Since no one started a new thread for February I figured I'd begin the month since I finally got some pictures of my backyard birds today.

Red-bellied Woodpecker, male ........... Same male screeching at a Grackle ... Downy WP, female


Red-winged Blackbird ....................... Grackle .................. Tufted Titmouse


Northern Cardinal's, Female .............. Male ................................... and a Palm Warbler

This I think is a Currawong but it is BIG. Wingspan was at least 2ft. I had to take this thru the kitchen door and zoom in - didn't want to scare it, so the clarity isn't great. It was eating beetles and digging for grubs in the tree bark and garden. Not colourful by Australian standards but beautiful in its own right.

Wow, that is a big bird and look at that bill/beak .... looks pretty strong! It might be the Gray Currawong. Scroll down this page to description. They are big birds with wide wingspans!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G...

And more images can be seen here:
http://www.birdsinbackyards.ne...

I see the bottlebrush is putting on a bright & lively show Lin.

Patti, cool catching the Currawong.

Ann, yes the weeping bottlebrush is just bursting into bloom ... I love those red brushes in February!

Hi,

I have a couple of my little feathered friends

Shannon, those are wonderful photos of your feathered friends! The Cardinals really seem so vivid in the snow and I just love the Flicker! I think the snow just makes everything even prettier!

I have a bunch of woodpeckers . This one is pretty friendly he stays about 4' from me when I garden I throw him
worms The Downey's you can walk right up to them. That Cardinal is Stubby He lost his tail this
summer ...I have a BIG woodpecker we call Chicken bird LOL he let's everyone know when he is coming and don't
you try to look at him He flies away

Shannon with what Lin said. That cardinal stands out like a red lighthouse!

I love it when the birds get friendly. Chicken bird....

Thank you Lin, Patti & Shannon! I hope to be seeing or hear Red-winged Blackbirds before long here. Our make flicker is still coming. I have enjoyed seeing him everyday this winter. Shannon is BIG woodpecker a Pleated? They are very timid. I just had one and it saw move by the window and off she went! We have had one lone starling again this week. Not that I am complaint but it is really weird.

I sure do love looking at all the great pics on these threads! I'm usually a lurker since I can't seem to get good pics of birds.

It's been a joy to watch all the birds around here this year. I started feeding them last year when we had such a long winter, they ran out of food and I found them all at my chicken feeders. The only down side is it does attract predators, like hawks.

Yesterday as I was watching the birds forging on the ground where I put bird seed when suddenly they all flew off. I looked over to another area where the chickens were all free ranging and noticed my oldest girl, Tootsie had stopped and was looking around (she had also noticed the birds sudden flight) and she took off running, along with the rooster and other hens. I knew a hawk must be near and sure enough I saw him/her land on a tree not too far in the distance.

I think this is a Redtail Hawk... it was a huge one!

Christine, those are great shots of that beautiful hawk! He/she was looking right at you in that first photo and I love the profile in the second pic!

Great pics everyone.

I was surprised, Lin! Although it was high in the tree, that hawk just sat there while I approached with my camera, taking pictures along the way because I didn't know when it would fly off, but it never did. In spite of their diet, hawks really are magnificent birds!

Wow, just as I was typing this, I heard the crow barking so went out and sure enough that hawk was right there!! All the crows were flying around it, crowing when me and the dogs walked outside and when the hawk flew off, the crows chased it. The chickens are hiding under my vehicle. I know --- some people hate crows but I love them.



~Cardinal Tree~

There were a ton of Crows here yesterday, cawing away loudly. I'm not real fond of Crows because they eat the eggs and babies from the nests of other birds but like the hawks, they are opportunist and they must eat too ... it's all a part of nature.

Very nice hawk shots!! I loved my crows too. During the summer the crows & jays are the first I hear in the morning as I am getting out of bed in the morning.

Got some woodpecker shots this morning. The female Pileated was here very early this morning but I missed here but later the male came and I got a couple of him!





Decent shots showing a Hairy & a Downy Woodpecker

We have a pair of pileateds that come to our feeder almost every day.

Claudia and Eric,

Great shots of those Pileated WP's! I love those woodpeckers; we hear them and see them all the time around here during the summer but they never, ever come to the suet or seed feeders ... they're usually flying from palm tree to palm tree in the yard, I suppose finding bugs or something to feed on. Last year there were two juveniles who were chasing each other up and down a palm in my next door neighbors yard and it was so much fun to watch.

what a cool site! Loving all the great pictures!