Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Birds In The Yard Today

Today was a long, yard work day, and as I did my chores I began noticing how many birds and how many different types of birds I could see, that were coming and going in my trees, on my lawn, at my bird feeders and at my bird baths.
At lunch time I began a list of the birds I saw today from and in my yard.

#1: Hungarian Partridge
#2: Robins
#3: Mourning Doves
#4: Eurasian Doves
#5: Magpies
#6: Buzzards (Black Vultures - feeding on a dead carcass in the adjoining alfalfa field)
#7: Chickadees
#8: Wren
#9: Goldfinch
#10: Goshawk
#11: Mallard Duck pair (I feed these by hand)
#12: Blackbirds
#13: Redwing Blackbirds
#14: Bald Eagle
#15: Nighthawk
#16: Flycatchers
#17: Barn Swallows
#18: Bank Swallow
#19: Mountain Bluebirds
#20: Ravens
#21: Meadowlark (Montana State Bird)
#22: Yellow-headed Blackbird
#23: Starlings
#24: Unknown variety of Sparrow (they all look alike and my bird book didn't help distinguishing)
#25: Osprey
#26: Sandhill Cranes (these woke me up this morning with their squawking as they feed in the adjacent field!)
#27: Canada Geese (flying over my place)

In addition to the now vicious Goshawks nesting in one of our trees, on the other side of my property, is a tree where this year a lone Great Gray Owl sleeps during the day - I hear him (her?) often at night but haven't seen it today so far - often the Blackbirds roust it from its roost high in its tree and chase it away.
Haven't seen any of the various Falcons so far today - they often fly by my place but don't nest in any of my  trees.
I also often see Golden Eagles slope soaring around my yard but have not seen one this week.
I enjoy "watching birds".
I only rarely see Hummingbirds in our flowers - and none have been seen so far this year.
The Kestrels (Sparrow Hawks) have not arrived here as yet but when they do, often three or four will be seen between my house and my mail box (0.7 miles).
Anyone else have a large variety of birds in, around and over your yard this time of year?
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Magpie..........

sumbitches don't dare land in my yard

Don't you just love the sound of Birds ...very peaceful.

Meadowlarks yes

Magpies no

I like red winged black birds, Robins make a nice tune also.

6quail ran across the drive last night.
Just before a hummer came by.
Saw two bald adults and two second years today.
Along w/crows,finches,crusaders, peckers (too durn quick) but I know there is a flicker or two in there .
Various others...
Thought I saw a kingfisher ...

Shot a birdie today. Which was nice for not playing for a year or so.

Yep. And mocking birds. It will be interesting to see how long until the hawk or owl gets the huns.

had two jakes pecking at the glass front door this morning. wife thought it was JW's and made me answer the door. the jakes ran off and didn't leave a watchtower so they must have been of a different belief.
we had tanagers, and ceder waxwings come through too today. of course you don't have any hummingbirds VG! they are all freeloading on my porch!

I saw these long billed Curlews the other day down in your neck of the woods VG, near Twin Bridges. They were everywhere.

I love all birds. One of my favorite things to do is drink coffee out on my patio every morning and listen to the doves call back and forth. Very relaxing...

No English Sparrows?

No yellow belly sap suckers?

Freaking white wings and collored eurasians have driven our mourning doves out of the picture.

How did those golf balls taste?

They'll be down on the Texas Coast this winter.

Sounds like someone needs a pellet rifle and a grandson, or grand girl.

Very cool. If you had pheasant you may have it all.

This here's the welfare mockingbird last November, got hooked on the suet block and never left, got so tame she'll go inside my car and inside the front door, just now her and her main squeeze had sex about ten feet from me. Once ya get on the public dime everything goes to Heck.



More hummingbirds at my feeder now, plain green female/young black-chins, which means they have brung off broods or two, most of these being young of the year. This year was unusual in that I had a regular male black-chin. The males defend display courts, and actually wear themselves out more than the females do laying eggs and raising young. Ain't seen the male in about a week, which likely means he's done for the year and has gone back south.

Far fewer great-tailed grackles breeding along my street this year, and none in the trees in my yard, dunno what to make of that. I have house sparrows of course, no starlings this year, and an occasional Bewick's wren.

Ain't a tree in San Antonio anymore that doesn't have one or more pairs of white-winged doves in it, they have become so super-abundant that they have chased off all the mourning doves and inca doves where I'm at. Here's one on my front step just about six feet from me and the dog, which has become weary of running them off. This one nest about 40 feet from the step in a tree over my driveway. On this one visit it swallowed TWENTY EIGHT bits of dog food, then flew back up into the tree to turn 'em into crop milk I'd guess. If I park wrong it will repay my kindness by crapping on my car.



We always have swifts around, which means someone around here has a chimney. What these things up on the wire as seen from my house are purple martins. This many means it has been a good year for them.



Centuries ago purple martins got co-opted by the Indians to a point that the eastern race will only nest around around humans, almost always in houses or gourds put up for the purpose. The Indians did this because they liked 'em and because martins chased crows away from their crop fields which is why Indians didn't need to put out scarecrows. Settlers took over the practice and as the numbers of settlers increased and put out nesting gourds and houses so did the number of purple martins.

My particular neighborhood was put in place sixty years ago in the '60's when people had yards and put up bird houses, including purple martin houses, these usually made of aluminum. Nobody puts up purple martin houses anymore but enough is still left standing that we still have martins. Only catch from a purple martins perspective is that they are dragonfly specialists and dragonflies require water, whereas around here the climate is only marginally wet enough most years and not at all in others. Dry years almost no martins bring off young here, this year must have been good. These martins will be gone in a week or two, wandering back to South America, following dragonfly swarms all the way.

Timbermaster: Thank you for the wonderful pictures of the Long Billed Curlews - they come to my neck'o the woods every spring and I do enjoy seeing and hearing them. They are rather noisy when they fly - once on the ground they seem to quit squeeling/squawking?
I have seen as many as a couple of hundred in a days field loafing but I have never seen one in my yard or in the adjoining fields. I think they stay around here for about four months.
Had two out of state Hunters in from Washington last week and as we traveled to Melrose, Montana for dinner we saw a mother (?) Long Billed Curlew and two puffball/fur ball chicks right beside pavement on old Highway 91.
I think they eat bugs/ants?
I will pass along your photos.
Thanks again.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy