Community Chat

[Bird mama]

Welcome birding friends and visitors to the nest. I am convinced that this month, those of us who haven't experienced any spring yet, will.

I hope the rain showers are gentle ones,

and the trees will be budding in no time.

Among the trees is a bird's nest,

and in the nest her three eggs rest,

and in each egg, Hush, you'll be heard!

There lies asleep A tiny bird.

Written by H.N. Bialik

[Winifred]

My goodness - thanks for the rebuilt bird nest - will help.

Noticed yesterday my feeders are ALL empty. Lots of doves hanging around these days and I much prefer the smaller birds as the doves just get in the way. Still wonder if they didn't show up about 7 years ago or so due to people letting them out. NEVER saw a dove and then all of a sudden little by little they are everywhere. A lot of us think people let them out of their coops when the economy took a nose dive. Lots of people had them - my neighbor had a zillion of them and they all just disappeared from his yard and he took his coops down. Never had the nerve to ask him if he let them loose. If these were once caged birds they certainly did survive - or at least a lot of them did.

Not quite as hot today but will still be warm.

Easter is around the corner - time flies.

Hope all have a great day.

[Bird mama]

I say it every month; I can't believe we are starting a new month here at the nest. That first quarter of the year flew by like a shot.

The bird for the day is the great skua - a large seabird

Apparently they are quite predatory. In this case, I'm going to stay in my own "my little pony" world and say the skua scared the gull and the gull got away.

When I say big, I am not kidding.

[mousiegirl]

[possummink]

Hi Birding Friends, Kind of dragging around this morning, or early afternoon here, need to get in gear, but just not in the mood to do much of anything.

Thanks, Birdmama, for our new perch. I am now watching another owl nest in Montana, a Long-eared owl. She looks so much like a Great Horned owl. Very 'jumpy' or nervous on her nest at times. Wondering if this is her first nesting attempt. Also watching another Great Horned owl in Montana. This one is near a lake and there are many other birds around too.

I have checked in on the Bald Eagle nest and a hawk nest too. Think the hawk nest is in New York.

I haven't had breakfast yet, so I guess I need to eat, maybe that'll perk me up. Have a lovely day, Everyone.

[SeaGal]

I hope I am not intruding, message for possummink

Thought you may be experiancing empty nest syndrome with the cutest GHO's being big kids now, there is a new owl cam at explore.org with a GHO nest and 2 tiny babies, located in Charlo, Montana. Just click on the GHO picture at explore.org

There is another new cam there (explore.org) with a pair of Long Eared Owls, they are sitting on 6 eggs! Holy Smokes 6 eggs!! It is located in Missoula, Montana, scroll down below the cams you can see the message boards. She is getting pelted in a hail storm right now.

By the way, at explore.org you will also see the choice for the Osprey cam in Breman, Maine, the ospreys Steve and Rachelle will be back to start a new family any day now, it is a great nest to follow and a beautiful view all summer! Again, message board below cam, join in or get your updates on any of them.

Enjoy!

eta~ cool, I just realized you can toogle between the 2 different owl nests on the same page, the smaller box under the main cam is the other nest!

[Winifred]

SeaGal, you are not intruding - hope you stop by often as you are more than welcome. We LOVE people stopping by.

Possum, how are things with you - I GET THE BLAHS FROM TIME TO TIME. Mousiegirl, love that rabbit - sooooooooo cute. Bird mama, hope things are well with you also.

All the critters are in for the night - Stripes got really testy with me when I picked him up. He has never done that - he is a little shakey for some reason and I hope no one is bothering him. Suspect that may be the case as he is always mellow with me but not tonight - and I have the scars to prove it. Weird. Will keep an eye on him.

Been a busy day - am glad it is almost sleepy bye time. LOL. Hope all have a great day tomorrow.

[possummink]

Hi Birding Friends, A late fly by as I was just getting ready to shut the computers down and I noticed a late post by Winifred and then saw SeaGal's message about the nest cams.

SeaGal, Thanks for the info on the owl cams in Montana. I got a message from Wild Birds Unlimited about the Barred Owl nest cam becoming activated again this year. It's somewhere in Indiana and I watched last year and saw all 3 eggs hatch and watched the little owlets, Wyken, Blynken and Nod, grow from hatchlings into little owlets and then fledglings. I had never watched a nest cam before, and loved it. I am having a lot of withdrawal angst from the Savannah Bird cam Great Horned Owls. I keep checking on the site and seeing the empty nest. The cam has been down most of today and evening, so I have the Barred Owl mama on the laptop next to this one. She just left the nest and you could hear a whole lot of hooting. She only has 2 eggs, like Mama Great Horned Owl.

I didn't know any owls laid that many eggs. I can't imagine how that Long Eared Owl will be able to feed that many babies. I am looking forward to seeing the Osprey nest. I have seen the actual nests down here in the Tampa area. Both hacking poles are along busy streets, but there are big ponds and retention pools near the nests, and so I have seen the adults flying with fish in their claws and ononthe top of light standards eating their catch. The one nest is right above a baseball field for kids, so these birds are able to co-exist with humans, if the humans allow them to live in peace.

I haven't seen any Sandhill Cranes babies yet this year here. Usually see them at the Mall or near the ponds near the Mall. They keep getting squeezed out of more and more habitat here with all the developments. They try to hang on, but it's not right for sure.

Thanks for the info on the cams. Cornell Ornithology Labshassome leads on next cams and actually have a Red Tailed Hawk nest. I think it's in NY, and I have glanced at it a few times, but haven't zeroed in on them like the owls.

Come back any time here, we'd love to have you posting with us.

[possummink]

Winifred. I saw that CA has imposed strict water limits already. Hope that doesn't put too much of a hardship on you. I hope that the drought ends soon and that the rains come and help you all out.

Hope Stripes didn't do too much damage to your skin. I wonder what had him riled up like that. Hope he calms down.

Am heading for the shower and hope all here have pleasant dreams and restful sleep.

[Bird mama]

Hello all - I think I heard thunder as I was walking into work today. It's been so long since I've heard thunder, I'm not sure .

The bird of the day is the Parasitic Jaeger (in the skua family)