The TJTwitter

[hazelrunpack]

It's just a guess for me, ownedbycats. I'm not good at nests. But it looks like there's still some down stuck to the nest--goldfinches make a deep-cupped nest and line it with thistle down. This time of the year, the weather has often washed/blown/beaten the down out of them. If it's a goldfinch nest it would be about 3.5 inches across (about 9 cm).

I find nests here all the time, and unless I was lucky enough to see it occupied, I'm just making stabs in the dark when I try to ID them.

Oh, except oriole nests. Those are easy to ID once the leaves come off the trees.

[luckypenny]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

The pileated woodpeckers hammering on the metal guards on the power poles along the utility company right-of-way here in spring can be quite deafening at times.

I won't ever forget the time, not long after moving into our old house. that I that I freaked thinking our gas furnace was going to explode because of this dreadful hammering noise coming from it. Can't remember now who it was that told me to go outside and look at the roof...and I saw a woodpecker going at the furnace chimney .

[hazelrunpack]

I can imagine how it must have sounded down next to the furnace!

That definitely would have freaked me out, too! Even though I know it happens, it probably would have taken me a couple weeks to think of the Woodpecker Option. At least it was a cheap fix for the furnace problem.

[hazelrunpack]

February in Wisconsin and this little American goldfinch guy is already thinking about spring! He's starting to get his little black cap back!

[Chris21711]

That little guy and I are thinking the same thing then

I never thought to look for their little black caps...silly me.

I took some pics of about 8 Chickies on my fat ball basket, they came out too dark, such a crappy camera I have

[hazelrunpack]

Here's a singleton with a seed...not as good as 8 on a suet ball, but he's kinda cute!

[Chris21711]

Next to your pics Hazel, mine are a poor excuse ...I did manage to find one pic that is a bit more discernible with 5 pecking away and 2 awaiting

[bendyfoot]

Can I play? I saw two white-breasted nuthatch at my feeders yesterday, a first!

My regular visitors:

bazillions of chickadees
juncos
2 blue jays
a cardinal pair
hairy woodpeckers (male and female)
downy woodpeckers (male and female)
tree sparrows
and I THINK I saw finches one day, but haven't for ages.

That's about it.

We've got suet, nyjer seed and mixed seed (corn, millet, sunflower etc.), and I make my peanut-butter/seed feeders every now and then.

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

Can I play? I saw two white-breasted nuthatch at my feeders yesterday, a first!

Yes, yes the more the better

My regular visitors:

bazillions of chickadees
juncos
2 blue jays
a cardinal pair
hairy woodpeckers (male and female)
downy woodpeckers (male and female)
tree sparrows
and I THINK I saw finches one day, but haven't for ages.

That's about it.

We've got suet, nyjer seed and mixed seed (corn, millet, sunflower etc.), and I make my peanut-butter/seed feeders every now and then.

With the niger seed I'm surprised you are not seeing Finches, especially Goldfinches at this time of year, look very closely and see if you see a tinge of yellow.

[hazelrunpack]

I'm surprised, too! The finches go crazy for the niger!

Congrats on the nuthatch, bendy! I love those little guys

Chris, the chickadees seem to really like your fat ball! Do you make your own suet recipe?

[Chris21711]

No Hazel, I buy them at one of the local grocery stores, they put seeds on the outside to make 'em look good, but inside is just pure lard I guess....I pay $4 for two, they weigh over lb each.....all of the usual birds that like fat eat from it.

[hazelrunpack]

Sounds yummy I don't know how birds can eat suet, but they sure do flock to it! I suspect they don't have much of a sense of taste. At least they never complain about the calories or ask if their butts look fat!

[bendyfoot]

Yeah, I bought the niger seed specifically to try to get the finches, especially after I spotted the few that one time...but, haven't seen anybody since.

I saw a red-breasted nuthatch in the woods the other day, too...it was quite bold, just flew from tree to tree around me poking in the bark for tasties.

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by bendyfoot

Yeah, I bought the niger seed specifically to try to get the finches, especially after I spotted the few that one time...but, haven't seen anybody since.

That's odd....look for a hue of yellow.

I saw a red-breasted nuthatch in the woods the other day, too...it was quite bold, just flew from tree to tree around me poking in the bark for tasties.

It probably knew that you are a Bug Geek and wanted to get to the tasties before you intervened

[Chris21711]

When I came back upstairs this morning, this was the view from the bedroom window....approximately 50 - 60 Wild Turkeys, I for one have never seen such a large gathering..........the pics are crummy as usual....sigh

[hazelrunpack]

Wow! That's a lot of turkeys! There are almost as many turkeys there as residents in my town!

Our flocks are being very skittish this year. I saw some larger flocks (but only about a dozen individuals) in fall, but only 3 together at most since

[Chris21711]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

Wow! That's a lot of turkeys! There are almost as many turkeys there as residents in my town!



Our flocks are being very skittish this year. I saw some larger flocks (but only about a dozen individuals) in fall, but only 3 together at most since

I've never seen that many, I do see them in fall but never that many. I think the most I have counted is 15 or so......I called the neighbour's wife and she went out and took some pics with her 35mm and zoom lens, I'm looking forward to seeing those pics

[hazelrunpack]

Cool! Maybe she'll let you post a few!

[ownedbycats]

You guys get the neatest birds. Seeing all those turkeys would be a real treat, that is a lot of birds. Is there something left in the fields that is attracting them Chris?

[Chris21711]

I don't know what it would be ownedbycats the field that you can see them in was just left to grow last year, the owner no longer wants to rent his fields out....They crossed the road to the field on the north side of the road which was just used for hay, they didn't spend time in that one though, they skittered across. All in all I had them in my vision for about 20 mins, it was a bonus

[Macomom]

We have some wild turkeys in the farmers fields near our house, and Bos will zoom off to chase them before I can even think about stopping him.
He delights in tree-ing them.

[Chris21711]

Pictures Macomom ...they have to be better than mine

[hazelrunpack]

The first time our dogs saw how big turkeys were, they went



Even the smallest adult turkeys are taller than Grace, but she still valiantly joins the charge to chase the intruders off.

[ownedbycats]

Sunshine saw her first Canadian geese last week. Even though they aren't all that much smaller than her, she really wanted to chase them. Thankfully, she was on lead or we would have been fishing her out of the river. On second thought, the chance to jump in water may have been part of the fun in her mind. (Not mine, below zero with floating ice? Ugh)

[hazelrunpack]

That's kinda scary, ownedbycats! Good thing she was on-lead! River ice can be treacherous. There are always a couple of dogs that drown in the Chippewa River each winter, sucked under the river ice by the current. You'd think word would spread and people would stop running their dogs off-leash along the river till the ice breaks up for good, but they don't seem to learn.

[Chris21711]

That's scary ownedbycats- one of Shirley's Elkhounds went through the ice on a pond a couple of weeks ago, well two did, one managed to get out and other was lassoed out.

I spoke too soon in Chico's thread about the Hawk...I do have a Hawk staking out my birdies . For the past three days he has been around, yesterday morning he was eating one of the little guys in the north side of the house. There are no feeders there, but it is the path they take from the backyard feeder to the bushes .

I'm thinking it was a juvenile Cooper's Hawk, but he was really dark and not too many specks on the chest, so I'm unsure.

[hazelrunpack]

Might be an adult, Chris. The backs are more of a charcoal in adult plumage.

On another note, I have a bunch of pics from Feb to post already. When I get a chance and a good connection, I'll start throwing them in. I hope they don't swamp you!

[hazelrunpack]

I can't remember if I posted this first one before or not...but it's purty, so I included it.

These three and the three in the next post are all white-breasted nuthatches.

[hazelrunpack]

I know, I know...lots of nuthatch pics... But they're so cute!

[hazelrunpack]

Movin' on to the black-capped chickadees:






This one landed just above my head in the tree and proceeded to crack his sunflower seed open.