Birds of Paradise

These are cool birds from New Guinea. These birds are called Birds of Paradise. There are 39 species of those birds on the island New Guinea. 

Scientists, called Ornithologists, from National Geographic and Cornell University-Ornithology Department are studying these birds. 

These birds will make you laugh. They make me laugh.

Go Pro Video 2

This is a video about birds coming to my feeder. The birds are House Sparrows, House Finches, and Lesser Goldfinches. 
I could hear the Mourning Dove because it was nesting below in the brush. 

American Crow

American Crows are weird and cool. The sound that they make sound like conversations.

This is what they sound like here.

Lesser Goldfinches gather in scrub oak, cottonwood and willow habitats of the Western United States or suburban yards for seeds and water. They can be found all the way south to Peru and the Andes Mountains.
I saw 38-50 visit my feeders between April to June 2015. 
These birds eat seeds of plants in the sunflower family.
They make a wheezy song with bits from other birds. 
Their habitat is open woodland and nesting on trees. These birds could be found in the tree outside my home. 

Go Pro Bird Feeder Pictures

There are one bird on the feeder and one on the deck. It was common to see 38 or more Lesser Gold Finches at this feeder. They were messy birds. I took this picture with a GoPro Hero 4 camera. 

Photos from my GoPo and Feeders

This is a bird photo. These are my bird feeders. 

From left to right-
The first one is a humming bird feeder. I put in nectar juice made of a special formula. I didn't put red dye in the nectar because it is bad for the birds. 

Second is the water feeder. I put it out to keep the birds hydrated from the hot sun. It was funny that the birds showered in the water. 

Third feeder is the sock feeder. I put in black thistle seed in this feeder. The birds attracted to this feeder are: Lesser Goldfinch, House Finch, House Sparrows, and Mourning Doves.

Fourth feeder is the berry suet feeder. I saw a California Towhee at the feeder. 

Last feeder is the "juice feeder". It is called the juice feeder because it is made from an orange juice bottle. I put in a mixed seed food. House Finches and House Sparrows visited this feeder. 

Drought and How It Effects the Wildlife- WildCares suggestions.

During the droughts animals need water and they will go where humans live to find water to drink. Animals are showing up in animal hospitals because they get hit by cars and trucks.

Animals are being seen in the animal hospitals hungry and dehydrated. Baby animals and birds are dying because of the drought. Their parents are also dying. More are being seen in the animal hospitals. Animals are arriving in large groups because they are getting sick from drought related diseases. Animals are suffering from more parasites due to their stressed bodies from the drought.

Animals are fighting over territory, food and water.

I found out on the website WildCare that they don’t recommend supplying additional water and food. Why?

Animals will come in large groups and fight over food, shelter, and water.

Then what happens?

1. Disease: When the balance of nature is good then diseases and parasites are spread out instead of concentrated in one spot.
2. Overpopulation: Animals would overpopulate an area that cannot be sustained and could die.
3. Loss of fear to humans: Animals stop fearing humans and humans stop fearing animals. This could lead to deranged animals and hurt humans.
4. Predators: Predators are attracted to the animals that come to the supplemental food and water.

How the drought is effecting birds

The California drought is severely effecting the birds. 

Wetland Birds
Water birds are loosing their habitat because of the drought. These wetlands are receiving less water. This makes the birds mad and leave their habitat for better resources and life. Food resources in the wetlands have become scarce.

Agriculture Habitats
The birds are not surviving in the farmlands due to farming practices. 

Salinity
Lakes like Mono Lake, Owens Lake and the Salton Sea host millions of migratory shore birds that rely on the shrimp and brine fly. The narrow window of salinity that the drought has caused has turned the habitat upside down. 

Birds are nesting elsewhere because of the drought. The grass they need to nest are dead. 

Hurry Up Rain and Get Here!

Black Phoebe

The Black Phoebe is my favorite bird.  It has two different colors. The Black Phoebe likes to visit my bedroom window where it sits. 

The Black Phoebe  (Sayornis nigricans) is part of the flycatcher family. It can be found from southwest of Oregon and California south through Central and South America. 

The Black Phoebe is black on top and white on the bottom. I have seen 1- 2 Black Phoebes around my feeders.

The Black Phoebe doesn't eat seeds but eats worms and insects. 

It makes a "tee-hee, tee-ho" call which sounds like someone is giggling. 

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog. Stay tuned for future posts and activities.