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Birding

billfromlaketravis

By billfromlaketravis
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DougO

DougO 5243

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Some recent swallows, or "swallers" as I like to say. Regardless of how you say it, they are some of the most difficult birds to photograph. 

Barn Swallow.

barnswallowvert.jpg

Cliff Swallow:

cliffswallow.jpg

cliffswallowvert.jpg

 

 

The barny was buzzing me last week while I was trying to get close to a scissortail in a tree. When I failed at that and the scissortail flew off, I shifted to the barn swallow and jacked up the ISO and shutter speed and managed to grab a decent one, though it required a little bit of fancy sharpening tool voodoo.

I noticed the cliff swallows while driving on a frontage road. There was a big swarm circling around an overpass, so I circled around and came back again and parked at a convenience store. I had my camera with me as usual, and I thought it might be a rare opportunity to get some shots. They weren't buzzing close enough to get a good one, and they were swarming so fast and randomly cutting. Then I saw they started swooping down to a couple of puddles by the road after it had rained earlier that morning. I found an ambush spot to set up with the sun behind me, still a little high but not bad, and was able to get them diving in to grab some mud and zip off again.

 

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DoobieWah

DoobieWah 1431

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I'm not really birder but I've noticed a lot of different species here in west Houston in the last few years. I've got a big owl I've only seen once but can hear from my bedroom almost every night. I've had a colony of nesting Mississippi Kites for the last few years in the neighborhood. Various falcons and hawks. All kinds of songbirds, hummingbirds and of course west Houston's famous turkey vultures. 

But most people would be surprised to know that for the last three years at least, there's been a nesting pair of bald eagles at the bridge on Briar Forest over Buffalo Bayou between Gessner and Memorial. I first noticed them when one flew over the bridge in front of me. Once I started looking for them, I see them pretty often. That's pretty cool. 

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Mdhorn

Mdhorn 5945

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4 hours ago, DoobieWah said:

I'm not really birder but I've noticed a lot of different species here in west Houston in the last few years. I've got a big owl I've only seen once but can hear from my bedroom almost every night. I've had a colony of nesting Mississippi Kites for the last few years in the neighborhood. Various falcons and hawks. All kinds of songbirds, hummingbirds and of course west Houston's famous turkey vultures. 

But most people would be surprised to know that for the last three years at least, there's been a nesting pair of bald eagles at the bridge on Briar Forest over Buffalo Bayou between Gessner and Memorial. I first noticed them when one flew over the bridge in front of me. Once I started looking for them, I see them pretty often. That's pretty cool. 

That's awesome.  Most people miss these sightings because they don't deserve them.  I've given up on trying to show people sightings right in front of them.  The other day, I tried to show a woman two bald eagles as she pedaled by.  My wife was with me, so it wasn't like I was hitting on the older lady.  She said she knew and just as she passed me, the one eagle nailed the other one sitting in the tree and boom, it's on--aeirial fight right in front of us.  Guess she had already seen that too. 

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DougO

DougO 5243

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Swainson's hawk. I used to have pairs nesting on my place  (uncommon) for about 20 years straight before the big road expansion in front of the property a few years ago. They are one of the major birds that really got me deeply interested in birds.

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Jerry Callo

Jerry Callo 8694

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1 hour ago, miguelito said:

Do the owls keep other birds away? I've though about getting an owl house, but I don't want the cardinals, finches, buntings, etc to leave/ get eaten.

Not sure.  I don't have other bird houses or bird feeders.  I see nuthatches, wrens, and other birds hoping around some, so maybe not.  Either way, owls are way cooler.

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Prepuce of Doom

Prepuce of Doom 21052

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13 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

Not sure.  I don't have other bird houses or bird feeders.  I see nuthatches, wrens, and other birds hoping around some, so maybe not.  Either way, owls are way cooler.

We have a kestrel or barn owl box in our backyard, and we had the same concerns. We have a sunflower feeder, a nyjer feeder, and another feeder that's either suet cakes in the fall and winter, or a platform/hopper feeder with a seed mixture in the spring and summer. 

We haven't attracted any raptors yet, but I am curious to see how this works out. I like watching a whole bunch of random birds every day, but having a raptor family seems like it would be pretty cool, too. 

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DougO

DougO 5243

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I already have Cooper's hawks nailing birds around my feeders. I'm sure Owls will too. I think the deal is to give birds some cover nearby to get away from predators, but without giving predator birds too much cover to hide and watch the feeders. It can be a challenge, but hawks and owls gotta eat, too. And then there are cats.

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hookem2010

hookem2010 2623

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Spring migration is approaching its zenith here in central TX, and the neighborhood park near my new place has turned out to be a decent migrant trap. I had my first painted bunting today, which will hopefully breed around the park. I've also had both male blackburnian and cerulean warblers, some of the more stunning songbirds, the latter of which is declining and quite rare this far west. 

Unfortunately, my hummingbird feeder remains unvisited. Hopefully they start showing up when the Turks cap blooms.

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billfromlaketravis

billfromlaketravis 11444

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Do y’all have any recs to keep possums away from the feeder? My wife is scared shitless of them. 
 

I read they’re attracted to their dropped seed. That jives. I’ve never seen 1 in my backyard before, and now with the feeder we’ve seen at least 2. I had the first possum trapped and carried away by a pest control company. It wasn’t cheap. 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45660

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2 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Do y’all have any recs to keep possums away from the feeder? My wife is scared shitless of them. 
 

I read they’re attracted to their dropped seed. That jives. I’ve never seen 1 in my backyard before, and now with the feeder we’ve seen at least 2. I had the first possum trapped and carried away by a pest control company. It wasn’t cheap. 

Get a dog? 

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Prepuce of Doom

Prepuce of Doom 21052

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11 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Do y’all have any recs to keep possums away from the feeder? My wife is scared shitless of them. 
 

I read they’re attracted to their dropped seed. That jives. I’ve never seen 1 in my backyard before, and now with the feeder we’ve seen at least 2. I had the first possum trapped and carried away by a pest control company. It wasn’t cheap. 

Possums don't really cause much trouble except for looking weird and stinking when wet. They eat a lot of bugs.

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Mdhorn

Mdhorn 5945

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12 hours ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Do y’all have any recs to keep possums away from the feeder? My wife is scared shitless of them. 
 

I read they’re attracted to their dropped seed. That jives. I’ve never seen 1 in my backyard before, and now with the feeder we’ve seen at least 2. I had the first possum trapped and carried away by a pest control company. It wasn’t cheap. 

I'd keep them around.  They're creepy looking but keep bugs (slugs, beetles, snails) down, in addition to ticks.  They're also good at digesting dead plant matter, killing snakes and mice.  

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DougO

DougO 5243

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Seems like I'm getting more warblers and orioles in the yard every year. 

yellowwarblerlight.jpg

chestnutsided.jpg

blackandwhite.jpg

orchardorioles.jpg

baltimoreoriole.jpg

bwwarbler.jpg

blueheadedvireo2.jpg

 

And a while ago I walked past the glass door and saw a beautiful rose-breasted grossbeak taking a bath, didn't have the camera, couldn't get back in time before it bailed. They tend to be elusive, but I hope i get another shot at that one.

 

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45660

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On 5/4/2023 at 12:50 PM, DougO said:

Seems like I'm getting more warblers and orioles in the yard every year. 

yellowwarblerlight.jpg

chestnutsided.jpg

blackandwhite.jpg

orchardorioles.jpg

baltimoreoriole.jpg

bwwarbler.jpg

blueheadedvireo2.jpg

 

And a while ago I walked past the glass door and saw a beautiful rose-breasted grossbeak taking a bath, didn't have the camera, couldn't get back in time before it bailed. They tend to be elusive, but I hope i get another shot at that one.

 

Damn. Pretty shots. 

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hookem2010

hookem2010 2623

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Not much more than a week of legit spring migration remaining here in TX. It's been pretty slow for me this year, although my 11 month-old not allowing me to stand still for more than 5 seconds may be contributing to my troubles. I did hit 100 species at the local park since moving 3 months ago, just not the density of migrants compared to the hotspots in Austin that I'm used to. Hoping for another flurry of activity before things start to wind down.

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DougO

DougO 5243

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1 hour ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

I've switched from black oiled sunflower seeds to safflower and it took about a week for the birds to get used to it but I am loving the squirrel reduction. 

I've been using safflower for a few years and have gotten good results. Only recently have I had one squirrel suddenly become interested in that feeder. 

I think I need to get some black oil sunflower and just throw a handful out every day, maybe that will draw in a few more picky birds. I used to get Inca Dove a couple times a year but haven't since about 2020. I thought maybe it was the road construction project that took almost two years, but maybe it's the sunflower seeds. Other dove like the safflower and mixed finch mix and various other seeds that fall from the more protected feeders.

 

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