OldFishKeeper
Fish Fanatic
They'd be pretty birds to have in the gardens here. I like to keep abreast of bird watching discussions from other countries.
They'd be pretty birds to have in the gardens here. I like to keep abreast of bird watching discussions from other countries.
I spent a year in Vienna (Austria) and found their birds more interesting the the ones we have here.... in the southeast usa.They'd be pretty birds to have in the gardens here. I like to keep abreast of bird watching discussions from other countries.
Here in northern California we used to have a wide variety of finches, the well known titmice () and other interesting species like wild doves.I spent a year in Vienna (Austria) and found their birds more interesting the the ones we have here.... in the southeast usa.
Well, if it was only one goose, I could weather the storm from my tree-hugging neighbors. Trouble is, we live close to a city water-park where dozens of them live and the city is fine with that...with my luck, the one I shot would have bird flu .Shoot the goose. They make good eating.
Depends on what you look for. Granted that Cedar Wax Wings are only seen in North East Florida during migration but you couldn't ask for a much prettier bird. The following is a bunch of them enjoying the bird bath in my yard in Jacksonville Beach. Oddly I also see these beasties in Wyoming but, again, just during migration. When I see them here in Wyoming they are not nearly as colorful being mostly grey but still with the black mask.I spent a year in Vienna (Austria) and found their birds more interesting the the ones we have here.... in the southeast usa.
I would not help a crow at all and wish the geese would find their way back to Canada.Canada geese. Yeah, I know them and their waste disposal ways very well. We have a graveyard across the road, and there's an old man who visits his wife's grave daily. She loved birds, so he feeds them. There are hundreds of them. I'm very glad they went south recently.
I have a lot of chickadees out back. I thought being seaside I'd get more migratory birds, but they go by the Nova Scotia coast, across the bay and overland from us. We're on the ocean, but as part of a long thin bay. The islands not far from here, in the Gulf of Maine get more birds passing through.
I saw orioles last summer, a southern bird moving north, and once rare cardinals are now one of the most common birds here. We have lots of cedar waxwings, including one that lived in a spare aquarium here for 3 days after it hit a window and couldn't move its wing. Once it was flying again, it rejoined its world.
Bald eagles are common - unpleasant scavenging nest raiders. Red tailed hawks are nicer, as are some smaller raptors that swoop around when it's warm.
We have a murder of crows who love to taunt the dog, as she falls for it every time. I saw the original pair in an epic battle with a bald eagle a couple of years ago, and while they saved their nest, the female got raked across her back by eagle talons and was badly messed up. I broke my rules and fed them for a couple of weeks til the rips healed and she got her feathers back. I haven't fed them since, but they're still good neighbours, considering. I don't appreciate their singing much.
Sometimes we get large turkey vultures circling over the graveyard. It give the place atmosphere, though it usually means a raccoon or skunk has been hit by a car.
Oddly some of the birds that could be considered a pain are some of the most intelligent. Crows, ravens, magpies and starlings included. Mayhaps it is their intelligence that makes them such pests.I would not help a crow at all and wish the geese would find their way back to Canada.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and rants. Mostly, I chose not to argue.Oddly some of the birds that could be considered a pain are some of the most intelligent. Crows, ravens, magpies and starlings included. Mayhaps it is their intelligence that makes them such pests.
Yes, some of these critters can be a problem especially to farmers but, in general, their relative intelligence is being shown in recent research to be much higher than thought. Ravens seem to be one of the most intelligent species with some researches showing that they have problem solving abilities similar to dolphins and chimps.
Ya, while not an extremist, I admit to being a bit of a tree huger. One of the biggest reasons that such birds are a problem is the same as why some mammals such as larger cats, wolves and bears have become a problem. The problem does not reside with the beasties but us humans. It makes no sense for us to takes away the natural habitats of these animals and then expect them to not intrude in our lives while they strive to survive.
I hate to say it but I sort of see us humans as a virus infecting our Mother Earth. All we do is kill anything we can and destroy our home. How many cures for cancer and other deadly diseases have we have we destroyed just in the Amazon basin by making thousands of species extinct? Think about it... sure there are many synthetic meds but I can't think of one that did not start with a natural organism.
Sorry... Something triggered me and I had to rant out a bit...