Bird ID?

[Sam1]

Was mowing the grass and found a bird that built a nice nest on the ground in the middle of the open, had some humongous eggs in it for the size of the bird (they looked like small chicken eggs).

 

Anyone know what this is?  It was extremely protective of the nest and wouldn't go more than 10 feet away from it even when I ran up near it with the weedeater (when I first noticed it).

 

 

[Tncobra]

Killdeer

[Oh Shoot]

They'll often do the broken wing bird act to try to lure you away from the nest.

 

- OS

[Sam1]

That was quick, and just looked it up.  Makes sense now why it made a nest in the open, hope its babies evade the barn cat nearby.

[Sam1]

They'll often do the broken wing bird act to try to lure you away from the nest.

 

- OS

 

 

Oh that's why it was doing that??  I thought it was trying to signal some other birds to come in and help or something.  It was fluffing both of its wings crooked over it's back and sort of flapping but not really - like it was hurt.

 

Dang that's a heck of a bird.

[teecro]

The ones I'm used to seeing build their nest in rocks even right along side the road where we live as it gets very little traffic....

[SixShooter14]

I see a lot of them on clay hillsides with a lot of loose rocks and not much grass....

[Sam1]

Everything is gravy, I was just worried it was another bunch of woodpeckers that would need to be 'permanently relocated' again like last year.  All others are welcome.

[hipower]

Everything is gravy, I was just worried it was another bunch of woodpeckers that would need to be 'permanently relocated' again like last year.  All others are welcome.

Don't let my wife hear you say that.

We have Downeys and Flickas all around us, as well as the Pileated that supposedly don't live around here.

There's an old cottonwood tree on our front yard that the Pileated just seems to love. He's pecking away on that sucker so loudly I can't nap in the yard for the noise.

[Oh Shoot]

...
We have Downeys and Flickas all around us, as well as the Pileated that supposedly don't live around here.

 

All the range maps I see show them across whole state. Most look similar to this one:

 

[Mike.357]

can't take a nap?

 

F'in bird needs to go.

[hipower]

All the range maps I see show them across whole state. Most look similar to this one:
 

Just going by what a vendor at the Last Home and Garden Show told my wife.

I may be "for the birds' but know nuttin' about 'em.

[MrsMonkeyMan2500]

Don't let my wife hear you say that.

We have Downeys and Flickas all around us, as well as the Pileated that supposedly don't live around here.

There's an old cottonwood tree on our front yard that the Pileated just seems to love. He's pecking away on that sucker so loudly I can't nap in the yard for the noise.

Totally not on topic but your dpost made me angry. I hate wood peckers! When we lived in crieve hall, our house was a ranch in the front but the backside was over the garage so two stories. One morning I woke up an went into the office to pay bills. The back window never had blinds on it. I wasn't quite fully dressed when out of the blue I heard "tap, tap, tap" I covered myself, screamed and looked and it was a damn wood pecker. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I have since forgiven them and still feed them at the new house! :-/

[teecro]

Totally not on topic but your dpost made me angry. I hate wood peckers! When we lived in crieve hall, our house was a ranch in the front but the backside was over the garage so two stories. One morning I woke up an went into the office to pay bills. The back window never had blinds on it. I wasn't quite fully dressed when out of the blue I heard "tap, tap, tap" I covered myself, screamed and looked and it was a damn wood pecker. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I have since forgiven them and still feed them at the new house! :-/

 

I have a coworker who lives in KY to which his wife bakes "bird bread" near daily for the wood pecker who all but knock on the door demanding to be fed their ration of corn bread, while another one sits on the deck rail screaming for peanuts as he/she does not care for the bread....

[MrsMonkeyMan2500]

I have a coworker who lives in KY to which his wife bakes "bird bread" near daily for the wood pecker who all but knock on the door demanding to be fed their ration of corn bread, while another one sits on the deck rail screaming for peanuts as he/she does not care for the bread....

I love birds. Since we've moved up to Jackson County I have tons of them. We have 6 feeders on our property and tons of cardinals (my favorite). We have suet, seed, you name it! But ever since that pesky peeping Pecker, I have a hard time caring about them. But we have tons of them here and they are quite gorgeous! My new favorite though is a tufted Titmouse! Talk about adorable!

[hipower]

Totally not on topic but your dpost made me angry. I hate wood peckers! When we lived in crieve hall, our house was a ranch in the front but the backside was over the garage so two stories. One morning I woke up an went into the office to pay bills. The back window never had blinds on it. I wasn't quite fully dressed when out of the blue I heard "tap, tap, tap" I covered myself, screamed and looked and it was a damn wood pecker. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I have since forgiven them and still feed them at the new house! :-/

 
 

I love birds. Since we've moved up to Jackson County I have tons of them. We have 6 feeders on our property and tons of cardinals (my favorite). We have suet, seed, you name it! But ever since that pesky peeping Pecker, I have a hard time caring about them. But we have tons of them here and they are quite gorgeous! My new favorite though is a tufted Titmouse! Talk about adorable!

That is hilarious!!!

[MrsMonkeyMan2500]

That is hilarious!!!

Seriously thought it was a peeping Tom, turned around, just a wood pecker. Hilarious yet in the moment my BP shot up! So glad we moved! Ha!!

[Sam1]

Don't let my wife hear you say that.

We have Downeys and Flickas all around us, as well as the Pileated that supposedly don't live around here.

There's an old cottonwood tree on our front yard that the Pileated just seems to love. He's pecking away on that sucker so loudly I can't nap in the yard for the noise.

 

Last year there was an incident where one started putting a hole in our siding.  I don't mind them either, but when they damage the house it becomes a different story.

[enfield]

I peacefully coexist with all the critters around here - deer, squirrels, birds, woodpeckers, foxes, coons, possums & snakes - until they become destructive or pests.  We feed birds year around, including woodpeckers. :D

 

Birds nest in our hanging ferns every year - just raised a brood of wrens.

[peejman]

We do birds....

 

(mrs. peej)

 

 

 

 

We've got a few feeders and like having them around.  Mom has LOTS of feeders and probably goes through 50lbs of sunflower seed in a week or two. 

 

We have a strange woodpecker that likes sunflower seed.  He'll get a seed, carry it up to the edge of the eave or gutter, and jackhammer away at it.  It literally sounds like someone is hammering on the roof.  It's either a downy or a hairy woodpecker. 

[hipower]

We do birds....
 
(mrs. peej)
 

 
 
 
We've got a few feeders and like having them around.  Mom has LOTS of feeders and probably goes through 50lbs of sunflower seed in a week or two. 
 
We have a strange woodpecker that likes sunflower seed.  He'll get a seed, carry it up to the edge of the eave or gutter, and jackhammer away at it.  It literally sounds like someone is hammering on the roof.  It's either a downy or a hairy woodpecker.

Fantastic picture!!

Is that a Cooper"s Hawk? Sure looks similar to those around us.

[E4 No More]

Speaking of birds, I saw the bluest bird last Saturday in our neighborhood. I think it might be this: http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/203/overview/Indigo_Bunting.aspx

[peejman]

Fantastic picture!!

Is that a Cooper"s Hawk? Sure looks similar to those around us.

 

Young red tailed hawk.  Adult cooper's hawks are a bit smaller (about the size of a big crow) and usually more gray.  Most of the hawks around here look pretty similar when they're juveniles (red tailed, red shouldered, coopers, sharp-shinned, broad winged, ... ) and it can be really hard to tell the difference until they're adults. 

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id

 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/id

[JAB]

For the OP, wanna see something funny?  Baby killdeer can run within a very short time of hatching,  The funny part is that they have little, baby birdie bodies with those long, killdeer legs.

 

.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRIclOhJIXg

 

I like birds, in general.  I found a sparrow chick in a busy parking lot, once.  Normally it is best just to leave chicks that have fallen from the nest alone or put them in a bush nearby where they will be safe, etc. and the mom will take care of them.  In this case, though, the little bird was going to get ran over or something so I took her home with me.  She wasn't terribly little - already had her feathers, etc. - but wasn't old enough to fly, yet so I hand fed her until she could eat on her own. Once she was able to fly wellI tried to release her but she was having none of that - I'd toss her in the air to fly away and she would just fly back and land on my shoulder so I kept her around and named her 'Matilda'..  She stayed in a bird cage when I wasn't home but I would let her out when I got home from work.  Funny thing, she'd hear me coming and start chirping and carrying on to be let out.  She knew her name and was better at coming to me when I called her than some dogs I have had.  We'd even play chase.  Seriously, I'd open the door on her cage and 'run' and she would fly after me, chase me down (not too hard - I'm not very fast) and land on my shoulder.  In the evening, sitting and watching tv, Matilda would get in the palm of my hand, nestle down and go to sleep.  I didn't have her very long - I think she might have gotten egg bound when she got old enough to lay (I had a female cockatiel die of the same thing - there isn't a lot that can be done for them and I probably won't have any more female pet birds because of that issue.)  Still, that little 'wild' bird was funny, affectionate and a joy to have around.

 

I have also done what I could to help a few injured birds.  There is a group in Oak Ridge called the Clinch River Raptor Center.  They have the proper authorizations to be able to be in possession of protected species like raptors (hawks, owls, etc.) while they rehabilitate them.  Otherwise, for the most part having a wild bird in your possession in TN is illegal, to my understanding even if you are just keeping it long enough for it to recover from an injury (actually, I think having any 'wild' animal as a pet or kept in captivity is pretty much against TN law.)  They also help other birds besides raptors.  Back when I was in my early twenties I had a hawk fly into the front of my truck and 'crash' into the ditch.  I wrapped it up in a work apron and took it home.  When my mom called TWRA to find out what to do, the guy on the phone said that they couldn't come out to pick up every injured animal in the state.  He further said that it was illegal for us to have the hawk so I should take it and put it back in the ditch where I got it.  Instead, I called the Knoxville Zoo and the bird folks there gave me the contact info for the Clinch River Raptor Center.  We took it there, they rehabilitated it and let us take it back and release it near where it got hurt.

 

This little guy flew into a window where I work a few years back and injured one of his wings.  I couldn't get him to the Clinch River folks immediately as I had a busy few days (found him on Friday and was singing at a wedding that Saturday with the wedding rehearsal on Friday night so I couldn't get with them until the following Sunday) so I kept him going on sugar water until I could.  It was funny to watch because, even though he was already an adult bird and some adult wild animals will refuse to eat (some young ones will, too) in similar situations, this bird seemed to 'get' what was going on.  I'd stick the opening of the syringe to the end of his beak and he'd run that long, thin tongue up into the syringe and lap up the sugar water.  I do have to wonder how many other folks have ever fed a hummingbird with a syringe.

 

 

I called to check on him a few days after turning him over.  The lady said that, because they are so small, there isn't a lot that can be done to help the wing heal.  Basically, it had to heal on its own or not.  She said that if it healed it would already be into the migration season so they'd get someone who was headed to Florida for one reason or another to take him there and release him to give him a head start so he could get where he needed to be before it got too cold.  If the wing didn't heal they'd have to put him down.  I didn't call back after that because if he didn't heal I didn't want to know.  I would rather assume he got better and was able to fly away.

 

A couple more hummingbirds flew into the windows that summer but they were pretty much killed on impact.  The person who was in charge of our campus at the time mentioned to me that she wondered why they were flying into the window.  I told her that I knew why - it was because they had a lot of red flowers around at the base of the windows that were attracting them.  I told her that red and purple are highly attractive to them and they were flying into the reflections of those flowers in the windows.  Next thing I knew, she'd had all the flowers changed out for yellow ones and I haven't seen a dead or injured hummingbird around our building since.

 

Oh, and while looking for the pic of the hummingbird, I came across a pic of me feeding Matilda by hand while she was still a 'baby'.  I fed her a thinned out slurry of dog food.  I wrapped a tissue around her when I fed her in case she pooped - didn't want bird poop on my hands.

 

Edited June 4, 2015 by JAB

[JAB]

 My new favorite though is a tufted Titmouse! Talk about adorable!

 

Those are funny and seem to be all but fearless.  My mom keeps dry dog food on her front porch for her outside dogs and the titmouses (titmice? :pleased: ) will fly right up and steal the dog food, sometimes with the dogs lying just a few feet away and sometimes even with a human standing close by.  When I put out suet cakes in my yard after not having any up for a while they are usually the first ones brave enough to check them out.

 

For cute, little birds however I am kind of partial to the chickadee and the bluebird.  When I was a kid, we heated with a wood heater.  One night we came in after being gone all day and when dad opened the heater to start a fire there was a bluebird in the heater - it had flown down the stovepipe and was nestled in.  It got out and flew around for a bit before I tossed a dish towel over it and caught it.  Before I took it outside to let it go, I held and petted it for a few seconds and got a good, close up look at it.  It didn't seem to mind and was actually very calm about the whole thing.

 

It is fun to have some of those nest boxes with a hinged lid so you can peek at the babies when the mom is out looking for food.  I have seen both baby bluebirds and baby chickadees (talk about tiny - chickadee adults are little so imagine how small their eggs and fresh-hatched chicks are) in such nest boxes, among others.

 

Another favorite 'little bird' is the goldfinch.  Haven't seen many of those around for the last, couple of years.  Was seeing them everywhere for a few years before that.