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I love Sandhill Cranes, never saw a Greater Prairie Chicken though. When I lived in New Mexico, once a year thousands of them would fly overhead on their way to the Bosque del Apache over 150 miles away. Of course, you know that we can hear them before we see them!
I have visited the Sandhill Crane preserve on the Colorado River, and also the one in Pascagoula, Mississippi but haven't yet been to Bosque del Apache.
There are spots in Kansas and Nebraska which offer tours of Prairie Chicken and Sharp-Tailed Grouse leks during their April breeding season. I bet other states have them as well. And you can enjoy the sight of 500,000+ Sandhill Cranes roosting on the Platte River in March. Time it right, and you can see all three species on a single trip!
So many different species of birds to enjoy, so little time...
My absolute favorite bird is the crow. Smart and incredibly beautiful IMO. 2nd choice would be sparrows and finches.
The crows here on the east coast of Florida have adapted well to coastal living. They are brutal intelligent predators. In addition to stealing baby sparrows from nests they have learned that from July through October that they can find hatchling sea turtles at sunrise along the seashore. Typically one scout crow will fly along the beach until he spots a baby turtle. When the other crows who wait in trees along the dune see the scout dip down to pick off a turtle they rush in and each grab a hatchling and fly back to the trees to devour them. I've spent more than one morning walk shooing crows away to give baby turtles a chance to get to the water where they have a whole new set of predators to worry about. I respect crows' intelligence but I can't find any love in my heart for them after witnessing this.
I don't think I could pick a favorite because they all instill a sense of awe and wonder whenever I see them. I am not a bird watcher in the sense that I go on searches with a journal, field guide and binoculars -- though I have all those. I prefer to just admire them with my direct vision.
In my yard, I have at least two resident Anna's hummingbirds that patrol my back yard with diligence, though I do not ever feed birds. The line from my husband's Ham Radio antenna serves a great means to survey the entire yard from above and they are quick to let us know when we are infringing upon their territory. While I weed, they hover about making gutteral hissing sounds (like sucking one's teeth). They consider my honeysuckle covered trellis theirs, and warn me off whenever I am in the vicinity.
Families of Robins come through in the Spring and Fall, getting drunk on my flowering bushes' berries. They especially love the cotoneaster berries. (I had to move the shrubs further from the house because they would "drunk fly" into my sunroom windows.
The grounds are alive with Dark-eyed Juncos, which I call my "little tick-tick" birds. They clean our sands (we don't have grass, only shrubs, plants, and trees), and flit from seemingly every bough.
Less frequent visitors, since we got the dogs (hound and terrier) are the Northern Flickers. When we had the Lhasa Apsos they didn't bother them and the flickers loved to wallow in the sand. Now they have to sneak in while the dogs are inside sleeping.
My husband loves the Steller's Jays that make that raucous screeching noise as they plant peanuts in our containers, but I am from Michigan and prefer the Blue Jays.
Though they only pass by overhead, I adore the Osprey and Bald Eagles that nest in the trees (and cell phone tower) nearby. The same is true for the pileated woodpecker, though when I hear the tapping, it is usually a smaller variety of pecker, or the flickers.
One of my most thrilling experiences with birds was watching a Bald Eagle dive down and grab a big fish out of the Sammamish River, while bicycling home from work one evening. Hilariously, he dropped it when landing on an overhead branch over the water, and I could hear his cries of anger and frustration as I rode on. That bird was ticked.
If I had to pick one, it would be the Anna's hummingbirds I get year round in my yard. I deliberately planted some salvias and a cuphea to attract them, as well as a couple of feeders. Over time, they become used to me and will fly close to me.
At times, one has flown so close to me while feeding that I could feel the wind from its wings on my arms/legs! Another time, I was watering one of the plants when one of the hummers was attracted to the falling water and used the water to take a bath right next to my legs! They sometimes whiz right by my face when chasing each other - once I felt the wind of one passing by right under my chin!
I've been getting into wildlife photography the past few years:
But I can't just pick one either. I also like raptors, especially owls. I'll post more photos later.
My favorite bird is the Parakeet. I was thinking of getting a pet, and I was looking at the birds first. Parakeets were very loyal and affectionate, they are great pets and they are also very colorful. They are very easy to take care of, so I choose parakeets.
Too many birds to have an overall favorite. My favorite in terms of interesting behavior, though, is that most common of birds, the crow. If you get to know some regular crows in your place, it becomes clear that THEY regard US as having interesting behavior, too.
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