Butch Femme Planet - Birds & Bees a Nonviolent Exchange

Butch Femme Planet (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/forum/index.php)

- The Fluffy Stuff: Flirting, Humor, Chat (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=17)

- - Birds & Bees a Nonviolent Exchange (http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5525)

Perfect Timing - The Bohemian Waxwing.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.n...62417117_n.jpg

Found in coniferous forests throughout the most northern parts of Europe, Asia and western North America.

Peregrine falcon

Cool Facts
The name "peregrine" means wanderer, and the Peregrine Falcon has one of the longest migrations of any North American bird. Tundra-nesting falcons winter in South America, and may move 25,000 km (15,500 mi) in a year. Maps of the migration of individual falcons determined by satellite telemetry can be seen at Environment Canada.
People have trained falcons for hunting for over a thousand years, and the Peregrine Falcon was always one of the most prized birds. Efforts to breed the Peregrine in captivity and reestablish populations depleted during the DDT years were greatly assisted by the existence of methods of handling captive falcons developed by falconers.
The Peregrine Falcon is a very fast flier, averaging 40-55 km/h (25-34 mph) in traveling flight, and reaching speeds up to 112 km/h (69 mph) in direct pursuit of prey. During its spectacular hunting stoop from heights of over 1 km (0.62 mi), the peregrine may reach speeds of 320 km/h (200 mph) as it drops toward its prey.
The Peregrine Falcon is one of the most widespread birds in the world. It is found on all continents except Antarctica, and on many oceanic islands.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

http://i37.tinypic.com/azfq8.jpg
Tufted Puffin, Oregon Coast Aquarium, March 23, 2013

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P...ARGE/brthr.jpg

Spotted a pair among the forsythia. Have not seen them in a few years.
Really like this bird's song. And their Yellow Eyes
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/B...hrasher/sounds

Cool Facts
The Brown Thrasher is considered a short-distance migrant, but two individuals have been recorded in Europe: one in England and another in Germany.
An aggressive defender of its nest, the Brown Thrasher is known to strike people and dogs hard enough to draw blood.

Brown Thrashers are accomplished songsters that may sing more than 1,100 different song types and include imitations of other birds, including Chuck-will’s-widows, Wood Thrushes, and Northern Flickers.

At least one early naturalist thought the Brown Thrasher’s song was underappreciated, writing “Much of the [acclaim] which has fallen to the Mockingbird is really due to the unperceived efforts of the Brown Thrasher. It is the opinion of many ornithologists that the song… is richer, fuller, and definitely more melodious than that of polyglottis” (the Northern Mockingbird).

Both males and females help incubate the eggs and feed the young. Nestlings sometimes leave the nest fully feathered within nine days of hatching—earlier than either of their smaller relatives, the Northern Mockingbird and Gray Catbird. Shrubby habitats are popular hideouts for nest predators, which may explain why the thrashers fledge so quickly for birds of their size.

Sri Lanka Frogmouth

http://www.indiabirds.com/images/gal...s/slfmblog.jpg
http://www.planetofbirds.com/wp-cont...-Frogmouth.jpg

Physical charateristics

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth is about 23 cm long. It looks large-headed, and has a large flattened hooked bill and huge frog-like gape. The female is rufous, lightly spotted with white. The male is grey and more heavily spotted.
The Sri Lanka Frogmouth hunts insects at night and rests during the day. The Sri Lankan frogmouth is not very adept at flying and can seem weak in flight, yet it can fly quietly under the thick canopy at night to hunt for insects. It can be identified at night by its klock-klock-klock-klock-klock calls which can best be described as loud, cackly and frog like. It has the same quality as of pebbles rattling down. This klock-klock call is of the male and is answered with a long and harsh krsssshhh by the female.

wingspan min.: 0 cm wingspan max.: 0 cm
size min.: 22 cm size max.: 23 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 0 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 0 eggs min.: 0
eggs max.: 0
Range

Oriental Region : South India, Sri Lanka

Habitat

The Sri Lanka Frogmouth inhabits dense tropical rainforest and is sometimes found in shade grown coffee plantations. It is found only in the Western Ghats of southwest India and Sri Lanka.

Reproduction

It builds a nest in the fork of a tree from 2?6m above the ground, lining it with moss, small leaves, twigs and underfeathers. A single white egg is laid and is incubated by the female at night and the male during the day. The white chick is cared for over a period of weeks before dispersing. Second down of the chick is rufous-buf and barred.

Feeding habits

The Sri Lankan frogmouth is nocturnal, hunting insects at night and resting on branches during the day.

Conservation

This species has a very large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend appears to be stable, and hence the species does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size has not been quantified, but it is not believed to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

The Sri Lankan frogmouth can inhabit shade-grown coffee plantations, which require the presence of the taller trees of native forest, and are therefore relatively ecologically sound. However, a recent trend has seen tea plantations becoming more profitable than coffee plantations, leading to the destruction of native forests. Habitat is also being lost to fires, forestry operations, water resource development, cultivation and grazing.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P...use_wren_6.jpg
The wrens are here looking for the best nest. Very interesting ritual that the pair goes through to build said nest. The male presents several to the female and she decides where they will live. Was not aware, until now, that they destroy other birds nests. Very territorial and has a wonderful song.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren/sounds
Physical Description
Male and female House Wrens look alike. They have grayish brown upperparts, buff or pale-buff underparts, and faint buff or dusky brown eyebrows. Juveniles have a reddish brown rump, and their underparts are a darker buff.

Distribution and Breeding Habitat
House Wrens occupy the northern two-thirds of the United States and parts of Canada. They breed in forest edges, shrub lands, swamps, fields, farmlands, and suburban parks. House Wren Range Map

Diet
Gleaning their food from tree foliage, House Wrens feast on a variety of invertebrates, including millipedes, spiders, snails, caterpillars, grasshoppers, ants, and beetles.

Pair Formation and Territoriality
The male arrives first on the breeding territory. Once he establishes a territory, he builds "dummy nests" in all available cavities on his territory. When the female arrives, she selects a nest site that may or may not be one of the nests started by the male.

House Wrens are very territorial. Although they use only one nest cavity at a time, they vigorously defend all cavities in their territory. As part of this defense, House Wrens often pierce and destroy the eggs of other cavity-nesting species such as Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows that attempt to nest within their territory.

The House Wren's mating system is complex. A male may pair with one female for part of the season to raise a brood. He might then mate with a different female to raise the second or third brood of the breeding season. Males may also be mated to two females simultaneously.

Nesting Behavior
Nest Building: The breeding season begins in late April for birds living in the southern portion of their range; it begins in early May in the northern portion. House Wrens nest in natural cavities, tree stumps, woodpecker holes, building nooks and crannies, and in nest boxes. They have also been known to nest in such unique places as cow skulls, flower pots, tin cans, boots, scarecrows, and the pockets of hanging laundry.

Males begin building the nest by filling the nest cavity with small sticks. Up to 500 sticks have been counted in a single nest. High behind this pile, the female constructs a nest cup from various soft materials, like feathers, hair, wool, spider cocoons, strips of bark, rootlets, moss, and trash.

Egg Laying: Females lay one egg per day until the clutch is complete. The average clutch size is 6 to 8 eggs, but up to 12 eggs have been reported. The eggs are glossy white, sometimes tinted with pink or buff. They are uniformly and profusely marked with fine pinkish brown, reddish brown, and brown specks, which sometimes form a ring near the larger end of the egg.

Incubation: The incubation period lasts 13 to 15 days. Females begin to incubate on the day the next-to-last, or penultimate, egg is laid. Males occasionally feed their mates during this period.

Nestling Care: Both adults care for the young. The young fledge after 12 to 18 days. Although able to fly, the fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for approximately two weeks. The female may begin to renest while young are still dependent; the male then becomes the primary caretaker of the young.

Pairs usually raise two broods per breeding season. Some pairs can successfully raise three broods.

Winter Movement and Dispersal
House Wrens migrate to the southern United States and Mexico for the winter. Males return to the same breeding territory year after year. There is no information on site fidelity in females.

There is no information on juvenile dispersal.

Visit Shaw Creek Bird Supply to see our selection of House Wren Houses.

Great blue heron

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P...ow_glamour.jpg

Loud obnoxious bird. Identified as a sparrow, but really isn't. LOB works for me.

Info enough...

You can find House Sparrows most places where there are houses (or other buildings), and few places where there aren’t. Along with two other introduced species, the European Starling and the Rock Pigeon, these are some of our most common birds. Their constant presence outside our doors makes them easy to overlook, and their tendency to displace native birds from nest boxes causes some people to resent them. But House Sparrows, with their capacity to live so intimately with us, are just beneficiaries of our own success.

Eastern Bluebird

http://images.nationalgeographic.com...71_600x450.jpg

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P...bluebird_4.jpg

Saw a pair of these beautiful birds for the first time! Incredible!

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/E...rd/lifehistory

Interestingly enough, speckled starlings were nearby, among the pines, the bluebirds nest.
And some bullfrogs.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P...hee_glamor.jpg
Male
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/P...d_towhee_2.jpg
Female
Very interesting
Cool Facts
The Eastern Towhee and the very similar Spotted Towhee of western North America used to be considered the same species, the Rufous-sided Towhee. The two forms still occur together in the Great Plains, where they sometimes interbreed. This is a common evolutionary pattern in North American birds – a holdover from when the great ice sheets split the continent down the middle, isolating birds into eastern and western populations that eventually became new species.

Hawk with Passenger

http://i1306.photobucket.com/albums/...psa86ed3d6.jpg

Photo Credit: Eric Tourneret, The Bee Photographer
Source: http://www.thehoneygatherers.com/htm...olibrary1.html

Every photograph on his website is a work of art. I think he is my favorite photographer, but I might be biased because of my love of bees. :)

If you are interested in viewing some absolutely stunning images, however, do take a moment and browse this website.