Birdfeeding

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today is clear and cold.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows, a flock of mourning doves, two pairs of cardinals, and a squirrel.

The other day we were out driving around and I spotted a bald eagle!  :D  I think they are starting to move back into this area. 

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I saw a large (in my opinion) flock of robins... and another of some glossy black/deep gray birds.

And I might have seen a red-winged blackbird too...odd, I thought they loked marshier areas and we have pine trees.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

Red-winged blackbirds do like marshes, but also prairies. They're less common in forested areas but may be seen there while traveling.

Re: Thoughts

[(Anonymous)]

Eastern seaboard, conifer-and-deciduous forest mix with a bit of lawn, sandy soil. Theres a power-line thingamajig nearby, which might be sufficient grass? I doubt it's a proper prairie, though.

There are marshlands nearby-by-car, and I know the red-wignged blackbirds live there, but I don't think they come this far very often.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

One possibility is overflow. Every environment has a carrying capacity. Blackbirds form large flocks. If they exceed the local marshland, the extra birds could spill over into other areas.

We see a lot of them here in the summer.

[fianna9]

Bald eagles have been nesting for decades up at Clinton nuclear power plant. There's a whole forested area around the lake that they love. My father-in-law used to have permission to go there and film them. Even though parking was obviously some ways a away every year the particular pair he tracked recognized his car and would ignore it. They would watch other vehicles that parked there.

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

I knew that corvids had that kind of recognition, but not eagles. Fascinating.

Re: Wow!

[fianna9]

They changed cars over the years and it seemed like the eagles associated the people with the car. He said that every spring the adult eagles would check out the new vehicle until the occupants got out and set up. After that whenever they would go out and set up they'd basically be ignored. If I remember right the way the nest and area were set up he could set up a camera a good ways away but fairly close to level with the nest.

These humans never got near the nest or harassed the eagles so they were not cataloged as a threat.

Re: Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

That is so cool.

*ponder* Makes more sense now that they'd pick my yard for a pit stop. In addition to having things that raptors like, such as dead branches in tall trees, it is generally landscaped for wildlife and we have ritual spaces outdoors. If intelligent wildlife was looking for a good spot from a high vantage, it might stand out from the other farmyards nearby.