Inspired by the Hummingbird Thread: Unusual Birds You've Seen.

[Virgo10]

Unusual for where you live that is. And what bird have you always wanted to see but haven't gotten to yet?

Since I'm new to Florida I'm not really sure yet what I should be seeing. I'd find it unusual to see a common house sparrow. I haven't seen one since we moved here. Up in MA they were like a plague. The most unusual bird I've seen here was a Myrtle Warbler.

My MA strange sightings would include Orioles,

hummingbirds, a Sharp shinned Hawk in my backyard,

a ruby crowned kinglet, bluebirds (Finally! After years of waiting to see one I found a park not 5 miles from my house that had them.) and a pine grosbeak.

There's only one bird I'm still really hoping to catch a glimpse of... The Pileated Woodpecker. They're 19 inches long!! Now that's a bird! Their range includes Florida so who knows, maybe some day.

 

[DVCLiz]

Something like that small hawk in your picture spent a few minutes perched on my hammock support post once. I don't think it's terribly rare but it was very cool to see it so close!!!!

 

[Beth76]

I live in the suburbs of St. Louis and a few years ago, walking through my neighborhood, I saw two peacocks. I thought they were turkeys at first (not unusual), but as I got closer I realized they were peacocks. I just stood there and watched them for a few minutes--no one else was around. Then a few people drove by and saw them too. We followed them a few blocks to the neighborhood school before they disappeared behind some other houses. A week or two later I saw them again on my street. They were hopping from rooftop to rooftop across the street. It turned out they lived on a farm a few miles away and had gotten away.

 

[Michelina]

I saw my first bluebird ever last year. It was so pretty! I just stood and stared at it

 

[nocnurse]

I'm not very knowledgable about birds, but there is no mistaking pileated woodpeckers! I saw two last summer.

My dd and her three girlfriends from the neighborhood had just finished eating me out of house and home one afternoon in July. They then headed across the street to one of the other girl's home (probably to eat everything there too) when I heard the four of them screaming and yelling in my backyard. I ran out back to see what the calamity was but..........no kids! All that racket was coming from two pileated woodpeckers perched in my maple tree. What a sight! They were huge! I haven't seen or heard any more since. Maybe this summer.

 

[debster812]

Roberta,

My most unusual you helped me ID before you skedaddled out of here for FLA.

It was a woodcock, and not especially unusual, except we had never before seen one, and have not seen one since. One of the babies was hurt/dying, and momma was staying really close....

 

[grinningghost]

Considering the bluebird is the state bird of NY, I've only seen a handful in my whole life. When I do see one, I get very excited.

DH, on the other hand, has a thing for redtailed hawks. He will literally pull over his truck and stop to watch them.

 

[Mad4Mickey]

ok I asked on that thread and now I will ask here ...

How about a roadrunner I almost hit one the other day on my way home from work and I live in the burbs ! it was freaky because I have not seen one since I was a kid .

 

[OhMari]

We used to have a family of owls every year that lived a few weeks in our cherry tree. The babies were so cute, you could see their heads a bobbin.

I have a parakeet that has been trying to pull my washline rope. Someone must have left it out this past week. It is a yellow parakeet-I don't think it is native, it would die in our cold nites in Wisconsin.

I just got pooped on by a robin Sunday. I think I spooked it when I walked under I tree, it flew passed by head and then i felt something on my shoulder, uggg. He nailed me.

 

[mick67]

ok I asked on that thread and now I will ask here ...

How about a roadrunner I almost hit one the other day on my way home from work and I live in the burbs ! it was freaky because I have not seen one since I was a kid .

I answered there, and I'll answer here - saw roadrunners splattered on the highway regularly in Texas.

on the OP, I see a Falcon and an American Bald Eagle every now and again.

 

[grinningghost]

I just got pooped on by a robin Sunday. I think I spooked it when I walked under I tree, it flew passed by head and then i felt something on my shoulder, uggg. He nailed me.

I would laugh, but I can't. I once got pooped on by a seagull and my family still hasn't let me live it down. I know the humiliation.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The Pileated Woodpecker is the one I'd most like to see, also. That's what we're most on the lookout for when we go to HH. I'd also love to see a snow bunting too. As far as unusual birds we've seen, we're lucky to live in an area of the country with lots of unique birds-the red-crowned parrots were a great find, painted bunting-beautiful, yellow throated warbler, chachalaccas, rose breasted grossbeak, groove-billed anis, green jays, to name a few.

 

[wvjules]

any ideas what kind of bird this is? it hit me last summer. i'd hate to think someones parakeet ended up in my car but thats what it looks like to me.

 

[Buckalew11]

For the past 2 years I have had a albino cardinal in my yard. Very strange looking.

Pileated woodpeckers--I've seen several in the Great Smokies.

Sad bird story. I had a blue jay literally fall over dead in my front yard on Sunday. I know he was sick and I hope it wasn't WNV. He was sitting under a tree on the ground and literally fell face first with his beak sticking inot the ground.

 

[nocnurse]

I just remembered this. We had a Snowy owl come through our town a few years ago. I found out about him from a photographer I knew from the local paper. I drove around town and found him perched on a church downtown. Awesome sight.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I see hawks (redtails I think..I can never get a good enough look at them to tell) all the time..soaring over the road or occassionaly perched on a fence post just hanging out. Saw one dive at a pond in a subdivision (pond is visible from the road) and grab a duckling the other day.

I've seen what I THINK are red-winged blackbirds around here too,but I'm not entirely sure. I've never seen them before!

TOV

 

[kasar]

We have turkey vultures around here which are pretty creepy.

 

[Sparx]

I think that is a parakeet. I used to have a pet blue one.

The oddest bird I have seen was a wild parakeet, was eating out of a bird feeder and lived in a tree. or a turnkey vulture that wanted to eat me... long story, but I walked away.

Sad but Happy bird story

My grandma works in a restaurant, with my uncle.
So last sunday we were there eating and I walk out back with my grandma and we hear a scratching sound.
We thought that it was a rat, out in the oil container. (Not IN The restaurant, this was outside at the trash) and we looked, and it was a baby bird caught in the oil.
We went and got my uncle and he got him out and cleaned him off, I made a bed for him and put it in a box.
we put the box in a tree, away from the cats. he flew away later that day.

 

[Virgo10]

any ideas what kind of bird this is? it hit me last summer. i'd hate to think someones parakeet ended up in my car but thats what it looks like to me.

While it could be a parakeet, it looks a lot like a gold finch to me. They're about the same size but I think it would be more likely than someone's pet that escaped.

Here's a photo I took of a gold finch and a purple finch in my backyard back in MA.

Two more of the birds I haven't seen since we moved to FL.

 

[poochie]

While it could be a parakeet, it looks a lot like a gold finch to me. They're about the same size but I think it would be more likely than someone's pet that escaped.

Here's a photo I took of a gold finch and a purple finch in my backyard back in MA.

Two more of the birds I haven't seen since we moved to FL.

I agree it is a gold finch/yellow finch/wild canarie (many names) You can tell the difference between a finch and a parakeet by the bill finch is pointed. While the parakeet has a curved beak that lays flat against his face.