Covid Journal, Day 61: Bird List

52, cloudy and light showers after some rain during the night. That caught us by surprise, because we thought the forecast called for clear weather the rest of the week. The garden will never dry up at this rate.

We spent half an hour on the porch this morning, and this is the list of birds we saw in our front gardens:

Cardinal
Titmouse
Chickadee
Goldfinch
Purple Finch
Nuthatch
Blue Jay
Robin
Chipping Sparrow
Ruby-throat Hummingbird
Catbird
Phoebe
Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Summer Oriole, male and female
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, males and females
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Mourning Dove
Carolina Wren
Wood Thrush
Towhee

I might have missed one or two, but that's about all, I think. It's a veritable wingfest out here!

A few recent bird photos, some not as good as I'd like. They are hard to capture in a picture sometimes, either staying too far away or on the move too much.

At first, the cardinals fled in fear from the grosbeaks, but now they seem to have found a way to co-exist. In fact, this one male cardinal hangs out with a female grosbeak and even feeds her seeds from time to time. I'm not sure the male grosbeak approves.

Well, who can blame him? She is rather cute.

This, I believe is a young male summer tanager who has not got his summer colors yet, sitting on the seedcake feeder. the downy woodpecker doesn't like it, as he things that feeder belongs to him.

I may be wrong in my ID of this bird, but his orange color is brighter than the photo shows. His whole belly is actually a bright yellow.

 

A purple finch shares the feeder with a few others.

Or maybe not share...



This is the best shot I've been able to get so far of the red-headed woodpecker now visiting us. I'll keep trying.

Finishing up with my latest poem:

How the Birds Sing Comfort

It begins before dawn,

high on the ridge, melody

slips sweetly down the hillside,

slides across the creek and up,

up the ravine that divides our land,

to my waiting, grateful ear.

 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Covid Journal, Day 48: Colorful Visitors

45 this morning, gray, chilly and cloudy. Rain showers overnight so everything is damp on this May Day. We are supposed to wash our faces in the morning dew, but how to know what is dew and what is rain?

Even though it was cold, we took our morning coffee break out on the porch, and were rewarded with some special visitors.

This fellow is so handsome! A Baltimore Oriole who was stealing hummingbird nectar, apparently has a sweet tooth.

Then further away so not easy to get a photo, an indigo bunting graced us with its presence. Although we've seen these out in the fields, this is the closest one has ever come to our house. What gorgeous color.

And the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak is still here, and has been joined by a mate. He takes a long time at the feeders, I guess filling up for the next leg of his journey. You can barely see some of the deep rose color of his chest.

Yesterday I saw a bright yellow bird, I believe a yellow warbler, but I did not get one single good photo, just several blurry ones like this. Ah well.

It's so good to see these birds passing through. And thank goodness we bundled up and went out on the porch a while this morning. We'd have missed something special.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Covid Journal, Day 46: Bird Life

55 and it feels warmer. Sunny early, but rain expected this afternoon.

We should have got busy to take advantage of the dry before the rain, but instead we sat on the porch with our coffee and watched the birds. Here's some of the activity around us. No photos as today I am content to just be a spectator:

• The Carolina wren has settled into the same nest she had last year, a little birdhouse that hangs on the porch just feet from where we sit. 
• The rose-breasted grosbeaks are back, visiting our feeders on their way north
• A few hummingbirds have arrived too. Little Mister sits on his usual perch, guarding the feeders.
• Mr. Noisy, the woodpecker is pleased that my order of seedcakes finally arrived. He is another one of the birds that have been here for several years. 
• Eastern Bluebirds have returned and taken up residence in the posts that support the grapevines, just as they have for years. 
• The goldfinches are quickly getting their summer colors, and the towhees are busy on the ground under the shrubs. 
• Sparrows (chipping and house) are back at the feeders
• Doves coo in the trees and wait for spilled seeds
• Robins are stalking worms in the garden
• Phoebe is alertly scanning for bugs. 
• Blue jays raise a ruckus every morning
• Titmouse, chickadee, nuthatch and downy woodpeckers vie with many cardinals for the sunflower seeds in the feeders.
• The despised cowbirds are back and we scare them off as best we can
• A red-tailed hawk, also a long-term resident, circles with his mate high above us
• Tiny pine siskens have to wait their turn at the feeders when the larger birds are absent
• A lone brown thrasher visits daily, keeping to hedges and brushy places
• And one little brown-striped ground bird whose name I have forgotten...Northern something. It has a habit of running along and picking at whatever it finds.

I am sure I've missed someone, but these are the ones visiting this morning.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The Bird News

(In true journalistic style, I'm starting this post with the bad news.)

Tragedy struck the summer tanagers' nestlings. We don't know whether it was marauding blue jays or grackles, or if the sudden cold snap last week did it, but we found the two baby birds dead on the ground. So sad. The parent birds have left, and we do miss them.

We loved this male tanager. So personable!

They were so colorful, red and yellow, and were always flying about, often landing close to us and chattering away. They were fantastic bug catchers too.

Tanager on her nest

On a more cheerful note, the robins' nest, which was located almost next door to the tanagers, is fine and the babies are growing well. So we will have little ones flying around soon, if all continues to go well.

The Carolina wren babies have flown the nest--or rather, the gourd--so that's also good news.

Mama wren on her nest, a couple weeks back.

You know, we felt somehow at fault for the loss of the tanager nestlings, as if we could have dome something to have prevented whatever happened. But nature takes its own course, whether we like it or not, and we have to accept that.

We have new visitors to the mulberry trees. The trees continue to ripen berries for a longer time period that ever before. They have had ripe berries now since the end of May, almost 3 weeks and are still full of green berries yet to ripen.

The cedar waxwings came in large numbers.

Some are still here. Yesterday we saw a Baltimore Oriole in the trees, so he must have stayed around after we spotted him in May. There is a female as well so maybe they are nesting here.

Took this a month or so ago--he liked the hummingbird feed!

A new visitor, or at least new to our yard, is the Brown Thrasher. We have seen them in our woods, and hear them every morning and evening but I have never seen one near the house. There were three last night, all making forays into the mulberries. They are back again today.

Today we spotted a Scarlet Tanager in the mulberry tree.

This photo is from earlier this Spring. I haven't been able to catch a good recent photo--yet.

We usually have these, too, but they nest in the oaks across from the house and we catch only fleeting glimpses of them. And an Orchard Oriole is hanging around, presumably also for the berries. And the pileated woodpecker is making forays from the deep woods to the mulberry trees too. If you want birds, a mulberry tree sure is a good way to attract them. Just make sure the tree is in a location where falling berries and bird droppings won't be a mess on your vehicles or other things.

A couple more hummingbirds have arrived. For a while we had three, then only one poor fella, but now there is another male and a female coming to the feeders. It's far fewer than the past couple years but it is nice to have them darting about.

Larry is surprised at how much he enjoys watching the birds. Our binoculars are always handy on the porch so we can keep an eye on the action. It's more fun than people-watching!


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Feathered Friends

Birds around our place today:

Downy woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Chipping Sparrow
Cardinal
Blue Jay
Robin
Nuthatch
Chickadee
Purple Finch
Goldfinch
Eastern bluebird
Titmouse
Crow
Cowbird
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Towhee
Mockingbird

Heard but not seen: whippoorwill and screech owl.

And thank goodness, the snowbirds have left! Which means we might be out of danger of freezes now.

It gets pretty noisy around here sometimes, especially if you add in the chickens. We have been feeding year-round and see a decided increase in the number of birds on our property. We feed black sunflower seeds, thistle seed for the finches, and suet cakes for the woodpeckers. The bird bill is not quite as high as the cat food bill but getting close. But we get such pleasure from seeing and hearing them, it's worth every penny.

Now, waiting on the hummingbirds. They should arrive within the week, since I hear they are already in southwestern Virginia. We'll be putting out the feeders tomorrow.

What birds do you see in your area?


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Feathered Visitors on a Rainy Day

Yesterday was one of those spring days I dislike. It started well enough but then turned hot, humid and sticky, with occasional breaks when it stormed or showered. The ground is now beyond saturated; even here on the hill we have standing pools in the grass.

But the birdfeeder action has been a real pleasure. This fellow came by for a visit, and he's still here today. I'm beyond happy because we rarely have seen a rose-breasted grosbeak here. It may be because the feeders were a good ways from the house and we mistook these birds for some other species. Now that we've moved the feeders closer we're able to see who's visiting a lot more clearly.

The grosbeak and the red-bellied woodpecker got along quite well, apparently deciding that there was plenty for both.

He's a handsome fellow, isn't he, with that rosy-red breast?

Munching down!

The grosbeak showing me his better side??

The little pine siskins are still with us and I have really enjoyed their twittering in the trees around the house. These little guys are very vocal, and quite comfortable with us nearby.

 You can barely see the touch of yellow on this bird--that is what made me think at first that these were goldfinches who were just getting their summer color.

A better look at the pine siskin, and you can see the yellow here too.

I am hoping we see more of the migratory birds in the coming weeks. The hummingbirds have returned, just two so far, but perhaps more are on the way. 

There's something that makes me happy when I see the various birds coming to the feeders. Maybe it's knowing that their arrival marks the true return of warmer weather. Or maybe it's just seeing them flitting about and knowing that they're eating insects. Or maybe it's just the colors of them, and they're beautiful songs. The truth is, it's all of those things.

Happy bird-watching, my friends!

Hummers and Summers

This place has gone to the birds, I swear.

We have had lots of bird visitors to the feeders lately. The goldfinches are thick as bees in a hive, and now the hummingbirds are starting to show up in larger numbers. It's colorful as can be, with the cardinals, blue jays, the finches, woodpeckers, and all the others who come daily.

But we were surprised and pleased to see this fellow:

He's a Summer Tanager and based on his orange-ish color, I think he's a youngster still getting his rosy-red feathers.

Taking photos of hummingbirds is really not easy! Their movements are so fast my camera can't keep up. I need to check my settings and play with it a bit to see if I can do any better. These guys are more fearless than last year's visitors who flew off if we moved even a tiny bit. These have almost bumped into us as they dart about and quarrel with each other.

This one, I think, is also a young bird, since his ruby throat is not quite red yet. There are others here with brilliant red throats but I did not see them the day I took the photos.

Taken from a slightly different place, and see how the color changes?

This is how most of my photos came out--blurs of wings and bodies.

Somehow I caught this one mid-flight, but the wings are going so fast they're all but invisible. (The pear tree in the background has a serious case of fire blight this year, and looks so sad.)

I love the way the green shows up on the bird on the left.

I'll keep trying to get better photos of these wily little fellas. And maybe catch some of the goldfinches too.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Winter's Glory: Ice and Birds

Winter brings many beautiful sights to us, from snowy hills to flocks of feeding birds to breathtaking sunsets.
I try to capture what I can in pictures; here are a few recent ones:

 I was on the phone with an AT&T tech, trying to figure out why my phone suddenly ate so much of my data allowance when I looked out the window and saw the sun shining on the icicles hanging from the roof. "Just a minute," I said, and grabbed my camera for a couple quick shots.

 A tree full of birds!

 The feeders have been super busy too.

 Inside the birds are also pretty colorful.

Smaller birds seem to like this feeder.

Can you name all the different kinds of birds in the photos?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Gone to the Birds

I have been a bird-watcher since I was 19. My first house had a birdfeeder in a tree just outside the dining room window and I started feed the birds, fascinated by the colors and behavior. I didn't know much about birds then, mainly able to identify only cardinals, blue jays and robins.

Then my brother Bill gave me a little book for bird identification. I was hooked. I began putting names to my feathered visitors: purple finches, evening grosbeaks, titmouse, and all the other winter visitors. In summer I quit feeding the birds and so missed seeing the many migrators passing through. And I never, ever saw a hummingbird at that house.

When we moved to West Virginia we had to build our house on the land we'd bought. I remember nearly dropping my end of the big picture window we were putting in when a hummingbird flew right up to it and hovered just inches from my face, which was on the other side of the glass. That first summer of building opened my eyes to the wide variety of birds living in the woods and fields around me. I seldom fed them in those early years because our budget was far too tight to allow for something that seemed unnecessary. Over the years I have fed birds in winter but not until this summer have we maintained feeding through the warm months.

What a reward it has been. Larry is as hooked on the birds now as I am and keeps several feeders filled, including two for hummingbirds. Apparently we have two couples of them nesting nearby; there are constant near-collisions and much scolding as they unwillingly share their feeders.

This week we added a bag of feed for small finches and songbirds and they have repaid us with quite a show. The bag, which we hung on Tuesday, is already almost empty.

We have two other shy visitors that really excited me--the two summer tanagers we spotted in May have stuck around, and I believe they have a nest in the woods behind the chicken house. They stay further away most of the time but do venture in to the feeders occasionally. Catching a photo of them hasn't been easy!

Of course, we get some birds we'd just as soon not encourage. Cowbirds, those parasites that lay their eggs in the nests of other birds and kick out the "real" eggs, are most unwelcome. Doves come in large groups sometimes and hog the feeders. Recently we've had a flock of rusty blackbirds coming to the feeders, again hogging it and keeping the smaller birds away. We have a canned air horn that we use to scare them off, but of course that scares off the little birds too.

If you know of some way to keep these less desirables away, I'd love to hear it. They certainly eat a lot of feed in short order. I am considering just hanging the bags for a week or so to discourage them but hate to also lose the cardinals, woodpeckers and others that like the sunflower seeds.

There is nothing like walking outside in the morning to hear the chorus rising from the woods, or to watch the antics of the birds getting their breakfast. I am glad that we now have time to slow down and enjoy these  winged sharers of our space.

Copyright 2012 Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.