A Few of the Birds I Love

We recently got a bird feeder with an attached camera (wifi-connected). I had always dabbled in bird watching, but this surprisingly took me to another level. I now feel protective of my local birds as if they were a pet like a dog. And I recognize them day after day.

My favorite bird before was the cardinal because of its amazing color and song.

Now, with the camera, I have realized the incredible intelligence and personality of woodpeckers. They are my new favorite.

The Cornell BirdLab app is another essential tool for appreciating how much life is around (at least in my region). It feels like a cheat code and has also helped me fall in love with a visually mild bird, the Brown Cowbird.

> If their [swallows'] designer had any regard for the effect their flight would have on human beings, then they exist to bring out the bit of that child that is still left in us.

Besides the flight, I like how they are monogamous, some build mud nests, and if they migrate they'd often come back to the same nest. One family of swallows have built their nest by my aging parent's balcony, and have been visiting them for a few years every summer. It brings them tremendous joy watching them and seeing them care for the chicks.

Apropos of colorful descriptions of birds, it's hard not to mention The Peregrine by J. A. Baker. Someone recommended the book to me and I really enjoyed it.

To me, blue jays are the natural counterpart of the cardinal. They are like two different varieties of chromatic dragon.

I love the sound and color of red-winged blackbirds flashing among the cattails. But stay away from their nests at breeding time, they will dive-bomb you without hesitation.

There is a lone pied-billed grebe that visits our pond every fall. It looks like a miniature duck that is overloaded with cargo, making it sit too low in the water. Then it will suddenly disappear like a submersible if it spots you approaching.

This time of year, sandhill cranes start passing over our house by companies and batallions, heading northward and filling the air with strange warbling cries. I always wonder why they return so early, as if they are in a rush to get back home to Canada despite the chill that remains in the air even here, hundreds of miles to the south.

In the UK, the one bird I love overall for its song is the blackbird. Best bit of the dawn chorus and the first one of the year lets me know Spring/Summer is on the way.

I think everyone in the UK thinks fondly of robins, and has negative opinions of pigeons. I did too, until I found out that they are Rock Doves that swapped nesting in cliffs by the sea for tall buildings in towns. It's not their fault they're successful at it.

Male pheasants are handsome creatures too, but the most stupidly suicidal birds I have ever seen near to roads.

A murmuation of starlings is hard to beat as well.

Upvote for the mockingbird. One fellow has for years perched himself in tree near the sidewalk tables at my favorite restaurant. His songs are as good as the food.

> only three species of birds survived the Chicxulub asteroid impact

I think it was three clades that survived, not individual species.

I've got a mockingbird that comes and asks for food every morning. The cardinals and titmice will fly up to the tree outside the window and wait as soon as I open the window, but the mockingbird will sit on the tray on the window and stare at me until I open it. When I do, he'll wait in the tree, but as soon as I put the meal worms down, he'll come back and start chowing down. Doesn't seem to mind being within an arms reach of me at the open window. Never makes a sound though. Not while I can see him around the feeder at least.

Working from home with the window/feeder right next to my desk is pretty nice. You get to see the different temperaments and "personalities" of the various birds pretty quick. Sometimes even within the same species; e.g., most of the male cardinals are a bit aggressive, and chase other smaller birds away if they get too close, but a new young male that started coming recently is considerably more timid, and gets pushed around by most of the other sparrows and wrens.

The red-bellied woodpecker that likes to make machine-gun noises on my gutters every day, however, does get a little tiresome.

When I lived in the PNW I got to know my birds really well. The chickadees were some of my favorite to watch, so dexterous and playful at the feeders. He's very right about the (hilarious) aggressiveness of hummingbirds, but I did notice the different species acted very different. Not sure the names but the shiny green ones are far more tolerant of each other (I have a picture of 8 sitting on the same feeder at once). The lighter ones with black/yellow/grey markings are SO mean though! Constantly divebombing and harassing. I did have one other (much more rare) type that was orange, that had the most unique personality. Very sweet and brave, but very much a joker. The way he would taunt and "guard" the feeder seemed more like an invitation to play.

Gorgeously evocative writing. Thank you for sharing. I'm going to look at birds tomorrow.

I figured this was going to be about Parrots and I got excited, because I have 3 of them and they're great when they're not being annoying...adorably.

Then I see these aren't parrots, and that's cool too, because birds - Parrots, Cardinals, Chickens, Emus...are freekin' awesome. There is clearly something going on in their comparatively smaller brains.

Magpie, just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s boring. Just watching a common magie come in to land is awesome inspiring.

Hummingbirds just fill me with anxiety. Miserable fate to devolve into an insect.

I'm really basic, I just like seeing the magpies, pied wagtails and little finches on my commute. They make me happy =)

It really makes me wonder why humans never developed the ability to see UV light when so many other creatures in nature can.

Cedar waxwings are pretty sharp looking too.

Nice list. I also delight in having purple martins nearby. They're such a joy to watch.

In south-east Asia, I loved the Coppersmith Barbet.

I love this, love the writing, and share the joy of watching hummingbirds and swallows, but....

Hard disagree on the mockingbirds. Fuck those guys. A long time ago, I had one singing less than a block away all night, every night, for the whole summer. Loud enough to be heard with the windows closed. I either didn't try earplugs (this was a long time ago), or maybe they just didn't work for me. It woke me up and kept me awake for long periods due to the unpredictability of its song. By the end of the season I was seriously considering getting a bb or pellet gun and shooting the thing. Not to kill it, just to get it to shut the hell up. I still can't hear one today without getting vague twinges of anger over all the lost sleep.

Fuck those guys.