DAILY PICTURES Vol. 14

Great cowbird pic!

Male Red bellied WP trying to enjoy some time at the peanut feeder. The Starlings were giving him a hard time but no one dared try to take his place.

What great pictures I have missed!

You take the best red bellied shots Pell! I don't seem to get near as many of those here so I love seeing yours!

I spent a little time in the yard with the camera today and managed to annoy a house wren family that is nesting in a box in the front yard. I have spent about a week tending to my DH who just had his appendix removed. Before he got sick the wrens were sitting on eggs and now that we are back I can hear lots of cheeping from the box. I hope I can get a few shots of the babies when they leave. :-) In the meantime I took a few of the parents on feeding duty.

after watching me she decides its safe

when she pops out again she pauses to give me a scolding lol

I got a shot of a hummer while I was waiting for the wrens to come to the house. I haven't seen many hummers here this year at all. I wonder if the bad spring weather has anything to do with the low numbers here.

LOL, Great pics Susan! We've really missed seeing your shots. Hope all is well with the Hubby!

Nice catch!Your photos are always so good! Is that Black & Blue Salvia?

I still haven't seen any regular hummers yet and all 4 of my monster Trumpetvines are blooming like crazy. Hopefully soon!

Thanks Pell! Hubby is feeling so much better! Yes, that is black and blue salvia. I had three of them but two of them died this winter. They usually overwinter just fine here.

Earlier this year there were several Steller's Jays here but the they left. This is the first one I've seen in over a month. It would be nice if they came back and ran off the Scrub Jays.

I love the Stellers!

Stellers run off the Scrubs? Hmmm, here, the Scrubs are much more aggressive.
Stellers leave for the summer here, too, but I have Blackbirds, Starlings, and Cowbirds. Sigh. I'd rather have the Stellers. At least they don't attack me and the dogs like the blasted Brewers do.

Here's one of my fearless Mourning Doves watching me, just to make sure I fill the feeder correctly for everyone...

I really don't think there is anything I could possibly do to scare these guys....

Very short tailed English Sparrow.

And my nemisis, the California Ground Squirrel.

Looks like that squirrel is posing for a "shot"(not from the camera)
Been gone for a couple days and there are sure bunches of pictures to catch up on.
Nice shooting everybody. Birds don't stay still like flowers.
Didn't put out suet this summer, so was surprized to see a Pilated woodpecker come in and get bugs out of the stump.

A second one flew in. (sorry about the glare on the windows)

Beautiful cpart!! Thank You!

Your welcome. That woodpecker has to be my favorite. I never tire of seeing them or listening to that cackle.

Wow! Great shots, everyone. I haven't posted a photo for quite a while, but recently got a new tripod and remote. This is one of the first pics I took. I have gotten so "shaky" lately that rarely was I getting a good image - I have great hopes that these two items will make a big difference for me.

Wonderful, but I always thought you took great pictures. Keep 'em coming.

Superb hummer pic, Murmur!

female house finch

a young cardinal

Great pic Murmur!! I saw my first regular season Hummer today!

fchisolm- I love your photos! What camera are you using?

This red-headed woodpecker loves crackers, so I call him Crackers.

Good Grief! Now your really making me green with envy! They are such a cool looking WP. Nice catch!

Pelletory, I use a canon 400 D(RebelXTi) most of the time. Here is one of a grackle that always washes his food. Even crackers.

A blue Jay after his bath.

Very nice! What lens are you using?

A mocking bird at the bath.

I use a 70-300mm IS. Most of my bird photos are made through windows and storm doors.

I have nothing but shade. I have to use an ISO of 400 or 800. I use a noiseware software to reduce the noise. I like picasso for sharpness, adobe for cropping and resizing, and arcsoft for web sizing. The cardinals usely come to the yard in the late evening.

This photo was made back in April of a house finch at one of my feeders.

The male house finch would stuff his face while the female stood guard.

She's a beauty! I have loads of them here too.

One of the birds I can never seem to get a clear photo of is a towhee. Are they ever still?

This dove got really close and moved it's head into a spot of sun.