Summertime Birds in the Backyard
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Summertime birds have been more active than usual this summer. Lots of birds coming in to feast at the feeders!
Tag: Yellow-Throated Warbler
Bow Tie is Back!
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Our neighborhood Yellow-throated Warbler is back! We call him Bow Tie because his black and white colors remind me of a tuxedo, and his bright yellow tummy is his bow tie. We’ve seen him for the past couple of winters. He’s one of my regular suet customers, although my first shot of him this year was on my mixed seed feeder. He comes in and eats when the Cardinals and House Finches take a break from the food. Poor little Bow Tie always gets shoved away when the bigger birds are around. I’m pretty sure he’s the same bird from year to year. He’s not banded, so I can’t know for sure, but what other bird does this on my window every morning? :) The cats love it when Bow Tie is around. They hear him tapping and go running to see him at the window. We’ve had fewer birds than usual this winter. Previously we’d get huge flocks of Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds. This year we haven’t seen the first flock. Occasionally I’ll see one or two Red-wings. The yard is surprisingly quiet. The birds we see the most are the Mourning Doves. They love my new feeder […]
My Backyard Winter Wonderland
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I’ve had lots of time to enjoy the birds in my own backyard lately. It’s a backyard winter wonderland! All the winter migrants are here and the backyard is full of activity. It’s great! This weekend I had all these different kinds of birds: American Goldfinch Pine Siskin Painted Bunting Eastern Phoebe American Robin Cedar Waxwing Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Palm Warbler House Finch Northern Cardinal Yellow-throated Warbler Boat-tailed Grackle Red-winged Blackbird Sandhill Crane White Ibis Mourning Dove Common Ground Dove Did you notice that I said Pine Siskin? That’s right, I’m pretty sure we had a couple of Pine Siskins mixed in with our flock of American Goldfinches. They are colored a little bit like female House Finches, but smaller, and with pinkish beaks. I noticed the difference in their calls and I ran to get the binoculars. Now I just have to get a picture! Our Painted Buntings are such fun visitors. We have at least two males and three greenies this year. I often see two males feeding together, so I suspect we actually have more lurking in the bushes. They love my tall viburnum bushes that form a “green fence” around the backyard. I see them and hear […]