Daily Bird Pics Vol. 430

Here is a shot of my buddy "Mockers". He awakens me in the morning by tapping on my bedroom window; then proceeds to the room where I have my computer and performs for me. LOL

nice duck shots duc!! lol :)

GG....Those birds seem to know what a special lady you are. Last year Jake and this year your mocker!



The Red-bellied Woodpeckers are really busy these days....we are seeing both the male and female still!

A fair shot of a Carolina Chickadee...I got an eye!

A Downy Woodpecker grabbing a peanut!

Red-bellied with a peanut.....

Female Red-bellied...lost of chasing with these two!

Teddy, love the shot of you feeding the squirrel. That is quite an accomplishment.

Nanny, Jake will soon be returning. Great shots of all of the different woodpeckers. You sure do attract them.

Nanny, great start to the thread and I agree with everyone else. You couldn't possibly post too many photos of Pileated WPs.

Great shots, everyone. Nice to see Mockers, GG.

Teddy, I love that shot of you feeding the squirrel.

I finally have something to share. A tail-less Kookaburra has been a regular visitor for at least two years. These were taken as it sat on the rail outside the kitchen this morning.

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All much of a muchness, but I was so happy to finally have something to post. Its feathers are wet from having a bath in the pond down in the back yard.

This message was edited Feb 1, 2012 11:17 AM

Great shots Margaret. I love these birds. My goodness, what detail. I feel as though if it were to open its beak we could see what it ate for breakfast.

Duc, how I wished to get to see Acorn Wps in person and watching 'em "stashing up" for the winter. How industrious!!! GG, it's good to know that Starlings can be "gardener helpers" too. I remember having to pick 'em beetles and offered them to fish in the lake, and I think fish don't even like 'em. lol Mockers, they do have a personality of their own? I am almost certain, I saw one that chased off a Blue Bird which was checking out the Whitebreasted Nuthatch's nest box, as if to say. "Go get your own, this house is taken". Does anyone know if indeed they will act as a community guardian? I think Cardinals do possess that quality, for during the breeding season, Cardinal will hover over pets or human alike who may be too close to their nests or others' nesting and chirping like you wouldn't believe. Margaret, I love those Kookaburras. The images are so sharp, could I borrow your camera for a day or two? LOL

White-breasted Nuthatch stands guard of its own nest box.

Cardinal shares the feeder with Housefinch.

The sapsucker, Yellowbellied. They sure can leave some marking on trees!

The squirrel used to be one of my neighbors, he had it as a pet then decided it was not right to keep it so he turned it loose, his name is Rocky. My hubby petted him yesterday after I left. I keep seeing and hearing the rb wps too, they are really active for some reason now.

Last pix, Red-winged Black birds stopping by briefly for a drink. I like this shot with one coming in for a landing as another looks on.

Teddy it is so great that you are caring for Rocky. It is cruel when a wild animal is kept as a pet, then released to fend for itself. Rocky is so neat. Look forward to seeing more pictures of him. Good for you and your husband.

As to fleas or diseases, well, people carry those too! LOL

Male Cardinal from yesterday.

This message was edited Feb 1, 2012 10:05 AM

It will depend on whether he sticks around or not, it is hard to tell the squirrels apart, they all look the same. We had to clean the round bird feeder this morning, it had rained and the seeds and the crushed red peppers were causing a awful mess, so we took it apart and cleaned it really good, put just a few sunflower seeds in it and I hung it back up. I also rinsed out the pie pan that I am using for a bird bath and put clean water in it. I saw a sparrow drinking out of it the other day, so I know they are using it.

Granny, your mockingbird, cardinal and starling are so cute. Glad your mockingbird is so friendly.

Nanny, I can't see enough of your red-bellies or any of your wps. Cute dee too.

Margaret, love your closeup photos of the kookaburra.

Lily, love your little nuthatch and I would love to see that sapsucker here.

Here's a Western Bluebird that was taking a break from eating the berries on the mistletoe vines.

Finally a pair of purple finches showed up for some peanut butter. Had to get the picture through the window.

One of my dark-eyed juncos.

This lighter colored one must be a female.

This photo really belongs on the Bad Photos Thread...but I just have to share that I saw Red-winged Blackbirds today!! I went out to walk the People Path....unfortunately it was about 4 PM and it clouded over really bad. So all my pix are not very good. But you can get a glimpse of those red patches!

There were a number of them and they were calling and singing...so nice to hear!

Neat photos there Nan, I love them even with poor lighting. Duc, glad you've gotten some Purple finches. and love your Juncos. Hah, I saw Eastern Towhees down here everyone once in a while, but it's hard to take photo of 'em.

Looks like I got too far behind to comment on all the interesting birds. Spent yesterday in the Wichita Mountains of SW Oklahoma. Lots of wild turkey shots, buffalo and longhorns. Highlights were seeing wintering Mountain Bluebirds, a kingfisher and towees.

The Belted Kingfisher along Medicine Creek. Wish the shadows hadn't been on his face, but you know how it goes with wildlife. Got a couple of quick snaps and he was gone.

After a tall piece of birch trunk fell (its own idea) we have not seen our piliated. I think they stay down in the woods. Perhaps the birch was the edge of its territory. They have never tried our large beech tree in the front yard.

Some wild turkeys from yesterday. A group of 13 gobblers. HDR from a single RAW image.

Wow, Red those are great shots! irisMA, hope you Pileated wp comes back some day.

For several years now, I've only seen two pair of Pekin ducks frequent our area. Recently, a half dozen new ones showed up. Here the half dozen are seen with the 'old' pair which travel separately. The lone pair appear to be wild? They are quite timid around people as compared to the new comers. Those 6 ducks will come right up to you and your pets as if they live in your yard.

Nanny, it looks like you have the same problem as I do when photographing the red-wings-they're always in the bad lighting. At least we can see your birds and their colors. I do think they're such pretty birds.

Red, I could only wish for such a great photo of the kingfisher-well done! Nice shot of the turkeys too-haven't seen any here for a while.

Iris, sorry about your pileated, maybe it will surprise you one day in the future.

Lily, sweet little ducks.

I was taking photos of this one dove when another arrived. Reminds me of a caped crusader about to cover the bird.

A closeup of a Mourning Dove.

This Bald Eagle made a flyby but didn't land on his/her tree.

We watched two Red-tailed Hawks following the eagle but I couldn't catch them together.

Duc, Great Mourning Dove shots!

Love everyones pics!

Lovely pix red! I still hope to get a photo of our wild turkeys around here someday!

That first dove shot is cool duc!

Turkey Vulture overhead on my neighborhood walk.

I was so hoping I had a new bird here...I thought it might be a Clay-colored Sparrow. But Resin has ID it as a First Winter White-crowned Sparrow...which is still nice as I haven't seen one at all so far this winter!

Duc, those inflight shots of the Hawk and the Eagle are very nice. Nan, the juvie White Crowned Sparrow is sweet looking. I'm so glad I've got this one. My sweet Eastern Phoebe, I can pick her out from a crowd because she flicks her tail when she perks near by.

edit for typo.

This message was edited Feb 2, 2012 7:43 PM

Nice eagle shots, duc. Glad folks are having good birds. We have a few phoebes that winter here, lily. Saw 3 this week, but no pics. And I noticed our resident pair of Turkey Vultures are circling the hill again.

Not a common bird in Oklahoma, a Mountain Bluebird. I've seen them the past few winters in the Wichita Mountains, same area.

A Gadwall from Lake Lawtonka.