This seems to be a month to count birds! With both the Great Backyard Bird Count coming up and Northwest Nature Nut's Great Bird Count of February, I'm paying a lot of attention to my birds.
I was happy to have the American Tree Sparrow show up because it is not a bird that I see most of the year.
It is a pretty little sparrow and has a lot of interesting color points.
I've been very disappointed to not see my Chickadees very often. I used to always have several, but this year I am lucky to see even one.
The grass is beginning to come back through the snow and the Cardinals and Sparrows are busy out there every morning and evening.
My first sight yesterday morning was about 10 doves.
A Blue Jay high in the tree pecking away at a seed.
Something missing here! Eve, at Sunny Side Up blog, had mentioned that the doves often lost their tails to ice. Sure enough, about half of the ones I saw yesterday morning were tailless!
Here is one that still has his long tail feathers.
Mrs. Cardinal always manages to be in the shadows and I don't get many good photos. All of the ground feeding birds cause me problems with getting their focus. Tree shots always seem easier.
Mr. Red-Bellied looking a bit testy at someone.
The ever happy Titmouse! They truly are one of my favorite birds just because they always look so cheerful!
Another Titmouse
The Towhee showed up to be counted! Great! A nice male, but not a very clear shot.
Another try from a greater distance.
The Wren preferred the sunshine of the deck most of the day.
I was happy to have the American Tree Sparrow show up because it is not a bird that I see most of the year.
It is a pretty little sparrow and has a lot of interesting color points.
I've been very disappointed to not see my Chickadees very often. I used to always have several, but this year I am lucky to see even one.
The grass is beginning to come back through the snow and the Cardinals and Sparrows are busy out there every morning and evening.
My first sight yesterday morning was about 10 doves.
A Blue Jay high in the tree pecking away at a seed.
Something missing here! Eve, at Sunny Side Up blog, had mentioned that the doves often lost their tails to ice. Sure enough, about half of the ones I saw yesterday morning were tailless!
Here is one that still has his long tail feathers.
Mrs. Cardinal always manages to be in the shadows and I don't get many good photos. All of the ground feeding birds cause me problems with getting their focus. Tree shots always seem easier.
Mr. Red-Bellied looking a bit testy at someone.
The ever happy Titmouse! They truly are one of my favorite birds just because they always look so cheerful!
Another Titmouse
The Towhee showed up to be counted! Great! A nice male, but not a very clear shot.
Another try from a greater distance.
The Wren preferred the sunshine of the deck most of the day. Join one of the bird counts going on! Lots of fun for everyone!
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28 comments:
It's amazing that you don't get many chickadees at your feeder, it's the most common bird visiting mine. I have a titmouse visiting my feeder and I finally got some decent photos that I'll be posting later this week.
What a HUGE variety of birds visit you and what wonderful photos you share! I love them all as well as the deer in the previous post too ... and I'm wondering what kind of lens you're using to capture them since I'm planning to buy a second lens for my Nikon D60 in the next few weeks. Thanks for visiting me at Happily Retired Gal.
Hugs and blessings,
John: I don't know if some other bird has caused the chickadees to breed less successfully, or what the problem is. I used to have 6-8 in the winter! I've only seen 1-2 this year. I miss them!
Storyteller: My camera has a fixed lens. I use a FinePix S100FS. I'm basically a "point and shoot" photographer who depends heavily on autofocus and lots of zoom!
FYI, The lens zooms to the equivalent of 400mm.
Mike: Sigh....you are so much an engineer! Technical at all times!
I was trying to restrain myself. I didn't add that it wasn't a fixed lens and that it also goes to a 28mm wide angle setting, oh heck you pulled that out of me.
Beautiful bird shots!
Such wonderful beauties!
Oh My,youdo have a lot of different birds.Poor tailless doves,hope the regrow those tails.
I am looking forward to the Great Backyard Bird Count.
Blessings,Ruth
Great group of birds, Mary.. I have most of them (with the exception of the Towhee and maybe the tree Sparrow--which I'm not sure I've seen). Do you not have the Nuthatches?? They are usually with our Chickadees and Tufted Titmice.
Beautiful February birds. Sorry about the Mourning Doves' tails. So Sad!
Glad you are digging out from all of the ice and snow.
Hugs,
Betsy
You may be a 'point and shoot' photographer, but you get some very good and interesting shots.
We've had an excess of cardinals this year - not that I'm complaining! Lovely as always, Mary.
Mike: Hmmm...I used the wrong terminolgy, obviously. It does not have changable lenses...is that better??
Sweet Bay: Thanks!
Rose: Thanks!
Ruth: Counting is fun! Wish I wasn't leaving town the day after the count starts.
Betsy: Yes, I have nuthatches and hope to see them before the counts are over. My red-breasted nuthatch hasn't been around for awhile, but I posted the White-Breasted last week. I'm hoping to add 5-6 more "regulars" to my February count! Haven't seen that Sapsucker since February arrived either, but am sure he will show up again. And several sparrows are missing so far.
George: Point and shoot is really all I have the patience for. I leave the technical complicated stuff to Mike :-)
Mary those pictures are wonderful. I was trying to decide which was my favorite but they are all great. I do love a red bird though. =) Hope you have a great day.
Mary: Wonderful captures of your neat birds.
This is a wonderful series Mary..
Looks like the sun was shining for you today Mary. Lovely lot of birdy shots. I really like that Towhee. What a smart looking bird!
Kathy: Red birds are something I have plenty of with all the cardinals!
Fishing Guy: Thanks!
Rambling Woods: Thanks!
Jenny: The Towhee is quite handsome! I'm always glad to see them. Haven't seen the female, but had 2 of the males out there.
Once again a great group of visitors, and what perfect shots of them Mary. When I do my Great Backyard Birdcount I'm sure I'll have way too many Pine Siskins for anyone to believe ! They're everywhere, they're everywhere!
I like that Towhee!
B.
Wow! I can't believe all the different birds that visit you! Amazing...I really love the cardinals. They are so regal looking. Thanks for visiting my blog! Hi from California.
Very cool! You have a great list going!
The poor doves!! Imagine having your tail feathers pulled out every time you sat down. :) The red-bellied is probably screaming at Star to leave the food alone. :) Another great post Mary.
What a lovely variety - most of them different to those we see here in the UK. We have quite a few visitors to our garden and love to see them all. A x
Becky: LOL! I don't have any idea what I'll have an unbelievable number of...it seems to change every day!
Linnea: Thanks! Glad you stopped by...Hi! from Indiana!
NW Nature Nut: I always have fun with this. It makes me aware of which birds are there and who is missing.
Joan: LOL! Ouch...to the feather pulling! Star just ignores most of the birds that yell at him :-)
Anne: I love seeing the variety in other parts of the world. England has some great birds I'd love to see.
I will be doing the GBBC also. I'll have to check on that other count. I'm kinda burnt out on counting right now, but never burnt out on birding! BTW, I've finally added you to my blogroll!
P.S. I love all the birds you are seeing. I miss my eastern birds sometimes. Your little tree sparrow is adorable and I can't believe what a clear shot you got of the female cardinal!
Kathiesbirds: Thanks for adding me to your list :-) I always enjoy your blog and use it for ideas for our annual trek to Tucson. Cardinals are easy when you live in Indiana...it's the state bird. There are a half dozen or more pairs out there day and night.
Mrs Cardinal looks fiesty, like she thinks she is one Hot Chick
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