Bird Id.

[BilletHead]

               Blackbirds getting thicker by the day. I really don't mind the redwing ones. They feed mainly on the ground under the hanging feeders but there has been an influx of rusty and a few mixed in Brewers blackbirds. They are mean and bullies. Worse than blue jays. Run everything else off taking over the feeder I have on the tree with a platform they can land on, not so much the hanging ones. Just a bit ago seen one eating something on the ground. Got the binoculars it was tearing up and eating a yellow finch? We are finding dead birds especially today with the cold last night.  This finch was not here this morning when filling the feeders. It was warm and thawed when I checked it out.  I have a cheap harbor freight driveway alarm on this big feeder. Little songbirds will not set it off but the blackbirds do. It's fun to see what is setting it off at times but now have to turn it off during the day. Back on at night and not shutting the doors on the feeder because marauding coons are not visiting. It went off last evening. Got the spotlight and found a flying squirrel at the sunflower seed buffet. Pretty cool. 

[jdmidwest]

Flying squirrels are rare.  Of course I am seldom out during the night in the woods to see them anymore.

[Chief Grey Bear]

21 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

Need a better photo, but it's either a song sparrow or a fox sparrow.  Fox sparrows are a more rusty reddish brown and a little bit bigger than white-throated sparrows.  If that doesn't fit, it's probably a song sparrow.

Closer investigating has determined this to be a Fox Sparrow.

[luckycraft]

On 2/15/2021 at 6:47 PM, snagged in outlet 3 said:

 

Great looking grass!

[snagged in outlet 3]

9 hours ago, luckycraft said:

Great looking grass!

Thx!  I take care of it all myself.  

[Johnsfolly]

On 2/16/2021 at 2:29 PM, BilletHead said:

One summer while in grad school we were working up in the Poconos. We stayed in a 90+yr old house. One night a flying squirrel got in the house. When we have had bats or birds in the house we would throw up a towel that they would fly into and we could take them outside and release them. We tried that with the squirrel. It would climb up to the ceiling on the one side of the room. As we went over to it the squirrel would glide over our heads to the other side of the room. Did this a few times until we placed a blocker at the spot we anticipated it to glide down. Finally got it in the towel and back outside 🙂. Pretty funny scene for sure.

[Terrierman]

2 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

One summer while in grad school we were working up in the Poconos. We stayed in a 90+yr old house. One night a flying squirrel got in the house. When we have had bats or birds in the house we would throw up a towel that they would fly into and we could take them outside and release them. We tried that with the squirrel. It would climb up to the ceiling on the one side of the room. As we went over to it the squirrel would glide over our heads to the other side of the room. Did this a few times until we placed a blocker at the spot we anticipated it to glide down. Finally got it in the towel and back outside 🙂. Pretty funny scene for sure.

We had a flying squirrel get into our house when I was in high school.  Seemed like my room was one of his favorite hangouts.  MDC agent finally trapped him in the attic.  Those things will keep you up at night.

[fishinwrench]

All this talk of flying squirrels, and I've never even seen one in real life, only in pictures.  We had albino squirrels running around at the local archery range and we at first thought they were flying squirrels, but they weren't.   Had to shoot one to find out.  😅

[snagged in outlet 3]

13 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

We had albino squirrels running around

The town nearest where my wife grew up is loaded with them.  Olney IL.  Home of the white squirrel.   You rarely see them outside the city limits. If at all.