CLOSED: ID help -Please.

I'm sure this will be an easy one for the birders here. Thanks in advance for any help.

Varied Thrush??

Thank you pelletory! I looked it up in my Audubon Soc. field guide and there it was! A Varied Thrush it is!
thanks so much!

I just wasn't ever sure where to start in my field guide!
Cheers!

Your Welcome. Very nice pic!

Begonia,

Lucky you! As soon as I saw your pic, I knew it was a Varied Thrush! Mumer had pics of one on her thread

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/684055/

Beautiful Birds! We don't have them here. :-((

Marilyn

This message was edited Jan 25, 2007 5:42 PM

I have to say, this is the busiest bird season i can recall. (must mean we have a healthy bird population) Right now, from my office window (I'm in the country side) I can see Goldfinches (going wild over the thistle feeder hanging in front of my window), other finches with an orange head, some kind of titmouse? (sp?), starlings (vineyard owners hate them, but I love them), and white breasted nuthatches going up and down the walnut tree next to my office. There are some other kind of little ones with a black head that I dont know the name of. Oh yes, and some humming birds hitting the nectar in the feeder.

I had seen some wonderful pics of them on another forum I belong to. That gentleman lives in Wasington I believe.
They are great looking birds!

wow oh wow what a fabulous pic. WTG!!!!!!!!!!!

Begonia, Can't wait to see your pics of the others you can't ID. You guys in the west really have some beautys!

Begonia,

Great pic, by the way!

Glad to have you here at this forum! ;-))

Marilyn

Well, I decided to take a break from here and went out to take a few shots of the birds. On pesky kitty kept scaring them off, but I'll load up a few photos of the chubby little yellow finches in a little bit.

Thanks for your kind comments!

Here's one of the little chubby birdies.

Nice picture, I've never seen a Varied Thrush stand still long enough to focus the camera.

They are shy! He didn't know I was taking the picture. I was inside my office -taking it through the glass, which is why the photo is a bit blurry. We built a batting cage for our son and for some reason the birds must think it was for them. They perch on it all day long and go inside and forage. They can fit through the netting. Anyhoo, my camera had a mind of it's own and kept wanting to focus on the netting and not the bird.

A few more.

Lesser Goldfinch- very nice pic!!!

I'll try and get a better shot of that Thrush. They are here all the time.

Last one, then back to work.

BEAUTFUL pics!!!

A good shot - lots of detail, of the Goldfinch. The "chubby body", as you call it, is actually the bird puffy up his feathers, for added insulation, against the cold. Basically the same body reaction as a human getting "goose bumps" when cold.

They are such rascals. Constantly yammering over the feeder, shoving one another to get to the choice seats. They are a constant source of entertainment for me. Same with the hummers, they are very territorial over the feeder.

Mine is a home office and we live in a walnut orchard. In the fall, when the fruit is falling in the driveway, the golfinches blanket the driveway eating the run-over nut meats.

Pelletory, are both of them the same type of goldfinch - one male/one female?

AND I just filled that feeder to the brim on Tuesday evening. They go through a lot of seed!

Yes, male and female.

had to pull out the Sibleys guide on this one. It is a Western Lesser Goldfinch which is also different from the Texas Lesser Goldfinch. Great pics

Theres a Black backed one thats pretty neat looking too.

Very nice photos, Begonia!!! I adore the Varied Thrush - I can't resist taking pics of them, but then end up with ones that look exactly alike. Ever since our cold spell with snow, I've had them at the suet feeders (rather clumsily I might add) and sitting on the fence for long enough periods of time for me to get a shot. Of course, the telephoto lens helps a great deal!

Your Finch photos are wonderful!!! And, I must say, I think you are the first person I have ever heard say they like the Starlings!!! I'm afraid I do not, as they go through seed and suet faster than I can put it out and they scare off the smaller birds. Right now they are not too big a problem, but they will be again!

Marilyn, thanks for remembering my thread and putting in the link!

Murmur, you just brought up an idea. I've never done suet feeders. But it can't hurt to put some out. I have to hang everything way out of reach due to our barn cats. But could set some out.
What feed do you use? I just see them picking through the grass here, eating bugs and walnuts I suspect.

Ahh the starling. They are not liked around here as they can clean a vineyard in no time flat. Much to the growers chagrin! Don't want to start a bird war, as I'm aware of the bird forum rules. But suffice it to say, I just like all birds. Driving through the valley at certain times of the year, one can see huge black blankets waving in the sky. It's the starlings.

Begonia, one thing I do like about Starlings is the little gurgling sounds they make - always makes me think of a "tinkling brook," whatever that would be!!!

The suet I buy is just the cheapest I can find - so I would guess just lard and seed (I'll look when I fill the feeders again later today). This is the first time I've had Thrush come to a feeder and I'm sure it just started because of the snow . . . and maybe they've started a bit of a habit???!!!

Man, I need to get a better camera. At least one with a better zoom feature. When I zoom in, the pics are always out of focus. I generally take pics from the window because the birds fly off if I open the back door to go out and take a picture. The feeders are pretty far out there, so I can't get a good one from inside. I need a digital that I can put a telephoto lens on.

Most of the new digitals now can use the lenses from regular cameras - mine is a Sony SLR, but i know the Canon has that capability as well, along with several others. I'm sure it will be an every day thing before long. I have so much fun since I got the telephoto lens that it must be illegal!

I was able to get a few shots this morning through the window.

And from the side.

That's a super pic - nice work!

Both are!

And this little chatter box was being a typical squirrel. Sitting in the tree outside my office window. Had to take a shot of him. I know it's not a bird, but....

Is he/she posing?

Here's the little black headed bird that I don't know it's ID. They are about the same size as the Goldfinches. Any ideas?

Thank you Murmru. Trying to get a better shot of the black headed little ones, but they seem to want to fly away when I'm outside near them and they're behind the batting cage netting - camera wants to focus on the net, not birds! Arrgh!

That's a Junco, Begonia. The squirrel photos had me truly giggling outloud!!

begonia is scampering off to look up Junco in my Audubon ID book. Yup! There is it. Looks like I have 'Dark Eyed (Oregon) Juncos'
I may also have one that's on the next page Black Capped Chickadee, but I'm a bit far south for their range. But they look familiar.

The squirrels are the true entertainers of the orchard here!