Backyard Birds Challenge

[RogueDiscus]

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Lot's of Butterflies this time of year.

Swallowtails are common here, although I haven't seen many lately. We have an ash tree they like to lay eggs in. Despite my small Monarch habitat garden, I have not seen a single one this year. The west coast populations are seeing a serious decline this year, according to reports from a monitoring group I belong too. Very sad.

[brewmaster15]

Killdeer

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[brewmaster15]

Immature House sparrow (male) best guess.

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[gunnerschh2]

Feral cats are allowed in my town so people dump them. I would walk to the beach & see a lot of red wing black birds in the marsh & on the wires.THIS YEAR NONE. How do you trap them to neture them if people go down to the beach & feed them. At one time I had a endangerd species permit & bread to help. Just saying about the permit because I love animals & I know this post will rufful some feathers.

[brewmaster15]

from the yard...

Eastern Phoebee, These guys nest every year in my yard, Make their nest right on top my back door light. They are a great to watch catching bugs. According to common beliefs in the birding world this was first bird species banded in the USA, .. John James Audubon tied a silver thread in its leg to study its migration and breeding... Historically it goes back to at least 200 BC (source https://nc.audubon.org/news/history-bird-banding-part-i)

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Blue Jay
Very pretty bird, but definitely can be obnoxious, These beautiful birds are omnivores and often prey on other birds nests.. They are also forest builders as they bury acorns much like squirrels

This one just robbed the neighbors oak tree.

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lastly a Downy woodpecker. We have a ton of these and with all the storm damages of the years to the forests here as well gypsy moth outbreak and last but not least the decimation of our ash tree population thanks to the Emerald ash borer, .. we have plenty of dead trees for them forage.. Why this one is foraging on my chimney I do not know, but he spent a good 20 mins looking it over.

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al

[Cove Beach]

Hey Al, we get woodpeckers banging on the flashing of our brick chimney every year. Not sure why they think it holds food but I guess if I slammed my face into a tree to get food my judgement may be a bit skewed lol.

[danotaylor]

Nice pics Al, beautiful birds. Maybe the pecker is attracted to the lime/ minerals in the cement work?

[LizStreithorst]

I adore the peckerwoods. I have seen 3 different strains in my yard. I also love the bluejays. I know that they do bad but I can't help it. The one bird I could do without is the cow bird. They both eat the eggs in other birds nests but they are unattractive to boot.

[brewmaster15]

I adore the peckerwoods. I have seen 3 different strains in my yard. I also love the bluejays. I know that they do bad but I can't help it. The one bird I could do without is the cow bird. They both eat the eggs in other birds nests but they are unattractive to boot.

I agree Liz.. On the other hand their natural history to quote Spock , is "Fascinating". To have evolved to lay your eggs in other birds nests and have them raise you kids while you get to go out and do what you want. I could draw similarities to current human culture. Not only that but the young cowbirds first act is get rid of the non cowbird siblings or just starve them out by being bigger and more aggressive feeders. The female cow bird can lay dozens of eggs and has to because many times the host rejects them. Cowbird parasitize something like 200.species of birds.

Oh.and heres the best part.. They have been known to check up on their young and if they arent there they will trash the nest. Its called mafia behavior lol.

Al

[LizStreithorst]

Spock may have said "facinating". It is as long as the cowbirds to serious damage to the populations of the chicks they destroy it is. If they are decimating large populations of song birds I will have no choice but to buy a rifle.

[bluelagoon]

I would like to shoot every European Starling from the sky in America if I could. They are not native and have eaten a lot of eggs and young. And have taken over local niches that once belonged to native species. The crows can stay.

[Dave Cal]

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One of the local breeding pair of Eagles.

[Dave Cal]

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[LizStreithorst]

Holy Moly! That's cool. We are getting eagles back here in Mississippi, but we have more hawks. The hawks will swoop down and catch the little doves that my neighbor feeds in her yard. All my chickens are too big for them. I'm glad that my puppies haven't become a target for them yet.

[Cove Beach]

About a week ago a neighbor lost a cat to a Bald Eagle. My wife caught it on her phone taking off with it from across the street. I will post it tomorrow as it’s on her phone.