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Post by spackle on Mar 19, 2010 22:33:54 GMT -5
I was surprised to look it up and see that GBH are taller than SC. SC have always seemed bigger to me- taller and not so svelte as the big herons. But I guess greater wing span makes sense if their bodies are heavier.
They're not nearly as skittish as herons, so you can get pretty close. I usually leave them be, except occasionally... once I was leaving a parking lot and was confronted with 2 pair (!!!) and I got out of my car and tried to urge them off the busy pavement and onto a nearby grassy verge, and they looked at me like I was being rude. Which I guess I was. Their heads came up to about my neck. They eventually wandered slowly in the general direction I was urging them to go.
Yup, my magical hut is way south, in Florida. Maybe I should call it my magical cabana.
Maybe the bird is on its way to a Red Hat Society meeting?
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Post by callipygias on Mar 20, 2010 11:09:03 GMT -5
That's about opposite of the answer I expected -- they wander around parking lots? Yes, very different from the herons, though the ones fishing on the golf course ponds sometimes let people walk right by. My group walked right past one fishing on the edge of a pond without even realizing he was there. I only saw him when I went back for something (probably more golf balls, since I was near water).
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Post by spackle on Mar 20, 2010 12:05:55 GMT -5
Sandhill Cranes have really acclimated themselves to living in patches of nature in suburban areas here. There was a pair living around a big borrow pit behind a shopping mall two years ago. I'd drive out of my way to see them- I only discovered them once when I was taking a shortcut. The one I saw yesterday was on a golf course, and I often see them (usually in pairs) in the community near the golf course. I've been in this area around 10 years, and they were much more scarce when I first moved here. Now I see some every few weeks. Them and their sunburnt heads and their prehistoric calls. It is kind of weird to have them semi-urbanized. I'd much rather see them where it's wild, but with wild becoming scarce, it's good they can adapt.
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Post by callipygias on Mar 20, 2010 21:17:38 GMT -5
I saw Lupus go into hunt mode and saw what I assumed was an American Goldfinch perched on the tip of a maple limb a few inches from the window. He flew a little further into the garden when Lupus pawed the window. My camera on zoom apparently takes tiny pictures (doesn't that defeat the purpose of zoom?), plus this is through two windows and a screen I didn't realize till I saw the pics that this is a Lesser Goldfinch. I've had them at my feeders before, but I hadn't noticed any in quite a while. Here's a real picture of a Lesser Goldfinch
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Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 20, 2010 22:01:34 GMT -5
I saw Lupus go into hunt mode Lupus, the rarest bird of them all. ;D These are incredible birds. I'll think about posting some Hawai'i birds photo's here. I think you'll like it. Our most common bird is the Mynah bird, so I don't think I'll need to post that one. Spackle, if you're in a cabana, I must be in a "little grass shack in Kealakekua Hawai'i." With internet connectivity.
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Post by spackle on Mar 21, 2010 9:25:15 GMT -5
this is through two windows and a screen Those aren't bad; at least you can tell what it is. I think with my camera on zoom, all I'd be able to identify is a Lesser Blur. Spackle, if you're in a cabana, I must be in a "little grass shack in Kealakekua Hawai'i." With internet connectivity. Yeah, people around here even call their screen porch a lanai. I think Florida's got Hawai'i envy. Except Hawai'i doesn't have the Limpkin, another bird with a loud call (there's a sound clip on the page). I saw and heard one yesterday. Here is a sound clip of the Sandhill Crane. See, just like I said, turkey and pterodactyl. ;D
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Mar 21, 2010 17:23:30 GMT -5
Except Captain Hygiene, of course. In the words of Groupie: NEVER FORGET I WAS going to say the hermit warbler looks really cool, and that I'd like to see one myself, but now I assume you'll just claim it's because I want to eat one or something.
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Post by callipygias on Mar 21, 2010 19:30:26 GMT -5
Here is a sound clip of the Sandhill Crane. See, just like I said, turkey and pterodactyl. ;D Far out. I can't believe I hadn't already bookmarked Cornell as a favorite, and I can't believe I never thought to use my computer to listen to bird calls. Dur. In the woods (especially) it's the best way to find out something new is around. Thanks, I'll wear that site out. I WAS going to say the hermit warbler looks really cool, and that I'd like to see one myself. Probably so you could eat one or something.
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Post by spackle on Mar 21, 2010 22:10:27 GMT -5
Far out. I can't believe I hadn't already bookmarked Cornell as a favorite, and I can't believe I never thought to use my computer to listen to bird calls. Dur. In the woods (especially) it's the best way to find out something new is around. Thanks, I'll wear that site out. Trying to suss out birds calls from a written description in a guide is a major WTF. That Sandhill Crane call is far out, isn't it?
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Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 21, 2010 22:36:17 GMT -5
I think Florida's got Hawai'i envy. Is that what they're calling it now? I would hate to hear that Limpkin call when I was all by myself in the middle of nowhere. It has a beautiful call, but it does sound like a female yelling. The crane call is, simply, beautiful. That dinner was delicious. What type of bird was that again, Captain Hygiene?
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Post by spackle on Mar 22, 2010 9:00:28 GMT -5
That dinner was delicious. What type of bird was that again, Captain Hygiene? I think it was chicken.
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Post by solgroupie on Mar 23, 2010 12:42:23 GMT -5
CAP'N HYGIENE ATE MAH MOMMA!
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Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 23, 2010 18:45:25 GMT -5
^^^^Anyone want to follow that? Hi-five, Solgroupie.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Mar 23, 2010 22:56:39 GMT -5
CAP'N HYGIENE ATE MAH MOMMA! And I'm gonna eat you too, come this summer! Now EAT THAT CORN!
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Post by spackle on Mar 24, 2010 9:13:54 GMT -5
Not to harp on about how cool Sandhill Cranes are... well, yeah, I'm going to do just that. I'm sitting here at my desk, which is strategically located to look out a sliding glass door, watching our wresident wrens and a pair of cardinals busily searching for food and nesting materials, and suddenly what to my wondering ears should appear, but the calls of two Sandhill Cranes flying overhead. Unseen, but appreciated. They're so loud! And don't mess with the baby birds... they've got Anhinga Protection! Not scared? How about now? Where's the wasabi?
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