Those embarrasingly awful pics, Vol. 4

The goldfinches have finally returned in greater numbers. This would have been a good pic if I had remembered to turn the anti-shake on. I was at full zoom. Argh!

LOL, beclu!

Here's a miss on a Black-capped Chickadee.

A male Northern Cardinal showing me his best side. :-)

LOL...Pelle...such a handsome butt!!

I kept hoping this little White-breasted Nuthatch would turn it's head into the light...

Those are all just treasures!

This was the only pic that I got yesterday of what I think is a Pine Warbler. It came out much clearer than expected considering how dark it was, but well, that plumeria branch is covering up half his body!

but it really is a good pic!

Thanks Nanny!

I think I had a pair of American Goldfinches visit the pond this morning. It was so dark out that I didn't get a good pic. This one was the best, but I'm too embarrassed to put it on the daily pics even though I'm so excited about having the finches back! If they are finches that is. They were both kind of fat and didn't have a lot of coloring although there was some yellow around the head.

Yep, looks like your finches are back.

The cardinal WAS on the fence. Too bad my focus can't travel with the bird. Makes me really appreciate what my eyes can do!!

Oh yes...you have finches!!

A couple of my bad ones from yesterday...this Blue Jay took off just as I clicked!

Looks like we were on the same page Mrs. Ed. LOL!!

Here's my cardinal...

Whoohoo! Finches! Only problem is that after I saw them I went to check on the finch feeder and I broke it! Darn it!

Mrs. Ed, I have often thought the same thing when trying to take photos -- our eyes really are amazing!

Here is a really shaky pic of an Eastern Towhee. Fortunately, this is one bird that is easily ID'd even in a bad pic

That is such a cool bird! I'd love to see one of those.

If only this weren't such a blur! Finch in the Louisiana irises.

Why couldn't this chickadee turn around??

I though it was neat seeing this group of laughing gulls napping on the water... too bad it was so darn bright outside!

Ummm excuse me mr. mocking bird, could you please turn around???

Half of the pigeons body was shadowed.... but I still got his pretty green chest

Headless vultures

rntx2...those are good pics...silly!

NO they are not!

This could of been good if only...........

some duck on the river, can't tell which.

I have alot of Duck pics like that!! lol

Female Hooded Merganser, so it passes the i.d. test ;-)

Resin

Rntx -- those birds are really giving you the cold shoulder eh? Those are totally fun shots!
Burn -- I like that shiny duck pic!

There is no bird in this picture. I was taking pics of my brugmansia blossoms this morning. I put the camera down to count the number of flowers and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet landed in the brugmansia about 4 ft from me. I couldn't raise the camera without scaring it away. Bummer.

Still, really nice Brug photo!

Thanks Mrs. Ed. It is nice to be able to enjoy Brugs in December and Kinglets!

Hey Elphaba - I have the kinglets too!! And my brug is also still blooming, crazy thing

Resin, the duck only passes the ID test for you - I would never be able to pull that one out!! LOL You could tell a bird just by a picture of a tailfeather and nothing more, which is why we love you so

I happen to think that Resin is just psychic. He can just look at a picture and get the vibe about what kind it is. Yup, that's my theory alright.

Resin I should have known better,lol your expertise surpass mine big time. :) I put a better pic on the id thread for you, I never thought this one was identifiable. Thanks a bunch.
Elphaba, I like that brug pic also.
A blurred Chickadee on a yucky day.

Elphaba, we're having the Amer. Goldfinches in winter clothes visit us too. They always come about Christmas. I learned to identify them when they- aren't- all- that- bright- and-colorful by looking at a- really- dull- grayish- bird- that- looks- kind-of- like- a- sparrow-but- you- know-it- isn't- so- what- can- it- be by noticing it's black wings w/white and I learned after perusing my bird book what it was. If we are lucky and they stay around long enough in the spring we get to see them all beautifully bright yellow - at least the males are and the females are tinged beautifully. We have lots of Carolina Chickadees here too. They live in the loquat trees as they are the densest trees we have and we feed them, the birds, that is. How do I know they are Carolina Chickadees? The process of elimination: in TX we get 3 different kinds of chickadees: Mountain (they go to the Davis Mts.) Black Capped (they go farther east but still stay to the western part of TX and the Carolina ones which come here. Viola!! Sometimes I just amaze myself with my uncanny ability to reason things out. LOL Just wish I could have seen some kinglets. But we do have 2 pairs of Purple Finches and they are really gorgeous. And we have our blue jays, a pair of Cardinals and even had an Inca Dove here yesterday.


Ann

I would love to see purple finches! It seemed to me that when the finches came in past years, they were still yellow enough to stand out. These are really colorless and fat! You're right though they are clearly not sparrows but they don't act like the other little birds. They're more bold. Also, there are some Pine Warblers around and I find them to be pretty similar but more colorful, so that's been confusing me too! (In the background right now, I have a program on TV about brain fitness as you age -- very depressing -- and I'm thinking "hmmmm, maybe that's why I can't tell a pine warbler from a finch anymore!" Scary!)

plantlady - you are in a great area for winter birding!! Last winter I went on a birding trip with a guide to west houston/katy area. We hit bear creek park (kind of near Elphaba) and saw merlins, many different kinds of woodpeckers & sapsucker, wood ducks, bluebirds, goldfinch, pine warbler, yellow rumped warbler, orange crowned warbler, brown thrasher, robin, hermit thrush, ruby crowned kinglet, blue gray gnatcatcher, Carolina wren, Carolina chickadee, eastern phoebe, tufted titmouse, crows, blue headed vireo. Of course this was with a pro who would play some bird sounds to attract lots of different birds for us.

Then went to Katy prairie. WOW is all I can say. We were just driving around some of the countryside/farm area in west katy and on nearly every telephone pole there was a red tailed hawk. We also saw american kestrels, red shouldered hawk, brown shrike, northern harrier, turkey and black vultures, white faced ibis, great blue heron, great egret, ring necked duck, northern shoveler, gadwall, mallard, brewers blackbird, red winged blackbird, eastern meadowlark, savannah sparrow, belted kingfisher, eurasian collared dove, greater yellowlegs, killdeer, american coot, crested caracara. Then he took us to a pasture where there were THOUSANDS of snow geese and greater white-fronted goose. What a trip, wish I'd had my camera. You should check those areas out - I can't remember exactly where we were or I'd give ya directions!

And could you please send me those purple finches??

Thanks so much mtx22! I live west of Bear Creek Park and east of the Katy prairie. In fact I may be just east of it. We have lots of Pines and really big live oaks and other oaks around us and in the yard (s). Most of the people who live here couldn't care less about the birds, butterflies and so on. They bought a house and go to work and shop and that's about it. So many of them of from apartments and haven't stopped to think that one of the advantages of home ownership is having all this land and the gardens w/the flowers,etc. Wouldn't be a bit surprised to see that they kill the cats. I have so many butterflies in my yard but that's because the people who lived here before us planted trees and bushes that bloom and I'm adding vines and more flowers. We used to live near the water off one of the bays and would see huge fields of all kinds of geese and other wintering fowl from our house which was right on the water w/a 300' pier out into the water. Loved it there and was sorry that we couldn't take it all w/us when we moved more inland and eventually back to Houston and Katy. As you stated when the guide could call the birds that made all the difference in the world but I'm happy here in my snug little house w/all the windows and feeders right outside watching my little friends.

Ann

Here my wrong side up pic of a Pine Warbler
He's loving my homemade suet

This was a Blue Jay.

Probably still is.

haa!

^_^