Downy or Hairy?......

Sometimes it is hard to tell whether you have a Downy Woodpecker or a Hairy Woodpecker. Even though their size is different, it isn't always easy to measure and know for sure. This Downy is having the same trouble with this suet cage that the Wren had the other day.
Besides size, according to Sibley other differences in the two woodpeckers are the nasal bristles above the beak on the Downy....more noticable and fuzzy.....and the bars on the outer tail feathers (but sometimes Hairy's have the bars, too) and the longer beak.

This one is a Hairy....I think. No tail bars, less nasal bristle and longer beak. You can tell better below. However, I would not place bets on it!

Sometimes it is more obvious, but with these two......maybe I'm right, maybe I'm not! The size looks pretty much the same to me.

It rained all day again today. We are about 6" above normal for the month. I have a couple little Titmice right now that seem cheerful even in the rain. They try every feeder and go back and forth with much regularity. One of my favorite birds, so I'm glad to see them.

"Hmmmmm.......which one do I want?"

He lunged away just as I snapped this photo. They do that to me a lot! Very quick little birds. Doesn't he look like he is smiling? They are the only bird I see that always seems to be smiling.

I think these are young Titmice born this year. Their little black patch above the beak is so vivid and they just look young. But that is just guesswork.

I think we are going to have sun tomorrow. I sure hope so!

Sparrows and Finches.....

My blogging schedule is getting a bit eratic. Between the gloomy weather and not feeling well.....both Mike and I have colds....stuffy, coughing.....I'm just not taking a lot of photos.Watching out the window today I saw mostly finches and sparrows. I was pleased to see this White-Throated Sparrow show up. I haven't seen it for awhile.
I can tell when the weather turns colder and the birds remember where the people who feed them are located. Suddenly my bird population begins to explode.

A Song Saprrow on the back deck....taken at an awful angle and through glass.

There must be at least 20 House Sparrows hanging around eating up all my seed. I keep offering them maps to find their way back to England, but they just ignore me.

A beautiful House Finch male. I have a couple pair of them hanging around right now.

He posed so nicely that he gets two photos :-)

I have a small flock of Goldfinches. Some still look rather young and not too sure of what they are doing, but they are faithfully swarming my feeders each day.

One of the more uncertain ones....watching.

This little one looks very dejected and cold and it looks like the "frog" is going to pounce on him. Will be taking the fountain in soon before it freezes.

He turned around and looks even more dejected and all fluffed up against the cold.

It's a cruel world in the winter when you are a bird.

Getting ready to drop down on the feeder below.

Watching the Downy eat.

That's my yard at the moment....full of sparrows and finches and very wet and full of leaves that need to be mulched if the rain ever lets them dry out.

Carolina Wren.....

It rained all day yesterday, so I didn't think I would have anything to post today........but this cute little Carolina Wren showed up out front to try to get some suet. He was really working hard at it!
I was a little worried that he'd get his head stuck in the cage.

He finally moved around to the side where he could reach better.

Pausing for a rest.

Glaring at me for making him work so hard.

Posing.....I love their pretty color.

"sigh......this is work!"

I'll dedicate this post to my blogger friend "Jenny Wren" over in England :-) If you haven't been following her posts about her visit to the Isles of Scilly, you should stop by her blog.

Left-overs......

Mike and I have been busy and haven't gone out to take photos for a few days. So I went back through my more recent files and found several things I had intended to post and didn't for one reason or another.....mostly forgetfulness, but we won't talk about that. This Red-Bellied Woodpecker showed up on the 17th after being absent for some time. I was glad to see him. You can see the red color that gives him his name. Most of the time you don't get to see it and wonder why on earth someone named it "red-bellied".

I think he knows I'm there.

Stopped by the wetlands one day for a quick look just as it started to rain. This guy was gazing out at the water looking rather like I felt at the time......bored and tired of rain. I couldn't make myself disturb him, so after a couple quick shots, I got back in the car and left. Didn't want to hike in the rain anyway.

A turtle looking out at the "red sea".

These 4 geese landed next to this turtle on the log and as you can see are trying to "stare" him into leaving the log to them.

He wasn't intimidated in the least. You can't see him in this shot, but he is right in the middle of them.....2 on each side....and everyone was happy.

Almost "Christmasy" looking....red and green and gold in the water.

A big "crawdad" hole. Crayfish to those in other parts of the country.

Flicker high in the tree. Had to crop it a lot....not great.

I read that we are now at "peak" fall color for southern Indiana. Maybe Mike and I will have to drive to the Hoosier forest and look for color, but there is plenty here in Evansville.

A nice mix. Even on gloomy days, the colors are beautiful.

Lots of yellows!

Gold in the water!

That's my left-overs! Now I will have to get out and take photos of something....anything!

National Geographic.....

Any of you that take National Geographic be sure to look at the photo in the November issue of the praying mantis that caught a hummingbird at the feeder!!!!! Amazing photo!......but sad and kind of gross to think about.
I found the photo on-line at this address also:
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/09/09/praying-mantis-catches-a-hummingbird/

Fungi....

As you can see, things are "damp" and fall is living up to its name. This is one of the boardwalks through the woods at the wetlands and I have to walk carefully down this wet path of leaves so I don't slip."follow the yellow leaf road"
The geese and ducks were intent on their feeding, but I notice that there are some fungi on that log with the geese. Not much of a shot of them, but there were lots of other fungi on the fallen trees in the woods nearby.

Here we have green lichen as well. I don't know one fungi from another, but there were lots of this brown type.

This patch looks old and thin and dry.

I like the look of the colorful stripes on them.

This leaning tree was just covered wtih the stuff! I guess I should have lightened up these photos a bit.

A close-up

It looks like an "rash" of some sort spreading over the limbs :-)

Anyway.....it was interesting to me!