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Pileated Woodpecker


Dcat

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I’ve only seen one of them once in my life. Pretty cool. 

2 years ago one of my bird houses looked empty, I opened it up and went to pull out the old nesting, and got bit in the finger (was wearing gloves thankfully) by a momma flying squirrel - there were 2-3 babies with her.

That was my best “sighting” in our yard, aside from a cardinal nest under our window where we could check on it daily.

Nature is awesome.

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27 minutes ago, Barry McCockinner said:

Good photo. We get a lot of these where I am. Shocking the first time you see one in person how big they are. 

Sometimes it sounds like someone is building a deck in the woods in the summer when these guys are going at it.

we've seen them in the near trees but first time we've seen one visit our feeders.

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Really has nothing to do with this thread, but my last name derives from the polish word for woodpecker: dzięcioł

It has been "Americanized" over the years or else I doubt I would be able to spell it.  Good screen name back when I signed up might have been "Woody" but that would have had different connotations.

Its Friday morning and I don't feel much like working, so instead I am getting into a stream of consciousness about woodpeckers and the derivation of my name. Anyway, don't mind me, I am just rambling. 

Nice photo, Dcat.

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BIRDS! YAAYYYYY!!! I'm a huge bird nerd, but I live for Birds of Prey. I've been "talking" to a Barred Owl the last couple of nights, it's the only call I'm really good at it. He totally wants to date me. I've had some of the most unbelievable up close and personal Birds of Prey encounters imaginable, but don't even get me started on Corvids. They're right up there on my Bird-o-Meter because "bird brain" is a misnomer if there ever was one. Those fckrs can reason, puzzle solve, retain information, communicate solutions to other crows, make tools, and pass on who to hate generationally through facial recognition . . . including hatred of specific people. Don't fck with Crows. Plus, they can talk a lot of sh it without ever being taught if they're rescued and are in captivity. Basically they're as smart as a 7 year old.

Pileated Woodpeckers are great. Yes, they are larger than you'd think! Thanks for sharing, @Dcat!

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8 hours ago, jetophile said:

American Kestrel, one of my many favorites.

animals_americankestrel02.jpg

I belong to The Audubon Society. Who doesn't. I never joined a bird-watching group because I hate people, but there are plenty of local bird-watching groups/chapters everywhere. 

We had a Kestrel perched in a maple right in front of my house the other day.  I think he was eyeing all juicy robins hopping around on the front lawn and some chippies have emerged.  I only wish they'd get all the annoying chippies before they exponentially multiply due to my bird feeders.  Too bad my cats are indoor cats. 

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8 hours ago, jetophile said:

American Kestrel, one of my many favorites.

animals_americankestrel02.jpg

I belong to The Audubon Society. Who doesn't. I never joined a bird-watching group because I hate people, but there are plenty of local bird-watching groups/chapters everywhere. 

Sounds familiar.  You've been listening to my wife?

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2 hours ago, Dcat said:

We had a Kestrel perched in a maple right in front of my house the other day.  I think he was eyeing all juicy robins hopping around on the front lawn and some chippies have emerged.  I only wish they'd get all the annoying chippies before they exponentially multiply due to my bird feeders.  Too bad my cats are indoor cats. 

Peregrine-Falcon-by-Craig-Gibson.jpg

Perched on top of The New Dump: "Holding?! These refs suck! And so does The New Dump!" Peregrine Falcons are in my top 5. It's the fastest animal in the world (highest clocked diving speed while hunting: 242 mph).

agnbdQn_700b.jpg

There used to be one that hung out at Hudson Terrace in a tree right before the GWB for YEARS. They had pretty much dwindled to almost nothing around here due to blanket poisoning of rats and pigeons. I'm happy to say they're making a huge comeback, including in NYC, and they're healthy and holding steady the world over. Ha, there's a huge Bird of Prey birdwatching contingent in NYC, btw. They're a quirky bunch. 

P.S.: Red-Tailed Hawks were also victims of blanket vermin and pest control poisoning in NYC, which pretty much drove them out and made the infestations worse. Birds of Prey advocates did their research and peitioned the city to stop it. Hawks eat rats, vermin and pigeons like candy. Needless to say, the infestations dropped exponentially when they stopped the poisoning(s) but it took a while for the Hawks to start coming back. Now they're nesting all along the Hudson with Balds (wooo!), and also nest on skyscrapers and apt. buildings all over downtown. Go nature.

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On my daily 1 1/2 hour hike in the park today I saw the following:

Canada Goose: Branta canadensis
Mallard Duck: Anas platyrhynchos
Common Goldeneye Duck: Bucephala clangula
Lesser Scaup Duck: Aythya affinis
Common Crow: Corvus brachyrhynchos
Black-capped Chickadee: Poecile atricapillus
Ring-billed Gull: Larus delawarensis
Franklins Gull: Larus pipixcan
(Some other really small Gull I cannot identify yet, it might be a Tern rather than a gull)

Red Squirrel: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Richardson Ground Squirrel: Citellus richardsoni
North American Beaver :Castor canadensis

and of course the less desirable animals...

Humans: Homo sapiens
and their
Dogs: Canus Lupis familiarius

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5 hours ago, Beerfish said:

On my daily 1 1/2 hour hike in the park today I saw the following:

Canada Goose: Branta canadensis
Mallard Duck: Anas platyrhynchos
Common Goldeneye Duck: Bucephala clangula
Lesser Scaup Duck: Aythya affinis
Common Crow: Corvus brachyrhynchos
Black-capped Chickadee: Poecile atricapillus
Ring-billed Gull: Larus delawarensis
Franklins Gull: Larus pipixcan
(Some other really small Gull I cannot identify yet, it might be a Tern rather than a gull)

Red Squirrel: Tamiasciurus hudsonicus
Richardson Ground Squirrel: Citellus richardsoni
North American Beaver :Castor canadensis

and of course the less desirable animals...

Humans: Homo sapiens
and their
Dogs: Canus Lupis familiarius

Did you ever see a black squirrel? I have seen EVERYTHING in the woods, but I never saw that until a couple of months ago. I went, "Shut UP!" - out loud.  I thought I was seeing things. It's a genetic mutation. 

It turns out that there's a huge pocket of them in the Bronx and all around Fordham University. The locals call them The Ghetto Squirrels. LMFAO, I love New York.

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8 minutes ago, jetophile said:

Did you ever see a black squirrel? I have seen EVERYTHING in the woods, but I never saw that until a couple of months ago. I went, "Shut UP!" - out loud.  I thought I was seeing things. It's a genetic mutation. 

It turns out that there's a huge pocket of them in the Bronx and all around Fordham University. The locals call them The Ghetto Squirrels. LMFAO, I love New York.

Yes I've seen eastern grey squirrels that can almost be black.

What we need where I live is more things that prey on squirrels as the little bastards are very adaptable and getting out of control population wise.

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1 hour ago, Beerfish said:

Yes I've seen eastern grey squirrels that can almost be black.

What we need where I live is more things that prey on squirrels as the little bastards are very adaptable and getting out of control population wise.

Same.  They completely ravaged my garden last summer.  Even took the cucumbers, which they normally never touch.  I would let my cat go at them but I'm not taking the chance something else wouldn't eat him.

But here's something cool I found in my garden last year...

image.png

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21 minutes ago, nycdan said:

Same.  They completely ravaged my garden last summer.  Even took the cucumbers, which they normally never touch.  I would let my cat go at them but I'm not taking the chance something else wouldn't eat him.

But here's something cool I found in my garden last year...

image.png

Your tomatoes look nice and healthy in that image.  I won't be doing tomatoes this year.  Just going to do the basics. peas, carrots potatoes, some pickling cucumbers, oh and pumpkins for my larger planters.

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9 hours ago, Beerfish said:

Your tomatoes look nice and healthy in that image.  I won't be doing tomatoes this year.  Just going to do the basics. peas, carrots potatoes, some pickling cucumbers, oh and pumpkins for my larger planters.

My tomato PLANTS were healthy.  I estimate I fed the local squirrel population about 20-30 lbs. of beautiful tomatoes last year.  I probably salvaged about the same.  

And I tried pumpkins once.  In case it's your first rodeo, keep the planters far away from your lawn.  Or you may wake up one morning to find out you no longer have a lawn.  They spread faster than a wildfire if they get even a tendril into your grass.  And they are an absolute bitch to tear out.  That was a fun day.

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2 minutes ago, nycdan said:

My tomato PLANTS were healthy.  I estimate I fed the local squirrel population about 20-30 lbs. of beautiful tomatoes last year.  I probably salvaged about the same.  

And I tried pumpkins once.  In case it's your first rodeo, keep the planters far away from your lawn.  Or you may wake up one morning to find out you no longer have a lawn.  They spread faster than a wildfire if they get even a tendril into your grass.  And they are an absolute bitch to tear out.  That was a fun day.

Ha ha, yeah I learned that the hard way as well.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 4/25/2021 at 10:15 AM, jetophile said:

Peregrine-Falcon-by-Craig-Gibson.jpg

Perched on top of The New Dump: "Holding?! These refs suck! And so does The New Dump!" Peregrine Falcons are in my top 5. It's the fastest animal in the world (highest clocked diving speed while hunting: 242 mph).

agnbdQn_700b.jpg

There used to be one that hung out at Hudson Terrace in a tree right before the GWB for YEARS. They had pretty much dwindled to almost nothing around here due to blanket poisoning of rats and pigeons. I'm happy to say they're making a huge comeback, including in NYC, and they're healthy and holding steady the world over. Ha, there's a huge Bird of Prey birdwatching contingent in NYC, btw. They're a quirky bunch. 

P.S.: Red-Tailed Hawks were also victims of blanket vermin and pest control poisoning in NYC, which pretty much drove them out and made the infestations worse. Birds of Prey advocates did their research and peitioned the city to stop it. Hawks eat rats, vermin and pigeons like candy. Needless to say, the infestations dropped exponentially when they stopped the poisoning(s) but it took a while for the Hawks to start coming back. Now they're nesting all along the Hudson with Balds (wooo!), and also nest on skyscrapers and apt. buildings all over downtown. Go nature.

Actually, it was DDT.  It ruins the chemical bonds that make eggshells hard, so any large egg laying bird could not reproduce and were wiped out.   The US government banned DDT for that reason.  It took decades but the DDT finally diminished in the environment and the birds of prey could finally make a comeback.  When I was growing up in the 1970s in New York's Hudson Valley; hawks, eagles and other birds of prey were virtually nonexistent.  They only thing that endured were the Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures.  

The comeback of the Red-Tailed Hawk along the NYS Thruway was something to behold.  Once it began, it picked up steam quickly.  The next thing I knew, everything was back.  Even the Bald and Golden Eagles are now a common sight. 

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5 hours ago, clayton163v said:

Actually, it was DDT.  It ruins the chemical bonds that make eggshells hard, so any large egg laying bird could not reproduce and were wiped out.   The US government banned DDT for that reason.  It took decades but the DDT finally diminished in the environment and the birds of prey could finally make a comeback.  When I was growing up in the 1970s in New York's Hudson Valley; hawks, eagles and other birds of prey were virtually nonexistent.  They only thing that endured were the Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures.  

The comeback of the Red-Tailed Hawk along the NYS Thruway was something to behold.  Once it began, it picked up steam quickly.  The next thing I knew, everything was back.  Even the Bald and Golden Eagles are now a common sight. 

We're talking about different things. Poisoning rats, vermin, and pigeons in NYC poisoned the food source of Birds of Prey. In other words, they'd eat rat poisoned rats and die from rat poisoning. DDT was a pesticide for crops that affected everything.

Golden Eagles are beyond rare in NY. You're probably sighting an immature Bald. I have one in my backyard that is killing it out there (pun intended). I'm sure it's a female because she's slightly bigger than a juvenile and she just started to lose color. She's slammimg frogs on the regular.

I'm waiting for the Osprey.  Watching those things dive is amazing. Anyway, welcome Bird of Prey enthusiast! 

 

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On 4/26/2021 at 10:56 PM, nycdan said:

Same.  They completely ravaged my garden last summer.  Even took the cucumbers, which they normally never touch.  I would let my cat go at them but I'm not taking the chance something else wouldn't eat him.

But here's something cool I found in my garden last year...

image.png

Praying Mantis are beyond cool. Here's a photo of mine (not a photo of my Praying Mantis, I don't have one of those):

20200815-145053-1-1.jpg

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6 hours ago, clayton163v said:

Actually, it was DDT.  It ruins the chemical bonds that make eggshells hard, so any large egg laying bird could not reproduce and were wiped out.   The US government banned DDT for that reason.  It took decades but the DDT finally diminished in the environment and the birds of prey could finally make a comeback.  When I was growing up in the 1970s in New York's Hudson Valley; hawks, eagles and other birds of prey were virtually nonexistent.  They only thing that endured were the Turkey Vultures and Black Vultures.  

The comeback of the Red-Tailed Hawk along the NYS Thruway was something to behold.  Once it began, it picked up steam quickly.  The next thing I knew, everything was back.  Even the Bald and Golden Eagles are now a common sight. 

My parents see bald eagles on the Connecticut river annually now. A tree guy told them to top off a few of their trees and a year later the eagles started using them to land. It’s so cool 

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