Tufted Titmouse....

One of my favorite birds.  

I love these little guys, but they flit in and out so quickly and switch back and forth between the various feeders, so keeping up with them is challenging.

 They always looks so happy.

 "Wow....I found a really big peanut!"

 "Got another one!"

"Peek-a-boo!" 

 "Hmmmm.....which feeder will I land on this time.  Whichever one she isn't pointing the camera at!  I can out-smart her any day!"

 "I want all of these peanuts before someone else finds them!"

 Resting.....they never seem to rest :-)

"Maybe I'll try that suet stuff next."

Northern Mockingbird.....

The Mockingbird....a.k.a. "Mr. Mean".  I don't know why I always say "mister"....it could be a female for all I know.  They look alike.  

This is his stare of intimidation :-)  Are you scared??  LOL

 Mockingbirds are very territorial.  I can drive around the countryside and city and see them fly across the road to their bush or tree that they are protecting.  Or just sitting on the wires nearby.  Easy to spot when flying because of their white wing patches and white on the tail.

 At our house our resident mockingbird flies back and forth between the bushes, the trees and the house and garage roofs to keep trying to chase the other birds away from "his" food source.

 He likes our suet in the winter and will fly down and chase smaller birds away.  I have so many feeders he must get tired of trying to protect them all and most of the birds ignore him.

 Up in the tree waiting to swoop on some bird that gets near his suet.

 Just flew in to chase someone away.  Unlike most of the birds he is not out there eating constantly.  He spends more time flying around then he seems to spend eating.

Time for a well-deserved bite of food. 

 Portrait

Resting 

Close-up 

 Wing intimidation or balance....not sure which :-)

"Well, it is MY feeder and you know it!"

It's cold out there...

Yesterday the temps were dropping and some snow was forecast.  The birds obviously knew it was coming and were swarming the feeders all day looking for more food then usual for the cold night ahead.

 House finch males

 Do you think they know their red color looks nice with the red dish?  

 This one had a very red area above the tail.

Female Junco 

 Male Junco

Mrs. Cardinal.....notice the hopeful daffodil shoots. 

 Carolina Wren

 It kept making stops to hang on this pole, and I kept trying to get a good photo of it hanging there.  It is so fast!  Flits here and there and everywhere.

Upside down view. 

 Tail up

Against the dead leaves it really blends. 

 Mr. Cardinal, bright red and alert.

 Finches squabbling at the feeder.....Goldfinches and House Finches.

A couple of doves in the grass out front. 

 I love House Finches but they seem to be prone to a lot of problems.  Particularly eye problems.  This one looks like it is developing the puffy eye look.  Soon it will be closed entirely.  So sad.

This one has a feather problem up top and a weird beak.  The bottom beak seems a lot bigger than the top one and sort of misshapen.

Some Snowdrops that thought spring was just about here.....wrong!  Last night we got a bit of snow...just a dusting...and the temp is about 11 degrees this morning.  Brrrrrrrrr!

Odds and ends.....

Well, the Australian Open tennis is almost over....I've been watching tennis the last two weeks more than birds....so I figured I'd better find something to post so you wouldn't think I had died.  These are some odds and ends that I snapped between tennis matches :-)

 One of the very cold male Cardinals.  We have had some really cold weather.  Much nicer to stay indoors and not do anything.

 A Red-tail hawk we saw out at Blue Grass one day.  We have been going there to look for owls and harriers.  Have seen some of both, but haven't gotten good photos, so I won't bother posting them.  We went on an "owl crawl" one day with a naturalist (and 50 other people!)  and found out where to look for the owls.  But in the late afternoon and with my dependence on autofocus, I really can't get good shots.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker all fluffed up against the cold.  Makes him look very well fed :-) 

.....speaking of "well-fed" 

I looked out on the deck one morning and had three squirrels busy eating all the food in sight.

 Sunset at Blue Grass while we were owl hunting.

One of my titmice.  This one has a slight wing problem, but it doesn't seem to slow it down.  It has been around for a couple years and that loose feather and slight droop of the wing must not be anything major, but I can always recognize that particular titmouse when it comes to the feeder. 

 My greedy Blue jays looking for their morning peanuts.

A very fat miserable looking Robin.  It was trying to fly up and get the crab apples, but they are at the ends of the small branches where it couldn't land.  So it just sat there all fluffed up.  I finally went out and pulled some off and dropped them on the ground for it.  My birds are so spoiled! 

Mrs. Cardinal 

 White-throated Sparrow

 Goldfinch.  I can see a tiny black spot on the forehead.  A male ready to change to its summer colors?  That's a hopeful sign!

 Another Goldfinch

 Female Cowbird that has been hanging around.  All the birds are so fluffed up trying to keep warm.

 Mrs. House Finch

The "front yard" squirrel defending the feeding box from an intruder that tried to come down and join it.  Squirrels don't share well :-)