Any birdwatchers?

[Britva415]

I imagine others likely surmised this, but I finally looked this up and it's 1 of 2 articles I found how heat affects birds:

https://georgiawildlife.com/out-my-backdoor-heat-affects-birds-too

It has been super hot and dry here, and the water in the bath disappears very quickly. I have to refill it at least once a week. In the cooler months (still without rain, just lower temperatures) it lasts quite a while longer.

Now I wonder if it's more than just evaporation. Maybe the hot birds are splashing it all out instead of just drinking it? I'm convinced they can't be drinking the amount that's disappearing.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

^^^ Mine is an inverted satellite dish mounted to a 55 gallon barrel with a pump/fountain/drain set up. Rain helps keep it full, but I still have to add water more often than I would expect to.

 

[liqueur]

It has been super hot and dry here, and the water in the bath disappears very quickly. I have to refill it at least once a week. In the cooler months (still without rain, just lower temperatures) it lasts quite a while longer.

Now I wonder if it's more than just evaporation. Maybe the hot birds are splashing it all out instead of just drinking it? I'm convinced they can't be drinking the amount that's disappearing.

They do love to splash. Years ago, I had a conure. My wife would turn the water on in the sink, a steady stream but no more. The conure would get in there, and oh what a commotion! It was the avian equivalent of six kids playing in a pool. By the time she was done there'd be water all over the kitchen.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

That's partially why I have the fountain set up.

 

[ColtonWrites]

Ooh, I should definitely get a bird bath, maybe with a fountain. Something i can fill a tank on, rather than having to run a hose across the yard all day.

 

[SimonDoom]

Bird baths are great. This time of year, however, the water evaporates so fast I have to fill it every few days.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I just bought a deck-mounted bird bath and a yard bath with a feeder attached, to go along with the other feeder I bought.
The theory is that seeing the empty bath on the deck will remind me to fill the other bath, which will remind me to fill the feeders too.

 

[ColtonWrites]

The big bird feeder wont hang where I want it to and is making a mess. I tried to assemble the other feeder/birdbath combination i got and dropped the screws, and i cant finish it.

I suggested what I wanted to for crows and got blank faces and no response. The wife doesnt want a bird bath attached to the porch.

So fuck the whole thing. No birds.

 

[SimonDoom]

So fuck the whole thing. No birds.

This doesn't seem like the right attitude for a "secret romantic."

Birds. Make it happen.

 

[ColtonWrites]

This doesn't seem like the right attitude for a "secret romantic."

Birds. Make it happen.

Ha, yeah, im in a bad mood tonight.

Will revisit decisions in the morning with a clear head.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Mum's Eagle died on Monday.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Mum's Eagle died on Monday.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Growing up in the wilds of Maine, I have probably seen eagles hundreds of times. But every single sighting seemed special. They are magical creatures.

 

[SimonDoom]

Mum's Eagle died on Monday.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I don't see eagles often where I live, but I see them once in a while, and it's always special to see them.

 

[Comentarista82]

I finally heard some Inca doves today, which is kind of unusual: they're plentiful, all over TX yet I only heard them commonly around San Antonio (you couldn't hardly go into any neighborhood that was partly quiet without hearing one); here in East TX though, they're more rare. I'll have to see if all the whitewings and mourning doves somehow limit their presence.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Mean bastarders those whitewings and mourning doves, not quite as wicke a the Black Cracklels.

I finally heard some Inca doves today, which is kind of unusual: they're plentiful, all over TX yet I only heard them commonly around San Antonio (you couldn't hardly go into any neighborhood that was partly quiet without hearing one); here in East TX though, they're more rare. I'll have to see if all the whitewings and mourning doves somehow limit their presence.

 

[MillieDynamite]

It's been a struggle for her for days. Odd how close you can become to an image on screen after 5 seasons watching the two, rather large, Love Birds, make a dozen egglets and raise them from craching the egg to booting them out of the nest.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I don't see eagles often where I live, but I see them once in a while, and it's always special to see them.

 

[Comentarista82]

Mean bastarders those whitewings and mourning doves, not quite as wicke a the Black Cracklels.

I did see where Whitewings can bully Mourning Doves and Inca Doves at backyard feeders, but their presence doesn't deter the Incas; a lot of the hits I found said Incas prefer more urban-suburban settings than the more open fields around here.

p.d. Yeah, the Common Grackles are awful. They push even more in parking lots where people drop food like fries and other goodies.

 

[MillieDynamite]

You say Grackles, I say Cracklels, Patotos Tomatoes or taters and maters!

I did see where Whitewings can bully Mourning Doves and Inca Doves at backyard feeders, but their presence doesn't deter the Incas; a lot of the hits I found said Incas prefer more urban-suburban settings than the more open fields around here.

p.d. Yeah, the Common Grackles are awful. They push even more in parking lots where people drop food like fries and other goodies.

 

[nice90sguy]

Summer update from London heatwave (now over thank fuck): The Canada geese on the canal have all quite understandably fucked off to Canada. And the magpies, for some reason, are loving it - one of my favourite birds, anywhere.

 

[Comentarista82]

New lifer! Black Vulture

Some of the regulars weren't singing/flying around...felt odd not to see my redheads at the park:

• Robin
• Cardinal
• Red bellied woodpecker
• Blue jay
• Chicken hawk
• Carolina wren
• Mockingbird
• Mourning dove
• Tufted tit mice
• Killdeer
• Crow
• Eastern bluebird
• House sparrow
• Carolina chickadee
• White eyed vireo
• Fish crow
• Mississippi kite
• Starling
• White-breasted nuthatch
• White Winged Dove
• Brown-headed nuthatch
• Eastern phoebe
• House finch
• Northern Flicker
• Common grackle
• Gray Catbird
• Black Vulture

 

[SimonDoom]

New lifer! Black Vulture

Some of the regulars weren't singing/flying around...felt odd not to see my redheads at the park:

• Robin
• Cardinal
• Red bellied woodpecker
• Blue jay
• Chicken hawk
• Carolina wren
• Mockingbird
• Mourning dove
• Tufted tit mice
• Killdeer
• Crow
• Eastern bluebird
• House sparrow
• Carolina chickadee
• White eyed vireo
• Fish crow
• Mississippi kite
• Starling
• White-breasted nuthatch
• White Winged Dove
• Brown-headed nuthatch
• Eastern phoebe
• House finch
• Northern Flicker
• Common grackle
• Gray Catbird
• Black Vulture

 

[SimonDoom]

Cool sighting. I've never seen one. I dont think they live in the West.

 

[Comentarista82]

Cool sighting. I've never seen one. I dont think they live in the West.

Their range is only showing the Southern middle of AZ (skip all of NM and even TX Panhandle). They can be around when Turkey Buzzards/Vultures fly.

 

[SimonDoom]

Their range is only showing the Southern middle of AZ (skip all of NM and even TX Panhandle). They can be around when Turkey Buzzards/Vultures fly.

Turkey vultures are common where I live, but I've never seen a black vulture in my life. My Peterson's Guide shows you are right -- black vultures only appear in far southern Arizona, and nowhere else west of Texas.

 

[Comentarista82]

Turkey vultures are common where I live, but I've never seen a black vulture in my life. My Peterson's Guide shows you are right -- black vultures only appear in far southern Arizona, and nowhere else west of Texas.

I'm pretty sure I've seen them in Central TX, since they were following the Turkey Vultures (although I think I've also seen them with Caracaras). Cornell Labs says they soar higher than Turkey Vultures and once those spot food, they trail them.

Black Vultures live a little past 25 years.