Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Backyard Birds

This morning I lingered over my second cup of coffee watching the birds that had been attracted to our backyard by the six bird feeders there. There were lots of birds this morning. The iridescent black grackles were strutting among the little finches and sparrows pecking at the seeds that had fallen from the feeders. Two gray mourning doves pecked regally at the seed. Bushy tailed squirrels were happily sharing the birds' breakfast. A little black and white junco, a snow bird, was flitting from feeder to feeder. I guess he wasn't ready to leave the lovely spring weather and fly north to colder climates. A robin sat on the fence to proclaim that spring was here. A flash of red announced a cardinal had joined us for breakfast. Then a bright yellow goldfinch hung upside down to eat thistle seed from the feeder just outside the window. Watching the birds from my window is an ever changing show of nature that is always entertaining. Maybe tomorrow I will see a grosbeak or a rufous sided towhee.

9 comments:

John said...

Did you see the latest finch that was discovered. It's very territorial and even can be violent. Has even been known to kill a mockingbird. It's called an Atticus Finchimus. that's the Latin of course.

Mom said...

Ha ha. It's good to have you back John.

rosemary said...

Oh, our wonderful Barn Swallows arrived today! They are scouting out the old box to see if it is still fit for baby bird poop! I love to watch them. I hope they can find enough bugs to eat....maybe frozen in the snow if they look hard enough.

Sandy said...

I wish I knew more about birds. We set up a bird feeder a couple of years ago and at first there were just a few birds, then more came, then more and more until finally it looked like a scene from The Birds. Now I just make nectar for the hummingbirds - they're scrappy little guys and fun to watch. We also like to watch the hawks overhead on warm days.

Linda said...

I can't see "rufous sided towhee" without hearing your little one voice...

Johnny C got me birding software for my birthday! It's so fun! Had a hawk come and play with my birds the other day...not fun :(

Sling said...

What a wonderful variety of birds you have there!
I'm still feeding my Sparrows,and the soaring Turkey Vultures are ever present along the river.
Woodpeckers knock out the morning alarm on occasion,and a curious roadrunner happened into our parking lot last week.

Unknown said...

Ah, one of my most beloved activities- birdwatching.
I have all the birds you described plus a small hawk like Yolinna has (have to look it up) and Northern Flickers, blue bird (nesting in box in neighbor's backyard.
Grosbeaks and Towhees aren't terribly common in my town.

AM Kingsfield said...

Hey I like your updated profile. Tell us about that elderwoman badge please.

Mom said...

If you just click on the elderwoman badge it will take you to a cool site for happy old crones. It's a chat room for those of us in the third age of life.