Backyard bird watching

[Raven]

easy to recognize a gross beak hence the name

their beak resembles a pair of wire cutters

the female is striped bigtime and the male looks like he's wearing a tuxedo complete with a ROSE

if that's a coopers hawk its pregnant

[Sweetwater]

Originally Posted by Raven

easy to recognize a gross beak hence the name

their beak resembles a pair of wire cutters

the female is striped bigtime and the male looks like he's wearing a tuxedo complete with a ROSE

if that's a coopers hawk its pregnant

I'm pretty sure it's a cooper's hawk based on the coloration and 2na's description of it's size. It's bathing itself so its feathers are all puffed out.

By the way, I was walking the old railroad bed between Great Hollow beach and Pamet Harbor in Truro today and spotted what I think was a black headed grosbeak, but I didn't think the eastern coast was in their range. Maybe it was a towhee, not sure. I couldn't get a picture.

[Raven]

i'd say it was a towhee as their head is completely black

they sound different too....

so............what kind of seed you gonna switch to?

i've been getting raided also so i put up a real bright light
for the time being as they like to be in complete darkness
if possible....

my seed mix has some peanuts and i keep finding the tops
of the feeders pulled up with only half the amount left each time

[Sweetwater]

Originally Posted by Raven

i'd say it was a towhee as their head is completely black

they sound different too....

so............what kind of seed you gonna switch to?

i've been getting raided also so i put up a real bright light
for the time being as they like to be in complete darkness
if possible....

my seed mix has some peanuts and i keep finding the tops
of the feeders pulled up with only half the amount left each time

Not sure what kind of mix I'm going to. There's a "birder" store in Orleans, I may go there and get some hints about attracting a wider variety of birds. I do get a lot of birds and the local feral cats can attest as they stalk my feeders.