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brocknroller
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/16/03
Posts: 1983
Loc: Bedford Falls, Pa.
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Yesterday wasn't the first day of spring, but it was the first sunny, warm spring-like day after an unusually harsh winter.
Last week, during our last snow fall (keeping my fingers crossed, I'm not skier), I saw what appeared to be two robins perched on snow-covered branches as I drove down a snow-covered road w/ my windshield wipers brushing away the snowflakes. Hoping to catch the first Robin song of the year, I opened my car window, but instead heard two tiny voices:
Voice 1: Hey, don't blame me, Harold, YOU were the one who said he was tired of eating fruit and wanted some fresh worms.
Voice 2: You want I should fly back to Miami, Maude, and get you some mangoes? Oie Vey!
Today, I saw the two robins in my neighborhood, as the snow recedes and the soggy worms seek higher, drier ground only to end up as lunch.
Today was SUPPOSED to be the better of the two days, according to Guessuweather, so I did my laundry yesterday and missed most of the rare warm, sunny day except when hanging out my sheets to dry.
I caught a few rays today before the clouds rolled back in, and fed some squirrels, who stopped mating long enough to eat (though one male took the peanut in his mouth and then pusued the female, who was trying to eat her peanut. I nicknamed him "George Costanza". Seinfeld fans will know what I mean. :-)
I also saw my old friend, Daredevil the Chipmunk, who likes to come perilously close to my tethered cats to beg for peanuts (my one cat caught him once, but I managed to wrangle him out of his mouth, and he lived to see another season).
Anyway, two robins, so far for my "spring is almost here" backyard count.
Well, it's later than I thought, having sprung ahead over the weekend, so I have to skedaddle, but will post more reports of returning bird sightings as they happen, and I hope others will too.
Brock
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Press: Are you a mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I'm a mocker
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KennyJ
The British Flash
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 20139
Loc: Lancashire UK
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< but will post more reports of returning bird sightings as they happen, and I hope others will too. >
Thanks for that uplifting report , Brock .
The birds have been singing away at the increasingly early sunrise for WEEKS here .
Only last night , my son Sam's budgerigar Joey returned to his room after a short vacation at my daughter's abode !
It has been quite " spring like " today here too .
I even took my gloves off at one stage during lunchtime !
Regards , Sir Kenneth
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Milton Wilcox R.I.P
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Chriships
super member
Reged: 09/09/04
Posts: 191
Loc: Reading, England
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Brock,
I have been watching a woodpigeon nestbuilding in a leylandi in the neighbour's garden for a few days now, by the amount of twigs he has been shipping in, he must think it's going to be a large family.
Chris P
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DblVision
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/11/06
Posts: 650
Loc: Louisiana
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Wow, Brock. What a different world from down here at 30-Degrees north lat. Some robins must be headed your way, as they no longer cover the yard. American Goldfinch, a great source of winter cheer, even with their muted plumage, have largely headed north also. A few Martins have meanwhile made it back up here. The most anxiously awaited sojourners from the south, however, are the Mississippi Kites. It's still tad early, but the vigil has started.
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Neal
G.O. Sig 10.5x70
Swift 761 8X42
60mm Spotter
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Rich V.
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/02/05
Posts: 3143
Loc: Lake Tahoe area, Nevada, USA
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Having the robins drop by is a good sign! We had the first of the season the other day as well.
It's still two months to go before the trees come out, however. Around that time the Bullock's Orioles and Kingbirds arrive; I just love the beautiful orange plumage of the orioles! The Kingbirds create a happy mood with their "laughing" call.
Waiting for Spring,
Rich V
BTW, Brock, the Bushwackers ARE just perfect on the 8x30 E2s; thanks for the tip!
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Binoculars:
33/50/71/150x100 Saturn III, 22x70ED, 16x70 FMT-SX, 10x50 PCF-V, 10x43 DCF-SP, 10x35 EII, 7x35 E, 8x30 EII,
7x26 Custom, 8x23CF AS Diplomat, 6.5x21 Papilio
Scopes:
C9.25, TMB130SS, SV80S-LOMO 80/480
IDA member
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DblVision
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/11/06
Posts: 650
Loc: Louisiana
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Rats! I'm way to parochial for this forum. Normally, it's Brock that makes me pull out the dictionary. Now KENNY has me doing it. What the heck is a budg...? If there is anyone else similarly unenlightened, the book identifies it as "Melopsittacus undulatus", a parrot from down under (New South WALES?) 
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Neal
G.O. Sig 10.5x70
Swift 761 8X42
60mm Spotter
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Pinewood
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/07/04
Posts: 1065
Loc: 40.77638º N 73.982652 W
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Last Thursday, I believe that a common redpoll visited the bushes at my window. Friday, I saw the first American robin of the year, which is nothing like the robins Kenny and Steven might see. Saturday, a house finch visited those bushes at my window. Today, there were many red winged blackbirds in Central Park, where there was a thin patch of ice on part of the Central Park Lake, where there had been almost complete ice cover, a week, ago.
Spring approaches.
Neal,
A budgerigar is an Australian parakeet, popular as a caged bird.
Happy observing,
Arthur
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Bread is not enough. We demand circuses!
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lynntx
sage
Reged: 03/25/04
Posts: 301
Loc: Texas, USA
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It has been spring like weather in Dallas, Texas area for about 2 weeks now. I walked in the park in N. Dallas on Friday and saw at least 30 Robins. There is a wooded area in the park that is shady and had bright green winter rye grass and there were Robins everywhere on the ground. I see a lot of them every time I am in that park, so they don't seem to be going anywhere. They have everything they need right there. Also on Saturday, I was playing a round of golf and it was about 80*F and on one particular fairway, there was a very large group of Robins feeding on the ground. Too many to count, but there must have been near 40. The most I had ever seen in one place. Not many exotic birds around, but we seem to have a great abundance of Robins for some reason. During that same golf outing, just as I was walking to a par 3, I heard a loud flutter of wings and a Sparrow hawk made a very aggressive pass at a large Raven that was near the ground- but just missed him when he made a violent evasive manuver. Guess it was some kind of territorial dispute. I got the impression he missed him on purpose, as that was a large,sturdy-looking Raven who proceeded to make a loud complaint. Saw a lot of mallards on the lake and at least 2 kinds of graceful wading birds. There are some geese that spent the winter there and don't seem to be in any hurry to leave. Enjoyed the nature as much as the golf. My game is very "rusty" and I hacked the ball around the course. 
Lynn
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Texas, USA
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Orion ST80
127mm F8 Burgess Refractor
8" F6 Dob
8X21, 8X30, 8X42, 7X50, 10X50, 15X70 Binoculars
(Psalm 19:1)
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DblVision
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/11/06
Posts: 650
Loc: Louisiana
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Thanks, Arthur:
Am I correct in my impression that Northerners are anxiously awaiting the return of bird life in general? (I'm serious; I've never been to the Northeast, and I am not being disparaging. I don't know what birds are about there at this time. I read of sightings regarding one or two robins. As of a couple of weeks ago, I couldn't throw a rock out back without killing at least three Robins!) Here, the exodus of snowbirds has started, along with the return of those who wintered in South America. Meanwhile, in our backyard the phoebes, waxwings, chipping & white-throated sparrows, and juncos are Everywhere! Just yesterday my sister and I tried vainly to identify what we perceived to be a barred-wing flycatcher flitting about in an old Oak. Reading these posts has made me recall past observations that now have me thinking that this is perhaps the busiest time of the year here for one who wants to see feathered things. Just the other day I found out that a contact from the Louisiana Ornithological Society lives but a stones throw away...Guess it's a good time to call and start to get educated.
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Neal
G.O. Sig 10.5x70
Swift 761 8X42
60mm Spotter
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ngc6475
Fearless Spectator
Reged: 03/02/02
Posts: 5024
Loc: 38°21'N 120°55'W
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On a beautiful sunny pre-spring morning last weekend, I caught sight of a pair of turkey vultures, wings spread, sunning themselves on the stoneworks near the Emerson shaft of the Wildman Mine in Sutter Creek. They may not be robins, but sometimes you have to take your auguries of spring where you find them!
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Walter
"There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls."
-George Carlin
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brocknroller
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/16/03
Posts: 1983
Loc: Bedford Falls, Pa.
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"A budgerigar is an Australian parakeet, popular as a caged bird." -- Arthur
And more commonly known as a "Budgie". I dated a perky, young girl in Manchester who said she wanted to take me home to see her "Budgies". Unfortunately, they weren't what I had expected. :-)
Thanks for all those spring reports. Here's an unusual one...
I feed the crows twice a day to keep them hanging around my backyard to fend off hawks -- peanuts in the morning and popcorn or bread in the afternoon. Today, I put out the popcorn, and there was a seagull soaring overhead, who alerted his/her fellow seagulls, and soon the popcorn was engulfed and gulped by a hungry hoard of seagulls.
I went back out w/ some bread and fed a few seagulls who were tame enough to stay on the ground with me only a few feet away, the rest swooped and whirled overhead and reminded me of the movie "The Birds". So I threw some more bread and then quickly high-tailed it out of there before the next feeding frenzy began.
During the feeding the hovering, I got a chance to watch the birds through binoculars (8x30 E2 and 8x32 LX). The E2 provided the easiest views in the air, with its wide FOV and good DOF whereas the refocusing necessary with the LX caused me to switch to the porros.
On the ground, however, the larger image scale of the LX was appealing and better contrast and color depth made the subtle details on the seagulls' wingtips stand out (not that the E2's contrast or color saturation is shabby, but the LX provides a bit more of each).
While this may seem unremarkable for those who regularly observe shoreboards, the Atlantic Ocean is 235 miles away, and the largest body of water (a man-made lake) is 18 miles away. The seagulls are frequent visitors at our local Walmart (isn't everybody? :-).
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Press: Are you a mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I'm a mocker
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Chriships
super member
Reged: 09/09/04
Posts: 191
Loc: Reading, England
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Brock,
Gulls hanging around a Walmart, ASDA over here, store, yet again proof that they will eat anything. Sorry everybody, but I just couldn't resist that one.
By us old seafarers they are reckoned to be the souls of dead sailors, in which case Brock your lot must have been poor navigators.
Chris P
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binosbuyer
sage
Reged: 02/11/06
Posts: 267
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brock, i too had the pleasure of feeding the gulls, was feeding the crows bread at my parents and my 88 year old dad say's there is a white one out there :} they were very tame and appreciated me balling up the bread and givin them bite size pieces, the bluebirds and robins arrived here yesterday, a welcome sight
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Pinewood
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/07/04
Posts: 1065
Loc: 40.77638º N 73.982652 W
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Neal,
I am not anxious for the spring migration as much as I would like to see the end of winter. However, I get a lot more fed up with summer than with winter.
Today, on my short walk, I saw rather more species, than in any walk for the last couple of months. One of the pleasures of bird watching is seeing numerous species, especially life birds or just the first of the species for the year. In my case, more species just make for a more interesting stroll.
Here, many bird watchers wait, with anticipated pleasure, for the warblers to pass through, when there is a surfeit of colorful birds. They can also spend time arguing about which bird just passed by.
By the way, I carried both a seven and a ten power binocular, today, but I would have been fine with the seven power. I used the ten power only to confirm that a distant duck was a bufflehead and that I had indeed seen two hooded mergansers. Most of the time, there are sufficient clues to match the forma to avoid needing the higher power. During World War II my former neighbor was a submariner, who had been taught how to recognize aircraft with the most meager of sightings. The methodology of instruction had been developed with the aid of a noted bird watcher, Roger Tory Peterson.
Happy observing,
Arthur
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Bread is not enough. We demand circuses!
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Jay_Bird
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 01/04/06
Posts: 1493
Loc: Nevada, USA 36N 115W
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I experienced audio-visual spring harbingers last night. And I was completely sober, before you ask.
After a long day I grabbed 8x40s (nondescript old porros about 8+° FOV) off the kitchen shelf to see what was outside and wind down. It was still moonless. Gemini and Auriga were setting in the Las Vegas light dome to the NW with their open clusters washed out. Vega did a fair impression of Sirius, flashing red and green as it just began to rise. Arcturus and Saturn blazed on opposite sides of the meridian. The stars of Corona Borealis and Coma Berenices filled the view nicely, and I took time to spot M3, M13, and M92.
During this time I was "hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo-ing" back and forth several times with an owl until I realized a neighbor was out for a smoke and a walk and became self-conscious, and the owl moved further away. The textures of neighborhood trees - emerging green leaves, still-bare branches about to bud, and evergreens were visible in stray city light though the binoculars even though the owl was elusive.
Then an odd site appeared overhead, it looked like a jet contrail blowing quickly by. In the binoculars I saw it was really about 100 birds (geese or cranes?), wing to wing, bobbing a bit in formation as their powerful wingbeats were visible in stray city light. As they moved east over uninhabited land, they faded slowly like a satellite entering earth's shadow. Three such formations crossed the sky in the span of 10 minutes.
And just the other day, my wife called me to describe woodpecker behavior in our backyard - tapping at 2 holes, apparently hoping to 'drive' a bug from the tapping to where it could be prised out from the second hole.
I asked - had she looked with binoculars? "What do you think, there are ONLY 3 pairs on the shelf" she replied. I'm sure that was meant with no hint of sarcasm and her use of "only" means she's coming around to my view of things and agrees we could use another set soon...
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'these things stand like stone - kindness in another's troubles, courage in your own' Gordon
C-8, SV80 & C102 achros, 6" Newt, Porta & GEM, Lunt 35; Binoculars 21mm-80mm & p-gram
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brocknroller
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/16/03
Posts: 1983
Loc: Bedford Falls, Pa.
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I really enjoy reading all your spring-has-almost-sprung posts.
It never ceases to amaze me that Arthur sees more species of birds in Central Park than I do here in the Boonies. I'm not sure if it's because there are so few places the city for birds to congregate of if Arthur has a better trained eye (or both). Having a 10x32 FL to make a tricky ID probably doesn't hurt either.
The only things I ever saw in Central Park were Paul & Art, Diana, and 100,000 people standing in silence and holding candles to mourn the death of John Lennon.
Out of the many as 250 different species that pass through Central Park each year, the only birds I remember seeing were pigeons, because I tend NOT to look UP when passing through the park or else I might lose my wallet. :-)
So I will have to be content to buy Cal Vornberger's book to see what I'm missing:
http://www.birdsofcentralpark.com/forum/joomla/
I can just imagine the New York birders arguing over which species just flew by while feeding pigeons in the park:
Joe: I'm tellin' ya Mick, that weren't no red winged blackbird, dat waza Baltimaw Oreo.
Mick: Yer colour blind, Joey boy. I've been coomin' to this park since I came 'ere from Dooblin in '25, and I'm sayin' it's a red winged blackbird!
Joe: I got people in Batimaw, I'm tellin' ya. And that ain't no blackbird. End a story.
Mick: Ah, shut yer trap, Joey, and stop eatin' all the popcorn and feed the pigeons.
Jay, Wouldn't it have been a "hoot" if it were your neighbor that was "hoo-ing" rather than an owl, and you were both "hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo-ing" back and forth at each other. :-)
Btw, for a geologist, hoo has probably published journal articles that were drier than the Atacama Desert, you sure can wax poetic. Nice prose!
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Press: Are you a mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I'm a mocker
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DblVision
professor emeritus
Reged: 10/11/06
Posts: 650
Loc: Louisiana
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Thanks, Arthur.
I think I now understand the situation. The WWII note is especially interesting and one I'll have to dig into.
Arthur & Brock:
I got off-center today; (a) Initiated contact with a local birder (No small feat for the socially inept), and (b) The Wife ordered a pair of the older Swift Model 761 8x42 Ultralite Porros from Captain's Nautical (The last 8X pair I think they had, a 7x Model 760 remains, as of a few days ago. Thanks again Brock for your thoughts on the model.)
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Neal
G.O. Sig 10.5x70
Swift 761 8X42
60mm Spotter
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brocknroller
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/16/03
Posts: 1983
Loc: Bedford Falls, Pa.
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Neal,
I think your wife will like the 8x42 Ultralites, they are the perfect size and weight for a woman, and the leather case is so attractive she'll probably want to use it as a handbag. :-)
I have a feeling if you sweet talk her and treat her out on Saint Patty's Day, the 7x42 model might get snagged up too, better ER for YOUR glasses. :-)
Let us know how they work out.
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Press: Are you a mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I'm a mocker
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brocknroller
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/16/03
Posts: 1983
Loc: Bedford Falls, Pa.
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Raining today, and it might SNOW this weekend! "Just when I thought that I was out they pull me back in."
The brown thrashers I saw in the rain must have heard the forecast, because they were frenetically thrashing about in my backyard, desperating looking for some grubs while the ground was still accessible. But with none to be found, they made due with some soggy bread I had thrown out earlier.
"Throw us out some grubs!" one called out, "We didn't fly 2,000 miles for some stale soggy bread."
Here's a photo of a thrasher.
http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/Photos/Thrashers/BRTH3.jpg
The colors are unremarkable, similar to sparrows, but the tails on the ones I saw were a lighter nutmeg color, and their bills weren't as sharply curved -- a different variety, I assume. What IS interesting about this species is how they thrash around the ground backwards, which looks like they're doing the "moonwalk."
Then I thought I saw a Mockingbird, and tried to get it to do a Blue Jay call, and though I did hear a Blue Jay call immediately after, it could have been a Blue Jays (aka the Peanut Thieves) since my backyard is full of them, but I was able to make a positive ID when it wailed at me:
"Hey, you, with the glasses and the expensive binoculars, you think you're better than me? Can you imitate a marsh wren? That's right, I can imitate over 30 birds. Try that four-eyes!
Yep, a Mockingbird. :-)
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Press: Are you a mod or a rocker?
Ringo: I'm a mocker
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KennyJ
The British Flash
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 20139
Loc: Lancashire UK
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Brocknmocker ,
I was most intrigued to learn that some birds in your neck of the valley can not only TALK , but are capable of calculating how many miles they have flown , AND have knowledge of the relative prices of various models of binoculars !
Perhaps next time you hold a conversation with some , you could ask them to join the Cloudy Days forum ?
Regards , Sir K of H in L , UK .
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Milton Wilcox R.I.P
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