Sunday, May 8, 2011

Catching up with the birds

The birds outside our kitchen window have been keeping us entertained. Here are a few more photos from recent weeks.

On a windy, sunless day in late April, just before it snowed again, I spotted the neighborhood mourning doves in our buckeye tree. It was unusual to see them up there and to see their feathers so wind-blown.


It was calm and sunny when they returned a day or two later, foraging under the bird feeders. (This week we spotted them perched on the big feeder, something we also had not seen before.)


A migrating group of 15 or 20 white-throated sparrows spent several days scavenging for seed on the ground. They come in two varieties, white-striped and tan-striped, and they breed with their opposites. It rained much of the time they were here, but I managed to grab a shot of this white-striped one. (Later, a similar one flew against the window and fell dead; we and the children put plastic bags on our hands and had an impromptu closeup look which I did not photograph.)


On his way to Canada or Alaska is this American tree sparrow. I am so pleased that he and his friends stopped in for a day or two.


The male goldfinches have rather suddenly emerged in full summer finery...but they flee every time I get out my camera. Still, I love this shot of a tiny finch seemingly taking on a brown-headed cowbird.


How could I forget...robins have been back for a while. This makes it official: spring is here.


As if the real-life birds weren't enough, I keep watching eagle and loon cameras. Here's an update on the Hornby Island family: Alexandra and David, named for two British Columbia environmentalists, are 10 and 7 days old today. They have huge appetites and a bit of sibling rivalry, and their parents are already teaching them to get along.

12 comments:

Maryhocam said...

Lovely photos, thank you for sharing!

DJan said...

I am so glad that the Hornby eagles have hatched two little ones, and I look forward to hearing about them from you. They sure look good to me!

Happy Mother's Day to you, Nancy. I hope it's been a good day.

Kat said...

I missed the hatching of the Hornsby Eagles because of outages in our area, but I am back and so glad you turned me on to that site. You photos are lovely.

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I was just watchin' the bluebirds tryin' to keep their brood fed outside my bedroom window!

Your pictures are simply fabulous!

God bless and have a beautiful week sweetie!!! :o)

Sally Wessely said...

Lovely photos. I have a bird building a nest over my front porch. Photos will follow.

grammy said...

Fun to see the birds.
You have a love for them
sometimes I do....but why do they have to chirp so loud soooo early right outside my window. I guess it is better than a Roaster.

Unknown said...

I love these photos.

Leah Rubin said...

Wonderful photos! Guess I should look at the shots I got last week of the barred owls out back-- I love watching them! Birds are amazing-- probably my favorite animals.

Deb Shucka said...

We're having a similar summer bird experience here - lots of new activity at the feeders. I love your photos and how much you appreciate our avian friends.

Teresa Evangeline said...

I just reread this and realize now that we are enjoying many of the same birds. I just bought a bird book for Minnesota. They are so entertaining, aren't they? I have a feeder outside my kitchen window, too. It makes washing dishes so much nicer.

Grandmother Mary said...

I so enjoy your bird pics and thanks for the link to the eagle newbies. I wish them well from afar.

Anonymous said...

With the yellow tuft of hair, it is a "white throated sparrow" which I usually get to see this time of year as migration is underway but not this year. The other with the white crown is called a white crowned sparrow but it has no yellow.

These are all nice shots.

And yes, I am waiting on it to warm up a bit so I can get outside and take some photos. It was 43ยบ here today.

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