Yard Bird Species #64

I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I've updated this blog, but this - THIS - sighting called for it. Because tonight we got the coolest yard bird yet: a Snowy Owl. The hubby saw it on his way home tonight, then I saw it when I got home two-some-odd hours later. Hopefully it'll stick around for a while and I'll have a chance to get some pictures of it. :)

First hummingbird of 2013

Finally - FINALLY - had our first hummer of the year show up at the feeders this morning. It was a gorgeous little male, and he visited the Oriole feeder for a while before finding one of the feeders actually meant for him. This is 5 days later than last year, so I was starting to get a little worried.

In 2012, our first Baltimore Oriole showed up on May 2, and the hummers on May 3. We had our first Oriole on May 5 this year. So yeah, they all seem a bit delayed, but they're finally here! :)

Yard Bird Species #63

I know I've been really slacking at keeping this blog going lately, but I really haven't had a whole lot to report. That changed this morning with the arrival of Yard Bird Species #63 - a Brown Thrasher. Hopefully this is just the beginning of new birds stopping by our yard as they migrate through the area. :)

Summer visitor in January

I'm home sick with the flu, which really sucks. I'm feeling quite sorry for myself, actually, since this is Day 5 of feeling like crud. The good thing, though, is that I was sitting on the couch and I heard a strange bird call outside, so I decided to check it out. There, in our hopper feeder, sat a male Northern Flicker.

It's so strange. We've got winter birds everywhere - Redpolls (yes, still), Juncos, American Tree Sparrows, as well as year-round visitors like Goldfinches, Blue Jays, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpeckers, and far too many Mourning Doves (seriously, they're pretty birds, but they're horrible feeder hogs). And all of a sudden this Flicker shows up. I know it's not completely out of the ordinary for them to stick around for some of the winter, but this is the first I've seen outside of April - September.

Winter finches

Just a quick post with a couple of pictures of our latest winter visitors.

Redpolls were one of my favorites birds when I was a kid, and I've only seen them a handful of times since then. We had one lonely little Redpoll show up in our yard last winter, but then this weekend we had a flock of 40-50 thoroughly enjoying our sunflower chip feeder. And they're back today, so hopefully they'll stick around for a little bit!

Anyway, I was able to take a break from Christmas prep yesterday to set up my blind and try to get a few pictures of these pretty little festive visitors. Hope you enjoy. :)

And Happy Holidays to everyone!

Fall is here

The last of our sweet little hummingbirds disappeared from our yard on September 24. I miss them already. *sigh*

We had our first Dark-eyed Juncos of the season at the feeder last night. I love those little birds - so pretty! I actually thought I saw one flitting around the pine trees out back about a week and a half ago (the white side tail feathers are pretty telling), but couldn't confirm it. But now they seem to be here to stay, since they were bopping around on the driveway this morning.

Haven't seen that many migrants passing through, really. We had our annual October Eastern Phoebe stop by briefly, and there was some kind of mystery warbler in the yard on Monday, but we didn't get a good enough look at it for an ID.

So yes, the season change is definitely upon us. Come ooooooon, snowy owls! :D

Yardbird species #60, #61, and #62

It's been a productive migration so far, in terms of visitors to our yard.

First we had a House Wren. Next, a juvenile Common Yellowthroat. And tonight, a Red-breasted Nuthatch was fighting the Goldfinches for sunflower seeds at one of our feeders.

Also, some exciting news for me. One of my hummingbird photos was published in Photo News Magazine. My first credited magazine publication! :)

On another note, we've got somewhere in the range of... oh, a billion Goldfinches in our yard right now. If anyone wants any, you're welcome to them. I love those little birds, but they're eating us out of house and home in the numbers they're in!