Yes to both! And the other one whose feeding habits are similar (on the trunks of trees and the suet) are the white-breasted nuthatches, of which we see many.Originally Posted by Nearfest2
Yes to both! And the other one whose feeding habits are similar (on the trunks of trees and the suet) are the white-breasted nuthatches, of which we see many.
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
The woodpeckers we have in these parts are plain gray, like most every other bird. Most native birds species are gray, and/or brown.
"Well my son, life is like a beanstalk, isn't it?"--Dalai Lama
Fantastic! Lucky you. I've only had two Pileated sightings in my life. We get lots of Downies and Hairies at our feeder. We see the Downies pretty much daily year-round. The Hairies aren't quite as frequent, but we still see them a couple of times a week. And we get a lot red-breasted nuthatches, and the occasional white-breasted. But what I'm really waiting for this spring is the return of the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. They've stopped by our place for the last couple of years on their way further North. Last year we had five males and four females at our feeder at one time! This year I have a better camera so I'm hoping to get some good shots. Plus I'm working from home full-time now (as, probably, are most of you) so I have more opportunity to look out the window.
You have very cool woodpeckers out there... Arizona, Ladder-backed, Acorn, Gila, plus the Gilded Flicker.
Chad
A different duck:
Maybe a bufflehead https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bufflehead
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Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
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Just got a glimpse of my first bluebird of the season setting up in a birdhouse right in front of my home in a crabapple tree. Looks like we'll get some nice shots.
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Nice! Hoping you'll post a few here.
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Here's one:
blue-bird.jpg
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
^^^ That is a GREAT shot!
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
It was easy, too. They're right in front of our house. That was shot from inside the front door.^^^ That is a GREAT shot!
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Two more
blue-bird2.jpg
bluebird-house.jpg
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Great bluebird shots!
I had a Bobolink and a Sora this morning on my walk along with four warbler species (Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, Palm and Yellow-rumped (Myrtle)).
Goldfinches have started moving through the area.
Nice to see different colors now and again.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
Thanks!
Yeah, I think one caught my eye the other day here in western PA.
I'm awaiting the familiar Oriole call. This is the time they show up each year. I wonder if the lower temps are keeping them at bay.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
The bluebird pictures are amazing! As far as goldfinches go, this is a regular sight in our backyard of late.
IMG_1467.jpg
I really need to get an actual camera (I know, I say that every year).
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
I just got a new 100-400 m43 zoom ( 200-800 equiv ). I need to get out while I have the time.
The weather has been very changeable as of late.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
-- Aristotle
Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
“A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain
Just before the COVID-19 lockdown, I upgraded my lens to a Nikon f5.6 500mm lens. So far, I'm very happy with the results. I haven't played much with the 1.4x Teleconverter yet, but with my D500, it would put me at around 1000mm.
Here's an American Woodcock chick (one of four) that we stumbled upon in the woods in Berks County, PA two weeks ago while searching for Ruffed Grouse.
AMWO1.jpg
Last edited by Nearfest2; 04-28-2020 at 03:52 PM.
^^ Cool!
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
We have tons of Goldfinches. They love niger seed. If you want to attract them, get a designated finch feeder filled with niger.
We have a couple of Blue Jays hanging out in our back yard. They must have a nest in a nearby tree. They were hanging around our pond the other day and I got some good pics of one of them bathing in the pond. I just have to transfer them to my computer. Maybe on the weekend.
I have had many goldfinches feeding at my feeder full of sunflower seeds in the past. That’s when the feeder was on my back deck. I moved the feeder to a tree in the front yard and have seen a few, but not very often. However, there are plenty across the street where a feeder has a different seed. I did try thistle seed and that actually wasn’t as popular as the sunflower seed on my back deck. We have witnessed Cardinals engaging with sunflower seed, a feeding act consistently. A female will fly to a branch and a male will go to the feeder and get a seed (or its germ) and fly up to the girl and feed it to her. Amazing
Last edited by Firth; 04-30-2020 at 08:35 AM.
When we lived in Illinois (far north suburbs) we had a deck with a nijer seed feeder, and it wouldn't be uncommon to have 8-10 goldfinches feeding there at the same time - they loved it. When we moved to our current house in Iowa in 2012, we expected the same or even better (it IS the state bird, after all), but we were sorely disappointed. We literally didn't see a single one for years, and finally gave up on the nijer seed feeder. Last year we started putting out sunflower hearts for our house finches, cardinals and sparrows, and we started to see the goldfinches again. This spring they've been numerous, almost like 10 years ago. Feeding patterns change, I suppose. Now I'm wondering if we should put out a nijer seed feeder again!
David
Happy with what I have to be happy with.
It's spelled "nyger."
Anyway, you guys clearly have interest in birds based on your feeder talk. Do you ever go out looking for birds at parks or preserves? There are SO many species out there to discover beyond the goldfinches and cardinals. I went to my local park this morning and had 41 species including a Common Gallinule (rare for us), Yellow Warblers. Warbling Vireos, Greater Yellowlegs, Red-shouldered Hawk, Virginia Rail and Northern Waterthrushes.
I watch them do it all the time. It's quite charming to see the courting.We have witnessed Cardinals engaging with sunflower seed, a feeding act consistently. A female will fly to a branch and a male will go to the feeder and get a seed (or its germ) and fly up to the girl and feed it to her. Amazing
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
I never take the time to do that. I even have a nice patch of woods behind my house. I just don't know them well enough to document what I'm seeing.
I do have a pond at the end of my street where I saw a few I never saw before. First time I ever saw a Belted Kingfisher. I also saw Cedar Waxwings and what I'm pretty sure were Black-throated Blue Warblers.
Still waiting for the Orioles to show up. They seem to be a bit late this year.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
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