Bird Watching

[LethalOnGuitarZ]

This is a truly FASCINATING hobby that I believe is victim to far too much negative criticism and slander amongst the general public.

Post about your experiences bird watching guys

[fitnessman]

I can't count the amount of times while out in a boat and the site of the American Bald Eagle has stopped me dead in my tracks.

Just the the site of this awesome predator!

I can see how bird watching gets people. I put several feeders up in my yard just to attract hum. birds.

Nature!

[never2late]

The Mrs. and I enjoyed Raptors in Cape May, NJ in the fall. We also have Hawk Mountain about 45 minutes from us. Our oldest daughter is the birder in the family, so she gets the rest of us worked up to get out there from time to time.

[TheBourne]

We had about 20 wild turkeys wnader through our backyard this winter...my cat peered through the window thinking "should I attak those things or should I run and hide" I swear the were like 2 feet tall

[Chipman]

You won't hear any bad words about bird watching from me I know its role in the the ecology. I have been on two Golden eagle counts in Montana and Wyoming and believe it or not we might just have an formerly thought extinct Woodpecker found it the swamps of Arkansas where I grew up. http://www.birdingamerica.com/Ivorybill/ivorybilledwoodpecker.htm

[IceDragon]

I've been an ornithologist since I was about seven, but rarely get a chance to do it now.

Really must take the kids out - and for what it's worth, it's VERY under-rated as a hobby.

[cocoapi]

A few days I was looking at photos and I came across this website...

http://danielbergmann.com/html/gallery/birds/birds2.html

There are some amazing photographs of some birds. I think they were all taken in Iceland. The atlantic puffin looks incredible.

[Hartski]

I can't count the amount of times while out in a boat and the site of the American Bald Eagle has stopped me dead in my tracks.

Just the the site of this awesome predator!



Yeah, same with me (except for the boat part). Bald Eagles are awesome.

Last summer I was driving to the town where my buddy lives, just enjoying the weather and cruising, and right by the farm we used to live at was a dead deer along side of the road with a friggen HUGE bird munching on it. I slowed down to a crawl and saw that it was a massive Bald Eagle. I was only about 10 feet away from it, and it just straightened up and looked at me. And I swear to God, he nodded at me like he was saying "What's up."

I can't really describe the feeling of seeing a Bald Eagle that close that wasn't in captivity, but it put me in a great mood for the rest of the day.

[One More Time]

I can't count the amount of times while out in a boat and the site of the American Bald Eagle has stopped me dead in my tracks.

Just the the site of this awesome predator!

I can see how bird watching gets people. I put several feeders up in my yard just to attract hum. birds.

Nature!


Bald Eagles are awesome. One time my dad and I were catfishing. We had the boat anchored and were not even getting a bite. I hear this high pitch squeal. A Bald Eagle swoops down out of nowhere and catches a fish 50 yards from the boat. As it is flying away, my dad looks at me and says, "Are you ready to leave?" I laughed and said, "He sure showed us how it was done didn't he?"...LOL!

[snissors]

I'm really into birds as well. My favorite birds are owls. My wife and I went on an "owl prowl" a few years ago that was run by a local bird club, and I really enjoyed it.

Two recent owl run-ins that are noteworthy:

This past summer I was doing my morning bike ride on a local rails-to-trails, it was just starting to become light outside, still an eerie twilight actually, and about 50 yards in front of me, a pair of large owls were on the ground in the middle of the trail, facing away from me. As I approached, they turned and saw me. I stopped about 20 feet short of them. One leisurely flew away into the woods, the other took flight and glided right toward my head, missing me by inches (an intimidation tactic?), and perched on a large limb about 20 feet up. The owl then turned away from me, and started spitting out pellets, which I heard hit the ground with quite a racket. Must have been a pile of pellets/bones where it hit. After a while, I left to continue my ride with the owl still perched on the same branch.

Then, the other night, while at home sleeping, I woke at about 3am and heard some great horned owls hooting outside. I hurriedly got dressed, grabbed a flashlight, and went outside. The hooting was coming from quite a distance - a small patch of woods about a block down the street. I walked to and into the patch of woods, heard several different owls calling to each other, and even narrowed it down to the particular trees that the owls were hooting from, but just could not see them. It was exciting anyway.

[Hartski]

Owls are awesome. I have a Great Horned Owl that likes a certain Elm tree in my yard. He's always there.:D

What's so awesome is how silent they are in flight. No noise whatsoever.

[Outdoor Girl]

I like looking for birds, and other wildlife. Owls and bald eagles are very cool, plus I really like hawks, too. Here's a photo of a bald eagle that I like:

eagle photo (http://www.hforcier.com/galleries/alaska/baldeagle2849.htm)