Daily Bird Pictures VOL. 456

My friend and I shared an apple again today.

Good for them clearing out the termites.

Well Frank, looks like you're having just too much fun down there.

Well, mother nature sure has a warped sense of humor! Yesterday it was in the 70's and today I woke up and snow!;( It would have to be cold when I got to go to my orientation. I was thinking a nice t-shirt and jeans, not a sweatshirt and winter coat! The birds are really chowing down on the seeds which aint too bad, I saw a young Pileated Woodpecker on my suet cake yesterday, of course he did not stay long, but at least they know its here and that I won't hurt them.

FChisholm... How nice the variety you have! I love your apple eating buddy. They may be common, but they are great birds and very clever.

Got this picture today, thought I would share it with you.

Lovely guy. We have a pair around who sometimes come to the suet feeder.

Nice Red-belly, emptyeyes. They are regular visitors here, but our male has recently decided he only wants sunflower seeds, ignoring nuts and suet.

Some juncos are still around. I don't see why they would have liked the winter.

My Juncos usually are gone at the end of April, Right before the hummingbirds arrive.

I read that these migrate to western MA. Warmer away from the ocean?

After working outside yesterday, I took a break to watch birds come to the stream.

White-throated sparrow, American Robin, ButterButt (Myrtle Warbler).

Blue Grosbeaks came to eat with the Indigo Buntings.

I have never seen the blue grossbeaks--interesting birds

I'm with you irisMA, never have I seen those interesting birds before. Thanks Frank. Rose-breasted grosbeaks visit my grains feeders this time of year, but I have not seen Bunting around my corner of the woods either. :((

Mallards are looking for suitable nesting spots.

The first Baltimore Oriole arrived today!!

Yay Nanny! Someone in town here had a RB Grosbeak today. So, I put out some oranges just in case the orioles were around too.

I'm glad that they are back.

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks are migrating through here this week.

Beautiful pics you guys!

It's so exciting - all the birds that are showing up everywhere. I'm expecting to see Baltimore Orioles, Red-breasted Grosbeaks, RT Hummers and...possibly, maybe...Indigo Buntings any day.

These next pics are my very first attempt to upload pics from Windows 8. I transferred them from our old computer onto a flash drive and I'm not entirely sure which ones I resized. That's still something I'll have to work on.

The first one is a male and female House finch pair, but the female is Leucistic and looks almost white with very light markings. Even though they were far away I thought her unusual coloring was worth posting.

The next three are...I think...Sandhill Cranes. The first one was the actual size then I blew up the others to get a better look. This is the first time I've been able to get a shot, but I hear them every year as they fly over making loud "Purring" sounds.

We were away from home this last weekend, spending time in Kansas with friends. They have great birds there and they aren't even birders!

1. Lark Sparrow
2. Great-tailed Grackle
3. Yellow-headed Blackbirds, ignoring those brown headed things :)
4, Savannah Sparrow

I saw a yellow headed blackbird when i was in college. Madison WI is on the eastern edge of their range. Luckily I was with a birder who know what they were.

whoa! Look at all those Yellow-headed blackbirds! covet. envy.

In theory we could get Yellow-headed Blackbirds here - but I haven't seen one in years. And I have never seen that many at once!

PS: Saw one May 9th - I hope it pairs up and nests.

This message was edited May 10, 2014 1:22 PM

I was too amazed at all those Yellow-headeds. The photo was only a portion, there were many on the fence, as well. The only time I ever saw that many together was in Crossley's ID Guide and I thought he photoshopped them like that. :D

Okay I want some of those Yellow-headed Blackbirds too! Catbirds, hummers and thrashers are here too, have not seen any RBG's so far.

I am learning Windows 8 too. There is a learning curve!

Saw a cowbird today. Hate it that they are around, since they lay their eggs in other bird's nests. Very funny as we were driving home from grocery shopping found a sharp shinned hawk sitting on a wire across the street. They are not very big & had to do some looking in my pb of hawks to figure it out.

OMG...nanny, I feel like we're kindred spirits! Now Microsoft keeps pushing for us to upgrade to 8.1, but so many people have had glitches after doing it, we keep avoiding the upgrade.

If you already have hummers, ours should be here any day. Although our RBG's usually show up first and I haven't seen any yet. Hopefully soon, sigh...

These are bushtits feasting on aphids on my rose bushes. A GREAT reason to never use pesticide on ornamental plants. They are so tame. Pictures were taken with my smartphone.

So happy to say I just saw the male and leucistic female House Finch pair. Haven't seen them for about a week and was afraid something had happened to them. They look just fine!

YAY!
I just saw my first Baltimore Oriole and Rose-breasted Grosbeak of the season...within a couple hours of each other!

We should be seeing our Orioles and Grosbeaks soon. We've convinced the Orioles to stay, but still the Rose-breasteds only pass through.

After two years of trying, we finally, finally got pretty good pictures of the Upland Sandpiper.

YAY N.A.N!!

Since we just got the new computer we installed 8.1 when we started up. I have had it on my tablet that I got at Christmas so was already getting used to it. But just learning really how to use some stuff.

These are from yesterday. Yellow-rumped Warblers are every where. I was in the backyard and the female Rose-breasted Grosbeak just flew into view while I was trying to get the warbler! Also saw a female Ruby-throated Hummimgbird this morning. Have more orioles everyday and the Red-bellied is enjoying the jelly too.

Thank you for letting me know; I got it done. :)

1 Red-winged Blackbird - it amuses me the way some birds sing effortlessly, but blackbirds have to puff up like a pinecone to let out a squawk.
2 Goldfinches combining eating at the feeder with bathing in the sprinkler
3 I accidentally got a Pine Siskin in the photo, the first I have seen this year
4 Canadian geese and goslings - common, but they win the cute contest

YAY! WHOOPIE!

Our Hummers are here!!

Could not believe what I was seeing yesterday.....a White-crowned Sparrow!! Maybe a pair or adult & a juvie???



This message was edited May 7, 2014 3:49 PM

oops! Forgot the small female Pileated Woodpecker. This is why I had to start putting suet out again. I hated seeing them fly by and not stopping at my house!

Lucky you!