Birders
Related: About this forumGreenWave
(9,167 posts)They sometimes seem confused.
Glorfindel
(9,918 posts)I have heard a bird that sounds like a braying donkey..."shree - haw! " I imitate it, and it responds. I have no idea what it is.
AllaN01Bear
(23,031 posts)2naSalit
(92,635 posts)Touristown, there were lots of ravens whom I would tease by making their "knocking" sound. They never shit on my car, I'd like to think that's what our conversation was about.
mopinko
(71,789 posts)long, long ago i had a set of cassettes of bird calls put out by petersons. used to play them on camping trips w the kids. woodpeckers and owls responded a lot.
1st trip we took, we got a reply from more than 1 barred owl. back and forth several times, then silence. about 5 min later, we were surrounded by hoots. there were a doz in the trees. still get goosebumps when i tell that story.
i like to talk to the cardinals. theyll play a game w u. if u repeat their standard call back to them a couple times, theyll mix it up. theyll start adding notes, and see if u can keep count. iirc the standard call is- birdy, birdy, birdy. but ive had them go as many as a dozen repeats.
and of course, its always fun to yell w the crows. who cares if the neighbors think youre nuts?
birding apps r pretty cool. dont have 1 on the phone atm, but the 1 i had, u cd record the call, and its tell u what it is. sorta takes the fun out of it, but
AllaN01Bear
(23,031 posts)SarahD
(1,732 posts)I was a "hooter." I imitated a male spotted owl. When they came to investigate, I fed them mice, live mice. I would then watch to see what they did with mice,.indicating if they had a mate or, even better, a mate with babies. This is how wildlife agencies conducted a spotted owl census. Great job. It was a hoot!
Easterncedar
(3,511 posts)But then I feel bad for wasting their time
SarahD
(1,732 posts)The spotted owls were happy to see us because they knew we brought mice. The more experienced owls knew we were coming and showed up before we even hooted. We were a little worried about habituating them to being fed by humans, but it didn't seem to lessen their hunting skills.
WhiteTara
(30,151 posts)in our forest. It's quite amusing and they seem to enjoy it as well. We have a murder of crows that live in the neighborhood and we've been feeding them for years so they cruise by checking their feeder. Sometimes they won't be around when I bring the food out (they eat just about everything) and call them with 5 caws repeated two or 3 times. They come and feast and leave. Not long ago, I received our first intentional gift and I was quite humbled by that.
mopinko
(71,789 posts)it may make them more likely to respond, but u can disrupt them. it can b threatening.