Backyard birdies
- Thread starter mhardy6647
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. When this runs out, Ive got plenty of backup. My favorite store Ollie's never lets me down. 
Ive been waiting patiently, so far no takers. I am going to be very excited when I get my first visitor. 
Im making the big feeder more sturdy, the glass plates fell out way too easily. I also got another feeder and a few birdhouses that I will also be setting up.
Im also going to pull off a screen and want to get this feeder. Any comments?
Thanks!
Im making the big feeder more sturdy, the glass plates fell out way too easily. I also got another feeder and a few birdhouses that I will also be setting up.
Im also going to pull off a screen and want to get this feeder. Any comments?
Thanks!
If the birds start hitting the window that the feeder is attached to, you could stick something on the glass like a ribbon or something that they can see.
It's like Field of Dreams.
This morning in our back yard, you could kinda tell that spring is nigh, even in northern New England.
These two were standing beako a beako for a half-hour or more.
Fortunately, I speak turkey, so it was easy to interpret the context of the stand-off...
This morning in our back yard, you could kinda tell that spring is nigh, even in northern New England.
These two were standing beako a beako for a half-hour or more.
Fortunately, I speak turkey, so it was easy to interpret the context of the stand-off...
I thought they were doing a coin toss for Thanksgiving this year...
Poor pics, but I just made my first official feathered friends.
I need to ID that bird(first two pics) and pull screen off window to get better pics. So far I have seen a finch, female cardinal, blue bird, sparrows, and another unknown. I need to read up and look at pics of birds found in Ohio to ID the two unknown birds.
Blue bird, red bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker(2 pics)
I need to improve my photo skillz (ipad mini6).
I need to ID that bird(first two pics) and pull screen off window to get better pics. So far I have seen a finch, female cardinal, blue bird, sparrows, and another unknown. I need to read up and look at pics of birds found in Ohio to ID the two unknown birds.
Blue bird, red bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker(2 pics)
I need to improve my photo skillz (ipad mini6).
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I think we've had the downy woodpeckers here. I only got a really poor picture of one on our utility pole last summer--can't even make out what it is. But given the many old trees in this neighborhood, I often hear them knocking on a tree or pole. Including this morning when I left the house.
Tedrick
Junior Member
Pic #1 is a male Eastern BluebirdPoor pics, but I just made my first official feathered friends.
View attachment 33848
I need to ID that bird(first two pics) and pull screen off window to get better pics. So far I have seen a finch, female cardinal, blue bird, sparrows, and another unknown. I need to read up and look at pics of birds found in Ohio to ID the two unknown birds.
Blue bird, red bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker(2 pics)
I need to improve my photo skillz (ipad mini6).View attachment 33852View attachment 33854View attachment 33853
Pic #2, can't tell
Pic #3 and #4 is most likely a Downy Woodpecker. Hairy's and Downy's are very difficult to tell apart, even for seasoned birders. The most reliable way to differentiate is via vocalizations. However, the Downy is much more common so that's usually the safest ID.
Poor pics, but I just made my first official feathered friends.
View attachment 33848
I need to ID that bird(first two pics) and pull screen off window to get better pics. So far I have seen a finch, female cardinal, blue bird, sparrows, and another unknown. I need to read up and look at pics of birds found in Ohio to ID the two unknown birds.
Blue bird, red bellied woodpecker, hairy woodpecker(2 pics)
I need to improve my photo skillz (ipad mini6).View attachment 33852View attachment 33854View attachment 33853
Those are all A-list birds. Congratulations!
The downy & hairy woodpeckers look nearly identical. The latter is almost always larger than the former, but we've seen big downies and small hairys! The hairy woodpecker has a bigger (stouter, and longer) bill than the downy. Also, the downy has black spots on white outer tail feathers; the hairy does not.
PS I meant to post this last night... but apparently I never did!
Waxwings!
I cannot tell if they're Cedars or Bohemians
Gorgeous blue sky, too!
So... I sat down here to post this photo I took this morning
Mrs. H & I walk, every day, down to the main road to get our (paper) newspaper. That's where our paperbox is. 1.9 mile round trip. Mrs. H takes stock of the birds she sees on the walk & reports 'em to the local eBird list.
This morning, as we walked out of the garage and onto the driveway, we saw a bunch of birds in the top of a tree across the street. Our first thought was starlings or red-winged blackbirds, but we realized very quickly they were waxwings. We do see waxwings here often (nearly every day), sometimes a few, sometimes quite a few -- this morning, we saw a lot.
So I went in and got my camera.
DSC_0897 (2) by Mark Hardy, on FlickrAfter we got back from our walk, Mrs. H counted 123 birds -- almost all of them are Bohemians, although she identified (at least) one Cedar Waxwing in the bunch.
Pro tip for taking hand-held exposures with long-ish focal length lenses: begin to exhale, smoothly, slowly, & deliberately, just before clicking the shutter. "We" (well, OK... I) have a reflexive urge to hold our breath when taking a photo, but this increases shakiness. Taking the photograph when exhaling minimizes shake.
for taking hand-held exposures with long-ish focal length lenses: begin to exhale, smoothly, slowly, & deliberately, just before clicking the shutter. "We" (well, OK... I) have a reflexive urge to hold our breath when taking a photo, but this increases shakiness. Taking the photograph when exhaling minimizes shake.
Im hooked and went to Tractor Supply Company today and bought some more birdseed and another feeder. I didnt get home until after dark and both my feeders were empty, but the suet is still there. I too was having a difficult time determining if that was a downy woodpecker or hairy woodpecker and went hairy bc it said downy was 1 oz and hairy 1-3 and this looked like it weighed more than an ounce.😁
Thanks for the photo tip and putting up with my poor pics, Im using an ipad mini and not so good(in case you havent noticed🤣). I may buy a camera if that will help me take better pics.
These will be going up shortly. I have used the one on the left before and birds used it as well, my friend gave me the middle one recently, and I picked the one on the right up at a thrift a while back but am not sure what it is for as it seems rather large. I will also be getting some hummingbird feeders.
Thanks for the photo tip and putting up with my poor pics, Im using an ipad mini and not so good(in case you havent noticed🤣). I may buy a camera if that will help me take better pics.
These will be going up shortly. I have used the one on the left before and birds used it as well, my friend gave me the middle one recently, and I picked the one on the right up at a thrift a while back but am not sure what it is for as it seems rather large. I will also be getting some hummingbird feeders.
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GuyK
Junior Member
If you are going to frequently photograph birds in the same locations, like the feeders you're placing, try placing whatever camera you use ahead of time and pre-focusing on the target, then using a phone to trip the shutter remotely when you subject appears. A basic tripod is invaluable for this, and can often be found for next to nothing. Eliminating camera-shake does a lot to improve a photograph.
Oh, for any of you playing along at home, here's the cedar waxwing we noticed in the group.
The birders have a quaint rule of thumb: if you look at a hairy woodpecker's bill and head, and imagine* driving the bill backwards through its skull, the base of the bill would protrude from the back of its head.
^Hairy
Hairy left, downy right
(borrowed images all)
_________________
* Kids, don't try this at home!
Look at the bills. A downy's bill is small and fine; a hairy's is bigger and more robust.
The birders have a quaint rule of thumb: if you look at a hairy woodpecker's bill and head, and imagine* driving the bill backwards through its skull, the base of the bill would protrude from the back of its head.
^Hairy
Hairy left, downy right
Why are Hairy Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers so hard to tell apart? | Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Why do Hairy Woodpeckers and Downy Woodpeckers look so much alike? The answer might surprise you.
vtecostudies.org
(borrowed images all)
_________________
* Kids, don't try this at home!
I think Tedrick and I just liked that post at the same exact moment?
Thanks for the tip on differentiating the Downy from the Hairy. I probably have both, "they" are common. At one point I think I counted 7 at the same time on or around the tree/feeders. One of my neighbors knows her birds very well and there are also the larger pileated. I think? I have seen them in the past, and will now pay more attention. There are a lot of birds around here. For about a month or two last fall I would fall asleep and wake up to an owl "hooing". It seemed real close like in a tree in my front yard but now I think it hangs out across from me. I heard it once this year about a month or more ago but have not heard it since. This summer(I think) I will be putting in a stream/koi pond that will run down my front yard so my feathered friends will not have to go far when they get thirsty.
Thanks for the tip on differentiating the Downy from the Hairy. I probably have both, "they" are common. At one point I think I counted 7 at the same time on or around the tree/feeders. One of my neighbors knows her birds very well and there are also the larger pileated. I think? I have seen them in the past, and will now pay more attention. There are a lot of birds around here. For about a month or two last fall I would fall asleep and wake up to an owl "hooing". It seemed real close like in a tree in my front yard but now I think it hangs out across from me. I heard it once this year about a month or more ago but have not heard it since. This summer(I think) I will be putting in a stream/koi pond that will run down my front yard so my feathered friends will not have to go far when they get thirsty.
Yup, you're in their tour guidebook now. Five stars!
We don't have much deer trouble with the feeders. They'll graze under them but they don't bother them. They prefer eating my apple trees (and most other small trees with tender branches they can reach -- at this time of year).
DSC_3388 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr(of course, I can't find a photo of deer under any of the feeders right at the monent!
)If you have (black) bears where you live, you'll want to, at the least, bring the feeders in at night. I can't tell you when you should start, but it'll be just before the bears emerge in the spring. They come out hungry and, we have been told, they really like black oil sunflower seeds and can smell them from a mile away.
If you have brown or grizzly bears... well... that's another problem entirely.
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