There are these tiny little brown birds, about two inches in length – about half the size of a sparrow – that like to hop around the back porch and twitter. (Not Twitter; twitter.) They’re really cute. No idea what they are, and they’re probably only of interest to birders; but I like them because they come close to the door. They interest the cat, too.
Other than that, just the usual bald eagles, other raptors, great blue herons (well, I think they’re pretty good blue herons; but ‘great’?), ducks, geese, and various shore birds.
EDIT: Taking a cue from upthread, these birds might be wrens; possibly house wrens.
We had a pair in our back porch hanging basket and often when I’d water it they’d come flying out causing water to go everywhere, especially down my leg.
Lately, there have been some short-eared owls hanging out on Plum Island at sunrise and sunset. One of the more interesting owls to watch, because they don’t just sit in the tree and doze during the daytime like most owls – they flutter around like big moths trying to catch voles and other small squeaky creatures.
There’s also a barred owl that’s been hanging around there most of the winter (which is good, because it took me most of the winter to finally spot him). Very lugubrious looking bird.
Aside from that, mostly just the usual suspects at the feeders – tufted titmice (is that the right plural for titmouse?), chickadees, cardinals, a downy woodpecker, and lately, a bunch of red-wing blackbirds.
Yeah, wren would be my guess, based on the size and twitter. Do they tend to hold their tails straight up?
Several books I’ve read have suggested a lot of study has been done on various wren song. ISTR Kroodsma, for one, has written at length about Bewicks. If you could find a CD at your library, the song might help you identify them.
Last month I went to the Everglades, so I saw a lot of really cool birds. The best was an anhinga swimming, up close enough (less than 10 feet away) so I could see that it had its wings open, appearing to be “flying” under water.
Haven’t noticed. The page I linked says they will nest in ‘nestboxes’, which I assume are ‘bird houses’. Maybe I’ll get one and hang it on the porch to see if any move in.
Those busy little buggers will nest anywhere. You can nail a moldy old sneaker under the eave and they’ll be just as happy as with a proper nestbox. They eat spiders and other insects and are great housekeepers around a porch light. Their complaint is a loud trill, and their call usually has three syllables repeated three times, like teakettle, teakettle, teakettle. Mine say jeremy, jeremy, jeremy. My PA friend claims his say cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger
I am note a true “birder” either. But ever since my husband started feeding the birds I have begun to notice them more closely and want to get to know what their names are.
I’m presently visiting Quintana Roo and have beeen making note of whenever I see something new.
Great Tailed Grackles. An even louder, cockier versdion of our blackbirds at home. And they have a huge vocabulary.
Ruddy Turnstones
Egrets
Ibis
Great Kiskadee
White and Brown Pelicans - they fly the most precise formation and come down to the dock around four when the fishermen come in.
Frigates. Huge gull-like birds who spend most of their time in flight.
Yellow Tailed Orioles
There are supposed to be parrots and toucans here.
A bird I haven’t been able to identify yet I saw in Tulum. It wss about the size of a robin, shiny black with the most beautiful turquoise wings.
Make sure that you get a house with a small entrance hole. Wren sized. Otherwise other birds will bother them.
And it is true that wrens don’t like anything new. A freshly painted birdhouse is anathema to them. Let it hang a couple of years before expecting guests. Or make your own out of weathered lumber.
And unpleasant aside: The worst gang rape I’ve ever seen in nature was of a female wren in our back yard. It was absolutely brutal. Who’da thunk?
So I thought I oughta start checking out the ponds over lunch. Pulled out my notes from last year (yeah, I’m a dork!) - and realized last year I started checking them by the end of Feb. It has been mighty chilly aroun dhere lately - today it is mid 30s, last year today it was 78!
Saw a small flock of ducks - mostly shovellers with a couple of mallards. And (I think) a couple of grebes. They were in one corner of the pond that did not have a skin of ice. They flew when I arrived, so I sat down to see it they would return.
Was wondering if anyone could help ID one bird. While I was awiting the ducks’ return, one small brown ducklike bird landed in the water. It was definitely smaler than a shoveller or mallard. Didn’t recognize any distinguishing features EXCEPT when it landed, it erected a crest running essentially all along its head from top of head to neck. Looked like a punk with a mohawk. Then, I assume it saw me, because it laid the crest down and quickly flew away. Any thoughts?
The shovellers came back shortly thereafter. I’m always eager to try to identify various ducks because growing up in Chicago it seemed all wild ducks were mallards.
I’ve seen Carolina Wren around here a couple of times over the last few weeks. I had to go look it up and was excited to see it is only supposed to come as far north as Mass but there it was.
Also, not rare except in their volume: We’ve of course had mourning doves around for years but this year, every time we looked at the birdy area, there were more. They topped out at 21 mourning doves in one feeding.
