on your arm but the blue ones are scared of people and also the other parrots and only get the scraps.
Most days the parrots feast but then cockatoos come along and take over then 2 magpies arrive and chase the whole lot of them away

 

[Ogertron3000]

This one is always super fearless, I’m trying to figure out if it’s the same one every time but they all look identical so it’s hard to tell.
I think it is because if I put some seeds in my hand it instantly starts watching me while all the others keep eating the seeds from the table and when I get close it jumps straight on my arm

 

[jjohnwm]

Nothin' like a lifer!

After posting here this morning, I grabbed a sandwich, a bottle of water, my binocular and my dog...all the essentials of a good birding trip...and headed out. I was in the designated area within about 20 minutes, and then followed the directions provided by the homeowner who had found the bird and originally posted it. Arrived just as another car with two birders from the city were unpacking their gear. We left our cars, walked up the long wooded drive...and were looking at the bird within another 15 minutes.

Mixed in among a flock of numerous Juncos, Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows and Purple Finches (all commonly expected birds)...a single Brambling, a species that breeds all across the Eurasian continent in the northern reaches, and then winters in a more southerly strip of that landmass, including the British Isles. I'll bet our friends from ""Blighty" would recognize it. Those few that make their way to North America likely all do it by crossing the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia. It's not a bird you expect to find right out the corner from home in the center of the continent.

And unlike many vagrants and strays that show up, which are often immature birds or dull-coloured females in non-breeding plumage, this one was a full adult male in almost full breeding colours. Nice.

Let's remember that there are only a finite number of bird species to be seen. Each time you find a lifer, you slightly reduce the odds of finding the next one. After a lifetime of birding in North America, there are still a number of NA birds I "need' to see, and an even smaller number local to my home turf. Covid put a damper on recreational travel for me, so my accumulation of lifers has slowed to a dribble. My last one was several years ago...another vagrant...so a new lifer now is a Big Deal.

 

[The Masked Shadow]

This one is always super fearless, I’m trying to figure out if it’s the same one every time but they all look identical so it’s hard to tell.
I think it is because if I put some seeds in my hand it instantly starts watching me while all the others keep eating the seeds from the table and when I get close it jumps straight on my arm

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Those are Australian King Parrots, we have them at the zoo.

Nothin' like a lifer!

After posting here this morning, I grabbed a sandwich, a bottle of water, my binocular and my dog...all the essentials of a good birding trip...and headed out. I was in the designated area within about 20 minutes, and then followed the directions provided by the homeowner who had found the bird and originally posted it. Arrived just as another car with two birders from the city were unpacking their gear. We left our cars, walked up the long wooded drive...and were looking at the bird within another 15 minutes.

Mixed in among a flock of numerous Juncos, Fox Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows and Purple Finches (all commonly expected birds)...a single Brambling, a species that breeds all across the Eurasian continent in the northern reaches, and then winters in a more southerly strip of that landmass, including the British Isles. I'll bet our friends from ""Blighty" would recognize it. Those few that make their way to North America likely all do it by crossing the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia. It's not a bird you expect to find right out the corner from home in the center of the continent.

And unlike many vagrants and strays that show up, which are often immature birds or dull-coloured females in non-breeding plumage, this one was a full adult male in almost full breeding colours. Nice.

Let's remember that there are only a finite number of bird species to be seen. Each time you find a lifer, you slightly reduce the odds of finding the next one. After a lifetime of birding in North America, there are still a number of NA birds I "need' to see, and an even smaller number local to my home turf. Covid put a damper on recreational travel for me, so my accumulation of lifers has slowed to a dribble. My last one was several years ago...another vagrant...so a new lifer now is a Big Deal.

Wow!!! Very cool! Crazy that it flew across the Bering Strait and then all the way to Manitoba!

 

[esoxlucius]

I'll bet our friends from ""Blighty" would recognize it.

Yes, bramblings are, or were, not sure if it's still the case, a very common bird in the UK. I used to see huge flocks of them back in the day when I took more of an interest in our feathered friends.

I'm not surprised you were keen to see that solitary bird because their migratory patterns don't seem to include Canada much, only very rarely.

We are talking the same brambling aren't we? Here's the one I used to see....

Google Image Result for https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/media/1474/brambling-flickr-gregor-jack.jpg

 

[jjohnwm]

Yes, bramblings are, or were, not sure if it's still the case, a very common bird in the UK....We are talking the same brambling aren't we? Here's the one I used to see....

That's the one. It seems to be one of those migratory birds that wanders far off course on a fairly regular basis. A look at its North American distribution map simply shows isolated dots here and there indicating temporary sightings of individual birds who have gone on "flyabout", so to speak.

This sighting still has to be approved by the Rare Birds Committee, which rules on instances like this based upon descriptions by viewers, photo documentation, etc. but this one seems like a shoe-in for authentication.

If you woke up tomorrow and decided that you simply have to see a Brambling in North America right now...you'd hop a plane for Alaska, then take a 2-day boat trip to Attu Island, the westernmost piece of North America and a Mecca for birders who are running out of new species to see on North American soil.

If you want a glimpse into the unique insanity that drives the most rabid and obsessive birders, check out a movie called "The Big Year", starring Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson. It's a light-hearted/serious flick that actually does a pretty good job of capturing a few of the types of people one meets at a birding hotspot, or at a site that is hosting some oddball vagrant bird species. It's based upon a book written by a Big Year fanatic, detailing his own attempts at the coveted crown that nobody who isn't a birding nut has ever even heard of.

Personally, I find that birding, like fishing, is one of those pursuits that simply doesn't make sense IMHO when it's turned into a competition. But when you get a "lifer"...or catch a really big fish!...the experience is enhanced when it happens in the presence of other people who "get it".

 

[esoxlucius]

I'd quite happily plan a fishing trip, eagerly get my gear together and look forward to the possibility of catching a load of fish, not even big ones either, as long as I was catching I'd be in my element.

But would i plan a bird watching trip, set up a hide with a view to spending a fair chunk of time in it whilst drinking hot tea from a flask and eating sandwiches, in hope of catching a glimpse of a bird. Absolutely never, I don't think I could think of a more boring way of spending my time tbh!

And I genuinely like birds! If I'm on a walk and hear birdsong I will stretch my neck every which way to try and spot it and identify it. But that's as far as my birdwatching would go.

So, although I totally get the fascination with fishing, serious birdwatching is lost on me somewhat.

 

[jjohnwm]

That's definitely not my idea of wonderful birding either. When I sit in a "hide"...on this side of the pond we'd call it a "blind"...the goal is to do much more than just see the birds. I also plan to shoot and eat them!

There are times and situations where I would be happy to set up , usually with a spotting scope in addition to my binocular, to view things like waterfowl...I believe that The Shadow would refer to them as "waterfowel" This would typically be done on some point of land jutting into a lake, or on a pier or observation tower. If a bird is coming to a feeder, I would likely find a comfy spot to sit/stand and wait; in cold weather, I'd often stake the place out from inside my truck if possible.

I remember visiting a private residence in Arizona once that was set up for bird observation, with a specific focus on Hummingbirds. These people had probably a dozen feeders, each with multiple feeding ports. The place was buzzing with Hummingbirds of numerous species, many dozens of them simultaneously and there were chairs set up for viewers to sit and enjoy the show. It looked like an outdoor wedding. The people had a collection jar set up for donations to help offset the cost of gallons of sugar syrup that they went through. It was different and a lot of fun, but I wouldn't do it on a regular basis.

At home, I love to sit on the deck with a refreshing beverage...my favourite birding beer is Guinness...and just relax and watch the feeders. While a lifer found on my own property would be the ultimate holy grail, a new species for my "yard list" is a close second. It's also much less uncommon than a new lifer.

But I agree, Esox, that the best birding is done on foot, while hiking through and enjoying nature. It's just not always the most productive method, but it's definitely the most fun...and fun is the goal.

 

[esoxlucius]

. I also plan to shoot and eat them!

Now this I could get on board with. Setting up a hide and having those decoy birds set up to attract your tea would be much more exciting. I think my main quarry would have to be ducks if I set up a hide close to water, and if it was woodland I think big fat wood pigeons would be on the menu.

Yes, taking something home for tea adds an extra dimension to birdwatching, but saying that, when I go fishing it's for pleasure, it's very rare I take fish, but the enjoyment is immense, so go figure, lol.

 

[jjohnwm]

Now this I could get on board with. Setting up a hide and having those decoy birds set up to attract your tea would be much more exciting. I think my main quarry would have to be ducks if I set up a hide close to water, and if it was woodland I think big fat wood pigeons would be on the menu.

Yes, taking something home for tea adds an extra dimension to birdwatching, but saying that, when I go fishing it's for pleasure, it's very rare I take fish, but the enjoyment is immense, so go figure, lol.

Lol, I probably take home about 5% of the fish I catch, to end up on the dinner table.

And, I don't birdwatch with a shotgun the vast majority of the time either. I look at birds literally every day, at least to some extent. I hunt birds from a blind maybe 6 or 8 times in the course of a year, so....

I also enjoy upland game bird hunting...grouse, mostly...which is probably similar to your Wood Pigeons in terms of the experience? Essentially, hiking with a shotgun.