It has been a super busy day at the feeder.
We have seen the usual suspects, that is Team Goldfinch and Team Siskin, as well as the never elusive Chickadee and Nuthatch, sundry Sparrows. But there are others on view.
Since I changed the feeder setup, things are really picking up!
Here are some shots.
Mrs. Grosbeak
One of the many Messers Grosbeak. I have, I think, four pairs now.
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Black Bird
Downy Woodpecker
Cowbird
Mrs. Oriole, digging into orange goodness.
Mrs. Grosbeak
Mr. House Finch
Mr. Oriole getting serious about some grape jelly.
Auditioning for the Hitchcock’s next reimagining…
This Indigo Bunting is about to have a rude visitor.
Some relative sizes
I saw a Red-Bellied Woodpecker today on a nearby tree.
This is a new visitor. I believe we have here Brown Thrasher.
And this might be … I am not sure who this is, frankly. But he … she showed up today.
I think it might be Mrs. Cowbird, but I am not sure.
The Dove and the Trasher did not get along at all. The Dove was always seeking to drive the other away.
The enemy.
oopps
Here is Red-breasted Nuthatch.
Bunting again..
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The flicker is not a flicker I think, but a female red-bellied woodpecker.
Adversarius vester sciurus tamquam leo rugiens circuit, quaerens quem devoret….
Have you considered a bb-gun?
Also, poison traps around the base of the tree would work (but then you can’t eat them). Just kidding about the eating but I’d imagine squirrel would make a tasty saltimbocca.
Yes, that is a red-bellied woodpecker. Wow, what a variety of birds.
allaboutbirds.org from the Cornell ornithology lab is a favorite site for birders.
I’ll preface this: I’m completely ignorant about birds.
I live in Colorado, and saw a blackbird really similar to the red-winged black bird. He had the white stripe, but I didn’t see the red bit. Is this a different bird, or did I just miss the red bit on his wing?
erm, yellow stripe* Not sure what I was thinking there
wonderful, Father! Thanks so much for posting these bird pictures…I consider them “good news” in my day! I didn’t know what a female grosbeak looked like. I love that ‘rude visitor’ one!!
All thanksgiving and gratitude to Almighty God for these wondrous creatures (yep even the enemy Mr. Squirrel). These pictures always make my day.
Thanks Reverend Father Z for your sharp photographic skills.
I think your blackpoll warbler is a redbreasted nuthatch.
More smiles, thank you, Father. I was so jazzed yesterday watching the Z cam when the Blue Indigo showed up. Precious little creatures!
Thank you Father for all the pictures – but you are making us so jealous! What variety.
Carl – sometimes the red on the red-winged blackbird doesn’t show.
Interesting tidbit concerning the cowbirds: they are parasitic nesters, i.e. they lay their eggs in other birds nests to be raised by the other birds. Apparently the yellow warbler is one species that won’t put up with this and will build a new nest right over the one with the cowbirds egg in it. I think the record is 4 nests high!
Gloria: “I think your blackpoll warbler is a redbreasted nuthatch.”
On review, I also think it is a Red-breasted Nuthatch.
I have, however, seen Blackpoll Warbler around and will try to get a photo.
I am learning a lot from the comments and corrections.
i hope you realize that i’m reading this blog
Fr. Z, you need to get a Yankee Flipper squirrel-proof bird feeder. Don’t know how long it’ll keep the enemy out of bird seed, but you’ll have lots of entertainment until then.
–Angela
Meg–
Thanks. The sum of my ornithological knowledge is coming from this blog :)
Not to diminish the destructive habits of squirrels, Father, but the real enemy here is the cowbird. As someone pointed out, they are parasitic, and are responsible for declines in many song bird species. They spy other bird nests and lay eggs when the nesters are not watching. Most host species will raise the pests. Frequently the cowbird young are many times the size of the hosts, and you can guess who gets most of the food. Last year, I came upon a cowbird fledgling being fed by a blue-grey gnatcather. The baby cowbird was about 10 times the size of the “parent” — and no young gnatcatchers about.
Man, sometimes this blog is for the birds!
FABULOUS photos!
Fr. Z., Stop the squirrels this way: get a can baffle for your pole and mount it so the top of the baffle is about five feet off the ground. Then, place the pole so that there are no trees in an eight foot circle around the feeders. This will put the feeders outside of the range that squirrels can jump. Here is a link for the baffle: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9136&cmpid=10cseYY&ref=4144&subref=AA&srccode=cii_23393768&cpncode=17-31486441-2
We had our feeders set up like this at our last house and had NO problems with squirrels
Wonderful and wonder-full photos! Thank you, Father!
Beautiful pictures, Father. Over here in Ireland we don’t have the colourful varieties of birdlife you have in the US so these pics are a real eyeopener for me.
I noticed lots of fragments of twigs and blades of grass around the ground in the yard and looking up saw a small bird disappearing into a gap that seems to have opened up in the apex under the eves of my house, about 30 feet up so I’m not going up there. Haven’t figured out what they may be yet (probably starlings over here) but I now know that I’m hosting a small family in the attic. I won’t disturb them although I shudder to think what the attic will look like. Will have to go and plug the hole when they’ve gone.
Love the downy woodpecker. I’m not too familiar with many of the others, but I know that woodpecker – and I know exactly what his flight sounds like: unmistakable.
Great pictures, Father Z!
I love it when the birdies ‘stare’!