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HAPPY BIRTHDAY CINDY!!!!!!!

It's kind of hard to see, but here's an oriole in our yard.

Most spectacular site out my front window this evening. A mommy or daddy bird brought 3 babies to be fed at my suet feeder. My camera was not working so I took a video. These are a couple of the stills I captured from it. They are blurry cuz it was off video but really neat. I have no idea what kind of birds they are.





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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

Triss, your birds are European Starlings or just Starlings here in the U.S. They are an exotic, invasive species, brought to Central Park In New York City about a century ago, from England, by an eccentric Park Avenue Millionaire who loved birds and Shakespeare. He decided to bring to America breeding populations of EVERY bird that Shakespeare EVER wrote about to get them established in America also. Most didn't survive, but the three species that did, European Starlings, House Sparrows, and Pigeons, not only survived but THRIVED and have almost eradicated many Native North American songbird species. One of the worst damaged species is the Eastern Bluebird that nearly became extinct due to nest site competition with Starlings and House Sparrows. Many Bird researchers, including myself have worked to design Bluebird nesting boxes that CAN be used by Bluebirds but NOT by Starlings or House Sparrows. We have been successful with several designs that are now commonly used and the Bluebird populations has dramatically increased in the last 30 Years. The three above species including Starlings have now spread from coast to coast and from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego in the New World. Incidentally, someone also imported European Starlings to Australia and other countries where they had never existed before.
I have about 30 Starlings that visit and strip my 8 feeders clean EVERY day.
Triss, Do a Google Image Search On European Starlings.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

Use an upside down suet feeder. Starlings cant hang upside down on it to eat but woodpeckers nuthatches etc can
Thorny which houses do you deem most successful in keeping out starlings and house sparrows? The slit opening? Screen top? Are there some I never heard of?

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Summer Camp '07, July 14th weekend, won't you join us?
summer camp thread 1, 2, 3,4

Yay! I sell those as 'sparrow resistant' bluebird houses. Never heard them called Kentucky. I told everyone who ever bought one to tell me how effective they are at keeping sparrows out and, of course, no one ever told me for sure one way or the other.
I was hoping, and am glad you say they're good. Thanks

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Summer Camp '07, July 14th weekend, won't you join us?
summer camp thread 1, 2, 3,4

I love Goldfinches so much!!! How neat for the kids to be able to watch them so close.

Here is a few I took yesterday....I ran totally out of birdseed, which is VERY rare for me. And wouldn't you know, I've never had a dove actually in my windowfeeder until it was empty!



Don't mind the birdpoop on the feeder....I clean it down everyday with a scrubber brush and by the following day it's full of poop again

I have a lot of them that ground feed under my hanging feeder, but that was the first one I've noticed in my window feeder since we put it in back in April.

quote:

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Originally posted by Thornius:
Triss, your birds are European Starlings or just Starlings here in the U.S. They are an exotic, invasive species, brought to Central Park In New York City about a century ago

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Thorny, thank you for this post. I was fascinated reading it, to know that other bird populations are on the rise.

Back in 1971 I had to do a research project for my biology class on the importation of European Starlings and their vast destruction, and it is something I've never forgotten.

Thanks again.

Merme

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"In the midst of winter, I learned there lives in me an invincible summer" Camus (maybe a paraphrase)

I like them a lot too Penny, they seem so peaceful---and their cooing is very nice!

They usually are ground feeders, I was surprised to see it up there.

Here is a pics of how I spent mothers day. We went to a lake and went on a boat ride. I got some of the best pictures.... and now that I have finally figured out how to post pics, I wanted to share them with you all!

Osprey nest
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j127/karrieatodd1/ospreynest.jpg

osprey fleeing the nest
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j127/karrieatodd1/ospreyfleeingnest.jpg

its kinda hard to see him, he is there though in the far corner.

Egret
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j127/karrieatodd1/c80a34f4.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j127/karrieatodd1/egretbyshore2.jpg

I am gonna post this picture and see if my resizeing works.



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It doesn't matter where you go in life... It's who you have beside you when you get there.

Karrie's Photos

Great pics Karrie!

Just take out your lil img on both sides plus their brackets and it should work fine.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.

Thanks Jiffy! I appreciate your help. I would never mind a helping hand!

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It doesn't matter where you go in life... It's who you have beside you when you get there.

Karrie's Photos

We have alot around here. My kids go crazy still even though they see them on a daily basis. I came home one day after setting up my pool and there was one perched on the side of it. I think our Rainbow fish toys swimming around in the pool threw him off. I sure know when I pulled in the drive way and he up and flew right past my windshield, he threw me off. lol

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It doesn't matter where you go in life... It's who you have beside you when you get there.

Karrie's Photos

Aww how cute!

I just took this picture tonight!

I hung it from my porch instead of down in the garden....this way I get a birds eye view of them......no pun intended really....

I love those little guys because they aren't shy at all!

Oh yeh, they fight and one flew so close to my head the other night I felt the breeze of it going by.......I thought it was going to hit me for sure.

For being so little they sure like to fight a lot!

Mark loves sitting out there watching them, and I'm glad he's taken an interest in them, and the other birds.

Cool backlit picture Loz. (can I use?)

You've gotten them lots in the past havent you Thorny?
Stransge how some species just disappear for no apparent reason at times. I've talked to C.L.O and Audubon about it. Sometimes its just as much a mystery to them. Ya never know what the neighbors have done to alter the area.(cut things down, use insecticides etc...)

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Summer Camp '07, July 14th weekend, won't you join us?
summer camp thread 1, 2, 3,4

Loz...that photo is awesome!

Bird Man...that is terrible that you don't have hummingbirds!

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!

I had a little friend today he seems not to mind me being close to it at all.. He eats bathes and drinks in my pond.. Cute little thing!!



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Tonight I am having friends for dinner... Hanibal Lector My Album

Thanks Thornius!! He is quite friendly really and soo cute .. I fill the feeder and them and the squirrels go at it ..

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Tonight I am having friends for dinner... Hanibal Lector My Album

I have a Juvy Carolina Chickadee this year, too, and a Juvy Downy Woodpecker, Juvy Common Grackle, 6 Juvy Carolina Wrens and about 30 Juvy House Sparrows with more on the way.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

Sounds like it could be an Evening Grosbeak or msome sort of Oriole, possibly a Baltimore Oriole. Or maybe a female Scarlet Tanager or Summer Tanager.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

Tanagers are easily Robin-sized but they are more insect eaters. I saw a female Summer Tanager carrying nest material here in Tennessee about a month ago.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.

Spring, Try doing a Google Image Search on those birds and see if any of them are it, and if you CAN get a picture, Wrennie or I can probably identify it instantly.

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A bird in the hand......can sometimes be a mess.