Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Weapon of choice

Here are a few of the bird pics that my wife has taken.

Eddie
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]
[img][/img]

[img][/img]
[img][/img]

[img][/img]

I think the legs are set too far forward for a heron, more like a shorebird, but the beak sure says fish catcher! I'll defer to the experts.

Eddie great photos, but you need to id them for us bird challenged folk, i knew 4 for sure.

The picture I put up is a small bird, I looked it up last year but I can't remember.

It's a species of sandpiper... Probably a Spotted Sandpiper, Actitis macularia. That long beak is not for fishing eating but rather is used to probe soft wet soil for invertebrates which makes up the bulk of it's diet. A very neat bird!

Spotted Sandpiper

Also the only "shore bird" in that family that nests in the United States. Make him or her happy and they may just make some babies on your place!

It looks like you nailed it CJ, the bird was persistent running around on the floating island.

Do you pull this info off the top of your head, or do you have volumes of wildlife books surrounding your computer.
I don't know how you do it.

N Cardinal
Red Bellied Woodpecker or Flicker
Downy or Hairy Woodpecker
Cedar Waxwing [Yeah!]
Scarlet Tanager or Western Tanager?
No idea
Rose Breasted Grosbeak
Goldfinch
Indigo Bunting

How'd I do?

Shooot - SUMMER Tanager!

Good job CJ! Looks like the non-breeding plumage.

Whats the one I missed? Can't think of anything without cheating in my birding book...and I don't want to!

The Tanager is a Summer Tanager. It is the bird that got Steph interested in bird watching and identification. She saw it and realized that it wasn't a cardinal. She saw the gray colored beak and got to wondering about it. Once she got it in her head, there was no stopping her. She bought several books and went from one discovery to dozens of them!!!

The one you can't identify is an immature Blue Grosbeak. It's the only picture of one that she's gotten so far, and we rarely see them. She was pretty sure it was a blue grosbeak, but posted it on a bird forum to be sure.

Eddie

Brettski, nice peaceful video, thanks for sharing.

We have some killer conservation vibes going in this thread! Thoreau, Whittier and Muir and smiling somewhere.

Teehjaeh,

Cedar waxwing are among the most beautiful of birds, but you don't want them to visit your fruit trees. They nip off the blooms, and carry plant disease.

My biggest birding thrill was a pair of night hawks (in the nightjar/whipporwill family). Every day at about dark, the male would climb and dive, making a loud, eerie booming sound with his fluttering wings. That's to impress lady nighthawks and scare off rival males. I found their nest on bare ground, and had to be careful not to run over it with the dozer.

I have a minor in wildlife and fisheries science. I had to take classes, such as:

W F S 406 Ornithology Laboratory (1) Laboratory and field identification of Pennsylvania birds, avian ecology and behavior, field survey techniques. (Had to be able to identify every bird found in Pennsylvania by their common and scientific name by sight and sound)

W F S 407 Ornithology (3) Introduction to the biology, ecology, adaptations, and conservation of birds. I got an A in both classes... It was a lot of memorization. Most of the scientific names I have forgotten do to a lack of use, but I remember most of the other stuff.

Other classes I took:

W F S 209 (GN) Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation (3) Survey of current and historical issues in wildlife and fisheries conservation; emphasis on vertebrate biodiversity, habitat management and protection, and populations.

W F S 310 Wildlife and Fisheries Measurements (3) Introduction to field and laboratory approaches for collecting, analyzing, and communicating data regarding wildlife and fish populations and their habitats.

W F S 408 Mammalogy (3) Identification, systematics, characteristics, adaptations, ecology, behavior, natural history and conservation, and socio-economic aspects of mammals.

W F S 409 Mammalogy Laboratory (1) Laboratory and field identification of mammals, ecology and behavior of mammals, field survey techniques.

W F S 410 General Fishery Science (3) Introduction to the study, management, and uses of fish populations; methods of investigation, culture, and harvest of fishes.

W F S 422 Ecology of Fishes (3) Role of fishes in aquatic communities and general ecosystems. Environmental factors influencing fish as individuals, populations, and communities.

W F S 430 (FOR 430) Conservation Biology (3) The application of biological principles to issues in the conservation of biodiversity.

W F S 450 (E R M 450) Wetland Conservation (3) Wetland types, classification, functions and values; hydrology, soils, and plants; introduction to wetland identification and delineation; wetland regulations.

W F S 452 Ichthyology (2) Study of the structure, taxonomy, systematics, and natural history of freshwater and marine fishes.

W F S 453 Ichthyology Laboratory (2) Identification of fishes, major fish families, use of keys. (Big reason I know so darn much about fish, even the little forage fish)

W F S 463W Fishery Management (3) Management of sport and commercial fisheries, including biological, political, social, and economic factors; regulations and other management techniques.

FOR 203L Field Dendrology (2) Field and laboratory identification of native and introduced trees and shrubs by leaf, fruit, bud, twig, bark.

FOR 308 Forest Ecology (3) Effects of environment, spacing, and age on trees; forest influences; origin and development of forest communities.

I had originally majored in wildlife and fisheries science, but changed my mind 3/4 of the way through. So I ended up taking more credits than I even needed for a minor. When I look back, I probably should have just gotten a duel major, but since I was not going into a field related to wildlife or fisheries science I didn't bother. It kind of seems like a waste now... However, I do have lots of worthless knowledge to share. Any fisheries biologist on here like Mr. Lusk or Bill Cody has taken classes similar to these and probably many more. Dr. Willis I am sure teaches classes like the ones I took! Since Chris is working on his degree, he is probably taking some like this right now!

OK, I guess you don't have volumes of books around your computer, but what made you go into law enforcement.

Alright CJ, for the grand prize an all expenses paid trip to the nearest Dunkin Donuts ID these birds. (NO CHEATING)

Changed my major to criminal justice at the end of my junior year and had to do an extra year of college because of it. Figured job security would be a little better and I could live where I wanted. They need cops everywhere and they are always hiring more cops. I only work on average half the days of the week instead of the normal 5, lots of free time to hunt, fish and play around with ponds. Police work is interesting as well... Sometimes I wish I'd have continued and became a fisheries biologists, but I get to kinda do that on my own, so no complaints.

Bird ID

I want to begin by stating I have never taken a single course in ornithology - I am 100% self taught!

Secondly - is this for CJ or TJ? I don't care, I'm going for it anyhow.

First bird....Barred Owl? I don't know my owls so well....but I do like them a lot.
Second bird - I can't see the face too well, but I'm thinking either Snowbird [dark eyed Junco] or a Chickadee...

AP, how did I do? Even close?

TJ

eastern screech owl or saw whet owl, hard to tell from pic,

chickadee...

My $.02 says screech and grey jay.

TJ, you got the barred owl right.
DIED, you get a 0, back to school.
esshup. you got the grey jay.

We'll see what CJ has to say tonight, maybe were all wrong.

adirondack pond:

How tall is the owl? The breast feathers match a barred, but the head is more like a screech from that angle.

Size will tell!

esshup, the photo isn't great cause I had it on digital magnification but the owl was atleast 18", way too big for a screech.
He just sat there while I shoveled snow off the deck but when I brought the roof rake out he didn't like something being above him so he took off.
We did see a screech owl a couple years ago about 2 miles from the cabin, he was sitting in a tree next to a large swampy field.

Being that big, Barred it is! An ex girlfriend rehabbed raptors. I was amazed to see even screech owls eat an adult mouse whole!

Not a grey jay expert, or any bird expert, but I'm thinking thats not a grey jay. Never saw a bird like the one in the pic.