Greetings nature lovers!
Today I managed to collect so many photos I wanted to share that I decided it’d be more appropriate to create this Bucket instead of filling up a comment reply. This is not just my first Bucket, but also my first published story on DailyKos! I’ve been visiting for many years, but only reading. I finally created an account a year or two ago and have become a commenter. I’ve been participating in our awesome community. I thank you so much for all that you have given me. Now it’s my pleasure to give back to you! I hope you enjoy this Bucket and have some of your own observations to share! Please do so in the comments! I’ll try to take a cue from others and be active in the comments section. Don’t forget to vote in the poll, please!
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science's profile page and click on Follow.
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The snail
So, I went outside to check on the eggs I found Monday (more on them below), but I stumbled upon what looked like a piece of a snail shell. I looked around and found this complete snail shell. I think it’s empty, though. I didn’t want to just ask for ID help. I decided it’d be best to provide you with as close to an ID as I could give. So I did “my own research.” It appears this is a White-lipped Snail (Cepaea hortensis). Here’s the Wikipedia entry: en.wikipedia.org/… If you’d like to clarify or correct me, please do (I’ll always admit I could always be wrong)!
The eggs
Monday, I found three eggs spread out in my back yard. I didn’t notice the other two at first. The middle appears to have a slight crack, but I couldn’t feel it. I haven’t heard or seen chickens around me. However, I have since been told that someone on the street below me has chickens. So, I can only assume they came from there. My regret here is that I didn’t wash the eggs off before taking the photos. They’ve been outside and in the rain.
Unique (to me) pigeons
A few weeks ago, I came home and was shocked by what I saw when I was getting out of the car. There was a very unique (to me) looking pigeon perched on the fence. Most pigeons I’ve seen are mostly gray. Many images online show solid wing colors with stripes, unlike these. The ones you see in this post have a typical green head and purple neck, but look at those wings! Now imagine a pigeon that has a body that looks entirely like those wings! (Or instead check out the last image on the 7th row at this link: carolinabirds.org/...) I’m learning that what I saw wasn’t really all that unique. There seems to be a number of them. AllAboutBirds.com does show a similar looking pigeon. If you look at the 5th image, you’ll see the resemblance: www.allaboutbirds.org/…
Let’s take a look of this in action:
The pigeon I initially discovered was mostly white with a lot of black spots. I hope to get more images to share with you!
When I looked for info about this pigeon about a week ago, the closest I could come up with was a “Parlor Roller.” Check it out on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/… The wiki says it’s a domesticated pigeon that can’t fly, but instead does somersaults. That sounds mildly entertaining. But, why? Are people really that bored?
I don’t think these mysterious (to me) pigeon variations have anything to do with Parlor Rollers. I was thinking the ones here are probably Rock Pigeons (which many seem to agree that these are).
How about something more clear?
Let’s see these birds in action. (At about 3 or 4 seconds into the video a surprise visitor drops in.)
The Mourning dove
When I was outside looking out for these pigeons, I saw this Mourning dove perch on the fence. I knew it was a Mourning dove immediately when I saw it. There was no doubt in my mind. They are smaller than pigeons, which made it obvious to me. It appears the Mourning doves and pigeons hang out together.
The House Finches and House Sparrow
I leave you today with what’s unfortunately a small photo. The photos and video of the pigeons were not taken by me. Neither was this one. My cell’s camera isn’t good, so I borrow another, the one that took these photos. However, I can take credit (or shame) for the photos of the eggs and snail shell. (Again all taken with a borrowed cell.)
I was told these are House Finches and iNaturalist seems to agree. I created another Merlin app user in this house (and she loves it). I thought these redheads were interesting. Look at the bird perched on the fence in the top left corner though. That (I am sure) is a House Sparrow.
Today’s phenology
I wanted to share some observations I made this morning with my own eyes and the MerlinApp. I decided to go see what was out there this early morning. I saw Blue Jays, American Robins, House Finches, Pigeons, House Sparrows, an American Crow, a Chimney Swift, and some I didn’t recognize. The only one of those I did not hear were the Blue Jays, I don’t know why they seem quiet.
A couple people on iNaturalist give my pigeons the ID of Feral Pigeons, not Rock, or Old World. I started to hear a pigeon or two and Merlin told me was a Rock Pigeon! It even had a “flag” next to it. It looks like a yellow circle with a dot in it. Here’s what Merlin has to say about these flags:
“These flags tell you if it’s rare (red dot) or unusual (orange semi-circle) for the bird to be seen at the location and on the date that you selected. The same species that is common in summer might be rare in winter. Merlin knows which species are common or rare based on observations submitted to eBird, a citizen-science project that gathers observations from birders around the world.”
The Chimney Swift was a surprise, because I usually don’t hear them until the evening. I do hear them at different parts of the day, but they’re out in larger numbers in the evenings.
House Sparrows (and American Robins) seem to have a huge population around my house. Merlin not only identified House Sparrows, but Song Sparrows as well. I didn’t even know about them. I’m not sure if I agree with that one, although it was detected multiple times. I just don’t know much about the difference and haven’t looked it up.
There are plenty of sounds that confuse Merlin such as the wind, my footsteps, opening a fence gate, traffic, and many other things. One day Merlin told me about a specific bird (can’t remember which), but I didn’t believe it. I looked it up and found out that it’s not located around me, so Merlin must have mistaken one of those other sounds for it.
The birds I think Merlin got wrong were a Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Mockingbird, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. I know what it sounds like when a Woodpecker is pecking, but I haven’t heard any in a long time. I know that’s not the only sound they make. Listening to the ones on the site seem familiar, but not something I’ve heard in a longtime. I often forget how Woodpeckers were one of my original favorite birds, because I loved Woody Woodpecker!
Also, I think I discovered how I could make my future entries. There’s a special place I can visit that’s full of wildlife. It’s sure to be full of Buckets!
Thank you Jeff, Besame, OceanDiver, and Clickadee for helping me publish this where it belongs and for all the great tips and help! This community is so kind!
Now it’s your turn! What have you observed lately? Is there anything you’d like to talk about? Please, leave a comment! I’ll try to do my best to keep up while I remember what Yoda told Luke: “Do. Or do not. There is not try.”