Any birds for you in Texas?

NOOOoooooo!
Sometimes you need to be careful what you asked for...
Today I looked out my bedroom window and saw TWO White-wing dove, that is the last bird I want to see out there! heheh I scared them off, hopefully (not likely though) they won't come back, my luck they only flew away to go and get their friends.

On a better note...
I have not had much time to do much, but, I have seen a male and female Cardinal out there at the feeder 3 times in the last couple of days, plus I watched a Brown creeper hopping back and forth between two of our trees. I have seen a male and female White-throated sparrow out there too, plus up to 10 Dark-eyed juncos. Once day before yesterday I saw a male Downy woodpecker, so things are definitely looking up.
The day before our first cold front of the season I saw the first Juncos, the the rest just followed. Also, I saw two Mourning dove, I don't mind them so much, they aren't feeder hogs like their White-winged brethren.

Tom if you're reading this, I have not had a chance to contact two of the Wildlife people you sent me, I plan too as soon as I get the time to think about stuff like that. (Thanks, again!)

Randy

Today was even better, this morning I went to my back bedroom window just to check out what might be out there and I was really surprised.
I saw the below in under 2 minutes...

Cardinals (Male and female)
Bluejay (1)
Carolina Chickadee (2 or more)
Carolina Wren (1)
Mockingbird (1)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2)
Brown Creeper (1)
Tufted Titmouse (2 or more)
White-wing Dove (2)
English Sparrow (8)
Dark-eyed Junco (1)

The feeding was fast and furious too, they were coming and going so fast I had a hard time telling what was what, it was fairly overcast still, the morning clouds haven't burned off yet, now it's all clear out and not a bird in sight.

Anyway, I'm happy again, especially after seeing that the Bluejay and Cardinals are coming back around, they were very common at my old house but I still do not tire of shooting them.

Thanks for playing, I won't be griping anymore this year (hopefully) and as soon as I get some things in order I'll be out playing like the rest of y'all that wear the big boy pants, you know, the non-whiners!

Randy

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It's great that you finally have some birds around the place, Randy!

There are some locales in which birds only come to yards and feeders for a couple months out of the whole year; I think that perhaps you live in such an area. That's pretty much how it is here where I live, too. There is just too much food available from natural sources from March thru November, then most of the birds have migrated away when the winter feeding season rolls around.

So what I hope for - wish for - is that I can get a few species to visit for a month or three in the dead of winter. Anything more than that is just unrealistic to expect - I'm just never going to get any yard birds from March thru November.* . It seems like maybe it's that way in the place you live at now. Enjoy what you have to the fullest, while they are still around!


*except those darned non-native House Sparrows and Eurasian Collared Doves - both nuisance species that don't belong in North America
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If you're right, then I am a REALLY lucky guy! heheh Well, I had no idea that others had it so bad, I am just used to a certain way and I am spoiled, I guess. I can't be blamed though. Who wouldn't want to have a yard full of birds.
This is a farming area so I guess there is adequate places for birds to eat, since this is all new to me I need to learn what and where they eat, I guess that my other (local) birds were too dependent on me, I know that happens.

Thanks, Tom, I'll also let you know what happens after I contact and hopefully hear from a couple of the links that you posted, I am hoping they know some magic places. In the past I have not had good luck with Texas agencies similar, that doesn't mean that they are all like that, but we'll see.

Thanks again!

Randy

Thank goodness, that's over!! Starting to think I was going to have to go down and offer my shoulder.

ardeekay wrote in post #18212662
Thank goodness, that's over!! Starting to think I was going to have to go down and offer my shoulder.

I know, right? heheheh
Thanks for being there, Rog!
Soon, you'll be showing off your coastal shots of birds that I rarely get to see!

Randy

Thanks, Randy, but first got to survive the drive thru Houston!!

I know what you mean, you can drive all of the way UNTIL you get around Houston, then it's the worst traffic there is anywhere, I HATE that area just for that reason.

Randy

Randy, I'm late to this thread. We live in NorthWest Louisiana and this year had very few birds in the October time frame. Many people in this area said the same thing. They are more plentiful now. Don't know what occurred. DJ

I guess it's just been a really weird year...
I have (recently) posted that I have birds again, but they just don't stay, there are a lot here, then later in the day, or the next day they are gone. Some days I don't even see a bird, I mean, I feel as though I am in the Twilight Zone or something... heheh
Well, hopefully yours are staying we're not that close it seems, but when you are looking at a map it doesn't appear that we're that far apart as far as a birds flight path is concerned.
Very strange stuff, I hope it's not a repeat every year, for you AND me.

Just to show you I have not seen any birds all day long today, well, I did see one female Downy Woodpecker really early this morning on the suet feeder.

Thanks, DJ!

Randy

Yeah, it's me again...

I was on Dallas Audubon's Forum and saw this, this is EXACTLY what I was saying in the very beginning, or rather, what I was asking those here. Of course I was told this by a few here and I also felt it was a food thing, but it was just so weird that it seemed to be something else, but, it's apparently normal when the birds have a good year.
Anyway, here's what was said there on the forum, not to beat a dead horse. Really, the reason I am keeping up this crazy thread is that someday someone else is going to ask the same thing, maybe they will search and find their answer here.
More than likely it will be me that asks this though. heheh

Randy


Thread:
Neighborhood has been mysteriously abandoned by many birds. Why?

12-04-2016, 07:21 PM #1
Has anyone else in this area noticed? The northeast Dallas neighborhood is bounded by Skillman, Abrams, Lovers, and University. Around the end of August (2016), the usual array of birds at my feeders suddenly stopped. The next door neighbor still has some white winged dove waiting for his platform feeder to be filled each day. These guys formerly roosted in my trees and learned to eat from the multiple feeders I keep filled. There were sparrows, and many common house finch, several cardinal families who nest each year (not this time), and a blue jay or two, and for the first time I saw American Goldfinches. I only use black oil sunflower seeds, and have squirrel proof feeders with covers. We've been in this house 14 yrs. and many varieties come by almost constantly. I was refilling the feeders once or twice a week, and buying 20 lb. bags of seed every few weeks. I walk my dog in our streets and have noticed a complete void of our winged friends for many months. The few exceptions include three sassy crows who sort of follow me when I walk. A Cooper's hawk was spotted mid-summer. We also have nocturnal coyotes in the area. Any ideas about what's going on? How to attract them again? Seed and water is fresh. I miss them!

12-07-2016, 06:46 AM #2

Default Re: Neighborhood has been mysteriously abandoned by many birds. Why?

For what it's worth, there has been an abundance of wild bird food available this year.

Bird feeders everywhere in Texas have been extremely slow. Wild Birds Unlimited has had a record down-season starting in September. It is just now picking up a little. Things should be normal at the bird feeders by spring. The important thing to remember is that the birds are doing well.


Re: Neighborhood has been mysteriously abandoned by many birds. Why?

Quote Originally Posted by
For what it's worth, there has been an abundance of wild bird food available this year.

Bird feeders everywhere in Texas have been extremely slow. Wild Birds Unlimited has had a record down-season starting in September. It is just now picking up a little. Things should be normal at the bird feeders by spring. The important thing to remember is that the birds are doing well.
Thank you for your response. It is good that the birds are doing well with abundant natural food. Glad it's not something wrong in the environment causing the departure of wild birds in our neighborhood and my yard.

Funny you should mention Randy. I saw that post too on Dallas Audubon a little while back and made me think of your post here on POTN.

Yeah, it makes me feel better anyway, not that I wasn't already thinking that, but it means almost 'for sure' that the birds aren't being abducted by UFO's and that kind of stuff, 'cause I was starting to wonder. heheh I rarely go to that forum since I don't live around there, plus it's pretty dead there.

Thanks, Brad, I appreciate that.

Actually, (To anyone really) my birds are gone again, at least for the most part. When we had that really bad cold front and snow last week I couldn't keep up with the action, you know, the way it usually is when a front comes, but the weather her changes so rapidly the snow melted by the next day and the birds were gone. I mean, yeah, I do see some, but I assume that whatever it was that they eat while it's not snowing is preferable to my tasty peanuts and black sunflower seeds, fine, I'll act like it doesn't bother me.
(We know it does though)
I am really just glad that the birds are doing good though, I had a lot of shots so I stopped shooting so I would not be the reason they stopped eating, just in case. I really think that one really cold day I could have hand fed them, I know you can train them to do that, but I just want happy birds, healthy too.

I'll shut up for a while now, I guess, whining sure doesn't get me anything, but I am sure am good at it. heheh

Randy

Just for any future references...

Last year I started this thread about how there was a severe lack of bird life all around me, I want to update this.

This year at the same time that I wrote the thread last year I had birds, all of my birds that had left last year. As far as I can tell there has not been a big difference in weather between now and then either, both years had rain, lots of flowers, lots of everything that is needed for life.
Anyway, that's about it, last year I was left high and dry and this year I can look out and see just about any bird that I would expect at this time of year, so things are good. (It has nothing at all to do with the hurricanes either, I am really talking about before, plus I am in far Northeast Texas now)

I had seen another person mentioning the same thing, he mentions that he has/had a lack of birds, so it happens, I'm not really sure of the exact reason, I know we all have said what we believe it to be, but it happens. This year I have had a LOT more hummingbirds than last year, that I can understand, or I am used to that, but when ALL of the birds that you are used to seeing are suddenly just not there, that is just a weird and panicky feeling.

That is all...

Randy