Post: #26

Seriously though, I enjoy watching little birds at the bird feeder. People think it's soooo cute. But if you look closely, you can see that they viciously fight each other, constantly competing for a feeding spot. At my bird feeder each individual bird gets 3 or 4 seconds at its perch at the very most. They brutally claw and peck at each other in a battle royal for supremacy. Awesome. Sometimes it gets me in the right mindset in the morning when I'm having breakfast before I go to lift weights. Nature has much to teach us.

Post: #27

Update: another hawk attack in my yard. Got a dove. I never really feel bad when they get birds like doves and starlings, those birds evolved to be large in number and easy to breed so they could be good prey to hunters. I only get semi upset when a hawk gets cooler birds like cardinals, robins or smaller birds like nuthatches or woodpeckers.

But hey, the hawks gotta eat.

Post: #28

I pay attention to the birds. I have a cool bird book that someone gave my mother the day she was born (published in 1944). I live out in the woods and see and hear a lot of interesting birds.

-downy woodpeckers
-tons of chickadees
-nuthatches
-phoebes
-ravens
-hawks
-many barred owls, including one who is always waiting outside my shop and night and often swoops down over me when I walk into my house at night
-hermit thrush

In the spring here, the hermit thrush sound amazing. Their calls echo eerily back and forth across the open meadows on a gorgeous spring morning as the sun sets. I like to sit out in my garden after it has been freshly tilled in the spring and listen to them.

This weekend a friend and myself hiked up to the nearest peak on skis with skins to have an epic powder run. We stopped for a beer, and within 20 seconds there were half a dozen chickadees circling very close by. Such friendly little birds.

Post: #29

I'm not a "bird watcher" per say but whenever I see a bird of prey (usually hawks around here) I like to take some time and check out what they're doing.

Sometimes I'll see one swoop and come up with something, cool as hell.

Post: #30

Bunch of robins descended upon my yard this morning. Spring is coming.

Post: #31

Saw a bald eagle doing something in the grass by a small man-made pond yesterday.

Post: #32

I think you nailed it about bird watching putting things into perspective. We just had a bad frost come out of nowhere after some pretty sunny days and I was watching all the birds frantically reacting to the freezing rain and you could hear all the calls in the woods. Quite humbling.

Anyways, I just built a bird feeder right outside my window by my desk. My parents always had birdhouses and bird feeders in our yard growing up and there were always those Audobon field manuals around my house. I never really paid much attention to them until I read a random article about birds recently so now I watch them while I work. So far I've had mainly Sparrows and a couple Cardinals, also some small birds I can't tell what they are (maybe Finches?).

Post: #33

A bird that is an expensive pet here is seen as a common pest in AU:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galah

http://beautyofbirds.com/galahcockatoos.html

Post: #34

Wait until the end of this video, incredible...

Post: #35

I seem to be alone in my enjoyment of vulture watching. They're magnificent birds who soar above the sky looking for opportunities on the ground. I see a lot by the roads and highways around Eastern PA. You can't get too close to them; they'll take to the air in seconds if you try. I managed to get a picture of one sitting on a cemetery wall a few months ago. Was planning on turning it into a Christmas card.

Post: #36

(02-19-2015 06:23 PM)Bizet Wrote:  Wait until the end of this video, incredible...

That's nuts. I don't understand the physiology that can make all those sounds.