Yay! These colorful fellows are back outside the window by my computer today. There are so many birds here, most I can't identify yet. These dig in the fallen leaves alongside the robins. I cheer them on because I read they eat slugs. Does anyone else have spring visitors yet? Pics appreciated, maybe I can put names to some of the other drop-ins.
oh, what a beauty, you know I have seen a flash of yellow with all our house finches, but couldn't see it well enough to know... we don't usually see alot of goldfinches until March or April. *and I spend a fortune on niger seeds for the pretty little things. I wonder if that's what I saw, I'll keep my eyes open.
Of course, the Anna's keep my entertained in the winter, being big bullies about their feeders.
I have my 1 anna watching me work all day and all the other little tweeters. The robins are here I haven't seen any thrushes yet. The blue jays suck. I have been taking in the bird feeders everynight because the racoons get in there and the dogs are really close to getting it. I take them out before bed and half of them go one way the other half go the other and they tree it and I'm afraid it won't get up an tree and one of them will get hurt.. last night I forgot the feed and I woke up at 1:33 to the thumping of the wood birdfeeder lid. He cleaned me out last night.
Great picture. It's funny you should mention this. Since my cats are indoor cats now, I have lots more birds (esp ground feeders around). I was looking out my bedroom slider, enjoying the thrushes on Sunday morning and remarking on how many of them there were.
These guys as the rufous-sided towhees are probably my favorites. Well, except for the chickadees and the finches, of course. Oh, wait, and then there are the . . . LOL Love the birds!! Would love to see more pictures of yours.
A couple of years ago I was working in the nursery and Jessie my killer dog was up to no good moma towee was yelling I went over to see what the problem was. Moma laid eggs in a restio plant and Jessie had pulled out the babies. I was putting the babies back in and the moma was flying down and hitting me in the back. Then all summer she followed me and scolded me all summer. It was sad. She remebered me all summer. Every year I get one or two momas of some sort laying eggs in the nursery. Last year it was a little finch in a fuschia plant. I would show the little kids the babies and they thought it was pretty cool. Luckily they leave the nest right about the time the plant is on the edge of dying. I can water with babies in there.
You need to carry a camera in one of those pockets LOL
Had a Bluejay scold me on the way to the GH but couldnt see him, know the sound tho.
The finches, wrens and sparrows have been busy at our feeders for a little over a week now. Carl and I both love to watch them and thier antics! When the feeders get near empty boy do we ever hear about it! If we don't watch out they may join unions with the squirrels and file a grievance!
KatyMac I just looked in my bird book (Birds of the Puget Sound Region) and your little fellow is a male varied thrush. Very handsome little guy and a great shot that you snapped of him!
Confession time Rachel! I got the photo from a Google search. My camera doesn't get very good long distance photos, or maybe I just don't know how. Darn birds just won't hold still and pose for me. LOL My photos through the window are pitiful. I still have an Anna that winters here, as soon as this cold snap is over I'll put a feeder out. I love the spring migration. Theres some kind of woodpecker that shows up about this time too but he's a shy one.
I keep asking my little feathered friends to hold that pose but they never listen! Well better go check the feeders, they have been eating like little piggies!
Rach - is the male varied thrush more orange than the northern thrush. I have lots of thrushes and they look like thrushes, but don't know which of them I have.
Several of the nurseries I go to water around the nests that birds have made. I love that. Gardeners take care of mother nature as best they can.
I beleive that what we call a Northern Thrush is a Varied thrush.
Yes, that's a Varied Thrush and the males are brighter. Our Varied Thrushes go away in the spring/summer and are replaced by robins. Then the robins go in the fall/winter and are replaced by Varied thrushes. (Robins are thrushes, too). I believe I read that the varied thrushes go upland toward the mountains in warmer weather.
We've had flocks of little tiny bushtits at the suet feeder for the past couple of weeks. I've seen them often in the garden, but never at the feeder. They started hitting the suet a couple of weeks ago, then we had this cold snap. Maybe there is a connection there.
I had a male and female housefinch pair at the feeder two days ago. That was the first for this year.
Are the bushtits the ones that make the tsk, tsk sound? At first I thought it was a hummer.
So this is the first time in the 5 years I've been here that there haven't been cats outside. The birds this spring are phenomenal. I looked out the window this morning and there were more than 30 varied thrushes feeding in the closest part of the back yard. Bushtits, wrens, juncos, chickadees and gray squirrels were running around everywhere. It immediately reminded me of a Disney forest scene. For a few minutes there it was crazy.
And the funny thing is that the cats were all napping. I don't think anyone was looking out the window. LOL
Yesterday I must have had the only source in the neighborhood of water in an unfrozen state. The robins were here, hanging out with the varied thrushes, everyone bathing in the stream. There were tons of them (as is evidenced by the amount of bird poop on the rocks). Then some flickers came and everyone made room for them. It's so amusing to see the birds land on the rocks by the waterfall, not realizing they are covered with ice. Bird ballet! Little kinglets came, too, and a pair of stellar jays. I haven't seen any of those in awhile. After awhile, a hummingbird! Must have been an overwintering Anna's hummer. I didn't think I had any around here, but there it was! With the cold weather, I've seen more birds in the yard than ever.
I posted on another thread about this, but there were two great horned owls last night pairing up for nesting. We've had them in the area for years, but you never get to see them. I saw both of them flying last night and it was way cool.
Way cool to have kinglets and great horned owls. I heard an owl in the woods several years ago, but haven't heard anything since . . . unless you count the nighttime screech I've heard a couple of times. I swear it's sounded like an animal's throat being slit open. My zoologist neighbor tells me that's probably a screech owl.
Owls, it's such a neat treat to actually see one. They glide so quietly and it's such a surprise to see a bird at night.
I don't know. If it truly was a screech owl, it was really a troubling sound. It really sounded like the neighbor's horse was being garroted. Sent chills up my spine and made me 1/2 feel like rushing to the rescue and 1/2 feel like running for the house. I'm just happy to have some sort of explanation because, apparently, I'm the only one out at midnight hearing these things. The rest of the neighbors are in bed.
now that does not sound the least bit pleasant... as much as I would love to see an owl.
A neighbor down the street had one of those little yorkies and it was old and blind and she took it out to go wee wee before bed and an owl swooped down and got it. They were devestated to loose her like that. Who would have thought
The lady knew about the owls and was standing right there. Stealth. It was 11;00 and the dog was just a few feet from her.
I saw my first thrush today. what a nice day. spread more good stinky stuff
I've heard lots of stories about smaller animals getting picked up by big prey birds. Must be so awful to have it happen right next to you. I used to worry about the cats out here on that one, too.
Heidi, glad you had some thrush today. Mine must have moved over here. Despite the fact that it was much warmer than it has been, there wasn't the bird activity out here that I saw earlier in the weekend.
