OT - Christmas Bluebird

Brian G. NY · Dec 25, 2011

Merry Christmas, everybody.

I took this picture of a Bluebird eating berries off the Mountain Ash tree outside our kitchen window this morning.
We have had three of them (all Males) hanging around for the last week or so.
A few years ago, we had a family of five stay all winter; cost me a small fortune to buy meal worms to feed "em every day but I was rewarded with some good pics of them in the snow.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 25, 2011

Things I miss the most about being over here is some of the birds..... No Bluebirds, Cardinals, or Whiporwills.........

Brian G. NY · Dec 25, 2011

Whip-poor-will......Wow, haven"t thought of them in years.
When I was a kid, there was a big ol" butternut tree next to our house where they nested and I can still remember listening to the whip-poor-will"s calls which lulled me to sleep. Such a nice sound!
I haven"t heard or seen one in 40 years or more.

Eric in IL · Dec 25, 2011

Dave, you are not alone in missing the whippoorwill. The last
time I heard one was about five years ago. Used to hear them
regularly in the 60's-70's time frame. Thinking maybe the
coyotes are to blame as the whippoorwill is a ground nester. We
have quite a few coyotes now compared to back when. I'm about
60 miles N.E. of St. Louis MO.

Eric in IL · Dec 25, 2011

Thanks for the picture, I think the wintering region for the bluebird is shifting northward. We see them in the winter now also.

I hear them sing in the winter too, but boy are they quiet compared to the summer time.

PeteTheRookie · Dec 25, 2011

Nice shot.

Had 3 of these eating same red berries last week right outside the front window.
Never had even seen one before.
Pretty little bird.

Pete

S.Crum · Dec 25, 2011

We still have quite a few whiporwills in this area on northern central Pennsylvavia. Hear them all spring,summer and fall. What is odd is hearing a bobwhite, but on rare occasion.

rd 2N in mo · Dec 25, 2011

About ten years ago some buddies and I were camping on the banks of the Jacks Fork river in Mo. As night time came a whip or will started calling. Made me sleep like a baby.
Got up the next morning and two of the guys were complaining about that d**n bird that kept them awake all night.
What can you expect from city boys. One of the best sounds that you can hear at night

Paul Shuler · Dec 25, 2011

My son and I have camped at the Cedar ridge camp ground on Stockton lake in SW MO and without fail there is always whipoorwills up there. I love that sound. We have lots of Blue birds that always set on my deck railing about every morning. They sure eat lots of bugs in the summer. They get all puffed up when its cold out.

Anonymous-0 · Dec 25, 2011

always had bobwhites as a kid but had a real bad winter in 76 I believe that all but wiped them out in the area... I left before they ever came back.....
Nother one I miss is the buzzard...

lrb · Dec 25, 2011

I thought all the birds had left till I got hearing aids. sweet

Mike (WA) · Dec 25, 2011

We had a lot of meadowlarks around here when I was a kid- distinctive call, always in tune. Haven't seen or heard one for years.

Texasmark1 · Dec 25, 2011

Remarkable that you have a New England Blue Bird in NY........ Great!!!

We never had them till about 3 years ago down here in N. Texas. One showed up then two and on. I thought they were the most beautiful birds I had ever seen, the gorgeous blue and then the cinnamon and light gray.

Got on www and learned what they like for nesting and built several houses.

Yesterday, when feeding cows, I saw 3 families within 5 minutes.

I guess the ones that settled here first had offspring and they and their parents revisited the place as there is plenty to eat and we just love to watch them......but I find the hens to be really picky.

I have seen them look over the "on a slender pole, 20' above local terrain, east facing, roost spike and hole large enough for them to enter".....just thumb their noses at the houses and make home in a 2 7/8" steel pipe......picky, picky, like my pre-madonna cat.

Mark

Texasmark1 · Dec 26, 2011

Fire ants wiped them out around here 20 years ago and haven't
been back.

Had a fish kill due to drought and algae poisioning in my
pool/tank/pond whatever you call it.

Counted 100 of my biggest fish and they were bragging sized
cats and bass. One day I counted 51 buzzards on the side of the
pool enjoying dinner. Within a week saw zero buzzards. It's
been since August and the most I have seen in a group has been
6.

I think there was a silver lining to this story. The fish died as a
result of the algae poisoning, the fish stored the poison in their
organs, the buzzards ate the organs and killed themselves.

Now we cattle growers in this area don't have to sit in constant
virgil during the calving season to shoo the buzzards away from
our calf crop and delivering mothers.

Mark

OT - Christmas Bluebird

Brian G. NY

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Anonymous-0

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Brian G. NY

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Eric in IL

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Eric in IL

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PeteTheRookie

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S.Crum

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rd 2N in mo

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Paul Shuler

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Anonymous-0

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lrb

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Mike (WA)

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Texasmark1

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Texasmark1

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