I've been seeing wild turkeys in our backyard. On occasion, there will be a male with a plumage. We like to call him, "The Royal One." That turkey sure likes to show off.

I've mentioned the "who cooks for you" call of barred owls before, and it's common to hear them in the forested rural areas of Minnesota.

But tonight, I was outside showing the International Space Station to our neighbors, and to my surprise, a very vocal barred owl repeatedly called from somewhere just to the southwest of us.  The remarkable thing is that I live in the Twin Cities - a suburb with lots of trees, to be sure, but it's still a metro area of some 3.5 million people and I was pleasantly surprised to hear this familiar call here in town.

Do you hear flickers in your neighborhood?  I heard one today while walking in the city park of the small town where I live.  If the parks in your town are well planted with trees and shrubs you will most likely hear and see flickers and other woodpeckers.  The name of the bird comes from the sound while it is flying, which “flicka” or “wicka” if you put it to words. The call of the bird is much like the pileated woodpecker, although it is not quite as loud.

Here is more information:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/sounds

I like the king fisher  from South africa

@tina 

We have the Belted Kingfisher here in Michigan in the U. S. They are such interesting birds to watch as they dive into ponds to catch fish. They can be found out in the country and even in the ponds of city parks.

I love watching birds o how fun  I love nature 

Does anyone here remember Wildbird Magazine?  It began publishing in the 1980’s and ended in 2012.  I recently found some old vintage issues, and I am reading the magazine again. I think I read some of the issues before when I used to subscribe. The magazine was full of interesting articles on birdwatching and had some really beautiful photography. It is very enjoyable. 🙂

Here is some more information:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WildBird

I wondered if anyone here has hedgerows or woodlots near them. These small wooded areas are usually excellent bird habitat. In fact many songbirds are dependent on them for food and shelter. Many of these areas of wildlife habitat have unfortunately been lost, although some here in Michigan have been saved in the county parks and rural areas. They are often found between farmlands of properties in the country. The woods are usually quite small, (usually only a few hundred acres at the most) but they often have trails for birdwatching. They are definitely worth exploring for forest birds (e.g. wood thrushes, grosbeaks, and woodpeckers) if they are near where you live. By all means search them out if you are a birder or if you enjoy hiking and nature.  🙂

Does anyone here decorate their Christmas trees with bird ornaments?  I recently bought a few more: a cardinal, rosé breasted and evening grosbeaks, tufted titmouse, and wood thrush. I have many more besides these that I have bought over many years. They are mostly made of resin and pewter. I have a few glass ornaments, but I didn’t buy too many because they can break very easily.  It will be fun to get them out and decorate the tree during the holidays, which are only a couple of months away.  

@narnian78 When I was little, we had some bird ornaments for the Christmas tree — one white, one red and one pink — but they were fanciful birds with very long tails and glittery wings, not based on any real species! Your ones sound lovely.

Here in the UK, the robin is a popular symbol of Christmas and winter in general. (The European robin, that is, of course — quite different from the American robin and indeed from the birds we call robins in Australia.) I think it's because unlike some other birds, robins don't migrate but stay in the same area all year, and they sing year-round too, even in winter. (They're very territorial, even when they're not nesting!) And of course their red colouring just looks right for Christmas. Plus, as everyone here will remember, it was a robin that led the Pevensie children to Mr Beaver in LWW!

I do have a robin on one of my Christmas decorations — a holly wreath all made out of felt, with a little felt robin perched on it. I bought it at the Bath Christmas Market last year, as it was so sweet I just couldn't resist! I'll look forward to putting it up again this year. (I don't put up any Christmas decorations till the start of December.)

Last year we were entranced with a pair of peregrine falcons, which nest in a nice, sheltered spot in the Orange, NSW campus, of the Charles Sturt University, where, with the aid of strategic cameras, they can be observed daily on "falcon.cam" on You Tube. Last year, out of three eggs, two hatched, but one didn't make it. Of the two chicks that survived, the elder eventually flew off, but the younger didn't make it past a clump of trees.

We were fascinated that Diamond & Xavier, as the peregrine falcon parents are named, came back this year, mated, took over their previous nest, & once again produced three eggs. Today, the first & second of the three eggs have both hatched. We are watching to see if the third will also make it this time. The father, Xavier, has been most enthusiastic about what my eldest daughter calls his "eggy" time, & this time the two chicks that hatched already are closer in ages than last year's brood.  

@courtenay 

It is interesting that the American Robin is a bird which people here celebrate its coming in the spring and the UK robin is a symbol of Christmas and winter. But of course they are very different birds (even the species are different).  The robin here in Michigan is the closest relative of the wood thrush. But of course robins will boldly come in people’s backyards, whereas wood thrushes will hide in the forests since they are much more shy. The robin is the state bird of Michigan and it is found here all year round although there are more of them in the backyards in the spring and summer. 

@narnian78 I was very interested to see American robins when I spent a month in Boston in 2009 — and red-winged blackbirds, plus squirrels and chipmunks, which were totally exotic to me as an Aussie!  

Our Australian robins are a different type of bird again and not closely related to either American or European robins; they just have the name because they look similar, more like the European robin in this case. They come in a bigger range of colours, too — red, orange ("flame"), pink and yellow! The one that's common where I grew up (in the south-east) is the eastern yellow robin, with a grey back and bright yellow breast. Very pretty birds.

As for the European robin, I remember once reading a legend about it — I don't know if this comes from Britain or the European mainland, but according to the story, the robin saw Jesus on the cross, with his crown of thorns, and was moved with compassion and tried to pull out the thorns that were sticking into his forehead. The little bird's chest was splashed with Christ's blood and, so we're told, that's how "robin redbreast" got his colouring. Very unlikely, as European robins aren't common in the Holy Land (I think it's right at the very edge of their maximum non-breeding range), but it's a good story! It may have been thought up as a way of further associating the already Christmassy robin with Christianity — shows the high regard in which robins are held here.

@courtenay 

This article from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology has much interesting information about the American Robin:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/overview#

I found it very interesting and informative. 🙂

@narnian78 Very interesting indeed, thank you! Lovely song, too — reminds me of a blackbird or thrush (they're in the same family, so that's not surprising).

Here in return are some pages on the European robin and Australian eastern yellow robin!