Definitely check your sparrows! Was taking pictures of chipping sparrows last fall and only noticed a clay colored sparrow in the mix, a bird that's about 1000 miles out of its usual range, while reviewing the pictures.
@JacobDoesStuff-hq6gp I actually thought it was one for about a week or so. It wasn't until someone pointed it out to me did I notice. I knew they were seen in the area at the time, but I didn't expect one to show up in my backyard
I really appreciate this type of content. I’m fairly new and I really struggle with sparrows and finches. My spouse calls them all LBG’s. (Little brown guys). I basically breed house sparrows and house finches in my yard! They seem to be 75% of what shows up. We use quality seed and of course see other bird feeder species too, but lots of sparrows. I will have to pay more attention to who might be sneaking in with them. I don’t understand why people dislike some species. I understand displacement, but they didn’t choose to end up here. I feed anything that shows up. We have recently been getting a male ringed neck pheasant feeding off the ground under the feeder. He’s stunning. As a newer birder, I just get so much joy from being a better observer and seeing so many amazing things right in this area. The more you look, the more you see.
I live in central /east Texas and I have many bird species visiting my feeders year around. But just at the beginning of fall I looked out my door and their was a white Dove at my feeder! First time to see her. I have several Mourning Doves, but never seen a white Dove until that afternoon. I only saw her for about 15 minutes and haven't seen her again. I was so surprised. My phone was in my bedroom but I didn't want to walk away. I didn't want to miss a second of seeing her. Lovely!❤
Nice video! Thanks! I've had just a handful of Pine Siskins over the years, and at first thought they were House Finches, which are more prevalent here. I've also had a surprise Harris's Sparrow, which blended right in with the numerous House Sparrows that I get here.
In Eastern Canada on the West Coast of the Island of Newfoundland we have many Downey Woodpeckers. It's fun to watch them feed from the feeders...hanging upside down. We have finches of every variety, Blue Jays, Grey Jays, Cardinals as well as crows, owls, sparrows & many other. Western NL is a birdwatcher's paradise!
Was literally just in Wisconsin for thanksgiving and saw plenty of “imposter birds” in the same area. I was able to get the downy vs hairy woodpeckers and even the purple vs house finches, but now I’m second guessing myself with the goldfinches because I bet at least a few of them were sneaky pine siskins lol
Excellent and helpful. I would also add to the blackbird list the Rusty Blackbird. Looking thru a mass of them for that one with the bright eye and splotchy body, mostly black/brown/rust. And if you are really lucky, a Brewer's. Found one in a group of Red-winged (with several cowbirds, too) while out in the field in Georgia watching Sandhill Cranes during one of their migrations. The Brewer's and the Rusty are relatively similar. The task is picking these guys out of the rest! I find it fun, like a puzzle!
Definitely! I actually had a section about them but then took it out because I didn’t think they came to feeders/yards that often. They are included in the blackbird ID guide in the pinned comment.
Actually have plans to go practice sparrows tomorrow with my son - it's likely to be all house sparrows but it will be good to get out of the house even so. And we're still getting used to telling the difference between male and female House Sparrows. And even as I was watching this, there was a huge racket outside my window: apparently an owl fight??? There was a LOT of hooting and then some crashing branches. It's too dark to tell what went down but if i find feathers tomorrow, I might have more idea what birds were involved. I didn't hear any other animals, only owls hollering, so...maybe an argument over territory, if Barred Owls even do that.
Good morning 🌅 to you from Hong Kong SAR. I keep seeing woodpeckers on RUclips videos not only from your channel, but also from other RUclips channels in the states 🇺🇸as well as across Japan 🇯🇵. And I thought to myself and believed that there is NO 🚫Woodpecker in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR. Until recently, I did some searching on the web, and to my surprise, Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR does have ONLY THREE species of woodpeckers : Bay Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, and the Eurasian Wryneck. 😳😳😳😳😳
Excellent 👌🏼👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻My favourite birds are : Scsrlet Minivets, Asian Koel, Oriental Magpie, Common Tailorbird, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Yellow-bellied Tit, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Asian Tit, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Blue-whistling Thrush , Chinese Blackbird, Fork-tailed Sunbird, and a few others……too many to name …..😁😁😁😁
My understanding is that the piculet and the Bay Woodpecker are uncommon to rare resident/ visitors to the New Territories region, showing up at Pat Heung Catchwater in Tai Lam and both seem to be stable residents at Tai Po Kau Reserve, though I did not run into either when I was there. The wryneck is more likely to show up in open areas than other woodpeckers of the region. Hope this is helpful.
@@markshen3280I still remember my first morning in Kowloon, waking up and walking to a local park( Lo Kwan Street Park), and hearing a koel for the first time...there is nothing like that here. In Thailand the sound of Koels and Coppersmith barbets can make it hard to hear with their voices ringing out, but especially the koels.
I just saw either a pair of hairy or ladderbacked woodies a couple hours ago here in Austin area. Are ladderbacks known to be up here this time of year or to be perm residents?
In parts of California the Downy, Hairy, and similar Nuttall's woodpeckers all occur together, especially in the Bay Area. We also get mixed flocks of American Goldficnhes, Lesser Goldfinches, and Pine Siskins then occasionally a Lawrence's Goldfinch will be thrown in there, this is especially true in San Diego in some years. In CA, we also get Golden-crowned Sparrows and the immatures look very similar to female House Sparrows.
Speaking of Blackbirds : do you know whether or not the Common Blackbird found in the UK 🇬🇧 is a sub-species of the Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR Chinese Blackbird …….🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
Hi, again. Do all the FEMALES of each species (House Finch, Purple Finch, Gold Finch) have a different plumage colouration as compared to the MALES ? 🧐🧐🧐🧐🤔🤔🤔🤔
House Finch and Purple Finch do, which is called sexual dimorphism (males are different than females). The Goldfinch does to a lesser degree, but normally females are less colorful than males.
Purple Finch vs. House Finch: ruclips.net/video/0HeZTYewqyg/видео.htmlsi=RiKheCGVx8i42e9I
Downy vs. Hairy Woodpecker: ruclips.net/video/nOu9dYxtrpI/видео.htmlsi=QXsP1zOiXklRb9Sa
Blackbird ID Guide: ruclips.net/video/kDfOAh5VoDY/видео.htmlsi=c5pKn5eZ8Inogw_z
0:00 Intro
0:14 Imposter 1
1:44 Imposter 2
3:32 Imposter 3
5:09 Imposter 4
6:38 Imposter 5
8:34 Additional Info
Definitely check your sparrows! Was taking pictures of chipping sparrows last fall and only noticed a clay colored sparrow in the mix, a bird that's about 1000 miles out of its usual range, while reviewing the pictures.
Just a friendly reminder; Clay-colored Sparrows do look similar to non-breeding plumaged Chipping Sparrows, just to help you avoid confusion :)
@JacobDoesStuff-hq6gp I actually thought it was one for about a week or so. It wasn't until someone pointed it out to me did I notice. I knew they were seen in the area at the time, but I didn't expect one to show up in my backyard
That’s very true!
Intriguing!
@@stinkology awesome!!
I really appreciate this type of content. I’m fairly new and I really struggle with sparrows and finches. My spouse calls them all LBG’s. (Little brown guys). I basically breed house sparrows and house finches in my yard! They seem to be 75% of what shows up. We use quality seed and of course see other bird feeder species too, but lots of sparrows. I will have to pay more attention to who might be sneaking in with them. I don’t understand why people dislike some species. I understand displacement, but they didn’t choose to end up here. I feed anything that shows up. We have recently been getting a male ringed neck pheasant feeding off the ground under the feeder. He’s stunning. As a newer birder, I just get so much joy from being a better observer and seeing so many amazing things right in this area. The more you look, the more you see.
Thank you. Great video.🕊
Glad you liked it!
I live in central /east Texas and I have many bird species visiting my feeders year around. But just at the beginning of fall I looked out my door and their was a white Dove at my feeder! First time to see her. I have several Mourning Doves, but never seen a white Dove until that afternoon. I only saw her for about 15 minutes and haven't seen her again. I was so surprised. My phone was in my bedroom but I didn't want to walk away. I didn't want to miss a second of seeing her. Lovely!❤
Nice video! Thanks! I've had just a handful of Pine Siskins over the years, and at first thought they were House Finches, which are more prevalent here. I've also had a surprise Harris's Sparrow, which blended right in with the numerous House Sparrows that I get here.
I'm curious whether there is interbreeding between very similar looking birds, like the house and purple finches, for example?
Good question. Apparently some of them can where they overlap. Here’s House x Purple Finch: ebird.org/species/x01004
In my area of eastern New Mexico it's Common raven and Chihuahuan raven which are easily confused, as we have both species here.
I was okay with the other birds, but the finches and sparrows...yeah I needed clarification on them! Thanks again.
In Eastern Canada on the West Coast of the Island of Newfoundland we have many Downey Woodpeckers. It's fun to watch them feed from the feeders...hanging upside down. We have finches of every variety, Blue Jays, Grey Jays, Cardinals as well as crows, owls, sparrows & many other. Western NL is a birdwatcher's paradise!
I was surprised to see Pine Siskins in Texas last April.
Was literally just in Wisconsin for thanksgiving and saw plenty of “imposter birds” in the same area. I was able to get the downy vs hairy woodpeckers and even the purple vs house finches, but now I’m second guessing myself with the goldfinches because I bet at least a few of them were sneaky pine siskins lol
I also find warblers the most difficult to identify.
Excellent comparison vid. Especially the calls. Thanks
@@molmer2380 you’re welcome! Thanks for watching!
During the winter months, I've seen house finches and purple finches at my feeder.
Awesome! got your Christmas card, Nathan! Thanks! Loved the Cardinal drawing!
Excellent and helpful. I would also add to the blackbird list the Rusty Blackbird. Looking thru a mass of them for that one with the bright eye and splotchy body, mostly black/brown/rust. And if you are really lucky, a Brewer's. Found one in a group of Red-winged (with several cowbirds, too) while out in the field in Georgia watching Sandhill Cranes during one of their migrations. The Brewer's and the Rusty are relatively similar. The task is picking these guys out of the rest! I find it fun, like a puzzle!
Definitely! I actually had a section about them but then took it out because I didn’t think they came to feeders/yards that often. They are included in the blackbird ID guide in the pinned comment.
Thank you !!!
You're welcome!
Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Actually have plans to go practice sparrows tomorrow with my son - it's likely to be all house sparrows but it will be good to get out of the house even so. And we're still getting used to telling the difference between male and female House Sparrows.
And even as I was watching this, there was a huge racket outside my window: apparently an owl fight??? There was a LOT of hooting and then some crashing branches. It's too dark to tell what went down but if i find feathers tomorrow, I might have more idea what birds were involved. I didn't hear any other animals, only owls hollering, so...maybe an argument over territory, if Barred Owls even do that.
A big LIKE from Singapore. Thanks for sharing the 5 secrets about backyard birds. Greetings from Singapore.
Excellent video. Thanks.
Are these the Agent 007 of the bird world? 🙂
That’s exactly what they are
Good morning 🌅 to you from Hong Kong SAR. I keep seeing woodpeckers on RUclips videos not only from your channel, but also from other RUclips channels in the states 🇺🇸as well as across Japan 🇯🇵. And I thought to myself and believed that there is NO 🚫Woodpecker in Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR.
Until recently, I did some searching on the web, and to my surprise, Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR does have ONLY THREE species of woodpeckers : Bay Woodpecker, Speckled Piculet, and the Eurasian Wryneck. 😳😳😳😳😳
Woodpeckers are among my favorite birds.
Excellent 👌🏼👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻My favourite birds are : Scsrlet Minivets, Asian Koel, Oriental Magpie, Common Tailorbird, Yellow-bellied Prinia, Yellow-bellied Tit, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Asian Tit, Black-throated Laughingthrush, Blue-whistling Thrush , Chinese Blackbird, Fork-tailed Sunbird, and a few others……too many to name …..😁😁😁😁
My understanding is that the piculet and the Bay Woodpecker are uncommon to rare resident/ visitors to the New Territories region, showing up at Pat Heung Catchwater in Tai Lam and both seem to be stable residents at Tai Po Kau Reserve, though I did not run into either when I was there. The wryneck is more likely to show up in open areas than other woodpeckers of the region. Hope this is helpful.
@@markshen3280I still remember my first morning in Kowloon, waking up and walking to a local park( Lo Kwan Street Park), and hearing a koel for the first time...there is nothing like that here. In Thailand the sound of Koels and Coppersmith barbets can make it hard to hear with their voices ringing out, but especially the koels.
Lots of American goldfinches in Texas this start of winter, wondering if it will be an eruption winter season for us , hopefully so 😁
I just saw either a pair of hairy or ladderbacked woodies a couple hours ago here in Austin area. Are ladderbacks known to be up here this time of year or to be perm residents?
In parts of California the Downy, Hairy, and similar Nuttall's woodpeckers all occur together, especially in the Bay Area. We also get mixed flocks of American Goldficnhes, Lesser Goldfinches, and Pine Siskins then occasionally a Lawrence's Goldfinch will be thrown in there, this is especially true in San Diego in some years. In CA, we also get Golden-crowned Sparrows and the immatures look very similar to female House Sparrows.
The female Rose-breasted Grosbeak is the true imposter of the female Purple Finch!
@@patrickhanly7458 that’s a good one too!
Speaking of Blackbirds : do you know whether or not the Common Blackbird found in the UK 🇬🇧 is a sub-species of the Hong Kong 🇭🇰 SAR Chinese Blackbird …….🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
Only heard purple finches but never saw one unfortunately so I dont even have it on my life list yet.
Hi, again. Do all the FEMALES of each species (House Finch, Purple Finch, Gold Finch) have a different plumage colouration as compared to the MALES ? 🧐🧐🧐🧐🤔🤔🤔🤔
House Finch and Purple Finch do, which is called sexual dimorphism (males are different than females). The Goldfinch does to a lesser degree, but normally females are less colorful than males.
Thanks 🙏 for your helpful tips 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗
Queria tanto um vídeo sobre as Maria-cavaleiras :)