Birds - Endlessly Fascinating

[brownblob]

The sadness and anger I feel makes me turn off and go numb at times. It is sad that you can tell the country is getting back to normal by the number of shootings. I do enjoy seeing the birds at my feeder even though the blackbirds end up eating it all. It still is peaceful to watch. I thought I saw a bald eagle flying around where I work last month, but I always doubt myself about seeing something like that.

[rivergirl]

brownblob, I've had the same thought about the shootings. The flag at work seems to be permanently at half staff the last couple of months just due to the mass shootings alone. I'm glad you enjoy the blackbirds, even though you said before that they make pigs of themselves at your feeder.

I'm with you, sd. It seems like the world needs more sensitive people, but it's tough to care so much. If we're at trying to help in small ways, or at least trying not to harm others or the planet too much, I think that's all we can do.

I find myself crying at the dumbest stuff lately. There's a homeless lady I see near work who pulls her bulldog around in a wagon. When it's cool she dresses him in a kind of pleather dog coat or a dog sweater. For some reason it's the wagon and the dog outfits that have been getting to me lately. This week I found myself tearing up watching a clip of Lil Nas X singing "Sun Goes Down" on SNL last weekend. Maybe it's time to just watch a silly comedy film this weekend.

Wishing everyone well.

rg

[rivergirl]

p.s. I'm not sure why I digressed into "things that make me cry." Sorry about that.

[snoringdog]

You cry because you are sensitive, and you are depressed, that's why.

(I know that so well because I have lived it off and on for decades....)

Wishing you peace.

SD

(And yes, find something silly and humorous to watch. You deserve a break)

[Beany Boo]

I was jogging this morning. It was windy. A sparrow-like bird a complimentary color to the blue of the sky dropped into my field of vision. For a long moment it seemed to fly in place against the wind.

It distracted me completely.

[RightInTwo]

Birds are amazing! I love watching videos of people’s pet birds, where you can clearly see, it seems like each individual bird has their own unique (always adorable) personality. I want a pet bird someday. Rescue, of course, I don’t support the pet industry.

There’s one guy on youtube (https://youtube.com/c/AChickCalledAlbert) who rescues abandoned eggs, of any species, hatches them and hand feeds them & they all live in harmony together.

I need to include more stuff like that instead of constantly listening to/watching murder & history (turns out, history is mostly murder, oppression, theft, and genocide )

[snoringdog]

Hey, it's that time of year again!

Nothing can pull me out of my head better than watching these beautiful little creatures going about their lives as they're passing through. Saw two male Scarlet Tanagers, the female, a Swainson's thrush, a Catbird and a Robin all in one go, feeding on insects on a dark log the other day. The colors and contrasts were gorgeous! And then poof, gone... on to other business. A little later a Bald Eagle soared on by ...

FYI - There's a nice phone app published by Cornell University called "Merlin" that records sounds in the field and IDs birds instantly. You can find it at "allaboutbirds.org". Great for beginners, or even if you're experienced with the calls, as a "heads-up".

Cheers

SD

[brownblob]

We had an oriole hanging around for a couple of days, but he has disappeared now. I've been enjoying the woodpeckers and the cardinals lately. I bought a bird bath this year and was pleased to see a couple of birds using it.

[Mental Fairy]

Hi SD
We have so many fantails flying around trying to hide from the storms. Absolutely beautiful birds. They chase your feet when you walk trails looking for bugs that we expose as we walk.
There is a kiwi release happening next weekend hopefully if weather clears enough. We haven’t many left but the conservation department have many hatching and survival is better now the pest rate is down on our mountain.
Look up Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. That’s where we release them.
Stunning birds

[snoringdog]

Hello Mental Fairy,

A couple of exotic birds you have there, thanks for the info (I'm jealous!)

(I don't know why, but there's a shoe polish brand called "Kiwi" that's been around since 1906 it appears. Well known in the States. We were intrigued by the logo as kids.)

And It's a thrill to see animals released into the wild, and gratifying to see people working so hard for something positive.

A few links if anyone's interested -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_fantail
https://ebird.org/species/nezfan1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwi_(bird)
https://www.nationalkiwihatchery.org.nz/about-us/kiwi/