UOAA Discussion Board

Any birders out there? If so, Cornell University in Ithaca, NY has a website for its Cornell Lab with Live Bird Cams showing who is visiting their feeders & pond. A nice glimpse of our Northeastern wildlife for those in other areas. My little red cat is a dedicated fan.

Hi TDAD,

Yes I am an avid birder and belong to the Cornell labs birding organization. I live in CA smack in the middle of the Pacific flyway. I, too, enjoy watching the bird cams when I can't be out there looking at the birds through my binoculars.

Linda

Hello Linda:
I just watched the Cornell Live Bird Cam of a young CA condor at Devil's Gate. There was a big Pileated Woodpecker at the Ithaca feeder that put on quite a show for the audience. We've had them at our feeders, too. Do you see eagles? Both the American Bald & the Golden have made a big comeback in our area.

Yes we have both Bald and Golden eagles, in fact I saw a Bald Eagle this past weekend. I've also had the honor of seeing California Condors in the wild in both Big Sur and Zion National Park in Utah. Alas we don't have Pileated Woodpeckers here but we have lots of lot's of Acorn and Nuttall's Woodpeckers. It's always such a delight when we see birds making a comeback. We have some great Peregrine Falcon nest cams out here and their return from the brink of extinction has been great. It's so nice to see a fellow birder on the board.

Linda

Same here. An osprey (I refer to it as our "albatross" and have christened the Great Blue herons as "storks" & the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks "nightingales" to my husband's annoyance) returns to the pond next door each April. They are amazing birds also once very much endangered. We watch them dive & catch large-mouthed bass. Some of the fish are of a size that sets the birds to struggling, clinging with their talons & flapping those vast wings that rival that of the eagles, until they gain enough altitude to soar off into the big woods. Our fledglings have all seemed to abandon the nests this week. Last evening we watched the tree swallows that had usurped a bluebird house in the large maple on the front lawn, flit about in exasperation feeding their young in both the box & the treetops. We keep the orioles supplied with grape jelly & the Ruby-throated hummers have a nectar feeder right off the front porch. Isn't it great?

Oh I love your feeder tails. I gave up my feeders several years ago and I really miss them. They were attracting mice and rats, but worse than that was a pair of Coopers Hawks which considered it their all you can eat buffett. The periodic feather explosions got to be too much to take. I am retiring from full time work soon and want to see what I might be able to do with more time to find a solution. Your feeders and yard sound quite idyllic for sitting and observing!

Linda

Ah, yes, those Cooper's hawks! We also have them & the big Red-tailed. Our main feeder in winter is located directly behind the house beneath a row of spruce trees. My husband was furious to note a hawk using the steep slope of our roof for cover to 'dive bomb' the little birds as they ate. Amazing how readily they adapt to take the advantage. We lost at least one female cardinal to their attacks. Our other raptors include a number of types of owls. 'Had a little Screech in the maple on the front lawn earlier. And our county had at least two sightings of Great Snowies. One spent most of the winter hunting mice from atop an electric pole at a nearby farm. It drew quite a crowd of birders from surrounding states. Have you heard of the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge near Auburn, NY? Friends have asked us to visit it with them later in the week weather permitting.

I bet you had a crowd for a Snowy Owl! That's a rare bird in the continental US. We have a pretty good selection of Owls here but seeing and hearing them requires work....except for the Barn Owl and Burrowing Owl which we see during the day time here.i don't know anything about that NWR except what I just read on the internet. Sounds like a great birding location. My area suffers from a few too many people over the 4th of July holiday so I spend most of my time trying to stay out of the crowds. Good luck with the birds if you are able to go.

Linda

The National Wildlife Refuge at Montezuma Swamp has certainly grown in the twenty years since our last visit. We did the drive thru tour & due to our rainy weather this spring the pools were full & teeming with water fowl. Lots of goslings, ducklings, terns & sand pipers (?) Plus many others we were unable to identify because we had forgotten our binoculars. A must have for birding at the swamp. Lots of pretty marsh flowers were in bloom. We hope to return in the fall to glass the migrants. Also plan to visit Cornell's Sapsucker Woods. (Closer to home. And my favorite SPCA is just around the corner. Our two big angora cats were adopted from there.) Despite intermittent thundershowers, it proved to be a fine day amid the Finger Lakes.
Are your Burrowing Owls in CA a related species to cute little fellows I saw years ago inhabiting the prairie dog tunnels at a San Antonio TX park?

i am enjoying you post ...i am not a total birder but an occasional one i watch for rapters and birds on my feeders and my hummer feeders ....always goodluck to see an eagle .

It sounds like your trip was enjoyable. I have a birding rule...at least for me. My good binoculars are always in my car...I call my car my large purse...also handy for ostomergency supplies. I carry a much smaller pair with me most of the time. Yes Burrowing Owls are those cute little owls on the ground and out during the daylight hours. I spent time in the Finger Lakes region when I was very young, 4ish or so. My dad was a graduate student at Cornell. I want to visit Sapsucker Woods, it sounds so wonderful. We don't have much in the way of deciduous forests out here. Cdog you have some great bird watching there on the Chesapeake. I grew up in Northern Virginia and used to love to visit the eastern shore.

Have a great 4th all. Our poor feathered and furry friends have a loud surprise coming in the next 24 hours.

Linda

Linda, I've often wondered what the critters think of a noisy fireworks display. One year, our little red cat watched one from the bay window. She was mesmerized! 'Kept looking up at me & 'talking away' with each big burst. ('Am being serenaded by the cat bird outside the window as I type.)
'Spent time this Fourth watching the PA TV Channel's Gettysburg Battlefield lecture series. Then, researched a bit online for the Civil War soldiers from my family listed in my mother's notes. She was our resident genealogist. Among them had three Great-great-uncles with the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry (3rd Regiment Co. H). The youngest was killed at Cedar Mountain & one of his brothers wounded there badly enough to be discharged. The remaining brother continued on until the company was mustered out after the surrender having served during the NY draft riots, Gettysburg & The GA March. I don't think any of the other veterans I descend from directly were at Gettysburg. (My ancestor in that line was another brother of the above.)
Hmmm. This is a little far from birds.
CDog: You must be on the flyway our geese & ducks take. We try to raise woodies in our boxes each spring. One year we had Kestrels instead. You can imagine the uproar that caused around here when the parents began picking off our bluebirds.

Your Civil War information is fascinating. I grew up in Northern Virginia within 20 miles of Manassas. I've visited Gettysburg and Antietam a number of times. All the folks who researched both my mom and dad's side of my family have passed on and I didn't pay enough attention when younger. Now I am trying to do it the hard way. I'm lucky because I typically have to go to Salt Lake City annually for business and I can visit the marvelous library the LDS have there. My Dads side of the family were in the Confederate army and my Moms side were in the Union army.

Enjoy,

Linda

Lovely part of the world. I remember traveling through Warrenton many many years ago. I love green rolling hillsides studded with hedgerows, stone fences & big bluestone rocks. With little streams meandering throughout.

This evening we watched as a male oriole fed two young fledglings jelly from atop the feeder bowl. Nice to see the next generation up close & personal!