Help with Bird ID please

[hsessions]

Hello can anyone help?

 

I have tried searched everywhere, the closest I came to was Fish Crow; wouldn't want to mis-ID the bird, that would be embarassing.  So if anyone knows, help please.

Location: Ontario, Canada, North America.

 

 

Thanks

Helen

Edited June 1, 2021 by hsessions

[Betty LaRue]

Your bird, I believe, is a juvenile. Notice the corners of the beak (like the corners of our mouths) and you’ll see the disappeared yellow. Here it has gone, but there is still a different appearance at the corner from adults.  Nestlings have bright yellow at hatching, I would imagine so the parents can better see where to stuff the bugs in dim light. After birds fledge, this coloration gradually disappears.

[MizBrown]

31 minutes ago, hsessions said:

Hello can anyone help?

 

I have tried searched everywhere, the closest I came to was Fish Crow; wouldn't want to mis-ID the bird, that would be embarassing.  So if anyone knows, help please.

Location: Ontario, Canada, North America.

 

 

Thanks

Helen

 

Cornell's Ornithology site doesn't show the range extending that far north, but says the range is extending north.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fish_Crow/overview

 

Sightings map for recent years here:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fish_Crow/maps-sightings

 

 

[hsessions]

37 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

 

Cornell's Ornithology site doesn't show the range extending that far north, but says the range is extending north.  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fish_Crow/overview

 

Sightings map for recent years here:  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Fish_Crow/maps-sightings

 

 

Thanks MizBrown, the first link takes me to what would be my bird, an adult.

 

24 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Your bird, I believe, is a juvenile. Notice the corners of the beak (like the corners of our mouths) and you’ll see the disappeared yellow. Here it has gone, but there is still a different appearance at the corner from adults.  Nestlings have bright yellow at hatching, I would imagine so the parents can better see where to stuff the bugs in dim light. After birds fledge, this coloration gradually disappears.

 

Betty now that is attention to detail.  Thank you, so I shall add juvenile to the key words.  I would guess just from having run around photographing some birds that I have see there are quite a few juveniles and even fledglings around, now that breeding season is almost over (I think).  It is terrible when you tread into territory you are totally unfamiliar with.  I know nothing about birds, just as bad with flowers and plants.

 

Thanks both that helps.  So it is a Fish Crow juvenile then.

Helen

Edited June 1, 2021 by hsessions

[Betty LaRue]

8 hours ago, hsessions said:

Thanks MizBrown, the first link takes me to what would be my bird, an adult.

 

 

Betty now that is attention to detail.  Thank you, so I shall add juvenile to the key words.  I would guess just from having run around photographing some birds that I have see there are quite a few juveniles and even fledglings around, now that breeding season is almost over (I think).  It is terrible when you tread into territory you are totally unfamiliar with.  I know nothing about birds, just as bad with flowers and plants.

 

Thanks both that helps.  So it is a Fish Crow juvenile then.

Helen

Pay attention when you see fledgling birds fly after their parents begging. Look through that long lens, and if the baby doesn’t look fully feathered yet, you’ll probably see the yellow corners, still. Don’t feel bad. When I first started, I didn’t know these things either. Many hours sitting on my back covered patio watching birds through my 80-400 lens taught me a lot through observation. Northern cardinals mate for life, and it’s sweet in the spring to watch the male feed his mate in courtship.

Kind of like a guy bringing us a box of chocolates and trying not to wiggle his eyebrows. 😂

[hsessions]

1 hour ago, Betty LaRue said:

 Northern cardinals mate for life, and it’s sweet in the spring to watch the male feed his mate in courtship.

Kind of like a guy bringing us a box of chocolates and trying not to wiggle his eyebrows. 😂

Speaking of Cardinals I have a bit of a dilemma.  I have one and his mate that would perch on a hibiscus in front of the house but vanish as soon as I opened the door.  But now that I had this gear, I wanted to get a good capture.  So decided to make friends with the little guy by putting something out for him to eat (don't have a bird feeder).  In this way I hoped to 'train' him and his partner to not be afraid when I opened the door and stepped out.  Long story short, things have not gone quite to plan.  The little guy has me well trained.  I am not a morning person, (10:00-ish is a good time to start the day) but this little guy knows  the house plan and at which windows I'm likely to make an appearance once I hear him.  The tree he perches on is by my bedroom window.  And he starts there very, very early, I hear him though I am still asleep.  The way it works now, I jump out of bed no time for bedroom slippers or socks or anything, run downstairs to confirm he is still there by looking out  another window facing a hibiscus, he is already perched there waiting.  And then to the front door I go with the nuts or whatever.  Now it is a good thing it is very, very early, because barefoot and half dressed would not make a good impression on the neighbours or any passers by.  I have only managed to get a few shots of him and they weren't even that good for all my efforts.  And now I don't know how to stop this morning routine which is causing me stress.  I immediately run back upstairs and try to get to sleep.  It gets worse, because we have squirrels about and now one of them joins him, she scrapes at the front door and stands there like a poor relative.  I have to feed her too.  So now I have three to worry about; Red and his mate and Poor Nastya, the squirrel.

And, this is how an amateur birder-wanna-be prepares and plans for bird photography.  End of story.  Just had to get it out.

 

You are quite right, can learn a lot just by observing, and learning their behaviour could be the key to better shot opportunities, and it is just relaxing and interesting to watch others go about their lives for a change instead of being focused on one's own the whole time.

 

Helen

Edited June 2, 2021 by hsessions

[Betty LaRue]

 

Gal, you have the bug for sure! 😁
Helen, if you have a small tree that would be a staging place for birds, that would be good. Better yet, if you can set up in a shady place for you to sit. Break down and buy a shepherds pole and hang a feeder on it near the tree, maybe 5 feet away. Put sunflower seeds in it. Cardinals love those, also titmouses and chickadees and house finches. The pretty birds.

Set up your chair in your shady place and let the birds get used to you. Read a book, have your coffee. They will fly away when you go out, but will trickle back and eventually get used to you. At my other house the birds landed on the tree a lot before hitting the feeder. I took the shots while they were in the tree.

In the winter on a snowy day, the birds will go into a feeding frenzy. You’ll get all the shots you want if you’re unobtrusive. Bundle up and put your camera in a closed plastic bag outdoors to acclimate for 30 minutes before shooting. Then you can take it out and shoot without it fogging up.(inside the camera and the lens) When your done shooting, put the camera back in the bag closed tight (rubber band) and bring it in the house until it warms up before taking it out of the bag.

 

If the squirrels try to raid the bird feeder, put it out until the birds get used to feeding from it. Then take the feeder off the pole, bring it in, and try to take it back out on a schedule. You might get the birds to expect it at the same time every day without having to leave it out all of the time for the squirrels to eat you out of house and home. Patience would be the key, might take awhile to train the birds!

 

 

 

Then, here comes the pests....

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Betty LaRue

[Jill Morgan]

Today I moved my red muskoka chair even closer to my front flat feeder.  Normally I sit in the shade, but those evil mosquitoes were attacking and they don't seem to bother me as much in the sun, so I moved my chair.  I am now about 5' from the feeder and a lovely branch that runs right from the feeder up into the maple tree.  I keep the branches in front of it trimmed, as the birds queue up on the branch waiting their turn at the feeder.

 

When I first come out, I put a whole pile of peanuts in the feeder.  It usually just has sunflower seeds in it. The birds all take off of course.  Now I wasn't sure if I was too close, but they have seen me almost every day for a couple of months now, so it was time to creep in.  They would fly to the feeder but take off again without landing.  This was for about half an hour.  Braver and braver they got, as they love those peanuts. The Blue Jays, the Red Wing Blackbirds, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and those pesky Grackles.

 

Soon they were totally ignoring me and stuffing their faces with as many peanuts as they could shove in their crops.  I only put out the peanuts when I go out to watch or shoot the birds.  Around now I am finding less and less birds are using the feeders as there is so much natural food about.  But they always come in for the peanuts.  Just have to go through the images and will probably upload some tomorrow.

 

Also got some great shots of a cute chipmuk that was so afraid of the dog, he was literally frozen on the spot for a good 3-4 minutes.  And each move he made was slow, then freeze for a bit, make another move, freeze and then slowly he worked his way off of my front step. 

 

These critters have been keeping me entertained for the past couple of months.

 

Jill

 

 

[NYCat]

Oh, Helen. Those cardinals are LOUD. No way to sleep through that.

 

Paulette

[hsessions]

9 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

 

Gal, you have the bug for sure! 😁
Helen, if you have a small tree that would be a staging place for birds, that would be good. Better yet, if you can set up in a shady place for you to sit. Break down and buy a shepherds pole and hang a feeder on it near the tree, maybe 5 feet away. Put sunflower seeds in it. Cardinals love those, also titmouses and chickadees and house finches. The pretty birds.

Set up your chair in your shady place and let the birds get used to you. Read a book, have your coffee. They will fly away when you go out, but will trickle back and eventually get used to you. At my other house the birds landed on the tree a lot before hitting the feeder. I took the shots while they were in the tree.

In the winter on a snowy day, the birds will go into a feeding frenzy. You’ll get all the shots you want if you’re unobtrusive. Bundle up and put your camera in a closed plastic bag outdoors to acclimate for 30 minutes before shooting. Then you can take it out and shoot without it fogging up.(inside the camera and the lens) When your done shooting, put the camera back in the bag closed tight (rubber band) and bring it in the house until it warms up before taking it out of the bag.

 

If the squirrels try to raid the bird feeder, put it out until the birds get used to feeding from it. Then take the feeder off the pole, bring it in, and try to take it back out on a schedule. You might get the birds to expect it at the same time every day without having to leave it out all of the time for the squirrels to eat you out of house and home. Patience would be the key, might take awhile to train the birds!

 

 

 

Then, here comes the pests....

 

 Betty, nice composition on those birds and nice colours with the fruit on the trees.  Looks like you have nice, trees all around.  The squirrel, lol. 

 

I don't know how long I will be running around after birds specifically for stock.  I am a bit of a realist.  I see the competition, I know where I stand in the midst of all the professionally shot bird images on here, so it is something I do as a distraction, to keep me busy and enjoy being outside during COVID.  Aslo it is something new to learn and I actually do want to learn to do it 'very well'.  There isn't much variety or many different species about, where I go to a couple of public parks (lot's of people, kids, dogs, lots of traffic in general) to get my shots, so unless I venture further out or go to a bird sanctuary it will be all the same birds all the time.  I am not holding this expectation that these are going to license soon, I hope they will, but I don't have that gut feeling I usually have when I shoot something and upload and say yep, that will sell.

 

Thanks  for all the tips and hopefully I will continue to enjoy photographing birds and whatever else shows up.  Have to get at least a few decent shots of Red .  I will do some kind of setup maybe break him of the habit of showing up and calling at un ungodly hour of the morning,

 

Helen

 

 

[Betty LaRue]

Yes, shooting birds is more of an obsession than a money-making enterprise, I’ve found. It gets you outdoors enjoying the environment, and is good for the soul. Those pictures I posted were from my previous home. I don’t have such an easy setup here.

My husband and I used to fish a lot at a huge lake 15 minutes from home (in a previous town) to putting the boat in the water. Sometimes the fish weren’t biting, but the day wasn’t lost because of absorbing the beauty of nature.

[Betty LaRue]

10 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

Today I moved my red muskoka chair even closer to my front flat feeder.  Normally I sit in the shade, but those evil mosquitoes were attacking and they don't seem to bother me as much in the sun, so I moved my chair.  I am now about 5' from the feeder and a lovely branch that runs right from the feeder up into the maple tree.  I keep the branches in front of it trimmed, as the birds queue up on the branch waiting their turn at the feeder.

 

When I first come out, I put a whole pile of peanuts in the feeder.  It usually just has sunflower seeds in it. The birds all take off of course.  Now I wasn't sure if I was too close, but they have seen me almost every day for a couple of months now, so it was time to creep in.  They would fly to the feeder but take off again without landing.  This was for about half an hour.  Braver and braver they got, as they love those peanuts. The Blue Jays, the Red Wing Blackbirds, Nuthatches, Woodpeckers and those pesky Grackles.

 

Soon they were totally ignoring me and stuffing their faces with as many peanuts as they could shove in their crops.  I only put out the peanuts when I go out to watch or shoot the birds.  Around now I am finding less and less birds are using the feeders as there is so much natural food about.  But they always come in for the peanuts.  Just have to go through the images and will probably upload some tomorrow.

 

Also got some great shots of a cute chipmuk that was so afraid of the dog, he was literally frozen on the spot for a good 3-4 minutes.  And each move he made was slow, then freeze for a bit, make another move, freeze and then slowly he worked his way off of my front step. 

 

These critters have been keeping me entertained for the past couple of months.

 

Jill

 

 

I never tried the peanuts!!  Good job!

[Jill Morgan]

7 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I never tried the peanuts!!  Good job!

 

Most of the larger birds love them, as the high protein count is good feeding for the kids. Now they know if they see me, there must be peanuts.  Also, the contrast of the light peanuts on the dark sunflower seeds probably clues them in as well.  Have to go get some seeds today.  Almost out.

 

Jill

[Betty LaRue]

I just counted 24 bird sales since I started. I didn’t make my first sale of anything until 2008 I think. Probably half of those were hummingbirds. Second most popular was.....ta dah...the Northern Cardinal, then American robins and blue jays about the same.

I didn’t count the sales of my African Gray parrot which seems fairly popular.

My very first sale ever was of a hummingbird. The bird licenses mostly happened in those first 5 years. Just a trickle now.

Sooo, not a lot of return for the effort and many hours I put in. I don’t regret it, though. If your are more interested in the returns than the experience, your time might be better spent. And then there’s this ...you may be better at it than I was! 😁

Edited June 2, 2021 by Betty LaRue

[Betty LaRue]

I have to show you this.

The Robin was enjoying a nice bath until the starling showed up. The Robin continued fluttering but gave the starling an angry look that said, “don’t you dare come in!” It froze the starling.

I’ll post picture number 2 in a minute.

 

The starling finally edged into the water, but in a very alert way. I could tell it was afraid of the Robin but after all, it was a hot day and the cool water beckoned. This second one sold.

 

Edited June 2, 2021 by Betty LaRue

[hsessions]

20 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

I just counted 24 bird sales since I started. I didn’t make my first sale of anything until 2008 I think. Probably half of those were hummingbirds. Second most popular was.....ta dah...the Northern Cardinal, then American robins and blue jays about the same.

I didn’t count the sales of my African Gray parrot which seems fairly popular.

My very first sale ever was of a hummingbird. The bird licenses mostly happened in those first 5 years. Just a trickle now.

Sooo, not a lot of return for the effort and many hours I put in. I don’t regret it, though. If your are more interested in the returns than the experience, your time might be better spent.

Looked through your port again Betty, you have some very nice shots of birds there, the house finch, the great horned owl, many, many others.  I would have expected them to have licensed more often.  So it must just be a demand thing and again competing with the birders (niche) photographers might be another reason why, just guessing.  Also like your macros flowers, butterflies etc.

28 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

And then there’s this ...you may be better at it than I was! 😁

Now really! Just trying to flatter a beginner, I think.

 

Seriously though those stats you provided, are helplful gives me an idea how this could go.  I am looking at using this lens other purposes definitely in the future not just for birding.  And must get either a monopod or tripod for it soon as I have been advised to do in other threads.

 

11 hours ago, Jill Morgan said:

 I only put out the peanuts when I go out to watch or shoot the birds.  Around now I am finding less and less birds are using the feeders as there is so much natural food about.  But they always come in for the peanuts.  Just have to go through the images and will probably upload some tomorrow.

 

Jill

I do the peanuts thing too Jill, but that is because it is what I have mostly in the cupboards.

 

Helen

[Cecile Marion]

My California daughter and I have just been discussing her yard and bird feeders. She also uses peanuts to attract birds. I’m wondering if you ladies use shelled peanuts, or peanuts in the shell.

[hsessions]

18 minutes ago, Cecile Marion said:

My California daughter and I have just been discussing her yard and bird feeders. She also uses peanuts to attract birds. I’m wondering if you ladies use shelled peanuts, or peanuts in the shell.

Shelled definitely.  Tried them in a shell, oh what a mess.  Same for the sunflower seeds if not in a bird feeder and just putting them out on the ground, big mess.  Sunflower seeds out of the shell, they don't seem to understand what it is though so not attracted to them.  But no problems with peanuts.

[Betty LaRue]

I saw a piece once, a video, of a lady who would go for a walk down her sidewalk, trailing peanuts in the shell. Just dropping one or two every so often. The blue jays, who are very smart, quickly learned and when she left her house, she’d have half a dozen or more blue jays trailing her, hopping along behind. I’m sure she put in a lot of time training them. Pecking the shell open is easy for a jay. The lucky jay flew off with the peanut to eat then came back.

 In Oklahoma City where I fed birds and also had hummingbird feeders, I’d take the hummingbird feeder down for a short time. Then I’d sit near to where it used to be with a small red cap in my hand from some bottle or something, full of sugar water. I had hummers land on my hand to drink, perch on my thumb. It was a wonderous experience, and I could barely feel the weight, they are so tiny and light. I had to do this several times, different days before one had the nerve to come. Lots of patience involved.
I had them hover a foot from my face looking me over. Often, if I went out wearing a floral blouse, one inevitably would hover in front of me checking the flowers out, then fly away.

Now...hummingbird obsession is a whole new thing and you can quickly get hooked.

[MizBrown]

16 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Now...hummingbird obsession is a whole new thing and you can quickly get hooked.

 

I recommend to you a book called "The Complete Book of Hummingbirds."   It isn't actually complete, but has a lot of information about hummingbirds and very nice photos of the birds it does feature. 

[Betty LaRue]

18 minutes ago, MizBrown said:

 

I recommend to you a book called "The Complete Book of Hummingbirds."   It isn't actually complete, but has a lot of information about hummingbirds and very nice photos of the birds it does feature. 

In this part of the country, ruby-throated hummingbirds are all we get unless an odd other kind migrates through. I’ve never seen anything else here, myself.

[Betty LaRue]

If you go to the main Alamy search page and type in

B LaRue,bird (my nature pseudo) you can see most of my birds.

Using this pseudo typing in B LaRue, butterfly would show those.

Plants, flowers are A LaRue, plant or flower

In Oklahoma City I found a rookery about a half mile from my house, occupying oak trees in an established neighborhood. That was fun photographing nesting egrets.

[MizBrown]

50 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

In this part of the country, ruby-throated hummingbirds are all we get unless an odd other kind migrates through. I’ve never seen anything else here, myself.

 

Texas gets some more, but the west coast gets more.  Here doesn't get all the species in the book, but I think I photographed around five or six species in my first house's back yard.  Out in the countryside are more, but the most are in Ecuador and Peru.  Turns out they're kin to the swifts.  (And falcons are closer to parrots than to the other birds of prey, which makes sense if you've ever seen an American kestrel).

 

Where I am now, I mostly hear a cinnamon hummingbird tell all the other hummingbirds to stay away.  Have seen one occasionally.

[hsessions]

On 01/06/2021 at 12:35, Betty LaRue said:

Your bird, I believe, is a juvenile. Notice the corners of the beak (like the corners of our mouths) and you’ll see the disappeared yellow. Here it has gone, but there is still a different appearance at the corner from adults.  Nestlings have bright yellow at hatching, I would imagine so the parents can better see where to stuff the bugs in dim light. After birds fledge, this coloration gradually disappears.

Well, turned out to be a Juvenile Common Grackle.  Betty, right, the bird is a juvenile; me wrong, not a Fish Crow we don't have them around here.  I returned to this place again and again, saw lots of Grackles, a few with their young.  I still can't hardly tell the difference Fish Crow, American Crow, Juvenile Grackle.  They look so alike.  But there it is.

 

Helen

[Cecile Marion]

One thing I did that’s helped me with IDs was join a local birding Facebook group and, more or less, lurk. It’s not only helped me with bird identification, but I’ve learned more about birds that migrate through our area.

[MizBrown]

1 hour ago, hsessions said:

Well, turned out to be a Juvenile Common Grackle.  Betty, right, the bird is a juvenile; me wrong, not a Fish Crow we don't have them around here.  I returned to this place again and again, saw lots of Grackles, a few with their young.  I still can't hardly tell the difference Fish Crow, American Crow, Juvenile Grackle.  They look so alike.  But there it is.

 

Helen

 

Looking more closely, the crows and ravens have more arched top bills.  This is a Common Raven in Shenandoah National Park's Skyline Drive