Does anybody like to watch birds?

[Meadowlark]

... My favorite is the Shoebill, the fact that they can grow up to 152 cm (4'11, almost 5'0) is astounding.

Interesting...a bird native to central tropical Africa I believe. We have the sandhill crane here that is as tall or taller. They make a distinct trumpeting call with deep resonate tones that can be heard from miles away.

 

[dirty hands]

Looks like something got into my birdcam feeder again last night. I guess I will start bringing my feeders in at night but that attracts mice to my shed.

 

[Peaches]

It always amazes me…this rainwater catchment area for water that runs off out roofs …. down the gutter and into the ponds that drain out down the road at the beach

You can bet within hours about a dozen or so ducks turn up for a splash and a swim
no idea where they are when it’s dry most of the year ….they must have a good radar for water .catchments …..

It’s a bit the same when our apricots are getting ripe ( in summer of course ) it’s very close to winter here now …..

We notice pest blackbirds and Noisy minors …..one or two will show up …..then they go away and inform all their mates …..and turn up by the dozen

 

[Meadowlark]

…..then they go away and inform all their mates …..and turn up by the dozen

There is no doubt in my mind that birds are effective communicators.

 

[dirty hands]

There was a show I watched about how crows could identify people and they were recognizable miles away by other crows. It was pretty interesting.

That was a long time ago but I found this video looking for it.

Check out this video, "crows communicate over long distances" https://share.google/Gdg9L9ejZuclE2yVA

 

[Meadowlark]

Interesting video. I'm sure the local crows have a "file" on me and the garden corn some of which is now rapidly maturing.

Scare crows only work for short durations and only with clothes I have worn. They are the "smartest" creature in these parts.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

There was a guy doing experiments on crow's intelligence. He used a crow he captured in the neighbourhood and made it do more and more complicated things to fish it's food out of tubes, it was assembling a stick of two parts with a hook on one end and using it in the end, When he had finished he let it go, and it attacked him when it saw him walking home, and within a short period it had all the other crows from the neighbourhood joining in so the guy couldn't walk out during the day.
Someone observing crows on a Pacific island, sorry I can't remember which, saw them take leaves which had a hard vein running through them with a hook on the edge of the leaf. The crows would strip the vein out of the leaf and then use it to hook out maggots that lived in deep hollows in the trees, not just tool users, tool makers as well. There are otters that use stones to smash shellfish, and chimps that fish ants out of ant hills with sticks, but I think man is the only other animal making tools.
Closer to home long tail tits find food sources and communicate it to all the other tits

 

[Peaches]

There was a show I watched about how crows could identify people and they were recognizable miles away by other crows. It was pretty interesting.

That was a long time ago but I found this video looking for it.

Check out this video, "crows communicate over long distances" https://share.google/Gdg9L9ejZuclE2yVA

It says video is unavailable @dirty hands but they well be because I’m in a different country
We’ve got a footy team my hubby follows in the city ,called the crows


We call the big black birds in S.A. crows …..but strictly speaking they are not crows at all

Copied this ***

***Strictly speaking, the large, black birds commonly seen around South Australia are Little Ravens, not crows. True crows are generally only found in the dry, arid outback well north of Port Augusta. However, in casual speech, Australians often use the two terms interchangeably***

Port Augusta….mentioned here …is very arid …..it is about 300 km north of where I’m …
after P .A . there’s nothing for 100’s km s …just the road to ….Darwin . NT

Just a little comment …
Im enjoying this forum is nice and lighthearted …. I’ve got no idea ( I should look, shouldn't I ) who the “boss” is ) but thank you anyway ….

 

[Peaches]

There is no doubt in my mind that birds are effective communicators.

I call them the scouts …..they turn up and sit on our TV tower to observe the area , chat and poop ….I'm Sure they can smell the aroma of the ripening fruit @Meadowlark

I noticed it with my apples this year , the blackbirds were pecking the fruit long before they appeared ripe enough to pick
We don’t net our trees as we get more then we need

I’ve just processed what apples that were left in the crisper , peeled /chopped / dipped in citric acid / water / dried with paper towel and vacumn packed for freezer …ready to make apple pies during winter.. ( these were Pink lady ) apples

 

[Peaches]

Is this bird …..known where other members live ? is it a bit of a pest

it’s only a small bird , but like magpies it will attack anyone it sees / thinks is a threat

I’ve got a hard bang in the head quite a few times ,just simply walking down the path to,the beach ….

its less this half the Size of magpie …..so during spring and summer you have to have your wits about you when out walking …..I love having the reserve all down the other side of the street but , they are sly ….they will sit in the trees waiting for the next victim ….to pass by …..they can give a big bang on the head ….despite their size ….

We call them Murray Magpies ….


The Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca), often affectionately called a peewee, mudlark, or Murray magpie, is a medium-sized, boldly black-and-white Australian bird. Despite its misleading names, it is not actually a magpie or a lark, but belongs to the monarch flycatcher family.

 

[Meadowlark]

That is exactly what I call them here "scouts" @Peaches .

Always have. Without question they really do scout for each other. Amazing when you think about it.

I have my negative feelings toward them...but cannot help but respect them.

 

[Peaches]

That is exactly what I call them here "scouts" @Peaches .

Always have. Without question they really do scout for each other. Amazing when you think about it.

I have my negative feelings toward them...but cannot help but respect them.

I think ants have scouts as well, when the weathers nice we sit outside to have a morning tea time cuppa …..and we gets ants that come from across the reserve across the road
We've watched them …especially if we have apricots drying outside …..we see a few ..then before you know it ..there’s 100’s of them @Meadowlark

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Ants lay scent trails for others to follow to food sources. They are pretty amazing in lots of ways, they make it on every continent, and some actually farm their food sources.

 

[Meadowlark]

Speaking of crows, they hit my corn today...just before I was ready to pick it.

 

[DiggersJo]

Speaking of crows, they hit my corn today...just before I was ready to pick it.

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They knew you were coming!