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2015 Bird Count
#11
You are getting some interesting birds. Of course it helps that it is summer. How long will it stay so hot?

It turned bitter cold here. The winds was so cold it hurts.
I heard some birds in the bushes, but I didn't see any of them out and about. There were no squirrels out either. I feel sorry for them, but two of my neighbours have feeders. My yard in between has shrubs and trees. When it warms a little I will see all of our winter birds.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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#12
I definitely saw a flock of house sparrows. They were in the trees and bushes up against my house. It is a bit sheltered and there is heat from the sun reflected off the house. It is so cold for them. It will be -17C and all the birds hide in a sheltered spot, rush out to the feeder and eat quickly and then hide again.

It is wonderful to think of all the birds you are seeing and how they are singing and resting in the warm sun.

You have seen some amazing birds so far.
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Catherine

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#13
The Silver eye is beautiful. If you only see one new bird, at least it is really pretty.
The heat is hard on the birds. They must have a hard time finding water.

We went down to -19 with a -30 wind chill(wind chill is the equivalent of actually temperature because the wind has a cooling effect).

I saw one bird...not one kind of bird, one actual bird. I saw one lone duck on the river. It might have been a Mallard, but it looked a bit dark for a Mallard. It was hard to tell because it was going along in the current and I didn't see it for long. The birds find this extreme cold very difficult. If it weren't for backyard feeders many would starve. It is too cold to look for food.
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Catherine

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#14
Finally I saw some birds at a feeder. There were the usual House Sparrows, but I saw Slate Coloured Juncos(7).
They are a special favourite of mine. They are around in the winter and they are such cheerful little birds. They like to feed on the ground so they hang around under the feeder. They have a cute way of scratching the ground with both feet in a sort of hop. They are charming to watch. They are a little shy and they are usually seen with the bigger sparrows at a feeder. The other birds seem to like them. They are attractive looking with their dark slate back and soft white underside.

[Image: slate-colored-junco-10.jpg]

I saw something else, but it was to far and too quick for identification. If it is around the feeder I will see it again.
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Catherine

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#15
Today was not a good bird day. It was miserable and bleak and hardly got light all day. I saw some crows and Jackdaws, and heard what I think was a Blue Tit. I also saw a Buzzard in a field, munching on something....
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#16
This is really not bird weather for those of us in the northern hemisphere. Another few weeks will make a difference. The days will be longer and there will be more chance to see birds.
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Catherine

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#17
Wow, what an incredible collection of birds. Your year is off to a good start. I would love to see a wild parrot or a wild cockatoo. They must be incredible in the wild. You live in a birders paradise.

I saw a Northern Cardinal(8). It is the royalty of winter birds.

This is the male:
[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJd0uwtvUdhwUONY5exmF...Tq-f0xp8pC]

And this is the female:
[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSoS0l4w-ebop6zOWMHK5G...DewNumyVzw]
I actually like the female's colours more, but the males are much more noticeable.
They form sweet bond pairs and the male will feed the female when they come to the feeder.
[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRDj3VIu-R66Qn3wHjilO4...bFI6piD5NA]

Eight birds so far. Not bad for a bleak winter January. Summer will come.
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Catherine

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#18
They are lovely! The male feeding the female is courtship behaviour, that's really cool to see Smile 8 is a good job for cold, snowy weather.

After all of yesterdays rain, today was quite sunny and my sister and I were just not having a good day. I couldn't get access to the computer software I needed at uni, my sister couldn't find any useful books for her research, a woman stopped dead in traffic in the middle of the highway right in front of us trying to turn right at a 'no right turn' zone and she wouldn't move! I wanted a coffee frappe but the shop was out of coffee Sad So I just needed to turn the day around.

We stopped by the local botanic gardens for a quick wander and then I tripped on a bit of a gravel ditch in the path and twisted my ankle! Soon forgot about that when we were greeted by a duck with her last remaining duckling making their way to the pond. Baby animals can brighten anyones day.

The young Eurasian coots I saw a few weeks ago who were tiny little fluff balls have grown up so much, certainly not so little anymore!
The Australasian grebes have had some chicks. Absolutely adorable.
Also found a new holland honeyeater chick or more like fledgling I guess, begging for food from mum and dad. And some woodswallow chicks hanging out in their nest.

This is the Australasian grebe. I love their markings, which you can't really see in this picture because the bird was a bit far out and I only had my phone camera Sad
[Image: ausg.jpg]

And you can just make out one of the little chicks in the water. They had just moved off the nest, which is that browny/grey plant matter patch between the reeds. Incredibly small and incredibly cute, there were 3 in total following mum around waiting for food.
[Image: ausgchicks.jpg]

And then on the way back to the car I spotted this tiger snake along the edge of the footpath. I'd never seen a wild tiger snake before this, they're really quite beautiful. Since it was almost closing time and everyone would be walking down that path, my sister went back to tell the people working there that there was a snake in the area, whilst I waited and took photos of it lol. It still surprises me how scared people can be of snakes. It didn't care for the people around at all, it just wanted to cross the path to get to the other side of the bush. I can understand to some extent because I tend to feel that way about big spiders. I struggle to even look at them, but my first instinct isn't to kill them at it seems to be with people and snakes.
[Image: ts.jpg]

So that was my day.
51. Pacific black duck
52. Dusky woodswallow
53. New holland honeyeater
54. Australasian grebe
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#19
You had an amazing end to what started out as a bad day. Of course seeing the snake would have done it for me. Tiger snakes are beautiful. They are also venomous, but they are not going to attack a human unless attacked first.

The birds you saw are interesting. We have Grebes here as well and in the warmer weather I should be able to see them along the river. I keep forgetting about it being summer where you are. I know it, but when you mentioned a chick it still seemed odd for a second.

I saw a Red Tailed hawk(9). Actually it was on the ground and I was on a balcony above it. I got to see it take off, its wings fully spread and its beautiful red tail fanned out. It rose up past me and into the sky and then I could see it circling overhead.
There were ducks and geese in the field below, but they were too far away to see what they are. I will have to start carrying my field glasses with me.
I didn't have my camera, but this picture is like what I saw.
[Image: images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS3oWvshXCK9fl1TpPzGVx...8iTI0T9D1w]
It is the closest I have ever been to a Red tailed Hawk.
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Catherine

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#20
I saw your picture before anything else and I'm like no way, she got to see a red tailed hawk! Don't know if you've seen or heard before but there's these small birds, I forget what they're called, that briefly ride on the backs of red tailed hawks. That would be cool to see
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