This ellusive bird

[bmccasland]

[QUOTE=7rider;417471]Maybe you'll see an Ivory Billed Woodpecker!!!
Sigh.
If only.......
(Yeah...I know...wrong area...)

Jackdaw = grackle, so that's what it is! I've heard the name, but never when a bird was around.

I keep hoping to see an Ivory Billed whenever I'm in the Atchafalaya or Pearl River swamps. Not yet....

In Aggie's area, I want to add a Golden Cheeked Warbler..... pssshh pssshh pssshhh (heerreee birdie birdie birdie)

Here's a source for bird check lists, anywhere in North America http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/b...bird/index.htm

Happy Birding!

[Aggie_Ama]

I assume Jackdaw=Grackle. This is my kooky love her to bits Mammaw who calls things all sorts of odd things.

Golden Cheek Warbler- I would love to see one but those buggers are extremely ellusive. We went hiking in area known for them but they are so hard to spot.

[sundial]

Ivory bill......waiting to see one while on my mtb some day.

I see pileated woodpeckers in flight and it makes my heart stop. I look for the ivory bill but alas....

Aggie, have you spotted that bird yet? Maybe on your hike you'll see some cool things.

[Aggie_Ama]

I haven't seen the Caracara again.

I do see the female finches at my house but not Clem, the male. Actually I think I saw him the other day but not sure it was getting dark.

[Birder_on_Bike]

Very cool to see so many people that know something about birds on here!

I'm going to go with Crested Caracara (also known as Mexican Eagle). They are pretty cool birds, and I saw my first Caracaras in TX (Brownsville area).

They do hang out with "buzzards" (Turkey & Black Vultures). Another bird that hangs out with buzzards is the Zone-tailed Hawk, which is a possibility in your area as well. However I'd be willing to bet this bird was a caracara.

I personally use Sibley's; it's suitable for birders just beginning to those more advanced; however, it is BIG and in Texas you'd need the "big" one rather than eastern or western.

National Geographic is a good guide too, but I like Sibley's better.

[SadieKate]

Anyone else ever heard them called Jackdaws?

Uh, yes. It's one of the common names for the grackle, but it is also the formal name for some of the smaller species of the crow/raven/jackdaw (corvus) family. I only remember "corvus" due to Edgar Allen Poe and Lewis & Clark.

[Aggie_Ama]

Coolest thing I have seen is a red tail hawk (very common in central Texas) catch a snake while riding my bike. He just swooped off power line, grabbed him a big ol' snake from a field of cattle and took off with it. Wicked!