Depends on which part of Australia you come from as to how Budgerigar is pronounced: Bud... (as in buddy) or Booj

It is one of those names that is supposed to come from the Aborigines around Port Jackson during the time of the first settlements in New South Wales. They pronounced it "Booj......."

In an old 19th century dictionary I am looking at, it also says Budgerigar is spelt and pronounced 'Beau-regarde" in the US.

I thought I had never seen an immature Little Blue Heron, but I think this is one It hasn't started molting into its adult plumage, so it's mostly white.



https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...

I'm so glad I found this thread! Your pictures & knowledge are spectacular!

Pretty in pink flamingos. Awesome picture, JulieB!

It's time for Folklore Friday, courtesy of the Audubon folks at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Today, it's about cranes...

Folklore Friday: Cranes are associated with good luck, royalty, balance, grace and longevity. In Native American folklore, the crane plays the role of peacemaker. To the Anishinabe tribes, cranes represented leadership. The Cheyennes associated Sandhill Cranes with lightning. Native fishermen considered it a good omen to see a crane while fishing. In Celtic lore, cranes were associated with death, treachery and war. The crane was one of the various shapes taken by the King of the Celtic Underworld, Annwn. In Aesop’s fables, the crane is portrayed as a problem solver and a wise teacher. In China and Japan, cranes were associated with longevity, immortality, and prosperity. In Japan, because of their permanent pair bonds, cranes were often featured on bridal kimonos. Sweet cakes served at Japanese weddings are baked in the shape of cranes, for good luck. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish. Some stories believe you are granted eternal good luck, instead of just one wish, such as long life or recovery from illness or injury . The crane in Japan is one of the mystical or holy creatures and is said to live for a thousand years: That is why 1000 cranes are made, one for each year. The 9/11 Memorial Museum collection will be home to 1,000 origami cranes that were hand-folded by Japanese school children and sent to Nino’s Restaurant in lower Manhattan, which served hundreds of thousands of free meals to firefighters, police officers, Red Cross workers, and others at the World Trade Center site following the attacks of 9/11. These cranes were a sign of peace. ‪#‎CorkscrewSwamp‬ ‪#‎FolkloreFriday‬

@Hemlady Cindy, the Orchard Oriole diet is varied in the winter months. They will even eat insects and seeds. I put dehydrated mealworms and berries in my feeders so perhaps that is what they were after if not the seed.

@DavidLMO David, oh my goodness that is so cute! Our parakeet only said Hello and did the wolf whistle but years ago my husband went to a pet store and one of the parakeets there would whistle the tune to the Andy Griffith Show! And another bird that was a friend of the pet store owner would yell "Help, Lemme outta here, Help, lemmee outta here!"

@IbisFl Ibis, that does indeed appear to be a juvenile Little Blue Heron. At first I thought it might be a Great Egret but they have Black legs and feet and a yellow bill. The Snowy Egret is smaller and has Black legs, bright yellow feet and a dark bill. Yours sure fits the desctiption of a juvenile Little Blue Heron! :thumbsup:

@JulieB Julie, that is an amazing shot of those beautiful Flamingoes!! I've only seen one in the wild here (at the beach a couple of years ago.) It's thought that most seen in Florida are escapees from zoos.

Thanks Lin, I did not know that but it makes sense. I still have Robins here and I am sure they are not eating earthworms,

What a delight to see all the wonderful bird photos! And I always enjoy the folklore, Melanie!

I am getting behind in reading because of work. Oh how I wish I could retire and enjoy my hobbies more.

My elderly neighbor is in the hospital so the birds aren't getting fed at her house right now. I think a lot of them are coming to my house. Today I saw (and photographed) 4 male Painted Buntings and a possible female or immature male at the feeder. And lots of goldfinches, as well as a host of other birds. What a great bird watching morning!!!!

I also got some awesome video but will have to edit it to shorten it and post to YouTube. I'll post the link when I do.

I never did get an id on my mystery bird. I wonder if it is orchard oriole?

Becky and Lin, could you please tell us what kind of seed you put out to attract such a varied population of birdies? I'd love to attract the painted buntings to my yard on a regular basis.

I've had only the "usual suspects" for years now, it seems. Cardinals, titmice, bluejays, sparrows, grackles, Carolina wrens and mourning doves, plus sometimes the red-bellied woodpeckers.

Other than those, I've seen one downy woodpecker, one painted bunting and one rosy-breasted grosbeak in over 4 years of feeding the birds. (I do see what looks like other birds in the trees but they don't come to the feeders)

Had a very large flock of at least 30 ibis roaming the neighborhood yesterday. I saw them on a neighbor's lawn when I was driving home, and of course by the time I got out there with my camera they had gone.

@Beckygardener Becky, I think your mystery bird may very well be the Orchard Oriole too! It sure looks like the same one I've been seeing here off an on the past few days!

@dyzzypyxxy Elaine, the Painted Buntings are shy little birds and they like areas with shrubbery so they can retreat quickly if they feel threatened. I used to see Painted Buntings at our old house where we lived for 37 years; the property had many trees and lots of dense shrubs for cover. Our yard at this house where we've been the past four years doesn't have much of any shrubbery so I haven't seen a Painted Bunting since living here. I'm not sure what all the ingredients are in a bag of mixed wild birdseed but I usually buy the bags that say Songbird blend. I think it's a combination of sunflower seeds, probably some type of millet and maybe safflower seed as well. I sometimes buy the fruit and nut blend also.

I usually buy my bird seed and suet from Walmart because it's close by and convenient. Sometimes I buy a bag of Kaytee dried/dehydrated mealworms http://www.bing.com/images/sea... that I mix in with the seed and I also sometimes add Peanut Nuggets: http://www.walmart.com/ip/C-S-.... I used to add raisins to the birdseed mixture for the woodpeckers but since we have a dog and the feeders are in the backyard where he spends time I don't put raisins in anymore because they are toxic to dogs.

Great photos everyone!!! So glad to see you here Ibis and Julie!

I got one today! Photos are not so great even though I was using my new camera with lots of great zoom. I was shooting through the double pane window and the outside of the window is dirty and it's an extremely grey day here today with a thick, superfine mist falling. Anyway, those are my excuses & I'm sticking to them.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker - adult male

What a sweet birdie, Ann. Your camera caught him beautifully, and even shows some of the tiny raindrops too.

Thanks, Lin I think I'm going to start putting some 'additives' into my seed mix to see if more birds will appear. Peanut nuggets and mealworms, mmm. I've put out suet for the first time, a few weeks ago and nobody except the occasional wren has shown any interest in it. should I take it in and roll some seeds into it?

I do have great cover less than 10ft from my birdfeeders - a huge stand of 35ft. tall bamboo that the little birds feel very safe in, when the hawks are around.

Thanks Elaine.

When I lived down there, I found the painted buntings liked the small bird seed -- finch mix. I had read they love nyjer thistle so I got some & they never touched it. Give the buntings time to discover your place & show up. We started with 1 or 2 then the next year there were 3 or 4, then the next year there were 5 & so on & so forth.

Ann, I love that little Sapsucker! I've never seen one of those before, I wonder if they are found down this way?

There was a trio of White Ibis in my neighbors yard this morning and I managed pic's of two of them.


We've had lots of the cute little Palm Warbler's around this year

Elaine - I use the Wild Finch bird seed mix manufactured by Pennington. I use the High Energy and the Peanut Butter "no melt" suet. All are sold at my local Walmart where I shop. And I use boiled "un"salted peanuts in the shell with black oil sunflower seeds in the hanging platform feeder. Between all of that, I do attract a nice variety of birds. And it does take some time for them to find your feeders. It took almost 3 years for the hummers to find my nectar plants and hanging feeders. Be consistent and persistent!!! I agree with what Lin said about the Painted Buntings being shy. They do like lots of tall shrubs, trees, and underbrush to hide in.

Ann - Wonderful shots of the Yellow Bellied Sapsucker!

A few photos from this morning. The videos I took show a lot more variety of birds, but these were the still shots I took:

4 male Painted Buntings:



A mix of birdies:



Male and Female Painted Bunting:



Male Painted Bunting all fluffed up. It was cold and wet this morning:



A male cardinal:



Goldfinches. I had a small flock of these that hit my feeders every day. This is just two of many.:

Oh my Becky, what a great variety ... I especially love that first photo of the four Painted Buntings!

I used to put Peanuts in the shells in the feeders but had so much mess with shells left all over the yard so now I buy small bags of raw peanuts without shells at Publix (the only place I've been able to find them!) and I mix them in with the seed once in awhile. The Blue Jays, Titmouse and Red-bellied Woodpeckers all love peanuts!

Oh, what a lovely shot of the male and female buntings. Well done Becky!

I see another thing I might try - that cage feeder in your beautiful shots of the buntings. Does it keep out the big birds and the squirrels, too? I have a huge population of squirrels always around it seems, plus the grackles and blue jays are bullies and chase off the smaller birds quite a bit. I'd love to have a feeder just for the little birds.

One feeder on a metal pole is quite safe from squirrels as long as I remember to grease the pole. The other is a "Squirrel Buster" feeder that the ports shut down if the squirrels get on the perch. The squirrels get their share off the ground, and the net that is suspended under the big feeder, so I don't feel sorry for them.

dyzzypyxxy said: I have a huge population of squirrels always around it seems.

Elaine, do your furry tree rats need a buddy or two, or three? I'll gladly send a few from over here on the east coast to keep yours company!

I'll have him LIn.

It's not the squirrels that bother me, it's the roof rats! Ugh. I'd take a couple dozen squirrels and NO rats any time! I have a good dozen squirrels and a few of them do indeed get into the hanging platform feeder. I stick half my body out the window trying to shoo one in particular off. He is not impressed, so I have to let my granddog out to chase them off. But only when they get into the feeders. I feed the squirrels in the undeveloped lot right nearby the feeders (but outside my fenced in backyard). They aren't satisfied with that. A couple of the better jumpers can jump up past not one but TWO squirrel guards to get to the bird feeders.

And yes! That cage feeder does keep out the bigger birds and squirrels. When I create the video, you will see exactly what goes on with the birds. No squirrels were caught on video today though. Not sure why. Maybe I gave them enough food outside the fence that they weren't at the bird feeder this morning. I have a decent variety of birds at the feeder. The little birds don't mind the bigger birds except the loud bigger birds. They scatter when the Bluejays and Grackles come to the platform feeder. Otherwise they are right there at the feeders along with the doves, woodpecker, cardinals, etc. It's like they know each other. It's most interesting to watch the interaction between all the birds.