Birdsters! April is upon usIt's time to post our 'Firsts'!

Hello Birdsters!

Don't look too hard for a bird in the bush photo. Because it's not there. ;-) But, I am sure there is a bird in that bush somewhere and it's just waiting for me to go away to come out. One could say the pic is a symbol of our 'Springtime finds' we are yet to spy this month--like the thrush Ms. Parker waxes poetic about below.

ORNITHOLOGY FOR BEGINNERS by Dorothy Parker:

The bird that feeds from off my palm
Is sleek, affectionate, and calm,
But double, to me, is worth the thrush
A-flickering in the elder-bush.

So, let's post our avian 'Firsts'--first this month, first this spring, first on our 'life list'. Also--for an underlying theme--if you discover a poem mentioning Springtime and a bird, please post your find (or a link to it if it is long.)

Last month we welcomed some new Birdsters to our thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/492680/ , and we hope to have more this month. There will be much to report, so let's have at it!

Happy birding! t.

This message was edited Apr 2, 2005 10:04 AM

I'd sorta wondered why there wasn't a 'new' thread started yesterday - for April!
Then, it hit me - that you may have been a bit apprehensive .. considerin' that it was 'Fools Day' also! .. LoL ..

Welllll, by gollies .. I've finally got a '1st' too! Last year, we'd noticed these critters - but was never able to fetch myself a pitter! Now, they've visited once more - but, jest a wee small brew of them. I do believe that these fellers were Grackles ... I'd certainly never noticed that shimmery green glimmer on their heads before tho' ... Had thought they were solid black. .. hee ..

Was curious tho', if this other feller, that we found sittin' nearby a little later .. may have had anything to do with the Grackles keepin' an eye on the sky .. and then jes as quickly; tuckin' tail and gettin' gone also. I've no clue, as to what kind of hawk this relatively large beauty is - for I can't seem to find any other hawks with as 'white' a front, as s/he has! Anyone have any clues ?

- Magpye

.. #1 of 3 pics ...

.. #2 of 3 pics .. another pic of one of the Grackles.

.. #3 of 3 pics .. The Hawk in the top of a Cedar tree.

Funny you posted that hawk, Mags. I saw 2 the other day with a very white tummy like that, just sitting in the top of a tree in the exact same way. The back and wings of mine were kind of a slate gray color, no pics. We thought possibly Goshawks, but not at all sure what they were. Sure is a pretty hawk you have there :)

Magpye, I posted a link of a hawk that looks like yours but it went into the old forum. The black streak on the head is somewhat the same. Males are supposed to have a white eyebrow.

http://www.peregrinefund.org/Explore_Raptors/hawks/ngoshawk.html

Hope it works, see what you think.

Pouring here today and 2 more days, but we decided to hunt up ducks since it's duck weather. No camera but great birding in some ponds 20 minutes from here:
mallards
ringed necked ducks http://www.birdguide.com/stock/birds/birdjpgs/150.JPG
hooded mergansers http://www.jjcardinal.com/re-hooded-merganser-m.jpg
common merganser http://www.birdphotography.com/species/come.html
great blue heron
eastern phoebe or eastern wood-pewee
red tailed hawk
crows
and a common goldeneye (see pic)

Not bad for a rainy day!!!

Although not in my backyard, I saw a Bluebird this afternoon. It's not only an April "first" but a several years "first". We went to the Patuxent Wildlife Art Show near Laurel, MD. We stepped outside for some fresh air and, Voila', there he was ... Unfortunately, I only took my 18-70mm lens with me so this was the best I could get, at the distance.

How sweet :) I had a dream the other night that a bluebird came to my yard... I'm pitiful, huh? :) LOL...

A bluebird - in all his glory. Aren't they beautiful? Lucky you.

Sorry to start by diverging from the bird scheme, but this was a first as far as photography went. On April 1st, I came home from work and was putting some things down beside the computer, when I saw our cat Smokey behaving oddly darting around the sofa and peering under it. I tipped the sofa back and there was this House Mouse Mus musculus. Smokey darted in and caught it and took it into the corner behind the curtains. I tried to get it from her and it darted back under the sofa! Same scenario, I tipped up the sofa and Smokey caught the mouse and took it back to the corner of the room. She put it down for a moment and this time I managed to grab it by the tail.
Holding mouse in one hand, I collected my camera and went outside (to my surprise Smokey didn't follow me). I got the camera all ready, still holding the mouse and then let it go. It immediately darted off over the grass with me in pursuit and surprisingly I managed to catch it again! I tried again to photograph it, with the camera primed and focused on the mouse while I still held its tail tip. I let go and quickly took two pictures and was able to catch the mouse again. I couldn't bring myself to dispose of it, so I took it out of the garden and released it the other side of the fire break. No doubt it will soon find its way back into the garden and possibly back into the jaws of Smokey. Here is my mouse:

Over the weekend a couple of birds appeared in the garden that have been missing for a few months. The first was a Silvereye Zosterops lateralis. This little bird loves fruit. It eats a lot of blackberries in season. It also likes grapes, peaches and apples. I saw it on Saturday in our Golden Delicious apple tree, no doubt pecking at the apples. This picture was taken in our peach tree once before when it and its companions were feasting on our peaches.

Our other returning friend was the Lewin Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii. Like most honeyeaters it loves to feed on the nectar from various flowering plants and shrubs, but unlike the other honeyeaters it is a bit of an omnivore. It loves fruit (like the silvereye) and especially likes to feed on our pomegranate and strawberry guava. It even comes to the bird table and eats bread (that is where I saw it on Sunday). This picture was taken in the picnic area in Morwell National Park. As long as I have been visiting the park, there has been a pair of Lewin Honeyeaters frequenting the picnic area and feasting on food scraps left by picnickers. They often land on the picnic tables to get crumbs and sometimes even land on visitors heads!

The coloring on the Silvereye is glorious. He looks like he was painted. Enjoyed the mouse story, the poor thing may die from the shock of getting caught so many times. Since you didn't have the heart to dispose it, perhaps a hungry hawk will use it for her young ones.

kennedyh, your mouse looks mean!!! The birds are really pretty, the Silvereye, rally does have a white/silver eye ring. very pretty.


I did have afirst for April, a bluebird was chirping very prettily, so I could locate it. I went quickly to get some meal worms and put some in each of the mealworm feeders. Just about then the wind started blow harder. i never saw the bluebird again. It has been cloudy and windy all day., DonnaS

Today I heard a killdeer flying over the field next door. Enjoyed all, Ken.

Had a first for the year a red-breasted nuthatch. Was outside taking pictures in the yard and noticed very small bird had gone inside my bird feeder and then came out the other side. I wonder if this is a young bird? Very small and colors aren't as bright. I was able to get pretty close to take some pictures, not afraid at all.

George

What a sweetie! Great pic! I have lots of white-breasted but no red yet. I'll start looking since I'm in your zone, George.

A Tale of Two Robins

Two Robins, out scouting a place for their nest,
Decided the eve of my porch was the best
I watched with delight, they were so unafraid
They sang as they worked at their home building trade.

The female brought in, when the nest was quite snug,
A piece of blue paper to use as a rug.
When the cock robin saw what his mate was about,
He snatched up the paper and carried it out.

A contest developed. I could not keep track
Of the times that blue tissue went out and came back.
They screamed at each other. She said "Listen Birdie,
Nests can be beautiful as well as just sturdy."

He said, "How did you ever dream up such a caper?
We robins do not line our nests with old paper;
Your 'rug' is a Kleenex, 'twill make the floor damper-
If you have to have something, go hunt for a Pamper."

"I have news for you, Stupid," I heard the mate say.
"All Pampers are wet when they throw them away.
I will not eat a worm. I will not eat a bug.
I will not lay an egg till you bring back that rug!"

The sound of disharmony greeted each dawn.
The time for the laying of eggs was long gone,
The time for the hatching of young ones was past,
When, suddenly, silence descended at last.

I cried when I found the poor little bird dead,
For clutched in her beak, was a tiny blue shred.
Had you given your life in defense of your brood,
Or exhausted your strength as brought them their food.

I could undertand that, but to throw life away
Just for plain stubborn spite, just to have your own way,
Is most unbecoming to creatures with wings -
I thought only humans would practice such things!
--Claire Manley Schubauer (My Mother)

Oh, Seeds--

What a poignant and poetic message and so in the 'spirit' of Dave's Garden and our April thread to share it with us.

What a gift your Mother has to think and write so creatively about nature and the rites of spring that we observe and record here. A special 'thank you' to your Mom and to you for posting "A Tale of Two Robins". t.

Ahh, Wowsers .. se_eds! Indeed, a most beautiful poem .. and what a most wonderful talent your Mom has been blessed with!!

Undoubtedly, you've been most proud of your Mom .. Any chance that you've 'inherited' this wonderful capability also -?-

If, I may so inquire - was/is she a published writer?

Thank you sooo very much .. for sharin' this one with us.

- Magpye

Mom's been gone about 18 years. Most of her poems were made for the people she loved. Most are of a religious nature but some are humorous. She had published only once but it was a small printing for gifts to people she loved.

I know full well she would have loved to share this poem here.

Magpye, I do some writing but I don't poet.
Thanks folks.

Love the curious Grackles! Do we know what the hawk is yet, Mags? It's a beauty

LOL Ken! The things we do for a photograph, eh?? That mouse must have been glad when you were through! The birds are lovely

The Nuthatches are really sweet. We're supposed to Have a Brown Headed Nuthatch here...I've yet to see one. So many birds on my wish list!

Boojum, you had quite a day!! So many birds on a rainy day! Great picture!

Se_eds, that poem is just plain moving, thanks so much for sharing it with us

Gosh. I've experienced stubborn robins first hand. Quite a poem!

Finally saw the wood ducks on the way home from a seminar with no camera. Grrrrrr!

A first ever for me...this is a Florida Limpkin, Aramus guarauna pictus.
I spotted it in the canal near work on my way home. This canal, for being mostly runoff, supports a variety of wildlife.

Saw my first limpkin in Corkscrew Swamp (FL) last Feb. It's a big deal to see one-not that they are hard to spot (big bird)!!! Love those canals-always good birding. Congrats, Floridian.

Magpye, your grackle is soooo pretty!

Boojum, I love that sweet little duckie :-)

Linthicum, what a darling little bluebird and what a lovely shot of him too!

Kennedy, that little silvereye is so sweet!

George, yoru nuthatch looks very playful! What a great shot of him :-)

Stacey, I've never heard of your Limpkin, but it's a lovely bird... and posed perfectly for you!

Here's my favorite first for April: A Tristam's Grackle from Nahal David near the Dead Sea

-Julie

Beautiful pic Julie. Like that rust streak along the wing feathers. Am. grackles around here don't have that. They do have a white ring around their eye.

Oh Julie! What a great shot and bird!!

Thanks se_eds and boojum! But I have to give all the credit to the bird. They were really friendly.....especially around the picnic areas ;-). LOL

-Julie

Now that's a pretty Grackle!!

Thanks everyone :-). These Grackles have such a cute song too! Of course they like to "growl" at other birds like the rock doves when they think the rock doves are getting too much of the handouts LOL. But when they sing.....sooooooooo cute! :-) Here's another coupe of shots of the Tristam's Grackle from the same hike:

and another:

And here's a pic I took of a winged tourist over my garden yesterday. There were several dozen, but only 3 of them were flying low enough to be more than specks in the sky. They were all making "lazy circles in the sky". Lovely to watch....so I watched as long as my neck held out (the grass was wet, so I couldn't lay down LOL.

-Julie

Julie, your shots are spectacular. The grackles in the desert show just how pretty the rocks and spring are. Thanks for letting us see.

Yesterday evening, I saw what I think was a pheasant while coming back over the mountain. Could not tell if it was ring-necked, though, and wasn't quick with the camera, LOL.

Thank YOU se_eds! :-)

Here's a little Green Finch I spotted on the way to pick up the kids from school today :-)

-Julie

Julie,
I had a good look at your winged tourist. I thought at first it might have been a Common Crane Grus grus, because of the hint of grey on its neck http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/picpages/pic43-11-6.html
but the white tail just doesn't match. I think this is another White Stork Ciconia ciconia http://www.mangoverde.com/birdsound/picpages/pic22-12-9.html
Interesting to see that the link picture was also taken in Israel,
Maybe the grey look on the neck means that youres is a young bird

Ken

Ken, I'm sorry. I should have ID'd that one. Yes, it's a White Stork. There are lots of them here now as they are making their migration. I saw lots of them while driving to and from the Dead Sea this past long weekend. Yes, many of Mango Verde's pics are from here in Israel. Probably due to the vast number of bird species that make Israel their midway stop on both the northward and southward migrations.

-Julie