Tag: Palm Warbler

Backyard photography

Happiness is…

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American Goldfinch

Happiness is… …watching the American Goldfinches turn yellow and play in your flowers :) … seeing the female Indigo Bunting from last weekend – she stuck around! … finally snapping a picture of the elusive Prairie Warbler who has been mocking you for the past three mornings, and as a bonus, getting to hear him sing! … watching the cardinals take a bath in the birdbath that you cleaned for them yesterday (it’s always nice when they appreciate your efforts!) … admiring the colors as your goldfinch poses in the shade while the background behind him is alight with color. …watching the Painted Bunting hop out onto the “waiting perch” as he considers a flight to the feeder. …laughing at the Palm Warbler as he finds every mealworm you’ve dropped under the feeder… …listening to the happy calls of the American Goldfinches as they circle your yard.  “Baby!”  “Potato chip!” …saying hello to the Brown Thrasher and realizing that since the pair of them have stopped visiting together, his mate must be busy sitting on eggs at a nest nearby. … laughing at the Red-winged Blackbirds who are so certain that they are missing something because they can’t get into the […]

Backyard photography

Springtime Morning of Backyard Birding

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American Goldfinch

Recently I spent a weekend morning in my backyard – rather unusual for me, since mornings are usually when I venture beyond the backyard.  It was fun to see my yard in morning light.  This is the time of year that I love backyard birding the best.  Flowers are blooming, the air is fresh and not too hot, the goldfinches and buntings are getting into their best costumes for spring, and knowledge that they will soon be leaving makes the quiet opportunities even more special. Within a few minutes, the alert was out.  Fresh food at the feeders!  Fresh food!  Come and get it!  The Red-winged Blackbirds are like birdseed magnets.  They pose in the nearby shrubs as they alert the neighborhood. The little Palm Warblers came to see if I put out any fresh mealworms.  They don’t mind having me around.  This one perched in the flowers very close to where I was sitting.  So close, in fact, that I could barely focus on him.  (That’s a nice problem to have!) Our Common Ground Dove flew in and landed on the feeder perch.  He looked a little scruffy.  He’d lost some feathers since the last time I’d seen him. One of […]

Backyard photography

Lawn Service

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The other night I snuck into my blind for a few minutes after I mowed the grass.  The little Palm Warblers were quick to hop out and enjoy the bugs that I stirred up with my mower.  I think they enlisted themselves to help with the yard service… The mockingbird knows that I’ve been wanting to photograph birds on the American Beautyberry bush this fall.  He knows that I keep going out after dinner and waiting for them to hop up for a berry.  He knows he’s been avoiding me during those times.  SO I was happy when he started snacking while I was in the blind.  He finally picked up a berry, held it in his beak for about five seconds, then glared at me as if to say, “Did you get that already!?”  Then he ate it.  Yep, I got it! I’d been in the blind for a while before the Painted Buntings ventured out.  A little “greenie” sat in the porterweed contemplating the jump to the feeder. The light faded quickly and I had to go in.  But not before the Palm Warblers reminded me how tiny they are.  One stood next to a blade of grass […]