Coffee

[meadow]

"Introduced by Eugene Schiefflin as part of a plan to introduce to the U.S. all birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare."

 

[digitS']

I will also point out that there ARE places in the world with opal that are NOT super hot

Idaho has an opal mine - quite a ways to the south. LINK And, opals are in Montana.

Starlings: when @Rhodie Ranch mentioned them, I thought of a silly personal response: Rhodie, I was in the Rogue River Valley when starlings first showed up in the 1950's. Do you mean that they are STILL there?!

What I can say about starlings being a pest is that their flocks are common in feed lots and such. They eat the feed intended for livestock and poop on it also.

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Idaho has an opal mine - quite a ways to the south. LINK And, opals are in Montana.

Montana doesn't surprise me; they seem to have deposits of EVERY gemstone and precious metal!

Actually, there are tiny deposits of opal all over the country, and the world. it's just that most of them are either too small to be profitably worked professionally, or are mostly full of "potch" (opal that lacks the "fire*" (play of colors) that makes precious opal precious.)

* This should not be confused with "fire opal" which is opal of a transparent yellow orange or red color** found in Mexico (and Australia I discovered to my surprise; I thought all of theirs was white or black) Fire opal CAN have fire, but it doesn't have to.

**Plus (if one old miner on Outback Opals is to be believed.) blue.

 

[Marie2020]

Grackles, my goodness I'm learning of all these different species every year in here

 

[Marie2020]

Your grackles are simular too our crows

I like our crows because they warn our little birds of predators like hawks, which I feel keeps my chickens safe

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Your grackles are simular too our crows

I like our crows because they warn our little birds of predators like hawks, which I feel keeps my chickens safe

It is probably a good idea to like crows, for your own sake. Remember, they are 1. intelligent, 2. Can recognize faces. 3. Can communicate between each other very well and 4. hold grudges. Get on the wrong side of crows, and you are in trouble (there is a REASON why a group of crows is called a "murder")

 

[digitS']

They are likely Brewer or Redwing blackbirds or Starlings, @Gardening with Rabbits . As far as I know, Grackles don't come this far west despite being N American natives. Maybe that's okay but I am all but sure that the Starlings pushed the native Meadow Larks out of our region. They were once here but I haven't seen one in the area in about 50 years.

Common names can be confusing. There are other larks that one comes across, further out in open country. Meadow Larks are solitary birds for the most part but they are relatives of the flocking Starlings. The blackbirds seem to coexist.

There was a solitary Raven in my garden eating a goose egg last year. The Big Veggie Garden is about 500 yards from the river. I arrived at the same time he did with that egg. Oh, it's a bird eat bird world, out there.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

Your grackles are simular too our crows

I like our crows because they warn our little birds of predators like hawks, which I feel keeps my chickens safe

not really, crows are much larger and smarter. crows will visit us but they do not nest in any of our trees. crows also do not throw up the poop of their young into our birdbaths.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

GWR: my feeders have cages over them. Only the smaller birds can get in. The starlings and the doves clean up the ground around the feeders.

That is a neat idea. I have quail and doves that clean up the ground.

 

[Gardening with Rabbits]

They are likely Brewer or Redwing blackbirds or Starlings, @Gardening with Rabbits . As far as I know, Grackles don't come this far west despite being N American natives. Maybe that's okay but I am all but sure that the Starlings pushed the native Meadow Larks out of our region. They were once here but I haven't seen one in the area in about 50 years.

Common names can be confusing. There are other larks that one comes across, further out in open country. Meadow Larks are solitary birds for the most part but they are relatives of the flocking Starlings. The blackbirds seem to coexist.

There was a solitary Raven in my garden eating a goose egg last year. The Big Veggie Garden is about 500 yards from the river. I arrived at the same time he did with that egg. Oh, it's a bird eat bird world, out there.

Steve

I lived in Colorado for a few years and Redwing blackbirds were all over and meadowlarks. I guess these are starlings. I think it is the speckled look that confuses me because I do not remember ever using the word starlings when I lived in Kansas or other states. I just called them blackbirds. I think I looked up grackles and saw the specks on them and thought these looked the same, but I guess the starlings are kind of speckled. Every year in my garden in the spring and in about the same spot there will be a broken robin's egg. There is no tree or anything it could fall out of. Either a squirrel or another bird carries it or drops it in the garden. Very strange.