OO, I've heard some birders prefer the Roger Tory Peterson books but I've not really compared. As for that pine scrub in Florida, it is located along this funky ridge that runs the length of the state. I would love to see some hummingbirds. They seem so clueless. Just humming their little lives away.

blacktie, they say people look like their dogs. But at the beach, I think they do look like birds the way they strut up and down all bedecked in their bikinis, thongs, hats, suits, picking up shells, walking, walking, walking. Very insightful observation of yours, which has surely come from one too many margueritas at the Ka'Tiki.

And FYI, the old Surf hotel in TI has not yet been razed but I hear the pre-sold condos of the new Surf condo are already being re-sold for $100,000 profits.

WOW! After reading this I feel like I really live in the wilderness! In my yard in upstate NY (in the Adirondacks), we see turkeys, an ocassional fox, a family of deer and their MANY friends (who entirely destroyed all my rhododendren this winter). There are also geese, ducks, hummingbirds and all the other "wild" creatures you'd expect. A friend had a moose in her yard, but I've never actually seen one

Here's an egret who lives in New York City, looking for handouts from fishermen in Central Park:

http://centralparkfishing.blogspot.c...g_archive.html

Cornell has a nature lover's dream website of barn owls, osprey, eastern and western bluebird, caroline wren, and wood duck.

According to the website, it uses real-time Internet technology to observe and interpret the nesting behaviors of cavity-nesting birds and promote understanding of their breeding biology.

http://birds.cornell.edu/birdhouse/nestboxcam/

Wow, a thread like this reminds you of all the spectacular birds and creatures in your own area that you take for granted....... I am looking at two hummingbird feeders out my den window, and we have so many hummers that they fight, and chase each other off!!! And blue jays galore, too many cardinals to count, beautiful Carolina wrens, finches, red-headed woodpeckers and on and on.... (and that magnificent Great Blue Egret!:-d )

Seriously, sometimes you have so much beauty around you that you don't really "see" it all the time!

Truly Bonnie, I agree. We should all stop and smell the roses(and wildlife). When we lived in Georgia we had bluebirds galore. I DO ENVY you people that have hummers.....they are so cool. I adore them. Well, I love almost all creatures except BUGS. We are going to Yellowstone and Tetons TOMORROW, and we will see some rockin creatures there! I can not wait! :-D

razzledazzle,
My visitor was a Snowy egret, he was not too tall.
I have hummingbird feeders but had no nectar for them, thank you for the recipe.
We have seen some armadillos around here too, but none in an upright position either.
Thank you all for your great stories ((F))

As I look out my window now, in Cave Creek, AZ, I see mourning doves, white-tailed doves, quail, house finches, a cardinal, rabbits and some ground squirrels. I just put out their daily ration of birdseed, so they are all here eating. In an hour or two, the deer should be showing up.

In Memphis, TN we have the regular yard birds... cardinals, blue jays, cow birds, finches, doves...but no egrets. We actually have two different pairs of doves nesting on the rain gutters this year. However, if you drive around to some of the lakes and rivers in the area, you can find egrets and blue herons sometimes.

We do get hummingbirds here(green with red band on the throat), but they usually come when it gets hot in the summer. I haven't seen any yet this year, but they should be here soon.

We did have a rabbit living in our backyard last year.

R5,
I hung my hummingbird feeder out the other day, too.
Used about the same recipe of sugarwater.

I was amazed when a hummingbird flew up to it, took a drink...spit it out..flipped me "The Human" and told me he was on Atkins and if I was trying to kill him or something.

I hate it when birds talk to me. 8-}

Kal, you are a rare species yourself! Do you get around much?????? I'm not going to look out and find you lolling in my bird bath, am I, Lava Flow and all?;-):-d

Look out for broad shouldered, shrill chirping, refrigerator raiding Polocks! ((H))

And it better be a BIG FRIGGIN' bird bath!

Will any of these birds being talked about on here eat Japanese Beetles (you know, the little black ones w/shells like army helmets)??? If so, I will gladly pay to have you send the birds here to my yard (ask them what they want, first class airfare, free movies and all you can drink on the flight, Duckhorn '97 Howell Mountain Merlot? I'll do it). My son called me today during a big meeting w/a client and said "MOM, THEY'RE HERE!!!" (yes, he was accidentally put on the speakerphone in the meeting). I knew immediately what he was talking about. I could hear them munching on my roses and hibiscus. If there is some food chain way to get rid of them, I'll do whatever it takes and get whatever creatures I need to rid my roses of these things.
I'll take back the cicadas, they were noisy but they didn't munch their way through the garden. I can see my future, spending my weekend flicking beetles off the plants and into a bowl of soapy water. Send your big insect eating birds this way!!
Other than that, I have cute rabbits and occassional deer that stroll through the yard- and thank goodness the deer do not eat my garden.

It's wonderful that you are treated to egrets in your yard, Scarlett. It's pretty tame out where I live near Tyson's Corner, VA. No deer, maybe a squirrel.

Yesterday, though, I did get to see some wild grey monkeys roaming around Uluwatu Lot here in Bali, Indonesia. Heading to Ubud in half an hour.

...and then there is the ever common cattle egret. little guys.

We have big fat bluejays, and when there is snow on the trees, they look like Christmas ornaments. The woodpeckers and Robins are always about and the squirrels use our fence as a highway. Hawks hang aroung MIT waiting for squirrels. We had skunks and possums but no sitings yet this year. AND THIS IS IN THE CITY.

Well, having finally put in a garden with some design last Fall, we are welcomming a variety of butterflies, a host of bees and hummingbirds. The garden and a bird feeder as well as birdbath have begun to bring birds into the yard. Depending on the season here we see robins,cedar waxwings(a beautiful bird)&finches(from what I can identify so far). And right here in the Urban jungle of the East Bay, we have Canadian Geese flying overhead and racoons showing up on porches when not pitching themselves down the sewers. Get me going on Marin & Point Reyes and I'll go on and on.

Pam, you reminded me, I have butterflies too (the butterfly bushes really do work- and also resident dive-bombing goldfinches, and lots of big brilliant cardinals (so many cardinals that the housing development is named after them). Maybe I can bribe them to eat the beetles.

this is good to send my old neighbor back up North. They drive all the way to Canada every year (Spring) to watch birds :)

Question:
What kind of birds live in the gourds that I see hanging in peoples yards?
Starling types?

Wow, love this thread! In our neck of the SF Bay area, there's a flock of wild parrots that entertains us with their raucous exuberance as they zoom through the back yard.

We also have doves, not God's smartest creature. Every year a dove family nests somewhere in our yard and we get to watch them until the babies become adolescents. One spring the parents-to-be chose a spot just outside the door to our atrium, where we watched father bird try in vain to get the nest together. In the meantime, mother bird had deposited (splatted?) a couple of eggs on the cement beneath the building site. Finally, unable to tolerate watching Dad's unsuccessful effort to house his family, my sweet husband built them a nest! He fashioned a little wooden platform, tied it to the tree and wove a few twigs together. Mom and Dad dove got the message and finished the nest to their satisfaction and raised their family.