Any Birders Here?

[TomM]

I've had birds in my life since I was born. My parents had two parakeets (Spade and Buddy) when I was a baby. Got a cockatiel (Sam) when I was a toddler. He just passed away this past fall at the age of 23. My mom got a mitred conure (Ivy) when I was around 7 years old, I'm 27 now. Ivy is still alive and doing just fine. When I was in high school I took in two parrotlets (Copernicus & Little Bird) that were used by a breeder and didn't take great care of them. Now I have coturnix quail, but only one has a name. He's the friendliest one and enjoys sitting on my shoulder while I walk around the garden. His name is Dan Quail. I also help take care of some red tail hawks and owls at a local wildlife sanctuary. Here's some pictures:

Sam the cockatiel (RIP 1992 - 2015)

Little Bird the parrotlet being goofy

Ivy the Mitred Conure

Hannibal the one-eyed Eastern Screech Owl

Dan Quail the Coturnix Quail

 

[pannaking22]

Very cool! I'd like to volunteer at a wildlife center, but there aren't that many around here, so I'm planning on volunteering at local forest preserves when things warm up a little bit. There's one in town that actually has 3 eastern screech owls, so I wouldn't mind volunteering there

 

[eminart]

Not a "birder" per se, but I am a licensed falconer. I usually fly red tailed hawks, which is what I have currently.

 

[lalberts9310]

I don't bird watch, but i do have a congo african grey that I love with every ounce of my heart. He follows me everywhere and makes the cutest noises when he gets excited to see me. He adores me and hates everyone else LOL.

 

[Illusion]

Not a "birder" per se, but I am a licensed falconer. I usually fly red tailed hawks, which is what I have currently.

Absolutely stunning hawk, i've always loved red tails, i wanted one for a very long time and had planned on getting one until my little rescued European buzzard came into my life

 

[Illusion]

This is my owl, a vermiculated eagle owl.
Shamefully I don't have any photos of my buzzard on here as it's quite a new lap top.

 

[pannaking22]

Wow, that's awesome @eminart and @Illusion that you have your own raptors! My girlfriend wants to get an owl at some point, but not sure how easy that is to do lol. If nothing else, we might do some volunteering at a wildlife center or bird banding station so we can still be close to birds like that.

 

[TomM]

Wow, that's awesome @eminart and @Illusion that you have your own raptors! My girlfriend wants to get an owl at some point, but not sure how easy that is to do lol. If nothing else, we might do some volunteering at a wildlife center or bird banding station so we can still be close to birds like that.

I would say that the volunteering at a wildlife center is the best idea. That's what I do and I love it. Plus, I don't have to worry about the owls and red tail hawk every day since there are other volunteers that also do a great job taking care of the birds.

 

[Fishcrunch]

Wow, that's awesome @eminart and @Illusion that you have your own raptors! My girlfriend wants to get an owl at some point, but not sure how easy that is to do lol. If nothing else, we might do some volunteering at a wildlife center or bird banding station so we can still be close to birds like that.

Lol you might want to tell her to have a more reasonable dream, like a conure or something.

 

[schmiggle]

My grandfather owned a horned owl in college. He claims that he used to fly it down the dorm halls, and that he would tie a string around its leg and his wrist at night, so that every time it hooted he could tug the string and it would stop. Not sure if that changes reasonableness, but it's a cute story anyway. He later gave it to the museum of science in boston.

 

[Sajaha]

I work with raptors at a refuge. Just feeding, cleaning, daily care and sometimes handling for education programs. Really amazing creatures and truly captivating up close. We have a few parrots as well. I'm always up close to them if you have any questions.

 

[pannaking22]

Very cool stuff all, thanks for sharing!

 

[twinkleyell]

i bird as well! i own four budgies. one day i hope to get either a senegal parrot or a cockatiel. theyre such cool dudes

 

[pannaking22]

Just came in today and managed to track down 42 species without hitting one of the biggest hotspots in the area. Probably would have hit 60 if I swung by there. Not a bad way to start the year!

 

[Dennis Nedry]

I’ve had quite a few chickens over the past, currently have three and all are total characters. Have also had budgies and an eclectus parrot when I was little, unfortunately I didn’t really look after them properly as I was too young and my parents didn’t really care.

As for wild birds I don’t exactly do much in the way of bird watching, but it’s always a treat to see any raptors flying around. Saw some Brahminy kites, ospreys and a white bellied sea eagle while in Western Australia. One of the people I was with got these two pics of the eagle

 

[pannaking22]

Gorgeous bird! It almost reminds me of the swallow-tailed kites we get in the US (minus the tails of course).

 

[Clareesi]

I'm a birder! I actually have 3 rescue parrots currently and am an active outdoor birder as well

 

[pannaking22]

Cracked 60 over the weekend with a list of 63 on Sunday. I'm trying to get out as much as possible to get ready for the birding festival in a couple weeks since I'm leading two trips.

 

[pannaking22]

Great festival! The weather wasn't the most cooperative on Friday and Saturday, but the birders from all over seemed to have a good time. We even had people from Canada and Brazil attending. Lots of lifers for everyone and I even picked up a few too (take that nemesis bird, Morelet's seedeater).

 

[aphono]

Congrats on your success! Had to google that seedeater- what a cute bird.

Not a birder here but like many, like to pause and look at a bird passing by & had various pet birds, including 'exotics'- parrots, softbills, game birds, poultry and waterfowl over the years. Sort of a "genetics hobbyist", had fun combining genetics in many of the birds but currently only have a few chickens with unusual genes to play with.

Recent bird sightings- last week paused to watch a large flock of white pelicans going around in circles to gain altitude then gliding off in formation. I keep forgetting just how huge they are. In the last couple weeks, regular sightings of what I believe to be white tailed kites(? they are kites of some kind for sure..) hanging around in the neighbor's trees. This weekend got to see what appears to be a courtship ritual- one bird in particular was flying around slowly with the wings raised high above their backs and fluttering slightly like a butterfly. That was both odd and beautiful. Also what appears to be several different species of warblers attracted to the flowering aloes.. hopeless with identifying them though. This morning watched a pair of wrens(no idea what species) bringing nesting materials to a spot in the yard. Pretty much never see wrens of any sort around here so that was a double treat.