# Quarantine birdwatching **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 26, 2020, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502 "2020-05-26T18:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/21 "2020-05-31T02:10:03Z")
Several visitors to the feeder today! Mostly house sparrows, plus maybe a pair of cardinals (I didn’t know the female cardinal looked so different!). And a chipmunk came to clean up whatever the birds spilled! And it was probably unrelated to the feeder, but a confused deer dropped by, looking around our street. Seemed to be lost – would go one way for a few seconds, then turn around and go the other way. Big surprise, as we’re not really close to any significant forested area, just lots of tiny intermittent green spaces and a few small parks. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/22 "2020-05-31T02:39:11Z")
I got a photo of the towhee hopping near the house. It’s a phone photo, but still fun. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2020, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/23 "2020-05-31T17:55:21Z")
> [@Dorjan](#): > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3euEokWzD8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3euEokWzD8) \<– saved feed of sparrow incursion That’s great! The English house sparrow vs. house finch standoff was impressively dramatic. Apparently house finches aren’t the [best host for cowbirds](https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v098n02/p0253-p0258.pdf). Too many seeds in the diet. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/24 "2020-06-01T04:23:09Z")
I’m trying to identify a bird who sings the “O Fortuna” chorus. High high low low, the “sors salutis, et virtutis” part [starting about here](https://youtu.be/GXFSK0ogeg4). BirdID suggests Mountain Chickadee, which is the right area (not sure if they use that data) but none of the songs online match. ---
**Author:** ![Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/section_maker_jupe/32/1424_2.png) [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Section_Maker_Jupe)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/25 "2020-06-01T15:30:47Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Put in a birdfeeder today. Haven’t seen any birds yet feeding from it, but hopefully soon! Once they put the word out…:eek: it seems there is some secret message board for birds, they know when its empty, as soon as its filled, everyone shows up. I have a feeder right outside my bedroom window, at the foot of the bed. Lazy bird watching! Lots of house finches here, I’ve been putting up shade screens over nesting areas, as they nest in a safe place but its too close to the greenhouse roofs, they sit up there panting. I love spotting raptors, and we had a small merlin show up and an american kestral. Lots of the other raptors common to Santa Barbara as well. I care for indoor/outdoor parrot aviaries, so the racket always seems to attract some interesting birds. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/26 "2020-06-01T15:39:44Z")
We were doing yard work Sunday and my gf pointed out a bird flying toward us that looked huge. Initially it was too far away to see details, but it was obviously a very large bird. As it got closer, we both realized at the exact same moment that the bird was a bald eagle. Flew right over us and continued on its way. We saw a bald eagle last year while pontooning on the Allegheny river, and saw one a few years before that while kayaking the upper Allegheny near Foxburg. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/27 "2020-06-01T16:07:30Z")
> [@Section\_Maker\_Jupe](#): > > Once they put the word out…:eek: it seems there is some secret message board for birds, they know when its empty, as soon as its filled, everyone shows up. I have a feeder right outside my bedroom window, at the foot of the bed. Lazy bird watching! > > Lots of house finches here, I’ve been putting up shade screens over nesting areas, as they nest in a safe place but its too close to the greenhouse roofs, they sit up there panting. > I love spotting raptors, and we had a small merlin show up and an american kestral. Lots of the other raptors common to Santa Barbara as well. > > I care for indoor/outdoor parrot aviaries, so the racket always seems to attract some interesting birds. You aren’t kidding! I’ve already had to refill it twice. Some of that seems to be messiness – it appears that some birds kick up what they don’t want in their search for what they do want. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/28 "2020-06-01T19:11:32Z")
I am another lockdown bird observer. I got the BirdNET app for identifying bird calls and songs. It’s identified about 20 species in my immediate area, some of which I have conformed visually. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/29 "2020-06-01T20:59:13Z")
Since March 1, 2020 I have seen the following birds: Dark-eyed Junco Brown-headed Cowbird Black-billed Magpie Spotted Towhee Mountain Chickadee House Finch Song Sparrow Pine Sisken White-breasted Nuthatch American Robin Woodhouse’s Scrub Jay Common Raven Red-winged Blackbird Mallard Canyon Towhee American Crow Northern Flicker European Starling American Kestrel House Sparrow Western Bluebird Rough-legged Hawk Turkey White-winged Dove Steller’s Jay Cassin’s Finch Turkey Vulture Hairy Woodpecker Rock Dove (pigeon) Downy Woodpecker Lesser Goldfinch Brewer’s Blackbird Black-chinned Hummingbird Western Kingbird Black-headed Grosbeak Broad-tailed Hummingbird Chipping Sparrow Western Tanager Ash-throated Flycatcher Black-capped Chickadee American Goldfinch Black-capped Chickadee Violet-Green Swallow Cliff Swallow Northern Mockingbird Cooper’s Hawk Killdeer Rose-breasted Grosbeak In the same period I also saw the following non-birds: Colorado Chipmunk Striped Skunk Rock Squirrel Mule Deer Bordered Plant Bug West Coast Lady (butterfly) White Cabbage (butterfly) Prairie Lizard Hunt’s Bumblebee White-lined Sphinx Moth Variable Skink Western Tiger Swallowtail (butterfly) Southwestern Tent Caterpillar Red Admiral (butterfly) Common Buckeye (butterfly) Painted Lady (butterfly) Orange Sulphur (butterfly) Yellow Bumblebee Garden Snail ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/30 "2020-06-01T22:24:17Z")
> [@Ynnad](#): > > Dark-eyed Junco > Brown-headed Cowbird > Black-billed Magpie > Spotted Towhee > White-breasted Nuthatch > Red-winged Blackbird > White-winged Dove > Hairy Woodpecker > Downy Woodpecker > Black-chinned Hummingbird > Broad-tailed Hummingbird > Ash-throated Flycatcher > Black-capped Chickadee > Black-capped Chickadee > Violet-Green Swallow > Rose-breasted Grosbeak (snipped) I dunno who’s in charge of naming birds but I feel like they’re just phoning it in. mmm ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/31 "2020-06-01T22:50:20Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > (snipped) > > I dunno who’s in charge of naming birds but I feel like they’re just phoning it in. > mmm You can only be inspired so often. They named the Great Tit and then rested. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/32 "2020-06-01T23:35:28Z")
So far I’ve seen the following this spring: Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Cardinal American Robin Mourning Dove Wood Duck American Tree Sparrow Horned Grebe Common Grackle White-breasted Nuthatch Gadwall Long-tailed Duck Northern Shoveler Fox Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Greater Scaup Blue-winged Teal Pied-billed Grebe Belted Kingfisher Golden-crowned Kinglet Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Red-bellied Woodpecker Ruby-crowned Kinglet Northern Flicker Swamp Sparrow Black-crowned Night Heron Willet Eastern Phoebe Eastern Towhee Canada Geese Winter Wren Common Yellow-throat Yellow Warbler Green Heron Great Blue Heron Blue-headed Vireo Cerulean Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler Cape May Warbler Magnolia Warbler Bay-breasted Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Black-billed Cuckoo Palm Warbler Wlison’s Warbler Canada Warbler Mourning Warbler Northern Parula Black-poll Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blue-gray Gnatcher American Redstart Downy Woodpecker Blue Jay Rose-breasted Grosbeck Indigo Bunting Warbling Vireo Red-eyed Vireo Eastern Wood-Pewee Least Flycatcher Yellow-rumped Warbler House Wren That’s pretty much it so far. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502/33 "2020-06-03T20:29:12Z")
The chipmunks are bold – they climb up into the dish and fill their cheeks, then presumably go save them in a whole somewhere, and come back and do it again! Getting a squirrel baffle – we’ll see if it works. I like that the chipmunks and squirrels clean up the mess that falls to the ground, but I don’t want them climbing up onto the feeders themselves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quarantine-birdwatching/854502.md?page=1)