We're in the midst of a very mild winter. We have no snow and we've had very few days when it didn't get above freezing. It should be easy living for the birds. However, our feeders are overwhelmed with SBB's (small brown birds). Juncos, house finches, and several species of sparrows mainly. I've had to start rationing or they'll bankrupt us buying feed. We've never had them in these numbers before.
Same here. Hundreds of sparrows, and a few starlings are making it tough for the other birds . We still have some woodpeckers, cardinals, titmice, nuthatches, but not in the numbers we used to have. Would love to wipe out an entire generation of sparrows!
You mean this country is going to the birds.
Thanks for the reminder, the dog food was left out this morning, the starlings love it.
Too late, all that's left is bird poo
I noticed a couple 100 plus flocks of snow geese yesterday! Thats about a month early. Front yard has the little birds described earlier, plus a few varied thrush! The thrush are not common in the basin, usually found in the forest, surrounding the area!
Everything is pretty much normal here except we are seeing a much larger number of cardinals in the yard at the same time
Very normal here except fewer cardinals.
We have Robins out the ass.
I am going through black oil sunflower seed at an alarming rate too. About the same as RC with a few chickadees thrown in. I can't remember this many birds at this time of the year.
We have the usual moocher sparrows and a ton of mourning doves but also lots of finches. Thing that is surprising is a number of Mountain Bluebirds. Normally do not see those until March...?
They're living up there with you on welfare instead of heading south for the winter.
☀️🐥🐦🦢🐧🦜🦚🐓🕊️🦃🦅🦆🦉🐓
My neighbor and I kept the starling at bay with 22lr racking up truck loads they sure do love suet cakes, we had to switch to Benjamin 22 PCP as 22 are getting hard to find and don't want to deplete my stock of 22lr
The mourning doves always migrate out around Labor Day but we have a good supply of collareds. They stay for the winter. Even in the summer we don't have a lot of mournings any more. The collareds have pretty well replaced them here.
Cardinals, Jays, sparrows, Collared dove and finches. Extremely mild weather to date and they are wearing our feeders out!
We're in the midst of a very mild winter. We have no snow and we've had very few days when it didn't get above freezing. It should be easy living for the birds. However, our feeders are overwhelmed with SBB's (small brown birds). Juncos, house finches, and several species of sparrows mainly. I've had to start rationing or they'll bankrupt us buying feed. We've never had them in these numbers before.
How dry was it this past summer?
The birds you’re reporting feed mostly on last years grass and weed seed crop.
We have Robins out the ass.
Robins flock up and become wandering fruit and berry eaters in the winter, the numbers in any given location dependent upon the berry crop. Around here it’s cedar and hackberries that pack em in about every four or five years. This year like most around here there’s hardly any.
Very normal here except fewer cardinals.
Seems around here there are less mourning doves every year. Im wondering if the wind turbines are getting them. Almost no doves seen in 200 miles from Abilene through Pecos in West Texas this winter. Im hoping they dont go the way of the passenger pigeon. I dont know what the population needs to be to keep them viable.
There was hundreds of mourning doves around here when the last front blew through, just that one day. Didn’t stay, nothing to keep em here in the city.
Hadn’t seen that many mourning doves in a while.
The local breeders are still around, albeit much reduced because of White Wings, same with Inca Doves. White wings carry a parasitic worm more often lethal to other doves. Doesn’t seem to bother the collared doves tho.
my feeder is covered in birds. mostly little dark colored ones. not sure what they are. lots of cardinals and a few blue jays. the starlings hit the suet cakes. found out my sheridan doesn't hold pressure anymore so i'm bummed. i chase squirrels off regularly too. i had no less than 10 cardinals on there this afternoon. they are eating me out of house and home.
We're in the midst of a very mild winter. We have no snow and we've had very few days when it didn't get above freezing. It should be easy living for the birds. However, our feeders are overwhelmed with SBB's (small brown birds). Juncos, house finches, and several species of sparrows mainly. I've had to start rationing or they'll bankrupt us buying feed. We've never had them in these numbers before.
How dry was it this past summer?
The birds you’re reporting feed mostly on last years grass and weed seed crop.
this is high desert. We normally go for 3 to 5 months in the summer with no rain at all. It's all irrigation. This last summer was no exception.
We have house finches and several species of sparrows year round. The junco's migrate in from somewhere and winter here.
Last year this time it was huge flocks of indigo bunting but this year the pine warblers are outnumbering even the sparrows and no buntings. We have the normal numbers of year round blue jays, cardinals, titmouse, chickadee, woodpeckers and house finch. Going to declare war on the bronze headed cowbirds when they show up this spring.
The usual: squirrels, doves, cardinals, SBBs, titmice, chicadees, nuthatches, misc. woodpeckers, bluejays.
My hawthorn, Bradford pear, and the oaks are cleaned out. Can’t tell about the wild grapes. The crabapple is still loaded. If and when we get deep snow, we set out frozen fruit from the freezer for the robins and other fruit eaters. You should see them scramble for it.
We probably won't see robins for another month. We have a 400' deep canyon near here and they duck down in there during the coldest months. This is a warm winter, though, and they might come out early.
We have lots of Nuthatch, Chickadee, Yellow and Purple Finch, various Sparrows, Red Head Woodpeckers and other varieties, Blue Jay and a small covey of Inca Dove plus many other varieties at different times.
Stimulus checks = more bird seed= dont fly south and get phatt staying here.
Very normal here except fewer cardinals.
Seems around here there are less mourning doves every year. Im wondering if the wind turbines are getting them. Almost no doves seen in 200 miles from Abilene through Pecos in West Texas this winter. Im hoping they dont go the way of the passenger pigeon. I dont know what the population needs to be to keep them viable.
We haven't had a shootable population of mourning doves in the last 3 years, now.
First time I know of (other than an oncoming storm pushing them out) since 1960.
We're in the midst of a very mild winter. We have no snow and we've had very few days when it didn't get above freezing. It should be easy living for the birds. However, our feeders are overwhelmed with SBB's (small brown birds). Juncos, house finches, and several species of sparrows mainly. I've had to start rationing or they'll bankrupt us buying feed. We've never had them in these numbers before.
Global warming is leading to unpredictable weather patters. North Carolina will become Florida and Alaska will become Wisconsin. You are not supposed to feed wild animals. By doing so you are actually compounding wildlife problems. Thanks to animal rights loonies soon we will not be able to go into the woods for due to danger from wolves and bears.
Very normal here except fewer cardinals.
Seems around here there are less mourning doves every year. Im wondering if the wind turbines are getting them. Almost no doves seen in 200 miles from Abilene through Pecos in West Texas this winter. Im hoping they dont go the way of the passenger pigeon. I dont know what the population needs to be to keep them viable.
We haven't had a shootable population of mourning doves in the last 3 years, now.
First time I know of (other than an oncoming storm pushing them out) since 1960.
We used to have mournings nest in our orchard every summer. I haven't heard a single one in 3 or 4 years. After the collareds moved in, they left. Mourning dove season here now is a non-item. They're pretty much gone.
We have Robins out the ass.
Better than hamsters?
We have Robins out the ass.
Better than hamsters?
Haha, winner, winner,...
Is that you, Col Travis?
Very normal here except fewer cardinals.
Seems around here there are less mourning doves every year. Im wondering if the wind turbines are getting them. Almost no doves seen in 200 miles from Abilene through Pecos in West Texas this winter. Im hoping they dont go the way of the passenger pigeon. I dont know what the population needs to be to keep them viable.
We haven't had a shootable population of mourning doves in the last 3 years, now.
First time I know of (other than an oncoming storm pushing them out) since 1960.
Thanks, Mark. Sorry to hear that.
I think people all over the south putting fire ant granule poison out may be a big part of the problem.
Had a flock of Tom turkeys this morning. One old brute had a beard that had to be over 10”.
We haven’t had many mourning doves the last several years but this year we have lots of them. At dusk, there can be 20 or more on the ground around the feeders. Collared doves and starlings are pretty scarce. They keep running into small, hard objects traveling at a high rate of speed. Tragic that!
We have some starlings but not as many as in past years.
If we didn't have the non-natives, starlings, collared doves, English sparrows, it would be pretty quiet at the feeders.
Mine seem to be coming out of the woods next door. Staying in the frozen north this year because of Covid and feeding the small sunflower meats to avoid all the mess with the shells. My birds are pretty well through their first 50# bag this year and the squirrels and deer get corn and what ever the birds drop. Mostly goldfinches, house finches, juncos, cardinals, blue jay, nut hatch, mourning dove, red bellied and downy woodpeckers. Sure not like what is down south in the winter. 35 different species were always sighted just from the backyard.
Right now I'm hearing collared doves whooping it up in the back yard. Normally they're quiet in the winter and only call when on the nest.
i have been hunting morning and whitewing for probabley over 5 0 years, could get a limit in15minutes.
sometimes int was ten for ten.
not so anymore i noticed fewer around when the ring neck/collard moved i.
not game season them an invasive species,can shoot on sight.
they are much more aggressive and larger than morning dove.
se feed quite a few in the back yardl goats get their feed, feral cats eat, then the ring neck move in.
Same here. Hundreds of sparrows, and a few starlings are making it tough for the other birds . We still have some woodpeckers, cardinals, titmice, nuthatches, but not in the numbers we used to have. Would love to wipe out an entire generation of sparrows!
ditto here in Oklahoma City
Swans here already.
Heym, have you seen any over there in the Klamath?
I'm expecting cranes soon too.
I should have known we'd have an easy winter, the robins never left. Stayed around for the juniper berries, but we've had so many thaws they are on the lawn most mornings too.
Titmice, Juncos, Cardinals, Nuthatch, Chickadee, Mourning Doves and the usual Sparrows. On occasion, a flock of Cowbirds will come through and cover the ground around the feeders for a bit. On our 3rd 50# bag of mixed seeds and 2nd of Black Oil Sunflower seeds.
Homeless......fedd them and they will come.
Just saw a flock of teal! That’s just crazy early for them!
Some Swans at Miller Island, grain fields last week! Not as many as the Snow Geese, yet!
When some flew over a week or so back, I'd heard them from a long distance away. 2 miles at least. At first hearing thought they might be the cranes. Haven't seen any of them yet. All sorts of types of geese down here, especially with the grass coming up in the hay fields and open water for them to roost on.
And, down at the local reservoir while walking the dogs 2 days ago I saw the first shorebird (willet?) of the year. Mud in January is not normal.
The mourning doves always migrate out around Labor Day but we have a good supply of collareds. They stay for the winter. Even in the summer we don't have a lot of mournings any more. The collareds have pretty well replaced them here.
Shoot every one of those F'n collared doves, every last one...seriously, shoot them.
The mourning doves always migrate out around Labor Day but we have a good supply of collareds. They stay for the winter. Even in the summer we don't have a lot of mournings any more. The collareds have pretty well replaced them here.
Shoot every one of those F'n collared doves, every last one...seriously, shoot them.
Yep and they good eating!