Yes, that’s one of our local woodpeckers on the Blue Ridge. Looks like you’re at the northern edge of it’s territory in Delaware Woodpeckers seem almost tame, and when they bounce around the trunk to hide, you can move in!

‘Corvus,’ very appropriate, and the smartest of birds

Wow, such vivid ‘tropical colors’ … you’re making life around me look dull in comparison Of my ‘five favorite birds,’ Kingfisher’s would be in there … love their massive heads & beaks ..and that ‘hovering in place,’ even their ‘attack chatter!’ So yours goes after dryland reptiles..? They’ve only been fisherbirds around me … and I’m so glad to have there here in VA, too … even though they’re not turquoise..

@Varn The White-throats will also go after fledglings, so I sometimes see other bird species mobbing them. Here's an Indian Roller I saw near Nakhon, Thailand

Seems finches are bird feed ...though I’ve never knowingly seen a redpoll.. When a Sharp-shinned hawk took out a bird near my feeder.. generally all you’d see were a handful of feathers floating to the ground... Pine Siskins, would be new to me. Ohh, I’d lived ‘up a canyon’ in Oregon but the surrounding hills were oak savannah, and rare as well… I’ve never seen a Townsend's Solitaire, but I’ve seen Townsend’s warblers!

Wood ducks, my brother had Harlequin's on his coastal river in Oregon, about the only competition in beauty for a Wood duck. He & I’d built boxes for the Woody’s, though they appeared to prefer old growth timber. Habitat’s key! And private owner’s maintaining habitat are ..Golden. Just had to look up, then listen to the Bobolink song: [allaboutbirds.org] Love the work of Cornell Lab…

First thing I want to know about a new place is it’s history, and it’s birds. Was talking with my new neighbor here in VA when a streak of orange & black passed behind him -- I couldn’t finish my sentence - it was a Baltimore Oriole! A generational native, I asked if ‘we get those here?’ Sounded as though he’d never heard of them… I remember eating lunch under a tree in western OR when a small flock of Bullock's Orioles landed.. Confirmed them that night with a book. How do people ignore stuff like that..? Glad you’re paying attention, though

That was awesome.. ..but Starlings ...wish we could round em all up over here in America and add more to that collection! They reminded me of watching the ‘swifts’ I’d mentioned ..assembling at dusk, then funneling down into the courthouse chimney to roost. (summertime, so the chimney wasn’t active ) It’s amazing how flocks appear to work with ‘one mind.’

Thanks for that @Tiffaney. One of nature's wonders that I have not seen for a long time. I also delighted in the apricot twilight not seen for decades.

May be mesmerizing but starlings are a plague for our native cavity nesters. They do make great pets & we are permitted to capture them. Invasive alien species that have caused great harm.

@Countrywoman They are a protected species in the UK under the wildlife and country act. If I am right the Starlings were only native to Europe and were introduced to countries out side of Europe in the 1800;s. Not many of them left here so always good to see the murmurations.

There are many (if not most) places I’ll never see ..and that’s probably one of them.. Other than appreciating David Attenborough's shared adventures, most ‘birds of the world’ will remain exotic and elusive, to me… Looking up Mu Ko Similan National Marine Park in Thailand - Wow - the kind of ‘paradise’ most folks describe, especially around ‘now’ in the northern hemisphere

Regarding photography, I’ve remained somewhat of a digital Luddite. Having wore out one film Nikon, I bought their last/ best film SLR ..as most people were going digital. With your work stored as it is, you’re likely safe … but I still worry about storage into the future, as my ol’ negatives are always near. I mainly pack my optics when wandering about, so if I don’t remember it, or can’t ‘find them’ in a book or online, they’re only a sweet memory

I’m wondering how much more respect Pigeons would get if they looked like the Nicobar Impressive, and thanks for contributing ~

@Varn Don't encourage me, or I'll trot out more photos of exquisitely exotic Thai pigeon species. Actually, too late! Pic is of a Pied Imperial Pigeon, also found breeding on the Mu Ko Similan islands

@birdingnut ...wish my local doves looked that good I’ve wondered how any ‘thinking religious person’ would/ could explain birds? We now know they’re pretty much the last of the dinosaurs, and, thanks in large part to Darwin, the mechanism for their diversity and adaptability to locations and conditions around the world.

So, they either perched on the ‘noah’s supertanker’ for ..what, ‘40 days,’ or stayed aloft..? I wonder which species became extinct whenever ‘one of a pair’ were eaten by any of the many raptors! Then, even those who can’t fly/ well ..made their way to every niche on the planet

@Varn Nah..I prefer the more scientific Sumerian text version of Bible stories. They were written 2000 years before the Bible, but tell similar stories, with slightly different names of characters. In their version, aliens genetically engineered humans using their own DNA mixed with human apes, to work in the mines.

A planet was going to approach too close to the earth, break off an ice shelf, and flood a third of the earth, so the head god, Anu, told his people to withdraw from the earth a ways on their spaceships to wait it out, letting the slaves drown in the mines

Two of the gods, the main genetic engineers, saved their favorite human, Noah, and his family, by showing him how to build a submarine, and they put the animal DNA on board, instead of real animals.

Makes more sense than the Bible version, that every animal species on earth fit into a 150 ft boat, and somehow made their way to Noah in a few weeks time.

The origins of human beings according to ancient Sumerian texts [ancient-origins.net]?

Lovely feathers to decorate my hats.

@birdingnut Well that answers that

Use chicken feathers. Native bird feathers are illegal.@FrayedBear

@Countrywoman perhaps in Wisconsin. Don't know about my current location. I know two duck shooters were caught with part plucked dead endangered ducks and were required to resit the bird id examination to regain their duck shooting licences. Other than that they were fined $750 each. I think most milliners have ladies feather contraptions to parade at the races that include some amazing looking feathers and not long ago I bought a complete peacock's set of tailfeathers at a garage sale. Of course peacocks are not native and not protected same as ostriches which are now feral having escaped the farms.

Had to look it up, “The Rose of the Shires” I suspect locals around my new little town here in Virginia think something’s wrong with me … staring at roosting vultures, groundhogs scampering across driveways, bats working under streetlights or, 200 ‘swifts’ disappearing down the courthouse chimney at dusk.. If I were to visit England, I’d likely get run over while roaming. If I can make a photo stick, it’s of ‘your neck of the woods,’ and beautiful ~
Here's it's link: [farm5.static.flickr.com]

@Varn Wow what a beautiful photo its much like that at the moment with a powdering of snow. Thanks for sharing..I will take a pic next time I am in the woods just to show you.

@Tiffanny Years ago I participated in an online ‘chat room’ sponsored by a local newspaper, the bulk of the topics were political, for which I was always outnumbered... For a switch, I posted a bird photo (stolen from someone like @birdingnut ), gave credit to the photographer.. then give some ‘behavioral hints,’ maybe link it’s call note or song.. A week later, I’d post the answer, with a few more ‘fun facts’ about the bird, then post another photo…

Went on for over 20 birds! Brought a lot of bickering and disrespect to an end, as we had a shared interest. No plans to do that here, too diversified a group! ...Let’s see.. There’d have to be Australian birds, Thailand birds, Alaskan birds, Japanese birds, Philippine birds, birds from every corner of the US ..and Yorkshire birds from the UK Tell me about your next trip through the woods ~

@Varn I find this topic so interesting will love to see more people posting pics of birds in their area...I will send pics as soon as I get a good one.

The Limpkin would be a ‘life-lister’ for me, too … had to look it up; specific to Florida in the USA.. My employer was in Florida last week to photograph birds, I’ll ask about a Limpkin

You mention the Red Tail devouring it’s catch … that reminds me of what really took me into high-gear birding. A nice couple had their spotting scope set up at a kiosk on a young eagle plucking and shredding a duck on a post in the lake. Blood & feathers galore, it felt like a nature documentary in real life!

My first tour with an Audubon crew, I mentioned wanting a scope, and by the time it was finished I’d been shown everyone’s, their likes, dislikes and recommendations.. What stuck with me was, ‘get a big one, so you’ll never have to move up.’ I did, use it to watch Jupiter & Saturn, too

You can try it. If the photo is cropped, it might post.

@Varn I hand-raised a baby Limpkin in Haiti for a while, from a chick. It had already fledged when it wedged into a corner of its nest box while sleeping, and suffocated. No wonder nests are round.

It’s been great to watch Bald Eagles come back

@Varn The only place I saw a Bald Headed Eagle was in Venezuela I so love to see birds in their natural habitat.

....was wondering the same thing

Yah, the whole captive bird thing bothers me… I’ve never started up again with a fish tank because of the way they’re taken from the wild.. I recently read of how active some caged birds become when it’s time for them to migrate, a powerful internal force we can’t even relate to. That Dove is beautiful, and the first I’ve ever seen. Can you imagine 25 of them perched in a leafless tree facing into the morning sun, I hope tourism might cause them to become more valuable in the wild than inside a cage...

'Scrub turkeys,' sounds like something from down-under ... they don't have pouches, do thay

@Varn No. And they are not good eating.

Excellent.. I’d nearly been drug into the wilderness bitching & moaning as a kid, never realizing the magnificence of what I was being exposed to. I’m tempted to ‘list my list!’ ..but will spare folks (unless requested) Though the list from Oregon’s longer...

I love my new neighbors ‘over east,’ a couple weeks ago I sat a chair in the sun under my carport and watched the birds under their feeder with my ‘fifty power widefield binos.’ When leaving my previous home/stead looked certain, I cut off feeding my birds so as not to have them dependent. Other than setting up one of many used Hummingbird feeders here, I’m letting the neighbors feed the winter birds, for now..

@Varn Birds always use multiple sources for food - so feed for a week if you want and stop - you won't injure them. That being said I have a big bag of shelled black oil seeds and boy do I get birds!

@RavenCT In our toughest financial times we’d still buy 50lb bags of sunflower seeds and 40lb bags of white millet, they’d become our pets. In better times they’d get suet cakes & thistle seed

I’d watched a (wild) Turkey run through my orchard in OR, but figured it must have broken free from captivity ..cuz there was this ‘long piece of stiff rope’ hanging from under it’s neck… My neighbor laughed; I didn’t understand why till finally seeing a photo of a wild male.. Now I dodge em on the Blue Ridge Parkway

We had one that would return to my old house year after year. There were times at 5 am I wanted to brain that bird! Top of the tallest pine. Now that we don't have that one - I appreciate them again.

@RavenCT Agreed ...a little Mocking, or squawking bird can go a long way.. They’ve a rich repertoire, though But @ 4-twenty-something outside my bedroom window, wow… Did some research on them and it’s said the females prefer a male with the most imitated songs, meaning, ‘he’s been around.’ Hummm..

Had I not found a place over east, my eventual destination was the SW. Through there a couple of time when young, I’d far less awareness of birds.. The (avian ) Cardinals are spectacular, I’ve one on my new license plate! Their song’s even pretty.. I miss Kestrels, though. They’re supposed to be ‘around here’... In OR they were everywhere rural, each with their stretch of power lines.. And yes - Indigo buntings, everywhere! An amazing ‘spot’ in OR had been (to me) a Lazuli bunting, one spring long ago ~

@Akfishlady True that!! I always thought of them as a blue jay with an executioner's hood.

Black-capped Chickadees it ‘sounds like.’ I’ve now got Carolina Chickadees instead of the Black-capped.. Eastern Blue Jays, we also has ‘Scrub Jay’s’ out West (lowland city birds) … though I’ve admitted, the Eastern’s are a lot prettier. Of all the time I’ve spent watching birds, none has felt wasted and I’ve met some wonderful people.

I’ve never watched Roadrunners, but try to envision which local bird fills that niche..? Over East, it may be Brown Thrashers.. They’ll run across open ground after anything that moves, another ‘new to me bird.’ I loved pelicans at the OR coast, and got to watch a few over the Atlantic last spring..

Wish we had more than one variety of Hummingbird ‘over here,’ had Rufous in OR, now Ruby-throated over here, very similar, with identical antics.. I think the Bard Owls are being ..thinned out in OR to save to endangered Spotted Owls

..never saw a Scissor-tail flycatcher … if recently, a Least, and Acadian… The Red Tails make me feel closer to home ~

I’ve never seen a Magpie, and have never been to Europe.. I know ‘American Robin’s’ aren’t ‘Robin’s’ over there In Oregon, I’d almost became bored, over East, it’s like a candyland! Friends will visit the Amazon, one’s been in Florida all week photographing birds, at least I can see the pictures..

@varn I’ll have to look into robins then. I have seen a few birds of prey lately, but it’s very hard as a transplant to this state to learn what fauna and flora are, especially insects moreso than birds, but it keeps it interesting! I saw the goldfinch painting which was more exciting to me than the girl with the pearl earring. There was a few I saw in Ohio that were checks on my list but I’m blankzing on the name, it was yellow and black and wren sized.

We’d let our two cockatiels loose in the house when I was a kid, lining the old ‘plate display shelf’ in the living room with newspaper. They loved it, and were actually fairly civil Had to use a fishline door trap to get them back in their cage, though.