The finches and chickadees are regular customers, and little sparrows are sometimes in attendance. There are two new arrivals also -- a pink/brown fellow as seen below, and one that looks similar to the yellow/black guys below except it's quite a bit larger. They all share nicely, which is delightful.
Here's proof:
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It took many many shots to get this slightly blurry photo. There was always SOMEBODY moving. Group photography is always a chancy proposition! |
The two yellow finches (?) above are, I think, actually one guy and one gal, the guy being the bright yellow one, as seems to be nature's preferred colour scheme. There are at least three (maybe more, heck they all look alike to me) pairs that show up now, where there seemed to be only one male and a half-dozen females before. I wonder why the difference? Were the other males out hunting for food sources while one male stayed with the group of females? Now that there's an abundance, are they free to all travel together?
It's so enjoyable watching these birds while the trees are still bare. Soon they will be hidden by the leaves and I'll see them only at the feeder.
But I'm finding it a painstaking and frustrating exercise to try to identify most of the birds I see. I'm absolutely sure of only the chickadees, bluejays and robins. I'm not at all sure that what I'm calling crows aren't ravens instead. I have no knowledgeable person to ask and only the computer to help ... and usually I end more confused than ever. I don't think I'll ever be a birder.
But I'm a bird appreciator -- of that I am certain.
As are our cats. Oh yes they are. Although they must do their appreciating from inside the house.
Happy weekend, folks. I hope you are getting a chance to enjoy all the little birdies -- and the big ones, too -- wherever you may be.
Love your feathered visitors.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how much time we spend each day watching and marvelling at the birds. It is addictive. Seriously addictive. And an addiction I have no intention of trying to break.
We even recognise (or think we do) individual birds now.
And yes, Jazz watches them too.
It's like TV, but far better, EC! And I'm quite sure you can get to recognize individuals. I wonder if we all look alike to them at first - and I suspect we do.
DeleteIt looks enjoyable to watch those birds. Very nice. Calming, even.
ReplyDeleteFirst time for me hearing birder. Hahaha on the cats doing theirs from inside.
Happy Weekend & Boogie Boogie.
It IS calming to watch them, Ivy - you're right. I'm surprised by how entertaining it is, too.
DeleteVery cool.
DeleteThanks for your comment, Jenny. Yes. Been taking steps forward for a long time now. Still setbacks will occur but it's been forward motions since I started this journey.
DeleteI hope that continues!
DeletePink-brow fellow? Yellow-black guy? I don't think this is normal ornithological terminology. Perhaps Red from "Hiawatha House" can help you out with identification. His fees are reasonable.
ReplyDeleteYes, well, the other option is to give them all blogger names ... which kind would you like to be, YP? And I'm hoping the birders will chime in with their knowledge if they wish!
DeleteI'd like to be a yellow-bellied sap sucker.
DeleteOr a blue-footed booby?
Deletehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-footed_booby
How delightful to have all those little birds visiting! We have lorikeets feeding in our flowering trees many days of the year and even though we see them all the time we still call out for anyone who is around to have a look. There's just something special about having wild birds visiting
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to explain but it's so true! Thank you for stopping by, kylie :)
DeleteTaking pictures of animals is something I find difficult, you really need an awesome camera.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. I am finding out just how difficult it is with a point and shoot camera!
DeleteIf you are a fan of birds you must love Elephant's Child's blog as much as I do then. The birds she has just popping into her garden are amazing. Mind you, yours are pretty beautiful too!
ReplyDeleteYour trees are still bare?? Really?
I DO love EC's blog -- for many reasons. And we usually see the brown and black birds most of the time - these ones popped out of the woodwork when I put the new feeder out.
DeleteSome of our trees have baby leaves at the moment and some are still completely like dead branches. Really :) But it makes it easier to follow the birds when they fly off from the feeder.
Appreciating birds in general is good enough, in a pinch! I don't know the difference between crows and ravens myself. And then there are rooks, which I think are roughly the same thing. Sigh!
ReplyDeleteI WILL get to the bottom of the crow/raven identification, I swear! And I think there is plenty of room in the world for appreciators of all kinds, eh?
DeleteLove the goldfinches...they are such happy little guys.
ReplyDeleteThey even fly happily - flutter, dip, flutter, dip!
DeleteThe pinkish fellow is probably a House finch. The females don't have the red and could be thought of as another species.
ReplyDeleteSo much to learn ... thanks, Red - I wish I could transfer your knowledge of birds straight into my head without all the work involved in reading and learning :) Feel free to speak up anytime with identifications. It gets awkward calling them all "birdies", "guys", and "fellows" ...
DeleteLike you, I never needed the name to love a bird.
ReplyDeleteI love that you can say in nine words what it took me the whole post to get around to!!
DeleteI loved watching birds when I was a kid though my mother had to tell me that woodpeckers were birds--until then, I had only seen Woody the cartoon...
ReplyDeleteHaha! Yep, he sure wasn't what you'd see outside!
DeleteI once read (in a comic with a raven as a character) that the difference between crows and ravens is that ravens have an extra pinion feather on each wing, making it a matter of a pinion...
ReplyDeleteThe little brown bird brigade hasn't shown up here so far this year, but the crows and finches remain.
Also, because of all of the rain we got this year, the peach and pear trees are loaded with small but growing fruit.
Nice picture. I was never any good at photographing birds, although I did pretty well shooting motorcycle racers, so I probably could have learned...
-Doug in Oakland
I wonder who can go faster, a bird or a motorcyclist?
DeleteI love the "a pinion" joke!
Apparently that depends on whether they are just flying around normally or being chased by something (or chasing something).
DeleteThe very fastest of motorcycle racers are a little faster than a diving Peregrine falcon, but only sometimes.
The world land speed record for motorcycles is quite a bit higher than the reported 200MPH that the falcon clocks in a dive.
Basically, neither of them go around that fast all of the time, and most birds cruise around between 10 and 40 MPH, while the motorcycles do whatever the posted speed limit is. Mostly.
-Doug in Oakland
"Mostly" - haha
DeleteThat's amazing - over 200 MPH top speed. Their prey wouldn't stand much of a chance.
Thanks for that information, Doug.
Love that new feeder. It looks great. And love the photo too. Thanks for the weekend wishes. Hope you have a good one as well. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mr. S. You take care too.
DeleteI love watching birds. Hummingbirds are one of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteWe feel lucky if we see hummingbirds even once a summer!
DeleteHello from Idaho and came in from MR S While back we had some yellow bird like that show up and now our Mountain Blue bird been hanging about.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on
Lots of birds everywhere, it seems!
DeleteI love finches and chickadees. They are so adorable. And they make the cutest sounds. I have two indoor furry birders. They enjoy watching the birds at the feeders and are undoubtedly plotting how to get a hold of them. Not going to happen but they can certainly dream about it :)
ReplyDeleteIt's like TV for cats!!
DeleteYour photo is great! The weathered wood and soft-focus give it a friendly and peaceful aspect, perfect for the sharing going on at the feeder. Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteThe little ones really do seem to get along better than the bigger ones. It makes me happy to see them all eating together in peace. Thanks for the kind words, Geo.
DeleteSuch fun to watch them, and goodness me that's a great photo - they are tucking in.
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
They've become regulars, and are such a joy to watch :)
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