Mesh Tube Bird Feeding Video & Links

There are some way cool links out there.  One is over at Round Robin Blog and it's all about an Albatross Cam!  It is so cool.  One of the photos from the albrotross backpack cam shows them feeding along with killer whales--how cool is that?  Sigh, I would love to hang out at an albatross colony for a day.  I may never see one, but I love knowing they are out there. Another fun link is about a satellite transmitter on a whimbrel and another is a person's photos of a great horned owl rescue.  The owl is apparently doing fine, but the photos are awesome, especially just the one eye staring at the photographer from the box.  Sinister box indeed.

Bill and I also completed another video for OpenSky about one of the mesh feeders I really like.  You may recognize it from some of the photos in the blog over the years.  Why even Mr. Neil has taken photos of birds on it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7ozd6dQiwQ[/youtube]

If you like the feeder, you can get it here.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

I'm testing out some video footage in the blog.  This is a female red-bellied woodpecker going for a sunflower in nut mix in a copper mesh feeder.  Note how she uses both her beak and her tongue to get the food out. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoPjrrDzi8c[/youtube]

Love Me, Love My Redpoll

I've had a couple of peeps ask me why this small finch is called a redpoll. Is the bird going out to survey people on how they feel about politics? No. Poll is another word for the top of the head (not used for that too often these days). So, the bird has a small red dot on the top of its head and you get get redpoll.

A Few More Finches

I need to burn through a ton of redpoll and siskin photos before I leave. Non Birding Bill and I are knee deep in sorting through the oodles of blog entries that came in. I got a much bigger response to the contest than expected and it's going to be tough to narrow down to the top ten. These will start showing up once a day on February 18 and then post once a day.

I have no idea what my internet situation will be while I'm in Guatemala. If I find a chance to upload a photo or video, I will. However, I have a feeling that my chance to blog while there will be narrow. Watch for updates on Twitter.

I'm watching all the winter finch activity and wondering if they will still be around when I return at the end of the month. When we were at Mr. Neil's last week, there were so many finches descending on his feeding station that when the flock suddenly took off in fear of a predator, the culmination of wings made a jarring "woosh" sound. So many tiny birds makings such a mighty sound just with feathers.  Even the 36" long finch feeder isn't enough perches for them!

The pine siskins went after all sorts of food, from finch mixes to this woopecker mix in the wire mesh feeder above. This mix has sunflower seeds in and out of the shell, nuts, and dried fruit. Many of the pine siskins at the feeder have a hint of yellow, but some really stood out.

Check out the yellow on this male! Oh he's splash of bright during the winter.

Okay, I seriously need to pack for Guatemala. I'll be posting a few more thing before I go, but NBB is telling me to get my pack on.

Sapsucker Looking Rough

I got a message today that Mr. Neil's sapsucker was looking a little funky. I think his exact words were, "It looks like it's been dipped in KY Jelly." I joked, "Well, it is mating season." And there was a long pause.

I'm not sure if the joke wasn't all that funny or if people aren't used to me making bird jokes. I told him to email me some photos and the sapsucker, the sapsucker who looked so fine in April and even rather dapper in May, looks downright ratty in June.

Check out the horns! So, I'm not sure what's going on here. Did he arrive fresh from a neighboring birdbath? Did he not pay attention to his drilling and slip into some sap? Did he sleep in a tree cavity with a hole over the top and get rained on? Is he doing the flight of shame?

We shall just have to keep our eyes open for him and see what happens, he's still coming in for nuts and sunflower hearts on the copper feeder, that's a good sign.