Any Bird Watchers in the House?

Capt Quirk

Capt Quirk

Veteran
I am at best a novice, but I have a white Cardinal in our neighborhood. How rare is that? I caught a glimpse of some sort of white bird in the bushes, but that was just out of the corner of my eye and through a window and blinds. I thought it looked like a Cockatoo, but figured it was likely a white Dove, those are fairly common. But no, I've seen it again over the past few days and more clearly, and it is indeed a Cardinal. Mostly white with pinkish splashes on it's wing areas. It also seems to be an outcast, the other Cardinals don't want to let it play in any of their Cardinal games...
 
I'm very amateurish at bird watching...can't say that I've EVER heard of a white cardinal-ish bird before! Now I'm expecting a picture!!!
 
Sort of like the picture, but it didn't have the dark feathers. It was whitey white, except for the pink splashes.
 
Capt Quirk said:
Sort of like the picture, but it didn't have the dark feathers. It was whitey white, except for the pink splashes.
Click to expand...

And as for pics, I don't have a still cam anymore to take a quick snapshot, and it is too much trouble to try and drag out the video cam. By the time I am ready to shoot, he's gone again. Not nearly as friendly as the other ones, I have only seen him a few times and we have been here a year and a half. In fact, we were here to see most of these Cardinals growing up.
 
Not an ornithologist, but I do enjoy watching birds if I happen to be outside. My favorite bird is the Oriole, but I enjoy most non-carrion eating birds.

There are many hawks and owl's where I live. The hawks sit on the electrical wires watching the fields for something to eat. I assume the owl's do too, but they are out at night so I only see them when they fly through the beam of my headlights.
 
I'm an avid amateur ornithologist. I can ID most by their common names on sight and many by song.

In my yard, depending on season, we've got mockingbirds, the Northern cardinal, Eastern towhee, juncos, Eastern bluebirds, American goldfinches, cedar waxwings, robins, brown thrashers, chickadees, bushtits, downy woodpeckers and a good amount of great horned and barred owls that range in our neighborhood.

Hands-down favorite is the Carolina wren, which nests anywhere it wants to - your mailbox if you leave it open on the wrong day, in your house if you leave a door ajar and so on.

They're supposed to be good luck if you find one in your home - which is an annual occurrence in our particular abode.

Image1.jpg

Carolina wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus - HVX200 / F2.8

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We have Cardinals, Scrub Jays, Wood Thrush, Sparrows, Golden Finches, Mocking Birds, Red Tail Hawks, Chicadees, Orioles, Robins, Mourning Doves, some sort of Crested bird I forgotten it's name... The Jays and the Cardinals are my favorites, they will actually come to say Hi. The Cardinals actually brought their young to my yard to eat, when I was putting seed out. They would grab a beak full of seed and feed the babies while I sat there.
 
I'm in Ohio, so cardinals are pretty common. But they're so neat in the winter...the males are super bright red.

Speaking of orioles, I just noticed one this evening singing away in my mulberry tree behind the house. I'm most excited about the cedar waxwings that are nesting here. Only pair I've seen in Ohio. Pretty common out west I guess.

I love Carolina wrens, too! Used to have a nest of them on the tiny ledge above our front door.

Cool thread!
 
Ok, as long as we're all confessing here, I fill the feeders every day and I have:
mourning doves
pigeons (surprise)
cardinals
nuthatch
bluejays
gold finch
house finch
song sparrow
white throated sparrow
chipping sparrow
fox sparrow (only for about 3 weeks in the early spring)
english house sparrow (they seem to be disappearing)
starling (they also seem to be disappearing)
mocking bird
cat bird
cow bird
white eyed grackle
wood thrush
purple martins (a few cruise by occasionally)
blue birds ( I wish)
downy woodpecker
hairy woodpecker
red bellied woodpecker
flicker
pileated woodpecker
rufus sided towhee
red tailed hawk
coopers hawk
sharp shinned hawk
american kestrel (aka sparrow hawk) only occasionally
(all four species raid the feeders for doves and pigeons mostly in winter--great entertainment)
and of course, the most lively and spirited bird that ever evolved in the history of life on earth; the Carolina Wren. They are regulars on my front porch every year. Now getting ready to kick out brood #2 this year. These birds have more spirit and enthusiasm for life than any other creature I can think of. Carolinas Rock!.

all of this in the city right next to Arlington National Cemetery.
 
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I'm glad to hear that others share my feelings about the Carolina wren. They are an enthusiastic, funny little bird. Of course, they aren't on the West Coast, so it is a firefly kind of gift for us California transplants.

I also have a soft spot for the mockingbird and scrub jay. The brown thrasher is interesting, but you must be diligent to really get a glimpse of them in the hedges and underbrush where they spend most of their time.

We have a few barred owls that work the open space behind our house and regular visits from a great-horned owl. First year we lived here, we slept with our windows open during the spring and fall. One night, at about 2:30 in the morning, one took up a spot outside our bedroom window in the Bradford pear tree.

We just about shi* ourselves when he starting calling. Holy crap, is that bird loud! Who-who-whooorrrrrh!

:shocked:

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Wow... I just thought I'd share my white Cardinal with one or two folk, I never thought there were so many feathered friends here!
 
you guys pay any attention to the waterfowl in your area?

Despite an overload of Canada geese, we had a family of wood ducks, blue winged teal, and of course mallards...all on the little steel behind the house.
 
My favorite bird watching involves English women.



I've got a couple feeders out and I certainly enjoy the birds... It's taken almost a year to get them comfortable enough to stay on the feeder (which is right outside my kitchen window).

Even though we're in STL... in the past few years we've grown a population of cranes, blue herons, and pelicans...

Naturally I get tons of cardinals... some blue jays... rens (yes, they're entertaining)... purple (and red) finches... and then some birds that I haven't figured out. My favorite is this metallic blue bird that's about the size of a finch... but it's all blue... like cobalt metallic blue. He only comes by rarely... and I haven't got a good picture of him yet... but I did manage to get a couple shots off... BRB and I'll post him.
 
Erik Olson said:
I.....
We have a few barred owls that work the open space behind our house and regular visits from a great-horned owl. First year we lived here, we slept with our windows open during the spring and fall. One night, at about 2:30 in the morning, one took up a spot outside our bedroom window in the Bradford pear tree.

We just about shi* ourselves when he starting calling. Holy crap, is that bird loud! Who-who-whooorrrrrh!
:shocked:
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Click to expand...

LOL......Yeah, man, I feel your pain (shock)! Kinda like natures sub-woofer!...and next to your window?...WOW.
At the opposite end of the frequency spectrum is the Whip-Poor-Will. Ever go camping and have one crank up near your tent? Gives meaning to the word "shrill". There aint no sleepin through that.
 
I planted this bulb type flowers out in front of my house years ago and that attracted quite a few hummingbirds which was quite cool.
 
We see very few hummingbirds here. Those are amazing to watch and are surprisingly comfortable around people.

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The first time I saw a Hummingbird was at a lodge on the Blue Ridge Parkway in S. Carolina. As it buzzed past my head, I first thought it was a mosquito.
 
I feed the little critters...so relaxing to watch:
hummingbirds
finches (house, gold, and others which are only cute 'cause they're tiny)
cardinals
barn swallows (nesting in my carport)
cowbirds
chickadees
sparrows
Mr & Mrs Painted Bunting (Mr managed to get himself stuck inside the feeder one day...)
too many doves
tit mice (tit mouses?)
one blue jay who only stops in about once a week, takes one sunflower seed, then flies away. Weird.
mocking birds
grackles
and the buzzards circling overhead.
 
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