Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Bird Watchers :: Winter 23-24
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Canoedad89 |
thegildedgopher: "Canoedad89: " Yep this is what my Peterson’s guide says. My question is how a hairy beak compares to a redbellied. :)" Oh. I thought you typed "redbellied" by mistake, since the red-bellied can't be confused with the hairy. Never mind. |
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JWilder |
I feed peanuts, shelled sunflower, black oil sunflower and suet. Daily I have Downy’s, Harry’s, and red-bellied woodpeckers; nuthatches, chickadees, gold and purple finches. I hear the pileated almost daily with occasional sightings. Otherwise nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year. I have not seen a northern flicker in about a year. Watching and waiting… The wood peckers seem to favor the peanuts over the suet. The cardinal on the other hand has been rare over the last year. Very few visits to my feeders. My favorite to watch is the Belted Kingfisher that resides and feeds along the creek running through my property. A bird I haven’t seen until moving here a few years ago. A very vocal species! JW |
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thegildedgopher |
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thegildedgopher |
This is my first year consistently feeding and paying real attention so I don’t really know much about migration etc But the warm weather this week has turned them OFF. Almost nobody visiting now. Assume they are finding food more naturally? One more question — how would you compare the beak size of a hairy to a redbellied? Every so often I get a downy that seems on the large size, but the beak doesn’t look long enough to be a hairy to me. |
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airmorse |
That has not been the case. Very few birds. I'm guessing the reason is thay have a lot more natural food to eat. I will say that I have more hummingbirds than my old house. I feed black oil sunflower, thistle, and suet cakes. |
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jhb8426 |
JWilder: "Daily I have Downy’s, Harry’s, and red-bellied woodpeckers; nuthatches, chickadees, gold and purple finches. I hear the pileated almost daily with occasional sightings. I live in Crystal. In addition to the above we have a few juncos and 2 or 3 cardinals every day. Some days are slower then others, then one day they all show up at once and empty the feeders. Had a pileated wood pecker today for about 20 minutes or so. Was in my pine tree first, then moved to me ash tree. I heard him before I saw him. |
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thegildedgopher |
Canoedad89: " The Downy’s bill is dainty and about one-third the length of the bird’s head. The Hairy’s bill is a railroad spike in comparison, and almost as long as its head. " Yep this is what my Peterson’s guide says. My question is how a hairy beak compares to a redbellied. :) |
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Canoedad89 |
One more question — how would you compare the beak size of a hairy to a redbellied? Every so often I get a downy that seems on the large size, but the beak doesn’t look long enough to be a hairy to me." The Downy’s bill is dainty and about one-third the length of the bird’s head. The Hairy’s bill is a railroad spike in comparison, and almost as long as its head. |