Starting off December 2018 Birds. The Golden-cheeked Woodpecker (Melanerpes chrysogenys) is found only in Mexico along the Pacific coast from the states of Sinaloa to Colima (a relatively limited territory). These birds do not migrate.

The first pic looks to be a recent fledgling, the second pic appears to be a male/female pair. Both pics show the birds in their natural habitat.

Great start for Dec. with birds we won't see anywhere else. What pretty birds they are!

ctcarol said:Great start for Dec. with birds we won't see anywhere else. What pretty birds they are!

Thank you Carol and Evelyn...wild birds spook easily so the photos don't do these little woodpeckers justice. Still i wanted to share them. This forest is home to so many unique birds, like two species of Pygmy owls. I see them flying but they hide under the canopy. I am hoping to get lucky one of these days

Ahhh. Still have a few hummers that hang all year?

@bumplbea have you seen them nesting near the food source?

Beverly ....o yes the hummers nests are usually in the cedars or thujas, Cyprus or the tall Doug firs.The nests are constructed tightly with horse hair lint and grasses with mosses. Looks so cozy, the nests are deep enough to prevent falls. Tiny lil nests,I have saved a few somewhere, like to put them in Xmas wreaths.

One year the hummers were flying south while stopping over in the lower branches on the Doug fir tree by the barn . So many dripping down so thick from every branch like leaves covering all the branches with hundreds of hummers waiting for the warm morning sun to warm them to send them off.

I don't have many birds in the yard right now. There's some tiny little birds that move so quickly I may never get a picture of them.

The Mockingbirds are full time residents and this is one of their favorite spots. It likes to take cover in the this monstrous Rangoon Creeper and hop out for a snack in the Beautyberry bush. Its a good spot, I like to sit here myself in the summer, you can see the entire yard from this vantage point.

Beverly that is a beautiful Woodpecker, love the yellow and red, so different that FL Woodpeckers.

Thank you all for loving these little Woodpeckers. I am so charmed by them, especially the one with some baby feathers. It makes me want to carefully lift up a wing and give it a little tickle. I am also happy to see their habitat undisturbed and abundant. It makes me feel hopeful.

Up all night with a sick DH. Went out about 7:15 to read the rain gauge and put out the bird feeders. 34 degrees and very windy. Went to bed. About 12:40, granddaughter woke me saying a bird was tapping on the office window. Sure enough, this one was hanging on the window ledge, beak tapping away. No suet in the feeder and peanut butter tube was empty! I had just put them out as is without completely filling! Now they are filled, but the YBSS female keeps hanging on the window still. Can't get a good pic of her there because the long lens won't focus that close.

@beclu727 Begging birds, I know woodpeckers will beg for seed, so will doves. My Cardinals will zip by me real fast when the feeder is empty, they all sit up in the tree and watch me fill it.


I went for a hike this past weekend and got some great bird shots.
Glossy Ibis


Don't know what this one is?


Great Blue Heron


Great White Egret


Anhinga


White Ibis and friend


Not a bird but had to throw this guy in the mix, and yes I was this close.

Oooh, really stunning photos @sunkissed Is this an alligator or a crocodile. I am always getting them confused. I think we have mostly crocs here.

Common name in Spanish: zorzal chalchalero (Turdus amaurochalinus),

It usually can be seen in places with trees or near the rivers. It looks for food on the soil searching for worms and insects.
Habitat: South America

vitrsna said:Oooh, really stunning photos @sunkissed Is this an alligator or a crocodile. I am always getting them confused. I think we have mostly crocs here.

Alligators here in Central FL, only Crocs are down in the Everglades, which is far north as they go. The difference is something about the nose shape and where the teeth are, but I don't get close enough to inspect the nose or the teeth.

...and thank you, and for the acorn tip

@sunkissed Sherri, Thanks for the acorn tip!

I put a rubber snake on the window ledge and that is keeping the sapsucker from pecking the window. But... now a hermit thrush is seeing his/her reflection and attacking it! Ignores the snake completely. Birds can be so funny.
Edited to change wood to hermit thrush and add picture...

leaning pole--neato hawk

Such nice bird photos being posted.

The Eastern Bluebirds (male) are back and looking for beef suet dispensers and the open water in my heated birdbath. The preformed suet blocks are not as appealing to them as the real suet that looks unappetizing to me. It's so surprising to see them in bad weather this far north but bad weather makes them more dependent on people who care.




The Barred Owl (male) is very close and his mate seems to hang out within a couple hundred yards of the male. They may not be on good speaking terms.

I had so much bird splatter on my picture windows in spring . I purchased helium reflective balloons placed near in the windows... the wind moves them and It worked. I like the snake idea ... it's a bit unsettling walking thru the house and hear a huge bang ... you'd think I would get used to it by now.

cool owl!