Window Watching Notes

[geezerfinneran]

1. I see large flights of geese (100+) as a regular thing, but ducks ? Two or three at a time-different species, from what I could see.
(Wonder why so few ??)

2. Robins never entirely left this winter. (Kept seeing stragglers around-usually loners.)
This morning, the trees are "full" of robins. Plumage is bright, and they appear to be pairing up for nesting.(Not much of a courtship from what I could see.They sit there in 2's and 3's, not looking at each other - like kids at a Junior HS dance; then 2 will suddenly fly off.)

 

[Bobbleton]

This year hasn't been a great duck year. Probably having something to do with less lake-freezing. I've noticed a general lack of them all winter this year . . .

Also, while robins do migrate from up north (the ones with bright plumage are the northern ones), our resident robins never leave. Here's a map from Cornell Lab of ornithology: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/id/ac

That having been said, those more colorful robins should be seen in numbers around now as they congregate for northward migrations.

 

[geezerfinneran]

Thanks for the info !

I watched - a bit closer - yesterday, and saw some indications of either courthip or territorial domination. A stout robin would hop onto a branch, puff him(?)self up like a Metropolitan tenor, and begin singing/calling. This seemed to create a small stir among the others.

Couldn't hear the song. It could have been La Donna e Mobile or " Wild Thing" for all I know.

 

[Bobbleton]

Very cool! Nomatter the species, observing undisturbed animal behavior is always fascinating!

 

[manumuskin]

I have read that while we have Blue Jays all year the winter jays are from Canada and our summer Jays head to Florida and the tropics for winter.Is this true?

 

[Bobbleton]

I have read that while we have Blue Jays all year the winter jays are from Canada and our summer Jays head to Florida and the tropics for winter.Is this true?

Hmm . . . well I've never actually heard that. Here's what Cornell has to say:

Thousands of Blue Jays migrate in flocks along the Great Lakes and Atlantic coasts, but much about their migration remains a mystery. Some are present throughout winter in all parts of their range. Young jays may be more likely to migrate than adults, but many adults also migrate. Some individual jays migrate south one year, stay north the next winter, and then migrate south again the next year. No one has worked out why they migrate when they do.

 

[dogg57]

To me it seems when it snows we have different Blue Jays here in the winter.Yes Al I have always been told that we get Different Jays in the Winter.To me they seem to be larger then are summer time visitors.They are a strange bird to study.When I can I share my shelled peanuts with them After a bit they will come to your feet to eat

"Ornithologists are puzzled by this simple question: what makes one Blue Jay migrate and another winter over - when both share the same summer territory? Likewise, some blue jays will winter over one year,
and migrate the next. These large, striking songbirds have mysterious and unpredictable migration behavior, and it is not exactly clear what factors determine migration."Copyright © 1997-2012, Foster and Smith, Inc

 

[dogg57]

1. I see large flights of geese (100+) as a regular thing, but ducks ? Two or three at a time-different species, from what I could see.
(Wonder why so few ??)

2. Robins never entirely left this winter. (Kept seeing stragglers around-usually loners.)
This morning, the trees are "full" of robins. Plumage is bright, and they appear to be pairing up for nesting.(Not much of a courtship from what I could see.They sit there in 2's and 3's, not looking at each other - like kids at a Junior HS dance; then 2 will suddenly fly off.)

Heres a Live cam if you get bored it is from Island beach state park

http://friendsofislandbeach.org/ospreycam/
Heres a good cam of the trade center live with sound
http://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/statueofliberty/?cam=liberty_crown

 

[manumuskin]

I love Blue Jays.They have gnads.When I was fourteen I walked out in my yard and all the sudden had one whack me good in the head.It kept screeching and dive bombing my head and hit me in the face when I looked up.I got curious and looked around and seven feet off the ground less then two feet above my head was a nest in the bough of a Norway Spruce we had in the yard.I also saw a jay knock a cat off a banister once that was sleeping.They have gnads.

also had one land on my arm once while I was sitting in a tree.He startled me and I moved.Literally scared the crap out of him?One for the jays one for me!

 

[geezerfinneran]

Got out a bit more this week: saw female red tailed hawk on Fries Mill Rd. Sewell; saw some sea gulls and geese having minor turf squabble over a tiny roadside pond (more like a big puddle) on Rte 42 North- general Turnersville area.

Couldn't linger, as I was driving in both cases.

 

[geezerfinneran]

Bit more "out the window" this morning: pair of Cooper's hawks "working" the neighborhood -seemingly as a tag team.
At a guess, they haven't laid/hatched eggs yet -unless they are between broods.

One would come in low - then soar out; with the other following a few seconds later.

Lord help any "snack item" that broke cover !

 

[manumuskin]

we have a red tailed hawk downhere who is a regualr along 555 adjacent to the motorsports park who regularly patrols for road kill.he sits in one of two trees everyday.There is a peregrine that does the same every so often on muskrat run east of the mauricetown bridge.Thats the local name for that mile long stretch of 670 that crosses the marsh from the bridge to wawa.

 

[Gibby]

We have a resident Sharp-shinned hawk that has adapted to hunting in the tight city environment and we also get visits from an Osprey that takes perch in the crown of the huge Norway in our neighbor's yard. I believe the Osprey comes from the Hamilton marsh. It is a sight to see the Sharp-shinned doing a low patrolling flight along the sidewalk or ambush its prey from a bush by a bird feeder. An older French fellow, several houses over, has a pigeon coup on his roof and curses the hawk, which finds his prize birds a easy meal. The aerial dog fights only last a few seconds and more often than not, the pigeons are the victors. The small flock will swerve and weeve as a whole. All of a sudden one bird is singled out by the hawk and the aerobatics begin! It is very cool to watch. I have never been lucky enough to catch the action on video though.

 

[geezerfinneran]

That must be a sight to see !
I lived in Central NJ up until a year ago, and rarely saw hawks in my town (Old Bridge)-with exception of 1 Sharp-shinned, who was apparently passing through, and who adopted a big tree in the adjoining yard as his perch.

 

[manumuskin]

My wife has a friend who had a fish pond filled with the big golden variety of Chinese carp.The fish kept disappearing no matter how many times they restocked them.One day she got up at the crack of dawn and looked out the window.There was a Great Blue Heron in the fish pond having a smorgasbord.This goes to prove the early bird gets the fish...did I just invent that saying?

 

[geezerfinneran]

They are something to watch ! Used to see one on my way to school (upstate NY):stalking verrrrrry slowly through this little pond.

 

[geezerfinneran]

A little something ( That's all that was left !) today. My son called attention to spot on lawn that apparently got put there today.

I looked it over. It was the scattered feathers of a robin - looked mostly like breast feathers- tossed out in a circle.

I'm guessing a raptor caught and ate the robin al fresco , as it were. We have Cooper's hawks who are regular visitors,but I suppose a Great Horned Owl could have stopped by for a late snack.

 

[geezerfinneran]

Ah- Ha !! Did a bit of research on appearance(s) of different predator kills; then re-checked site: no bones, beak, feet, or wingtips left behind.

Hmmm... Let's see: there was a pair of Cooper's hawks working the area quite recently. Working together suggests bonding, courtship, etc.

PERHAPS the robin was a "wedding gift" from the male ? He might have caught the robin, cloaked it, and stripped off some of the breast feathers to expose the meat - (the Flying Chef ?) He would then carry it to his Lady Love to prove his ability to keep her supplied with yummies while she was nesting.

ps: have noticed large clump of trees,-roughly 1000 yards away-and about 20 degrees SE of my window. From time to time see large birds in there. Too big-I think-for crows-but too far away to ID. That might be the nest location of this pair.

 

[geezerfinneran]

Hope nobody minds, but I have a new * sighting : ravens, I believe. They are quite distant, and no details can be seen, but they are about twice the size of a crow, use the same "get-outa-my-way" flying style as a crow, and are dive-bombed by smaller birds as they pass tree clump " neighborhoods ".
*new for me.

 

[manumuskin]

I see ravens quite frequently in WV but never in NJ.They have kind of a deep somewhat crow like hoarse croak.Yes they are much bigger and supposedly even more intelligent.I know crows that are smarter then some people I know so Ravens might even be smarter then me?Thats no big feat though