by Larry Jordan
on June 26, 2008
Birdhouse Tree photo by Larry Jordan
I wanted to share this interesting grouping of birdhouses I saw in a quiet neighborhood in northern California. This person has quite a collection! If you like to collect birdhouses for fun and conversation, this can be a cool hobby I suppose but it would be for your enjoyment and not for the birds. There must be at least fifty birdhouses in this yard but no birds did I see. Well, I saw one house sparrow.
Most of these birdhouses were strictly for decoration but would not be suitable for birds to breed in. Some had perches (a feature that only aids predators), some were made of metal (good if you want to cook your birds) and I didn’t see even one of these birdhouses that opened so it could be cleaned and monitored. There were many with two holes, one above the other, but no floor to separate the two.
The other important thing to note here is that these birdhouses are all way to close to one another for any cavity nesting species to use. There are only two species of cavity nesters that I know of that will live in a communal setting. Those are the Purple Martins and the Tree Swallows.
Purple Martin House
It is also very important to have the proper cavity size and the proper entrance hole size for the species of bird you are trying to attract. For more information on building birdhouses, read my article here:
http://buildyourownbirdhouseplans.com/buildingbirdhouses.html
Happy Birding!
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by Larry Jordan
on June 19, 2008
Turtle Bay Eaglets photo by Greg Barnette
Larger of Two Eaglets Starts Flying
Young expected to stay near Hwy. 44 nest as they learn to hunt
Story by Dylan Darling
One of the Turtle Bay eaglets has been testing its wings, say the scientists monitoring the pair of young birds, which have grown up in what was a controversial nest.
“At this point, everything seems normal,” said Tom Balkow, senior environmental planner in the state Department of Transportation’s Redding office. “And it sounds like they will be ready to get out of the area soon.”
Scientists saw what they think is the older and larger of the two 12- to 13-week-old eaglets fly from the nest Thursday and it didn’t return before nightfall, he said. It was spotted again Friday morning before another flight from the nest.
“Sounds like he is getting up and around,” Balkow said.
Friday afternoon, the pair of eaglets were in the nest, both spreading their wings, but not taking off. You can read the rest of the article here:
http://www.redding.com:80/news/2008/jun/14/larger-of-2-eaglets-starts-flying/
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by Larry Jordan
on June 2, 2008
Ash-throated Flycatcher photo by Frank Kratofil
The Ash-throated Flycatchers are back in a big way! I currently have three pair nesting and others still checking out nestboxes. I really love these birds. See my other post here Ash-throated Flycatchers Nesting In My Backyard . I love this shot of the flycatcher my friend Frank took with its “crest” standing up like Don King on a good day. Here are a few pictures of the newly hatched flycatcher chicks I’ve taken in the last couple of days. [continue reading…]
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by Larry Jordan
on June 1, 2008
Eaglets Thrive Despite Bridge Work
Webcam could offer live feed of parents’ home by next winter.
By Dylan Darling
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Photo by Greg Barnette / Record Searchlight
Two bald eaglets wait for their parents to return with food in their nest near Turtle Bay Exploration Park on Wednesday afternoon. The eaglets are close to leaving the nest despite having been born and reared near a bridge construction site, state transportation and wildlife officials say.
Look out world, here come Conehead and Freedom.
Two bald eaglets who have grown up above a busy bridge construction site in downtown Redding could soon leave the nest.
“They’ve gone through the construction really well,” said Tom Balkow, senior environmental planner in the state Department of Transportation’s Redding office.
And next winter, a Webcam should provide people around the world with a live look at Redding’s now locally famous eagles, Patriot and Liberty, the eaglets’ parents.
The construction started in April and will continue for the next three years. Fearing that the work would cause too much commotion and interfere with Patriot’s and Liberty’s nesting instincts, Caltrans officials had workers wire a plastic cone to the nest in November. But the 3-foot-wide black cone wasn’t enough to persuade the eagles to select a new nesting spot.
For the rest of the story go to: http://www.redding.com/news/2008/may/29/eaglets-thrive-despite-bridge-work/
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