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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, April 20, 2006 - 12:49 pm
Yay and I'm sure one of them will be named Mojo. 
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Kristylovesbb
Member
09-14-2000
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:13 pm
We have a Mallard couple visiting our little pond. My husband has been feeding them scratch. We haven't seen them in a couple of days so we figure she is laying in the neighbors large pond. I think she just liked to come to our house because the water is clean. Believe it or not they did not eat any of our Goldfish or Coy.
This is a picture of the lady searching for a nesting spot in our woods. She promptly discarded the idea.
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Kristylovesbb
Member
09-14-2000
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:19 pm
This is a picture of them in our pond.

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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:37 pm
Aw, how sweet.
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Mizinvanccouver
Member
02-22-2003
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 12:44 pm
Kristy--That's nice you don't mind them in your pond so long a they don't eat your fish. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to more pics when you have a chance. :-)
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 1:30 pm
What a beautiful area Kristy. If I took a picture of our mallards it would have to be sitting on our roof. The neighbor directly across from us has Canadian geese on her roof...our neighbor to the north has seagulls on his roof and what do we have? Ducks stomping back and forth!
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Kristylovesbb
Member
09-14-2000
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 2:32 pm
LOL, Supergranny! My husband just cleaned out the pond, full of duck do. We LOVE the ducks and looked forward to seeing them every evening after dinner. The neighbor is sure she is nesting near his pond but we don't want to disturb her in any way. We so hope she will bring the little ones next door to our house when they are born. If she does look for some pictures of them. You are welcome Mizi, it is my pleasure.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 3:47 pm
Kristy -- how cute! Oh and I came here to post a little story -- and then read Supergranny's post just above!!! Here's my story: I hear a really loud ruckus outside this morning -- Canada geese just going nuts. So I step outside my front door (we have a big city/man-made lagoon just outiside our front door). I don't see the goose, but I DO see a humongous heron just in front of me. I flap my arms to shoo it away (we have koi and they love to eat them), then turn around to see the loud goose... sitting on my roof just above my head!!! Also in our little lagoon, for the past few weeks we have had 3 male ducks, who stick quite close to each other and even sleep aside each other. And a BEAUTIFUL Kingfisher who has been flitting about -- eating the smaller koi, no doubt, but man are those birds beautiful...
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 3:53 pm
Mocha, we have two sets of ducklings now, the one who had 11 but now has 8 I originally named Granny, but when I got close enough to look realized it was Wargod with a new brood (Wargod is an orphan duckling from a few years ago that Colossus and I did our best to raise. You can tell it's her from her round cheeks and a wild comb on top of her head that turns into a mowhawk when she gets pissed LOL). The other mother (she had seven and now has five) I named Mocha after you (before I saw your post) and she's doing a great job. She comes up every morning and evening with her lil cheepers and her VERY beautiful drake looking for corn snacks. One of her little ones has set himself apart as a little firecracker who runs circles around the rest of the family and would rather splash in the water than anything else in life. I'm waiting for the next family of ducklings to come up so I can re-name Granny and fill her in on how they're doing LOL. We got somemore GREAT pictures of both families and I'll be able to post them later in the week. ETA: Yankee it sounds like you have all the same wildlife up there that we have down here, except we're living on a lake where the herons don't cause any distress - there's more than enough fish (no koi, though) to go around. I can't believe how many ducklings we have already, including a bunch of bachelor drakes who are trying like hell to hook up without success.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 4:19 pm
Lol Gal. Wow Yanks wildlife all around you lol. Cute pond Kristy.
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Kristylovesbb
Member
09-14-2000
| Sunday, April 23, 2006 - 5:44 pm
Thanks Mocha. By the way, I didn't know how to spell Koi so I asked my husband who said Coi.LOL
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Mizinvanccouver
Member
02-22-2003
| Monday, April 24, 2006 - 9:47 am
Yankee_in_ca--What does a Kingfisher look like? I live near you and I'm wondering if I've seen them and not known. Are they quite tall and slim, blue/grey feathers and stand in the water alot?? (Boy we sure have alot of Heron's eh? Have you checked out the nests near the tennis courts in Stanley Park?? You can see them very clearly because the trees haven't filled in yet. The parents seem to be very busy getting their nest ready.)
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Monday, April 24, 2006 - 1:17 pm
Belted Kingfisher about the most common in the US.
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Mizinvanccouver
Member
02-22-2003
| Monday, April 24, 2006 - 1:22 pm
Thanks Ophiliasgrandma! I've never seen a Belted Kingfisher here. Perhaps Yankee_in_ca has moved away from where I live or I just haven't been lucky enough to see one yet.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Monday, April 24, 2006 - 1:39 pm
Miz, I'm still here -- in Yaletown. Here's a link (see last entry): http://www.fraserriverlodge.com/english/birdingtours.html The kingfishers are not too big, but they are a little chubby-looking, and their heads are just beautiful. They're gorgeous, but they're fast -- which is why you might not have noticed one. I only see them when they pause to try to eat the fish in our lagoon! Here's another link which shows the scale a bit better: http://birdingbc.coolnewmedia.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=1&pos=10 I haven't been over to Stanley Park to see the heron nests yet -- I hear I really should, though...!
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Mizinvanccouver
Member
02-22-2003
| Monday, April 24, 2006 - 1:46 pm
Thanks for the link Yankee...it's very nice to have a list now. I have Chickadees, Various Finches, Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers that come to my bird feeder regularily. I don't have a pond with fish which is probably why I haven't seen them. lol I would like to see one though.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 4:33 am
Well I tried to post a picture of Mojo and her brood that we took on Saturday, but it's too big. Colossus will reduce it today and we can put it up. Unfortunately the attrition rate with the ducklings has been horrendous so far this year - we had 18 ducklings between the two families this time last week and we're down to six total as of today. It may be that they were just too early this year, but it's more likely there's some sort of predator, a cat or something, near their nests. I know it's not the hawk for the most part. Wargod was up at our deck with eight ducklings until dusk the other night and she came back early the next morning with only four. The remaining ducks and ducklings don't appear to be injured, so I don't know what's going on. It's kind of depressing, though.
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 7:59 am
Aack we have to protect them. Do I need to come up there and shoot something?
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 8:22 am
Sayin', Mocha. If I didn't love cats so much there'd be a couple up here that went for a ride. On the other hand, Puss brought us a robin for treats this morning, so who am I to gripe about nature? (PS robin was fine and flew away when we took it away from Puss).
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Mocha
Member
08-12-2001
| Thursday, April 27, 2006 - 8:28 am
lol
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Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Saturday, April 29, 2006 - 6:05 am
I need some help from you bird lovers!!! The other day I came home from work and my yard guy was coming around from the side of the house that I never go around and he tells me I'm going to have babies soon. Well, the first thing that goes through my mind is there is a cat having kittens (there is a female cat across the street who is always in my yard because she wants to move in with Lexie and Lucy). Then he tells me when he was trimming back the bushes he found a bird's nest. So he takes me too it (its in the bushes a little over 5 feet off the ground). The mother cardinal is perched on the fence watching us. We look inside and there are five eggs - 2 spotted and 3 white eggs. Now the good thing about where the nest is - its on the side of the house towards the back and I think predators would have a hard time seeing a nest of young babies. (I am amazed that she found this area to build her nest because it is such an isolated spot on my property.) My question is - is there anything I can do for the mother? Would she eat wild bird seed if I put it out or should I put out something else for her to eat? I was going to go to Home Depot today to buy a bird bath so she will have fresh water. Also, is it true that some birds will return to where they were born? Any help from our bird lovers would be greatly appreciated.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Saturday, April 29, 2006 - 8:04 am
Best to ignore her. She has thing well in hand.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Monday, May 01, 2006 - 8:27 am
Lexie: I bet Mama and Papa Cardinal chose that spot precisely because it's so isolated. I have several tall (around 7-8' high) evergreen hedges and have spotted quite a few nests hidden amongst their branches. OG is right, it's best not to disturb her or the nest but it should be okay if you take a quick peek once in a while. Cardinals will drink from and bathe in bird baths, so that would be nice if you could provide one. (Make sure it has a rough surface as birds prefer that - I think it helps their footing.) I always read that cardinals just love safflower seeds but I gotta say, it's been my experience that they prefer black oil sunflower and peanuts. They'll eat from both tube feeders and table feeders. Don't put them too close to where the nest is. In late spring and early summer, when there's lots of baby birds around, I make sure to put out some extra shelled seeds as they seem to be easier for the kids to eat. It's so funny to watch the puffy babies (and some, like blue jays and starlings, are almost as big as their parents) clustered around the feeders waiting for an adult to give them something to eat. And baby birds just love splashing in bird baths, especially if there's a dripper attached so the water is running. It's like a pool party for them, lol. Goddessatlaw: Aww, I'm sorry about your ducklings. ETA: Lexie, I almost forgot...cardinals will come to feeders all day but you're most likely to see/hear them in the very early morning (often even just before dawn) and then again in late afternoon/dusk. They'll still be coming even after the sun has set.
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Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 3:48 pm
I have babies!!!! I noticed that all day Sunday she didn't leave her nest and she was in her nest every time I looked on Monday. Today I went to go hang up the bird feeder and when I walked back there she flew out of the nest and perched herself on the wooden fence. She didn't even freak out when I peeked inside her nest. She just sat on the fence and chirped at me. They are so adorable!!!
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Tuesday, May 02, 2006 - 4:34 pm
Lexie, you are so lucky baby cardinals are just ADORABLE!! I'm afraid the neighborhood cats have scared off the cardinals that have nested in the bush outside our window the past couple of years, but I'd rather they be moved than be terrorized by the neighbor's cats. Bad girl (ok, me) almost died of a heart attack in front of the entire neighborhood tonight. We were out on the deck watching the ducks/ducklings play down by the dock and chatting when all of the birds, including the geese and our black loon went NUTS. At first I thought it was the ducks chasing each other around again, but by the time I could get to my feet a huge shadow swooped over our deck and this massive red-tailed hawk swooped down over the lake where the ducklings were splashing around. He flew back off over our head and I got a fairly close look at him - didn't see anything in his claws. Nonetheless, one of our ducks was missing a duckling. Minutes go by, I'm down on the dock looking, and the ducks are all squawking and shaking it off. Colossus yells that he hears a peeper off in the distance, and sure enough the missing little baby comes scampering around the dock to meet up with his mother and sib. We were both crying with relief. Colossus always lectures me about "that's nature." But he was possibly more upset than I was that one of the babies may have gotten snatched in front of our faces. Both families are down to two ducklings now and we're doing our best to help them thrive. We had a number of things go wrong at work today that we were both griping about when this happened, and when we realized all was still otay on the lake the rest of it didn't matter anymore. Sigh. We'll both probably still have nightmares about it tonight, but for now things are still otay with the little ones. Oh, and we have a raccoon now to add to the mix of lake life. He was sticking his paws down crawdad holes this morning looking for treats right outside our bedroom window. Lord let him not try to get into my attic.
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