# What's the most interesting bird you saw today? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 19, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811 "2016-06-19T20:04:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/21 "2016-06-20T19:38:14Z")
A juvenile osprey sitting on a street light over the highway between the Pacific and the local estuary. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/22 "2016-06-20T19:51:07Z")
I don’t know what kind it was, but we had a bird caught in our screened back porch. I was finally able to shoo him out the outer door, but judging by what he left behind, he eats a lot of purple berries. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/23 "2016-06-20T20:27:57Z")
Not sure which other people would consider more interesting - the flock of Greater Flamingoes or the [sugarbirds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_sugarbird). ---
**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 20, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/24 "2016-06-20T20:36:53Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Not sure which other people would consider more interesting - the flock of Greater Flamingoes or the [sugarbirds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_sugarbird). Bah, those aren’t sugarbirds, [these are!](https://www.google.com/search?q=caribbean+sugar+birds&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik5PuHurfNAhWHeSYKHf4hB78Q_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=728#imgrc=UZH9VJrxlv-hyM%3A) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2016, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/25 "2016-06-20T23:59:36Z")
Not all that interesting I guess, but I think there is a Blue Jay about to get some in my Elm tree. I was out smoking and I heard a Jay calling pretty close by. A quick look around, and there he was in the Elm tree calling away. I really only payed attention because I thought it seemed pretty weak and desperate sounding compared to a lot of the calls I hear the other Blue Jays give, but about 20 seconds later one came and landed about 3 feet away calling back, which I guess shows I have about the same level of intuition with what chick birds like as I do with the human ones 😉 ---
**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:** [June 21, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/26 "2016-06-21T00:23:44Z")
This morning a breeding pair of Ospreys on the nest out in the Bay and some Double-Crested Cormorants engaging in mating rituals, gaping and honking. Then later today I was out in a marsh area in Petaluma and saw both American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts with their adorable precocial chicks. Including one semi-fledged older avocet chick. Either the breeding was staggered or they produced two generations this season. Both species were actively chasing each other and omnipresent Red-Winged Blackbirds away from each others chicks. And most interesting ( to me ) was a pair of Great-Tailed Grackles that looked like they might be breeding in the cattails with the blackbirds. Dirt common elsewhere but now actively expanding into Northern California, they’re still an uncommon sight around here. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/27 "2016-06-21T00:25:18Z")
I saw a [jailbird](http://www.costumesgalore.net/jail-bird-costume.html) this afternoon. Walking back into my building when **three** cop cars pull up. Apparently a (now former?) cow-orker was in a room with two other uniforms & a detective. Don’t know what he’s accused of, or if it is even something work related or that’s just where they caught up with him but six cops + security to cuff someone says it’s something serious! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/28 "2016-06-21T02:05:50Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Lots of Bald Eagles, a Golden Eagle, the resident Kestrel, too many swallows and hummingbirds (Rufus and Anna’s) to count, and a Quail family but the most interesting were the 5 Turkey Vultures eating roadkill. I see them all the time flying but it’s not often that I see them on the ground and so close. Where do you live? By my mom, across the Sound from Seattle, Balds are as common as pigeons. Moreso, as the falcons keep the population down. > [@MrDibble](#): > > Not sure which other people would consider more interesting - the flock of Greater Flamingoes or the [sugarbirds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_sugarbird). Feh! Round these parts Flamingos are as as common as dirt. Er, the plastic ones. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/29 "2016-06-21T02:36:25Z")
> [@FloatyGimpy](#): > > Lots of Bald Eagles, a Golden Eagle, the resident Kestrel, too many swallows and hummingbirds (Rufus and Anna’s) to count, and a Quail family but the most interesting were the 5 Turkey Vultures eating roadkill. I see them all the time flying but it’s not often that I see them on the ground and so close. > [@dropzone](#): > > Where do you live? By my mom, across the Sound from Seattle, Balds are as common as pigeons. Moreso, as the falcons keep the population down. I am on Vancouver Island. Just down the street from Englishman River Falls which is a few minutes away from Parksville. Also saw a very fat black bear today. He was wandering along in a field while a small herd of deer watched him. ---
**Author:** ![Battle\_Pope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@Battle\_Pope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Battle_Pope)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/30 "2016-06-21T03:04:40Z")
Saw a few [Crimson Rosella’s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_rosella)on the way in this morning and heard a [Gang-Gang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang-gang_cockatoo)but didn’t get a look at him. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/31 "2016-06-21T03:10:43Z")
Summer is a poor time to see birds in Albuquerque, especially as some species have declined or disappeared altogether. I guess the most interesting birds I saw today were Canada Geese that live in the fishing ponds during the summer. They were blocking traffic and someone had to shoe them off the road. ---
**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:** [June 21, 2016, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/32 "2016-06-21T03:26:57Z")
A spotted towhee and a bald eagle. Not together. That would be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/33 "2016-06-21T15:16:13Z")
A beautiful blue jay this morning! If I may go back in time a bit: two weeks ago a pileated woodpecker was pecking at my trees. Man, they can make some LOUD noise. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/34 "2016-06-21T20:08:25Z")
A Greater Jardine’s parrot, but he lives with us. He says “hi.” Otherwise a bland bird day-- some house finches in the yard bath. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/35 "2016-06-21T20:14:36Z")
Saw a Harris Hawk fly over yesterday with a smaller bird in his talons. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/36 "2016-06-21T21:49:21Z")
I spotted a Large-Breasted Bed Thrasher. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/37 "2016-06-21T21:53:51Z")
I have common nighthawks nesting on the roof of the building out my bedroom window, so I hear then when I go to bed at night. ---
**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 22, 2016, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/38 "2016-06-22T03:39:48Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I have common nighthawks nesting on the roof of the building out my bedroom window, so I hear then when I go to bed at night. Cool bird! I was at a wildlife rehab center when someone brought in a nighthawk in a box. It was DOA. A staff member cut the bird’s crop open, showing us the hundreds (thousands?) of tiny bugs it had eaten. ---
**Author:** ![CannyDan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannydan/32/548_2.png) [@CannyDan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CannyDan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/39 "2016-06-22T18:56:01Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Cool bird! I was at a wildlife rehab center when someone brought in a nighthawk in a box. It was DOA. A staff member cut the bird’s crop open, showing us the hundreds (thousands?) of tiny bugs it had eaten. We’ll get an occasional call from someone who has found an unidentified smallish bird that cannot fly, often as a result of a collision with a car. They’ll describe it as looking “sort of like a hawk, big eyes with a hooked beak, but the beak is really small”. We tell them that they can help positively identify the bird if they just use one fingertip and gently touch it on the beak. The response goes “You mean just touch it’s beak like – HOLY SHIT! OH MY GOD! WHAT WAS THAT?” Then we say “It’s a nighthawk!” Their mouths are disproportionately huge, as is appropriate for a bird that catches insects in the air at night. When touched, the mouth is opened and it looks bigger than the bird! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2016, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811/40 "2016-06-22T19:05:43Z")
My “pet” crow, who appears when I walk out my front door, looking for a Cheeto treat. This morning I thought I heard a soft thump at the door as I was getting ready to leave for work…I think he may be learning to knock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-most-interesting-bird-you-saw-today/757811.md?page=3)