More Clues

Really, the bird life observed here has been kind of sketchy...but all that is about to change.  Here are a few more sightings, and one more clue as to my locale.  In two weeks will arrive the definitive answer.

This bird is little and gray.  Sorry I couldn't get a better picture.  It makes a lovely sound: kind of two short whistles, then a "chrrrrr."

Good ol' mourning dove.  They are clearly a very successful species.

Pigeons and friend:

Last clue:

The clue is in the statue, if you can see it!

Another New Neighborhood

Okay, here is another one to guess, but might be a bit tricky...especially because I have only one picture of birds here:

Here are the environs of these birds:

I have also seen a dark brown bird about the size of the curved-bill thrasher with an orange beak and orange around a dark eye, but it always flies off very quickly.  Here is that bird's neighborhood:

One final non-bird-related clue, which could be helpful if you know your fruits:

It's probably well-nigh impossible to guess where I am from this (unless you've been here and recognize the street or park)...it will get a lot easier a little later.  But I am pretty far from Michigan!

EAGLE CAM!

Check out this eagle cam!  You can watch a pair of bald eagles in Decorah, Iowa, in real time while sitting on your living room couch!  They have three little eaglets that hatched a few days ago!  Wow; thank you Grand Traverse Audubon Club, who sent me the link.

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles

It is windy out there.

Decorah Eagles

Total views: 32,505,565The Raptor Resource Project brings you the Decorah Eagles from atop their tree at the fish hatchery in Decorah, Iowa.

The live video feed is streamed online 24/7. At night an infrared light provides night vision to viewers through the cam. Infrared light is not visible to eagles, they do not see it or know it is there.

First hatch 4/2/11.
24-hour collage of first egg pip and hatch
Second hatch 4/3/11.
First glimpse of second hatchling
Third hatch 4/6/11.
Close-ups of the third hatch

Here is a little information about the eagles:

FAQs

How high is the nest?
About 80 feet.

How big is the nest?
about 6 feet across, about 4 feet deep; it weighs about 1000 lb.

How old is the nest?
The eagles built it in 2007. A previous nest close by fell when a windstorm broke one of the branches.

Are these eagles banded?
No.

Which is the male and which is the female?
It is hard to tell the difference unless they are both on the nest. The female is larger than the male. This female has a ridge above her eyes that goes further back than on the male, and her eyes are surrounded by a greyish shadow; the male has a line around his eyes that makes them look “beadier.” Some think that the male’s head is “sleeker” than the female’s.

What is the history of this pair?
They have been together since the winter of 2007-2008. Her markings at that time indicated that she was about 4 years old. They successfully hatched and fledged 2 eaglets in 2008, then 3 in 2009, and 3 more in 2010.

A Real Bluebird

Yesterday, Maggie and I returned to Center Road Park and were treated to a glimpse of a bluebird again...and this time I had my ace camera!

Turn around now...

...there you are!

Bit of a Mystery

The other day this visitor was at the suet feeder:

Not sure who that is...dark-eyed junco seemed promising until I noticed that the dark-eyed junco is a lot darker on the head and lighter on the body, and this bird seems the other way around.

And then we've been having this yellow bird again:

I think this is the fellow that I had thought was a warbler before, but now I am thinking goldfinch.  Except the American goldfinch looks a lot more solidly yellow, so these guys look more like the lesser goldfinch.  Except the lesser goldfinch lives on the west coast and not around here!  So I am not sure.

Ah, I think mystery solved.  Not fellows at all, but of the feminine persuasion!  Thank you once again, Sibley.

***Edited to add: Well if I would read your comments more carefully, Randy, and actually RETAIN THE INFORMATION, I wouldn't have been wondering about this bird at all, since you helpfully ID'd it a few posts ago.  How embarrassing!  But at least we agree.  :-)***

Which brings me to one other point:  Sibley has an absolutely awesome eGuide, which I recently purchased for my iPhone .  Not only do you have the entire Sibley guide in your pocket, but you have the sounds of each bird...and not just one sound, but the sound here, there, in this state, that state, the call, the chirp, the alarm tweet, the warble...whatever sound that bird can make in whatever location, you can find it in the Sibley eGuide.  So I had my first conversation out in the woods with a red-bellied woodpecker the other day, keeping in mind that I do not want to overdo it and disturb the natural order of things.  But it was very exciting!

Bluebird!

The snow is finally melting around here, and the other day I went with my birding companions

Maggie and friend Emma

to Center Road Park, a relatively new and very lovely natural area just a few minutes from my house.  We traversed hill and dale, then sat in the sun for awhile to see what we could see.  Though it was only in the 50s, it felt much warmer in the sunshine and it was just heaven being in the woods and listening to the sounds of birds and other critters.  Maggie and Emma, both being in their senior dogs years, were also quite content to just hang out.

So I was sitting there with my binoculars, and what do I see but a blue bird!  My first one.  It was blue with a rusty throat and white and tan on the breast.  I didn't know it then, but I was seeing my first (aptly named) Eastern Bluebird!  A look in Sibley's later confirmed it.

Though I didn't get a picture of that particular bird, later I happened on to this one:

Tee hee!