A visitor

This afternoon as my husband was washing the cars he had a little visitor. He showed up out of nowhere. I have never seen a bird like this one before. He seemed to be looking for someone. He kept running around and squacking like he was calling for his family. This little guy was not afraid of me or my husband. I was able to take some close up pictures of him before he went through the field and into the woods out in back. I hope he will be ok. I looked in my bird book and couldn't find any bird that looked like this one. If you know what kind of bird he is please let me know. Happy Birding! Anne

Update: This bird is a Chukar Partridge. These birds are from Asia. The thought is that he was raised on a game farm and escaped or was dropped off. Because he wasn't a native of this area, I did not find him in my field guide. I am grateful he decided to visit me. He is a beautiful bird.

A Red Bird

Well, as you can probably see I am very new to bird watching. This morning there was a lot of activity out at my feeder. The goldfinches were very busy gabbing away. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and my relatives would speak Italian to each other when they didn't want me to know what they were talking about. They spoke so fast just like this group of goldfinches today. I tried my hardest to get some pics but they are very quick. I got a couple of shots but nothing to write home about.

As I was out there I saw a few reddish birds. I had no idea what they were so I went out to take pics. They are very shy but I did get a few shots. If anyone knows what they are would you please let me know. I looked in my bird book and I think they are purple finches. I have not seen them before. It would make sense seeing that the goldfinches were here today. I was so happy to have another pleasant bird watching morning. Isn't is wonderful how God decorates our world with colorful birds.

Blessings Anne

Spring Birds

The birds have finally found the feeder and I have been enjoying watching and listening to their songs. I never really cared about which song went with which bird before but I am so glad I know now because I can tell if there is a new bird by how the bird sings. Here are some pictures I have been taking the past month. I hope you like them.

nuthatch, grackles, chickadee, red winged blackbird, mourning doves,juncos

A new voice

With the nice weather yesterday, the windows in my house were open wide. I heard the birds singing and there seemed to be a new voice. This voice was a bit harsh and sounded angry. I followed the sound of this voice and found a bird I had not seen before. I looked him up in my book and found out he is a gray kingbird. Seems they live near the ocean so I am not sure how he got up here to the mountains. Maybe that is why he sounds so angry. Here are some pictures of him. Enjoy!

Update: I was mistaken. This bird is an eastern phoebe. Thank you for the correction Pam. I love being in a bird watching group. As a newbee to bird watching , being in a group helps me learn. The phoebe was back again this morning. He must have laryngitis. Have a lovely day!

Bohemians, 1 Cedar and 1 Robin in the Bunch

I so enjoyed watching and listening to the Bohemian Waxwings again this year. I tried to get outside each time they showed up. Sometimes I would take pictures and others I would just go and watch them and listen to them. Usually I would hear them before I would see them. They seemed to come in smaller groups of about 30 or 50 or even more. By the time all the groups were at the tree there were sometimes close to 200. I was amazed. There was usually one robin in the mix. I was pretty shocked to see a robin in the middle of winter. One day there was one cedar waxwing.

The Bohemians and the Cedars are both waxwings but look so different. The Cedar with his yellow and white underbellie and tail really stood out amongst all those Bohemians with their silvery bellies and bright red under their tails. I have a few pictures to share and a video I took of the waxwiongs one cold afternoon. It was very windy that day and there are parts of the video where the wind is a bit noisy. Sorry about that. I was able to finally video them eating at the apple tree so be patient and you will see how they go to the tree in small groups. Please understand that although I love bird watching I am very afraid of birds and for me to stand out there with probably over 100 birds is a miracle in itself.

The Bohemian Waxwings have been gone now for over a week. I hope they come back next year. I will probably see some Cedar Waxwings this summer when the berries are blooming. There was a small flock here last summer. Happy birding!

Some photos to share

I almost forgot I had this blog set up. Two days after I set it up my husband had a major heart attack and I have been busy taking care of him and spending as much time with him as I can. He will be having bypass surgery March 5th.

I am still taking pictures though and have a few new ones to post. I am hoping the birds start coming to the feeder regularly. So far it is hit and miss but I did see a Tufted Titmouse and got some cute shots and the other day there was a beautiful blue jay. I also have some pics of a Hairy woodpecker and a White-breasted Nuthatch. I am planning on being a bit more consisitent with my posting here while my husband recovers from his operation. With spring coming I should have more photo opportunities. For now, I hope you enjoy what I have for pics.

The Bohemian Waxwings came in flocks of anywhere from 50 to up to almost 200 for a month. The last week they came everyday. The tree is now empty of apples. This year they started coming in January unlike last year when they only came for a week starting February 26th. This year they finished off the apples about a week earlier then in 2008. Does that mean we will have an early Spring. Who knows but it sure would be nice. Have a great Day! Anne

Bohemian Waxwings

This past Wednesday, January 21, 2009, was a cold day. I stayed in the house most of the day except for taking the dogs out. About 3:00 PM the puppy started to cry so I put her leash on and walked out the front door. I was very surprised to hear a wonderful sound. I followed the sound to the side yard and sure enough there were Bohemian Waxwings in my apple tree. they make such a calning sound. I was so excited to see them I finished with the puppy and ran in the house to get my camera. My husband bought a new camera for us to use and I couldn't wait to see how the zoom would work. I snapped a few pics and then stood and enjoyed watching the birds. I went to get my tripod and when I got back they were gone.

Last year a large flock of over 100 came the end of February. They ate the apples left on my tree for about a week. When they left there was not one bit of apple left. I imagine they will come back again before the winter is over because there are lots of apples left on the tree. I was actually surprised to see the birds a month early. I wonder if that means something.