The Feeder Feed: various colors and killing chipmunks

It has been a while since I have been able to report to you on the doings at the feeder.

First, the black squirrel is back.

Card. Ray is rubbernecking a bit.

A Ruby-Throated Hummingbird having a bit of a rest.

This Oriole was determined to get into my office.

It checked every window several times before giving up.

Meanwhile, a local barn cat scored a nice juicy Chipmunk!  I hope his name was Alvin.

Not everything with wings is a bird.  This Monarch Butterfly was having a snack on the jasmine blossoms.

Purple Finch.

Indigo Bunting and Goldfinch.

Nuthatch and Rose-Breasted Grosbeak.

Feeding the birds is more than tuppence a bag. They eat here because you out there …

UPDATE:
BTW… you know that in Rome there is all manner of excitement about Vatileaks.  
In a recent visit to Rome I understand that Fr. Finigan, His Hermeneuticalness, was doing his own investigation by the direct approach.  He simply asked those whom he met, “Are you the ‘corvo’?” In Italian, a ‘corvo’, or ‘crow’ is a like a mole, a pipe.
Since there was some suggestion that maybe a cardinal or prelate or two were involved, Mulier Fortis got her own investigation going.  I include the photo below, as a counterpoint to the cat, above, killing Alvin.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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14 Comments

  1. Velle Mere says:

    Wonderful pictures! Thank you for posting them.

  2. wanda says:

    Wow, Fr. Z. What a menagerie! The Oriole is a riot! He must be after you for some jelly or oranges. Thank you for the beautiful sights & the great photos!

  3. Brad says:

    Black squirrel: a grave parish priest
    Cardinal: rather underweight Cardinal, no doubt from too much mortification
    Hummingbird: little first communicant
    Oriole: antsy penitent waiting for the parish doors to open. Get me to that booth!
    The cat: a roving lion, bloody maw
    Indigo Bunting and Goldfinch: Adorers, although the former is the type who looks more at the other people in the pews

  4. NescioQuid says:

    Beautiful, many thanks. Btw, have never seen a black squirrel before.

  5. Jim of Bowie says:

    I see you’re feeding safflower seeds. I used to put it out at ground level for the mourning doves and sparrows because the squirrels won’t eat it. But it got so expensive that I don’t any more. I enjoy your pics.

  6. Diane at Te Deum Laudamus says:

    I like chipmunks. Send them here if you don’t want them.

    I don’t know about anyone else, but I am seeing a lot of butterflies, and lots of variations. When I was a kid, there were always butterflies around. We would see monarchs and black swallowtail butterflies mostly. Then, we were barely able to get a glimpse of monarchs for the last 10-15 years. I can’t recall when I last saw a swallowtail. But, I noticed early this spring not only monarchs, but beautiful butterflies I had never seen before. Perhaps there is now a comback, at least in my area.

  7. CatholicCaliGirl says:

    Again, Thanks for posting this!
    My little sister loves birds. <3

  8. Maltese says:

    Meanwhile, a local barn cat scored a nice juicy Chipmunk! I hope his name was Alvin.

    Lol! I appreciate your humor, Father!

    My daughter killed her first squirrel with our BB-gun a few weeks back. They were getting into our walls and chewing pipes; we had leaks and had to re-do drywall. Vermin sometimes deserve to die! [Indeed they do.]

  9. GregH says:

    How much does it cost to feed these guys on a regular basis?

  10. Kerry says:

    Squirrels: Eat the black ones; eat the red ones.

  11. teomatteo says:

    the best thing for a chipmunk is a rat trap…. SSSSMMMAAAAAAKKKKKKKKK !!!!
    (they have chewed my engine wires and gotten into our attic… evil… EVIL.)

  12. Kathleen10 says:

    oh my gosh, how funny!! the cardinal certainly does look like he is “rubbernecking”! I have never seen a cardinal or any little bird in that posture! excellent! i love all your photos. what incredible birds you have, and the black squirrel makes me remember my mother’s black squirrels. their faces are quite different from the gray squirrels. i know they can be pests, but they are cute. anything that tries to get in your house though, oriole excepted, cannot be tolerated. great comments everybody, i laughed reading them.
    how do you see any of our pictures, Fr. Z? is there a way?

  13. Laura98 says:

    Wonderful pictures of the birds … love all the varieties you get!

    Chipmunks and squirrels aren’t a problem here – but those danged packrats have cost me a fortune!!! They love to burrow into the A/C unit and chew wires and nest… ugh!!!

  14. irishgirl says:

    Yes, it HAS been awhile since the ‘feeder feed’ has been posted, Father Z!
    You get such cool pictures of all the ‘beasties’ that are around your house!
    I never knew that hummingbirds sat still-I always saw them in their ‘flittings’ from flower to feeder!
    Since I live in the city and in a seventh-floor apartment, I don’t see squirrels very much. I only do when I’m at ground level…and they are everywhere!
    Once in awhile I’ll see ‘chippies’, too!
    Was ‘Alvin’ already dead when the pussycat came upon him? [Ohhhh nooooo! It was great!]

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