All types of Birds
Male and Female Hummingbirds, here are two of the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds. The male is the first photos here perched on my hummingbird feeder. They are so friendly, they sit so close to us when we are out on the porch enjoying the day.
And this one is the female, she does not have the bright colors on her throat area, but still is sporting some beautiful green feathers across her head and back. I so enjoy watching these little things.
Male and Female Hummingbirds
What a Conundrum Amidst , trickery I tell you. Well, I have been watching these two birds for a couple of weeks now. Thinking they were purple martins, but because of a fellow blogger who commented on my last update about these birds, I have been tricked by these little Tree Swallows. He mentioned that they looked like Tree Swallows, so I started to investigate and by golly they are.
They fly like a purple martin and they have pointy wings like one. Their blueish, purplish sheen made me think they were purple martins. But you can see the difference below in the two birds. Now they both eat lots of bugs and are fun to watch fly. But, Purple Martins live in colonies and Tree Swallows like to be alone, just the one pair.
Purple Martin Tree Swallow
And the Tree Swallows like to have the whole house to them selves and will chase off any other birds. I noticed this week, that the female was picking up nesting material and putting it in every apartment in this house. I thought to my self, ” How nice of her to furnish the other apartments for other birds, or she was just confused which one she wanted”.
Well, I have read about how to discourage them from taking up resident here, I will be lowering the house and taking their nest out so that maybe they go find a tree to nest in. Being they are called Tree Swallows. 🙂
At the end of the day, I learned about a new bird I have never seen before and a rainbow came out in the evening as I sat on my porch watching nature in my back yard. Have a great weekend.
What a Conundrum Amidst
A Few of the Newbies Here, This first photo is some type of moth, its wings look a little tattered, probably from the long flight to get here. Ya know, I hate it when people accuse me of lolly gagging, When I am quite clearly dilly dallying today with my photos. 🙂
My niece posted that phrase and I thought it was funny, I do tend to dilly dally and I like it. 🙂
This one here below actually has the prettiest color blue wings when it is flying. But it moves pretty fast, so I could not get a good shot, but I think its antenna’s look pretty cool.
Red Breasted Grosbeak stopped by for a visit this week.
And of course, the hummingbird is buzzing by me every day now. You can always here them coming towards you before you see them.
A Few of the Newbies Here
Nature in its Smallest Form, in the broadest sense, is the natural, physical, material world of Creation. It is often taken to mean the “natural environment” or wilderness, wild animals, rocks, forest, and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention, or which persist despite human intervention.
Nature; the Natural Beauty of life.
I don’t see rainbows very often and this one came out late in the evening after a little rain we were having, right before sunset.
Nature in its Smallest Form
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds have arrived, coming from as far south as southern Mexico and northern Panama. Since hummingbirds lead solitary lives and neither live nor migrate in flocks, an individual bird may spend the winter anywhere in this range where the habitat is favorable, but probably returns to the same location each winter.
Some will skirt the Gulf of Mexico and follow the Texas coast north, while most apparently cross the Gulf, typically leaving at dusk for a nonstop flight of up to 500 miles, which takes 18-22 hours depending on the weather.
Hummingbirds are carnivores, nectar is just the fuel to power their flycatching activity. Ruby-throats begin moving north as early as January, and by the end of February they are at the northern coast of Yucatan, gorging on insects and spiders to add a thick layer of fat in preparation for flying to the U.S.
The initial urge to migrate is by the shortening length of sunlight and has nothing to do with temperature or the availability of food; amazing that nature follows the Light. The sun, moon and stars, they have a purpose. Amazing how it all comes together as designed.
Ruby Throated Hummingbirds
They Are Back, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, it is so nice to see them again. 3 of them today at the feeders. I will have more information on them tomorrow.
Purple Martin Update Part 2, last week we put up the Purple Martin House and the same day we had two visitors stop by to check out the new apartments. Both of which are males, the males have the purple sheen to their feathers.
I was so surprised to see visitors the first day. They are so much fun to watch, very acrobatic at times. Now they only came around in the morning and would sit on top of the house. Then fly around the fields, appearing to just be checking everything out and they would leave in the afternoon.
Now this week, another Purple Martin has arrived. My husband and I are making up stories as we watch what these birds are doing. We figured they were starting to like the apartment complex and decided to invite the mother in law to check it out. But after viewing the photos, I see all three are males, which are probably scouts and young males at that. They usually have to leave a colony and start a new one elsewhere.
Everyday they stay a little longer. Watching what we are doing as well. They are used to my dogs and they really do like having us around. They have figured out that people keep predators away, just by being out and about.
Now there is fun news for next week. We put up another bird apartment house, to try and have ample room for a colony to eventually live here. But the exciting news, today a female has arrived, with her mate and I believe she likes the place.
Have a Wonderful Weekend
Purple Martin Update Part 2
Cyber Space or Print, the internet has become a great place to share photos, I truly enjoy looking at others photos as well. One really gets to see the world from folks taking shots of their own back yards. One of my favorite blogs from across the waters is called; Aussiebirder He shares the most colorful birds I have ever seen. They have quite the variety over there.
I sometimes wonder what will happen to all these photos floating around in cyber space, if the plug is pulled one day, do they all just disappear? I know I have had photos on my phone and my phone crashed and the photos are gone.
Now, I don’t save all of my photos, I do have external drives that I save some of them on so I can revisit them when ever I want. But it sure is different from back in the day when I would sit down with my Mother and get the photo albums out. She loved doing this, she could tell me who everyone was in the older photos. It was a walk down the streets of history listening to her talk about the old days.
I have gotten back into printing some of my photos now, I don’t want to always have to open a computer to see them. I have 5 different frames that I just change my photos in to change the scene. I send my photos to Walgreens via the internet, 😉 and they mail them to me. That is the nice thing about technology.
Have a Great Weekend
Cyber Space or Print
The Light in Their Eyes, Oh how I love to see these birds so close. I see the reflection of the clouds in its beautiful eye. Birds have been a part of my life since I was a child, I never get tired of seeing them and now as I am older, I see their beauty even more trough the light in their eyes.
The Light in Your Eyes
The Dark Eyed Junco, a pretty little bird that is part of the sparrow family. All these years I thought this bird was called a Rufous. I looked it up today and it doesn’t look anything like a Rufous. I don’t know where I came up with that one. The internet told me, I will blame it on that. There are over 35 species of sparrows also.
They are seed eating birds and prefer eating from the ground, they scratch the ground like chickens do. I have so many around here this year. They are a cheery little bird to me.
Grrrrr, I love it when they look like they are giving me the stink eye. 😒
The Dark Eyed Junco
Flowers on the Porch, I am seeing a pattern here of choosing purple and yellow flowers. These are some flowers on my porch, I so enjoy having a few flowers in baskets near by. I have not planted any seedlings yet around the yard. We keep getting frost every night.
The yellow flowers are Begonia’s. I did get a water tester for my plants this year. I tend to over water them and they don’t do so well. So I use the tester a lot to make sure I only water them when the soil is dry.
I do have this one plant with the most interesting colored leaves, I don’t know what they are, but there are always so many different colors of plants like this at the green houses.
I Am a Landlord Now, that is what they call you when you put up a Purple Martin House for the birds. We use to have a house for them when I was a child. My grandfather built one and we always had birds in it. So my husband put this one up for me 3 days ago and we are already getting visitors.
According to my research, having a Martin house is like being a land lord. You have to make sure no other birds try to nest in it. It has to be in the right location and the right height to attract them. In the spring this breed of bird sends out scouts to roam the landscapes looking for houses for the colony. Over the years these birds have figured out that they want their houses to be close to human houses. Because humans keep predators away, like racoons, cats, larger birds.
Usually two will come by and check out the house and the location. So yesterday our first two came by for a visit and today they came back for a second look around. One sat up on top surveying the landscape.
The other one was peaking inside the apartments to see if they were up to par. They are particular about their housing units. They like a 6x6x12 room, ours are 6x6x6. We will see if they want to rent the apartments or not, it is free rent for them. 🙂
They are such a pretty bird and they eat lots of bugs. We will set up a second house once they start living here. In the fall one has to take the house down and clean it and have it ready for them again next year.
The Common Grackle, doesn’t appear to be so common. They are like a beauty in disguise. Most days they look like your average black bird. As if they were created to make one stop and really look at this bird, to not just take them for granted. Wait for the sun to come out, when the Light shines on this plain bird, amazing things will happen before your very eyes. It is like seeing a rainbow for a few seconds and then it is gone.
Have a Wonderful Weekend
I Out Rank You, the Red Winged black bird has the stripes on his shoulders to prove it. As the two of them seem to be arguing. With the third bird listening intently. (video below)
TEN HUT! Ready for Duty
Portraits of the Wood Duck, this is my first year seeing the Wood Duck and it is quite amazing to me. I took all of these photos through a window so they are not extremely clear. But it still shows the detailed color of this beautiful bird. As if he was painted by hand, to create such beautiful lines, curves and color. Nature, wildlife, truly amazing to witness such extraordinary beauty to me.
Portraits of the Wood Duck
Friday Birding My Favorite Thing, every now and than the beautiful Pileated Woodpecker stops by. Never in a great spot for a photo. He likes to be up very high and there are always sticks blocking my view of him. But, you can still see his red feathers on top of his head. Such a gorgeous bird.
The dainty and lovable Chickadees are always out and about
The Nut Hatch Bird, this is my first photo of this tiny bird. They are just as fast as the chickadees. He looks all bright eyed and cheery in this photo below.
I don’t know if he is blinking or giving me the stink eye.
I know this bird is a finch, but I am not quite sure which one. There are so many that have a touch of red, ruby colored feathers. So I will just go with the term Finch for now.
Have a Great Weekend
Sing a Song of Sixpence, does anyone remember this rhyme? Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye, four and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. Now wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before a king?
The king was in his counting house counting out his money; the queen was in the parlor eating bread and honey. The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes when along came a blackbird and it nipped off her nose.’
I only remembered the black birds in the pie until I looked it up to find the rest of the rhyme. These were more popular during Henry VIII days it said. But nonetheless, lots of blackbirds were out this weekend along with some very nice sunshine.
And when the sun shines on a Common Grackle, he really shines.
I am thinking this one below is a regular black bird. All the others had the iridescent blue feathers around their necks.
And so many red Winged Black Birds this year. I do love hearing the song they sing.
Last but never least, one Red Squirrel. They have been pretty scarce lately. I am just guessing they are finding food in the forest or they are in their nest starting to raise their babies. 😉
Sing a Song of Sixpence
The Merganser Ducks, there are 4 types of Merganser Ducks and Merganser means fish eating ducks. This first one is called the Common Merganser. The females all look like they have mohawks when their head feathers are up. These photos did not turn out as clear as I had hoped for. But I wanted to show them anyway. I will be going back to the lake to get better photos next week.
The rest of these are named Hooded Merganser’s. The female is in the front with her fancy feather doo. Her hubby in the back looks a bit perturbed. Like he is saying, ” Now where are we going?” She just keeps on going. 🙂
Have a Great Weekend
They’re Our Biggest Waterfowl – Trumpeter Swans demand superlatives: they’re our biggest native waterfowl, stretching to 6 feet in length and weighing more than 25 pounds – almost twice as massive as a Tundra Swan.
Despite their size, this once-endangered, now recovering species is as elegant as any swan, with a graceful neck and snowy-white plumage. They breed on wetlands in remote Alaska, Canada, and the northwestern U.S., and winter on ice-free coastal and inland waters.
They almost appear to be smiling with that little touch of orange in the corner of their bill.
There is a swan behind this branch, my camera changed its focus on the mossy covered branch instead. But I find moss to be so artistic in its own way.
Spring Birds are Here and the deer have lost their winter coats already. The Common Grackles are here wondering around on the ground foraging for food. They are lanky blackbirds with long legs, a long tail, and a long and heavy bill. Adult males appear dark overall, but have an iridescent bluish head and bronzy body in good light.
The bird in the for ground is the Red Winged Black Bird, one of my favorites for its song. I love hearing them in the spring. You can see the difference in size of these two birds.
Here is one of the younger doe’s coming out of the woods. This is a good time of year for them. Green grass is uncovered by the melting snow and the bugs are not bothering them yet.
Fun Surprise in the Yard, the wild turkeys have found my bird feeder and come by to clean up all the left overs on the ground. But as you can see, there is a white turkey in the bunch. I have never seen a wild whitish turkey. It says about 1 out of 100 might end up white.
The photos are a little blurry because I had to take the photo through the window. The minute I open the door they all take off running and surprisingly, they can run really fast.
Fun Surprise in the Yard
Portrait of the Raven, I finally was able to get a photo of this beautiful Raven. I have two that hang around my place. But they are very smart birds and don’t like to sit still for photos. I just happen to take this one through a window.
Portrait of the Raven
Brilliant Splash of Color, after the heavy snow yesterday, the sun came out and I spotted this beautiful red hiding behind the trunk of a pine tree. What a gorgeous sight to see. The only Male Cardinal I have seen in this area in awhile.
Of course this little Red Squirrel can hold its own in color department with its beautiful red/orange stripe down its back. He is a sneaky little guy trying to grab the last of the bird food. 😉
Brilliant Splash of Color
Bright Sunny Day Today, the sun finally came out today and what a difference it makes for photographing birds. There are plenty of gray days all winter, so it is a real treat when the sun comes out and the birds gather around the feeders.
These are all the Female Evening Grosbeak
And one Red Squirrel
Have a Wonderful Weekend
