It's Springtime!

House Finch Male



Red Bellied Woodpecker



Male Pine Siskin


Female Downey Woodpecker


Young Northern Nuthatch. It's Momma was just feeding him.


Wren

Dave - Sweet little birdies!

The Painted Buntings haven't all left yet. I am thrilled to see the Indigo Buntings in all their glory with their new bright blue feathers! They made a colorful scene at the feeder this morning!

Took these on Saturday while I was taking pics of my Spring bulbs in my back yard.

White-throated Sparrow & Junco

Very nice pictures!

Thanks!

Love the pretty bird pictures.

I haven't gotten any pretty pictures of birds lately, but I'm here.

From a distance I tried to zoom in...

Nice pics everyone, and thanks to Christine for catching me up.

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Pretty!

beckygardener said:Dave - Sweet little birdies!

The Painted Buntings haven't all left yet. I am thrilled to see the Indigo Buntings in all their glory with their new bright blue feathers! They made a colorful scene at the feeder this morning!

I've been so busy the past month that I haven't had much time to post but I sure am loving all the bird photos y'all have shared on the March and now April thread. From last week and this week ...

Red-bellied Woodpeckers, male and female


Blue Jay and a pair of Mourning Doves


Northern Cardinal and a Tufted Titmouse


Red-shouldered Hawk and Bald Eagle


Yesterday when I was cleaning up the back porch I glanced across the water and saw that a Blue Heron had caught a fish so I grabbed my camera to try and get a few pictures. It always amazes me that they can swallow such large fish.

He looks a bit like a pelican in that last shot.

That reminds me of the saying about the Pelican.....

There's a story about the Pelican
His beak can hold more than his belly can!


Looks to be true of the Blue Heron as well.

They are funny looking when they catch big fish ... and I agree it does look like a Pelican in that last shot.

Fantastic shots, Lin!

Thanks Natalie!

That's what I tell the Grandies, the rhyme that is. When we see them in flight, we jokingly call them pterodactyls.
Once, while in Duck, NC, I was walking the beach after a day or two of heavy storms and winds. I walked up to the lee side of the Corp of Engineers pier and found the largest gathering of pelicans I've ever seen. There easily were a hundred or more. It looked like a Pennsylvania lake covered with Arctic geese or Tundra swans during migration. They looked like they were just hanging out and resting in the relative calm afforded by the pier.

I was out hunting butterflies and collecting food for the caterpillars and this Sandhill Crane was just standing there so I took its picture. It's kind of rare to just see one; they usually travel in small packs.




I've also been seeing - and hearing - the Red-Shouldered Hawks a lot lately. I almost had a picture the other day. I had zoomed in and was about to hit the button when it took off. I swear they can tell you're looking at them. I think one day it was yelling at me. I was walking over to the neighbor's to hunt caterpillars and all of a sudden I hear the hawk. I froze, looked up, and there it was on a branch in a tree about forty yards away. I guess I was getting too close. I wonder if their nest is nearby because I can generally get a lot closer than that, especially if I'm not looking directly at them. Part of my new strategy is acting like a harmless mammal. Or mimicking birds like the Crane. I figure my constant leaning over and examining plants for caterpillars is a lot like how they eat bugs from the ground so maybe they'll eventually think I'm one of them. Or at least a similar, harmless species.

Melanie, LOL, great strategy of acting like a harmless mammal. Great shots of that Sandhill Crane! I too am curious as to why it was alone as they usually travel in pairs or two or three etc. ...

Melanie the crane. You have a great sense of humor.

Never underestimate what I will do for a good nature pic. FYI, I just ran up to Walgreens and as I was backing out of the driveway, I looked for neighbors coming in either direction, of course. I finished backing up, put it in drive, and there in my neighbor's front yard, right by the curb, is that same Sandhill Crane! The neighbors behind me (where the Crane was) are having their yard mowed (possibly due to some Melanie trespassing while looking for caterpillars and having a run-in with their dogs the other day). So I think the Sandhill Crane got scared of the noise and moved.