Merlin’s sound ID has been tossing out conclusive ID for a brown headed cowbird lately. I’m not sure I can differentiate their calls from the red-winged blackbirds. I’m keeping my eyes out to see if I actually have both. I didn’t know they were protected.
Sound ID also keeps identifying killdeer, though not conclusively. I know they aren’t *just* shorebirds, but I am also not near fields or a golf course, so I have no idea why.
Huh. Any open, flat grassy spaces nearby? They'll sometimes nest in parks or sports fields too.
Yeah, Cowbirds are odd, they use other birds' nests to lay their eggs in and don't actually build their own. They also like to hang out in flocks, so seeing one or two is unusual for me. I can't tell which is which by sound either. I *can* definitely by sight.
So the answer to part of the above: I definitely have brown-headed cowbirds! I wonder how long they have been mingling with the starlings and the red-winged blackbirds, and I didn’t notice?
Also: the all about birds page for them says they definitely not in need of conservation, and potentially threaten more vulnerable species. Do you have a different source?
Trying to remove their eggs wouldn’t have occurred to me. I think the european starling is the only species that tempts me to lethal control, and even that wouldn’t have happened without their greedy behavior at my feeders.
I think the killdeer ID is the app getting confused when the starlings and the sparrows are all going at once.
Plus the mockingbird has several calls from other species in its repertoire. Now that I know there are cowbirds, I realized that part of the mockingbird’s cycle includes their liquid chirr. Because hey, why make identification simple? 😄
(I mean, the merlin app also sometimes throws out green-wing teal, which is a type of duck, and just… no. In additional to the river Louisville definitely has urban creeks and assorted ponds, but the nearest ones I know of are ~2 miles away.)
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 17:40 (UTC)Sound ID also keeps identifying killdeer, though not conclusively. I know they aren’t *just* shorebirds, but I am also not near fields or a golf course, so I have no idea why.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 17:59 (UTC)Yeah, Cowbirds are odd, they use other birds' nests to lay their eggs in and don't actually build their own. They also like to hang out in flocks, so seeing one or two is unusual for me. I can't tell which is which by sound either. I *can* definitely by sight.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 19:55 (UTC)Also: the all about birds page for them says they definitely not in need of conservation, and potentially threaten more vulnerable species. Do you have a different source?
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:03 (UTC)"Because cowbirds are native to the U.S., they are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and in most instances it is unlawful to use lethal control without a permit, including the removal of their eggs from a nest."
and
https://www.audubon.org/news/is-it-okay-remove-cowbird-eggs-host-nests
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:09 (UTC)Trying to remove their eggs wouldn’t have occurred to me. I think the european starling is the only species that tempts me to lethal control, and even that wouldn’t have happened without their greedy behavior at my feeders.
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:16 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:11 (UTC)https://www.audubon.org/news/scientists-pinpoint-secret-password-unlocks-cowbirds-self-identity
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:13 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:05 (UTC)Plus the mockingbird has several calls from other species in its repertoire. Now that I know there are cowbirds, I realized that part of the mockingbird’s cycle includes their liquid chirr. Because hey, why make identification simple? 😄
(I mean, the merlin app also sometimes throws out green-wing teal, which is a type of duck, and just… no. In additional to the river Louisville definitely has urban creeks and assorted ponds, but the nearest ones I know of are ~2 miles away.)
(no subject)
Date: 2023-03-29 20:15 (UTC)I once had it running and literally watched as it registered a Mockingbird as anything *but*. It was amusing and frustrating.