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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 6:30 pm
Juj, I wonder if I should report them to immigration authorities LOL. Seriously, I've never seen anything like them around here and was very surprised to see how common they are in the rest of the country. I'd have posted a picture here and asked for help, but I didn't have one. I was wandering helplessly through sites devoted to loons and grebes and all those other diving waterfowl until I tripped across a picture that looked dead-on. I'll get to watch them carry their babies on their backs this summer, that will be something new and different from the mallards.
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Twinkie
Member
09-24-2002
| Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 7:11 pm
Oh goodie! GAL, I love to follow your bird tales! Oh and the pics are always great too! YAAAA!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Sunday, April 22, 2007 - 7:13 pm
Coots are called "mud hens" around here and are considered nuisance birds by hunters since they cannot be eaten. Sounds to me like a good deal for the coots, but in some places they have coot shoots to get rid of them They also used to drive my labradors crazy when they went swimming at Coto de Caza (before the times of housing tracts and Housewives of OC). Me, I always like the underdog, or underfowl, especially black ones like crows, ravens and even coots. GAL, can't wait to see the baby pics of the brood of cootlets oh and of course the adorable ducklings.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Monday, April 23, 2007 - 10:16 am
I've never seen a Coot, of the bird variety, that is but I do love the call of a Loon (Loons and Coots, lol). This is one of my favorite threads, always glad when there's updates! At least three of the male goldfinches at my feeders have shed their drab winter plumage and are now sporting bright yellow and black feathers! No sign of hummingbirds or orioles yet (the orioles usually arrive first - it's getting late for them). Animal Planet's Spring Watch USA
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Monday, April 23, 2007 - 11:27 am
Our finches are back! DH buys cheap nylons at Walmart and fills them with thistle seeds. You can barely see the little guy hanging on here but at times the whole nylon will be covered with yellow.

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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, April 23, 2007 - 12:14 pm
Supergranny, I just found out last year that American Goldfinches live year round in Washington state. They just turn brown and olive during the winter. We were at an espresso stand on the peninsula in September and trying to identify some birds at a feeder. We finally asked the proprietor what they were. She said she thought they were the very same birds that had been yellow in the summer. Well, duh! Um, that is not when i found out they were here all year round, but first time I had paid any attention to what they look like when they are not yellow.
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Monday, April 23, 2007 - 12:28 pm
I think they must move further inland from us during the winter. The feeders will have this flurry of activity and then no one eats the thistle. By the way,if you come this far down come by and see us..I feed company clam chowder! There is a little brown finch with a light red head. They call them the purple finches and they will get right in with the yellows to eat.
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Watching2
Member
07-07-2001
| Monday, April 23, 2007 - 12:32 pm
We already have baby sparrows in our birdhouse! I wasn't expecting them so soon since we've had colder than usual weather this so-called Spring and it even snowed quite a bit last week! I wonder how many "families" we'll end up with this year?! I so wish I had a clear side on one side so I could watch them grow and as much as I try every year, I've yet to see them "fly the coop!"
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 11:26 am
I had a wild turkey wandering behind my back porch two evenings ago. Linus was very excited by that - biggest bird he ever saw, lol! The turkey didn't go near the ground feeders or water though. And this morning I had an unfamiliar bird at one of my feeders. I'll look it up in my books when I get back home.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 12:01 pm
I was taking my DH to the hospital this morning at the crack of dawn when for the first time in about 20 years I heard the 'hoot' of an owl. I was so thrilled.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 1:56 pm
Oh how cool for you! I just love that sound. An owl comes to my yard sometimes during the night. I can hear her clearly because she perches in a tree right near my bedroom windows. I've even heard more than one owl on occasion. I think they're hunting the little nocturnal critters who come to my feeders and waterer. Larger birds such as certain owls and herons have a special place in my heart because due to their size they require much more expansive territories. So it's always a thrill to see or hear them. Most of the other large predators in this country have been wiped out but they're needed to help keep Nature in balance! Speaking of bird calls, it's always a kick for me to hear a bird song, look up, and then discover who it is. I always get a shiver when I hear Canada geese calling overhead too. There's just something about the sound of them that fills me with wonder and wander. And sea gulls too! Makes me wish I could fly away with them.
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 3:27 pm
DH has been trying to get a picture of all these little guys hanging on the old nylon..hope you can see this one.

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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 3:37 pm
What a great idea SG! 
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 3:38 pm
Aren't they just the sweetest things!
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 3:41 pm
They are wonderful but I don't know what type of birds they are? We have a feeder in our front window and we love to watch them.
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Ophiliasgrandma
Member
09-04-2001
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 3:52 pm
Golden Finches
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Vacanick
Member
07-12-2004
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 4:01 pm
Very sweet! 
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 4:06 pm
Our back yard will be filled with these little guys and they swarm around DH when he renews the feeders. I'd love to get a picture of that. He buys cheap half nylons and fills them with black Thistle seeds. He has five or six feeders in the back yard plus two bird baths. He loves his birds!! This picture is blurred but it shows the color of what they call a purple finch. I think they should be called red finches myself. Hope you can see the color.

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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 4:20 pm
Duckling alert!!! Wargod showed up today with 9, count'em, 9 brand new chicks. Another hen swam by with 7 and a third came by with 5, all of them look to be not more than a few days old. Unfortunately, I've seen the red-tail hawks recently so this summer might be an instant replay of last. Sigh. LOVE the finches, Supergranny!!! We get a huge selection of them, too, Colossus has a feeder outside one of our windows loaded with thistle. Striped, gold, red, you name it. They park in a Chinese redwood a few feet away and take turns swinging on the feeder. They are charming (and lord knows they keep the kitties entertained. They've learned the cats can't get at them so they ignore them. Drives Max and Puss nuts).
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Supergranny
Member
02-03-2005
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 6:08 pm
Awwww...I want to see pictures of baby ducks. We just get to see the sexy stuff in our back yard and then the ducks go over to the lake to have their family.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 6:15 pm
Sad note -- We had our first group of 7 baby ducklings in our lagoon last weekend, and I didn't say anything because of all our bad luck last year. And I'm glad I didn't. Yesterday I saw only one, and today I saw none. I think it's the male ducks that are doing it because they're trying to mate with the mama. I'm just trying to stay unemotionally involved with them this year, because last it was breaking my heart.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 6:39 pm
Yankee, I hear what you're saying, I saw a drake attack Wargod three different times today, he was so busy he didn't go after the ducklings, but Colossus caught sight of it and now he's locked and loaded with a slingshot ready to sting the hell out of the drake the next time he trips across our path. The drake is stalking her and as aggressive as I've ever seen a male with a brooding female - he is MEAN. If I saw him going after the ducklings I'd wring his neck myself. Very weird, I haven't seen this behavior before on the lake. Usually the drakes just buddy up and hope for the best this time of year.
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Yankee_in_ca
Member
08-01-2000
| Sunday, May 06, 2007 - 6:44 pm
I saw it last year again and again and saw it happen to the mama a few days ago (when she had 3 (that I could see anyway) left). This one was taking chunks of feathers out of her neck. I could only turn away and go inside and try to forget about it. P.S. -- sorry for bringing the thread down!!
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Monday, May 07, 2007 - 2:42 pm
GAL.. maybe next time the weather radio gets too chatty, Colossus could chuck it at the mean drake! Double the impact.. or just let the radio drive the drake crazy.
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Calamity
Member
10-18-2001
| Tuesday, May 08, 2007 - 9:11 am
It almost sounds like those drakes are under more stress than usual, to be acting so aggressively. I hope the ducklings and females will be okay. I've only seen parts of them but the Spring Watch USA specials have had some great stuff. No hummingbirds yet in our area although the orioles finally returned this weekend and usually the hummingbirds are right behind them. I've seen quite a few bumblebees but no honey bees. Also had a pair of rose breasted grosbeaks at my feeder last Wednesday and one in a tree at work. There's five bluebird eggs in the house in my backyard. Sometimes when I pass by I see a face peaking out but it quickly disappears. I have more wrens around then usual to go with all the purple and gold finches. There's two opossums and two raccoons regularly visiting the feeders and waterers at night.
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