Magpies arrive in full force

I've had magpies for the last few months, I don't mind them as they are a pretty birds and they don't seem to chase off anything other than the house sparrows. There must be something good down that pipe as the downy woodpecker was after whatever it is as well. I first thought he was going to fly into my window!

He hopped down to my new eco-tough platform feeder (thank you Christy!) and went after the croutons I'd put out and then moved onto the suet...not a picky eater that's for sure!

Time to plug in the bird bath

Well Another sign that the weather had taken a turn...I woke up to find that the bird bath had frozen and the birds were sitting on it pecking at the ice trying to get something to drink.

So I took pity on them and went out and plugged it in. It's a heated bird bath that lets me keep fresh water on hand during the winter. It's about the same power draw as leaving a single light bulb on...not a bad deal considering before this I never had any birds stay past December!

Cold Snap

Well I think it's official fall is definitely here, the temperature went from +30 to +10 in just 1 day. Kinda crazy...doesn't give the body a lot of time to adjust.

As a result of the temperature snap most of the migrating birds here took off. I only had the harris sparrows for about 2 days. I had no idea that they would leave so quickly, so I'm extra happy that I got the pictures when I did.

The sparrow flock is mostly just house sparrows now. The white throated sparrows have gone as well as the chipping and white crested. I'm a little sad as it seems like too short a time...I miss my birds!

This morning while having my coffee I noticed that a downy woodpecker had come back to eat some suet on the feeding station closest to the house. The sparrows were on the feeders by the fence and in the middle of the yard, leaving the station closest to the house totally empty.

The downy seemed pleased as punch until the sparrows noticed that he was there. 2 of them flew over and defended the previously empty station and tried to chase off the woodpecker. He managed to get a few pecks in before they bullied him away. I was not a happy camper as it was the truest form of bulling I'd ever seen. "I don't want it but you can't have it either so I'm going to chase you away!"

Eventually the downy came back and was able to eat a bit more suet before the sparrows tried to bully him away again. I made a bit of noise and the sparrows took off and the downy stayed and had a nice snack and made my morning breakfast very entertaining!

I really hope that the birds aren't done for the year yet. I haven't had a chance to get to oak hammock marsh yet and I really want to see a few more birds before the snow flies. I love the fact that the house sparrows stayed for the entire winter last year for the first time, but I need something more than that. Maybe this year I can attract nuthatch's and chickadees...everyone else seems to have them but I never do.

I guess if nothing else I can watch for the arrival of the juncos!

The Common Yellow throat

So much to my surprise, while working on my computer I heard the ever familiar chirp of the yellow throat coming from my front flower bed. So I went to the window camera in hand and thought there might be an off chance that I could get a better shot of it that I did the week before.

I made several attempts but the glare from the window sill was totally preventing anything worth while. Then she moved to a flower pot on the top step and I moved to the side window and hit the jackpot! I ended up with 6 shots that I deemed worthy but the shot above was by far one of the best shots I've ever taken!

It's been met with rave reviews from many fellow birders and I couldn't be more pleased. I think I'll have to blow this one up...now I just need a place to hang it!

A Baby Downy Woodpecker!!

Wow is today ever a great bird day and it's not even 9 am yet!! So while I was enjoying my morning coffee (I had just gone out and refilled all of my feeders), I noticed that there was a baby downy woodpecker on one of my homemade seed feeders pecking away.


He moved from feeder to feeder, looking for I don't know what, but eventually he made his way to the feeding station by the door, much to my delight!

He was so tiny I couldn't believe that he was the same size as the female house sparrow. I watched him hop about and when a magpie flew into the yard he hunkered down to become one with the branches...a very cool self preservation instinct that I'd hadn't witnessed up close before.

In the above picture he was pecking at something that was jammed down the pole hole...very cute to watch as his head would disappear down the tube.

My new favourite baby to visit the yard this year...cutie patootie!

The Harris Sparrow

Okay, so the picture here won't orient properly...yet another reason why I HATE this interface...the picture is not a vertical picture yet blogger will only post it as such no matter what I do. SUCKS!

Now that that's out of my system onto the whole point of this post. The Harris Sparrow!! I only get these guys for about a week in May and a week in September. I tried in the spring to get a picture of these fellas but they wouldn't come out of the underbrush.

I noticed Sunday that they had returned and I was so excited! Then I got the picture and I was over the moon. I found it odd that they were eating off of the platform feeder by the fence for a while...they normally just stick to the ground.

I haven't seen them today yet...hopefully they haven't gone for the year yet. I think the white throated have disappeared...not surprising as the weather has finally gone back to normal and it' s much cooler! This morning I swear it was going to snow any day now! Yipee!!

Bird Bathing Hilarity

So the birds are enjoying this heat wave we're still having...I thought it had broke but yesterday and today have highs of 30' so I guess we're having summer in September. Much to my enjoyment the birds have been dust bathing and water bathing all afternoon when it's like this so the weather isn't that bad I guess. I just want to go hiking and I can't in this heat!

I live the picture above as you can almost hear the annoyance of the ladies, who just came over for a drink only to find a man sparrow show up and splash and splash away. One of them is even shielding away from the spray action. LOVE it.

I went out and bought more bird seed as it would appear that they're going to keep cleaning me out for a while and I really want the sparrows to stay this winter again. It was so cool to see them perch on the frosty edge of the heated bird bath for a drink. They don't bath in the winter but they will stay near the water source if there's food near by!

No cool bird sightings yesterday...I guess I can't expect one a day...would be nice tho'!

greedy birds

I'm out of bird seed again! I can't believe how much seed these guys are plowing through on a day to day basis. I'm gonna have to take out a loan just to continue feeding them....and the flock hasn't even reached it's full size yet!

The hummingbirds have officially gone for the year...no sightings in over 2 weeks. I guess it was inevitable; at least this stupid heat wave has ended!

I haven't spotted the hairy woodpecker for a few days but I did notice that his suet plug feeder was empty, so I refilled it...hopefully they'll make a return through October and give something pretty and quirky to watch.

I really hope that maybe this winter I can get chickadee's and nuthatch's' to stay through the winter in my yard. I haven't had any luck with that previous years, but last year was the first year that sparrows stayed the winter thanks to my heated bird bath.

Fingers and toes crossed! Time for morning coffee!

The Common Yellow Throat!

So this mornings already been a great bird morning! As I sat surfing on my Laptop I noticed a different bird chirp that seemed too delicate for a house sparrow.

So I looked out my front window hoping to catch a sparrow in the middle of a dirt bath as I did the day before (video camera in hand); when to my surprise I see these greyish things flitting around my flower garden!

I knew there was a reason I hadn't cleared out all of the dead and dying flowers!! There were at least 4 of these guys that I could see, so I tried to get a picture using my video camera as I needed to get something. That just wasn't working out so I figured I would go get my camera from the kitchen and maybe, just maybe, they would still be somewhere close enough to get a picture.

Upon my return one of these little ladies came right to the window and rooted around on the asters looking for yummies and allowed me to take her picture! No easy feat as these are fairly skittish birds (I know, find one who isn't) and add the windowsill glare to that and I'm pleased to have something turn out this good!

Time for morning coffee!

White Throated Sparrow

These guys have finally returned to my yard so fall migration is in full swing. The sparrow flock now has house, chipping, white crested, and the white throated!

This poor fella flew into the door and sat stunned on the steps for about 2 minutes and almost fell over, but much to my relief he flew over to the maple tree and eventually made his way back to the ground to feed.

I almost had a heart attack though when I went out to fill the feeders, in mid fill a magpie flew up (about 2 feet away) and looked at me like I was dinner. I said hello, he turned his head and I realized he'd come for the fermenting strawberries I was adding grapes to.

It's shaping up to be a great bird day!

Feeding Frenzy

The feeding frenzy has kicked into high gear!

White Crested Sparrow

This stupid heat wave has played havoc with migration and I'm seeing nothing but sparrow after sparrow...although the Blue jays were by again today briefly. They were loud and proud and pigging out like crazy.

I did notice though that the white crested sparrows have joined the chipping and house sparrows. Unfortunately they're juveniles, but maybe some moms and dads will show up soon.
I really hope this stupid heat breaks soon. 30' with 90% humidity in September is just stupid!

Migration in full swing

So I've returned from my camping adventure and I have to say it would appear that migration is in full swing. My yard was decimated and feeders emptied (one was on the ground this morning)...making me wonder if that HUGE grey squirrel I saw on my neighbours house made his way to my yard.

There are no birds of any kind this morning so I guess we'll have to wait and see, but needless to say I guess the trap needs some better bait.

Man I hate squirrels.

I wish this blasted heat wave would go away...It's so muggy It's hard to breath outside.

Falcon attacks a flicker

I have to mention that before we headed out we went for a last stroll down to the reservoir and on the way back about 10 ft in front of us out of the trees sweep a flicker being chased by a falcon of some kind.

I've never seen anything like that in my life, the noise was incredible. The flicker escaped and the falcon the went after a blue jay (who also escaped). Made us wonder if she was protecting something or out for a snack!

September 12th - The Belted Kingfisher

So let me start our by saying that last year I tried so very hard to ID this bird that soared and dived over the water by our campsite to no avail. I scoured my bird books looked everywhere for a black headed gull.

I was determined to get a good picture of these guys so I could have my bird buddies help me to ID him when I took this shot and went "HOLY S**T, it's a king fisher!"

What threw me off for the longest time was that fact that his colouring was really different from my book and until this precise moment I'd never seen them look like such a textbook KF picture. There heads were totally black not grey and they seemed larger than the one I had in my backyard last year.

However I don't think there can really be any doubt...Belted Kingfisher indeed!


My one real regret is not getting a better picture of them as they were the coolest birds I'd ever seen!

September 11th - The pied-billed grebe

These picture are terrible, but they were all I could get of these fellas. They showed up this morning in a group of 4 and were so tiny I couldn't help but wonder where their parents were.

I then realized that they were small Grebe's not baby loons (my first thought because of the great diving lengths they would travel under water) because when I would get close to them they would just sink slowly out of site. It was hilarious! I've never seen anything like it.

Very cute and entertaining...I guess fall migration is in full now as the geese have been flocking here at night and gone during the day....you wouldn't know from this ridiculous heat wave we're having!

A Male yellow shafted flicker

These guys are still everywhere...as a matter of fact when we were eating dinner tonight one was about 30 ft from our table and seemed oblivious to us...I only wish I'd had my camera the pictures would have been amazing!.

I'm now happy though as I have a picture of the male and female so my collection is complete!

September 10th - The American Bald Eagle

Now this guy was the coolest!! I know I can ID him! We first spotted him at a distance yesterday circling over the spillway. Today I was standing outside the RV when I looked up and this guy was gliding right by our campsite! Lucky for me had my camera in hand so i clicked away.

He spent the day diving and grabbing fish right out of the water...one of the coolest things I've ever seen!

Bird of prey

This guy spent the safternoon gliding over the lake right off of our campsite. Not too sure what he was (I'm terrible at IDing BOP). Pretty cool though...there seems to be a wide variety of them here so we'll see if I can't ID one of them!

September 9th - The cedar waxwing

So it would seem that the bird of today is the cedar waxwing! They are here in very large flocks and once you realize what that soft "cheeing" is you hear them everywhere!! On our hike today we chased a flock for about 20 minutes. Every time I would get close enough to get a semi decent picture they would take off to another tree patch.

I finally gave up and that's when I came I across this group that seemed content to just watch me. They're not the best pictures but they make me happy!

The yellow shafted Flicker! September 8th

These guys have shown up here in great numbers everywhere! I couldn't believe how close this lady let me get to her. Finally a decent picture! I saw a flicker for the very first time last month and I'm totally obsessed with them. They're so beautiful and complex in colouring !

They surround us on a daily basis so hopefully I'm going to be able to enjoy them all week long!

September 7th - where have all the birdies gone?

Day 2 of our camping trip has yielded no birds to be seen...must have been the 1000 rowdy campers this past weekend...hopefully they'll start to return in another day or two.

Strange that there isn't a single Eastern kingbird to be seen as they were absolutely everywhere the last time we were here. Another sign of the impending migration I guess!

Sparrows flocking

Well it would appear that the sparrows have started to flock for the fall migration. This morning I noticed that there were about 6 very small (probably juvenile chipping sparrows) mixed in with the house sparrows. Not really a fair fight the house sparrows just bullied them away from the food. I really hope that the white throated and harris's return this fall.

I had a flock of about 20 brewers blackbirds come in to clean out my feeders this morning...an impressive sight I might add. The sparrows held their ground on 3 of the feeders so the black birds eventually gave up and moved onward.

The hummingbirds have been absent for the last 3 days so they might have moved onward. The feeder hasn't gone down any either so they may be done for the year.

The hairy woodpeckers have been making a regular mid day appearance for the suet...such an interesting bird to watch...I love the quirky movements. I've put out a coconut to see if they are interested at all...friends from the south swear by it so we'll see. I might have better luck trying it next spring...

It feels like the birds are in a holding pattern with the unexpected heat wave we're having here so hopefully by the time I get back from a much deserved vacation I won't have missed much!

Fall Feasting

Man these birds are really cleaning me out! I can't believe how much seed/suet I'm going through these days. I'm going to go bankrupt at this rate! Normally it doesn't start this early so it doesn't hurt too bad but a 40lb bag of seed per week?!? Nuts!

I hope some of the more interesting sparrows make their return soon, these house sparrows are vicious! I'm going to find a body soon. Cool birds come back please!!

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

These guys have been battling all day at my feeder...I never seem to see the males in my yard...it would appear to me a mom and baby that chase each other around the yard all day...enjoyable to watch!!

Lifetime Bird Sightings (in the wild...Zoo's don't count!!) 61

American Kestral
Bald Eagle
Wild Turkey
Ruffed Grouse

Blue Heron
Sandpiper (not sure what kind)

Bonapartes Gull
Pied- Billed Grebe (09/11/2009)

Mourning Dove
Ruby Throated Hummingbird (M&F)

Northern Flicker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated woodpecker (F)
Yellow bellied sapsucker

Eastern Kingbird
Great Crested flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe

Barn Swallow
Cliff swallow
Tree swallow

Blue Jay
Grey Jay
Black billed Magpie
Common Raven
American Crow

Black capped chickadee
White breasted nuthatch

American Robin

American Redstart
Golden Crowned kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Shrike

Yellow Warbler
Cape may Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow rumped warbler (juvenille)

Common Yellow throat

House Sparrow
White throated Sparrow
White crowned Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Harris' Sparrow
Song Sparrow

Slate Coloured Junko

Yellow Headed Blackbird
redwinged blackbird
Brewers Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown Headed Cowbird

Orchard Oriole
Baltimore oriole

Rose Breasted Grosbeak (M)
Rose Breasted Grosbeak (F)

Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

Common Yellow throat

The Common yellowthroat has been hanging out in my yard for most of the summer. I've yet to get a picture as they're so skittish but this morning he did come by to hang out in my lilac bush for a bit.

The problem is that I've already started clearing out most of my perennials as they're done for the year so he doesn't have a lot of underbrush to hop through...hope I haven't scared him off!

Migration seems to be halted slightly with the warm weather were having, I just wish the mosquito's weren't so crazy. Not having many insectivores around means that as soon as the sun starts setting it's unbearable to be outside...too bad.

The bee's are at a high level too...they're all over the oriole, hummingbird and seed cylinder feeders...I guess I'll have to wait and see.

2009 Bird Count = 58

My year to date bird count is as follows;

Downy Woodpecker
Hairy woodpecker
Yellow bellied sapsucker
Northern yellow shafted Flicker
Pileated woodpecker

Mourning Dove
Robin

Rose Beasted Grosbeak (F)
Rose breasted grosbeak (M)

Orchard Oriole 06 02 2009 (1st time ever!!!)
Baltimore Oriole 06 01 2009 (1st time ever!!!)
Cedar Waxwing


Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Phoebe
Tree swallow
Great Crested flycatcher


Ruby throated hummingbird


Blackburnian Warbler 05 25 2009
Magnolia Warbler 06 20 2009
Yellow Warbler 05 25 2009
Cape May Warbler 05 23 2009

Blue Jay
Grey Jay

House Sparrow
Harris Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
White throated Sparrow
White crested sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Grasshopper sparrow


Yellow headed black bird
Cowbird
Grackle
Crow
Catbird
Brewers black bird
Red winged black bird
Magpie

Gold Finch
Purple finch
House finch
Pine Siskin

Common Yellow throat
American Redstart
Ruffed Grouse

Chickadee
Nuthatch

American Coot
Mallard
Woodduck
Canada goose

Pied-billed grebe 09/11/2009
Common Loon 09/07/2009
Belted Kingfisher 09/ 10/2009
American Bald Eagle 09/09/2009

Yellow Rumped Warbler 10/02/2009
Orange crowned warbler

The blue jay

They arrived in a group of four yesterday...very exciting for me!

The downy Woodpecker

The downy woodpecker has returned!

Keeping track

This year has been an amazing birds year for me. I live in an area that had very few mature tree's so getting anything other than house sparrows has been a huge challenge for me. With fall migration starting earlier than it ever has before I'm looking forward to seeing what arrives this time out.

The blackbirds here started flocking about 3 weeks ago and have all but disapeared, the geese have been gathering in greater numbers (usually reserved for late septemeber), the gold finches have started to turn brown, the robins and orioles are gone.