Today at the feeder (1 Viewer)

[amasara]

so where is everyone? Had blbds start to nest in box but have abandoned it????????
Indigo bunting spotted Sat - waiting on rosebreasted gr.beaks!!! Suddendly it SUMMER - 90degrees!!! should be back to normal mid-week - 60's

 

[amasara]

and this morning I saw first a phoebe on electric line and then in trees beyond the grossbeak!!! Hurried out to fill up the high feeder they seem to like - but havn't seen him since. Next heard the oriole - treetop in the sycamore - soon the leaves will be out full and I'll only catch an orange blur as he flys out....

 

[cavan wood]

White-throated sparrows this past week. The fox sparrows seem to have passed me by this spring. The juncos finally left but the siskins are still here. Chipping sparrows arrived and I can't wait for the RB grosbeaks.

Scott

 

[SixxStar]

White throated sparrows are back for the second year in a row. BUT I was happy to see a couple of new visitors to the yard. For about a week I had an Eastern Towhee (which has not been seen since the day before yesterday) & today I had a summer tanager, according to my guide, it's a first year male.

 

[cavan wood]

White-throated sparrows this past week. The fox sparrows seem to have passed me by this spring. The juncos finally left but the siskins are still here. Chipping sparrows arrived and I can't wait for the RB grosbeaks.

Scott

I didn't have to wait too long for the rose-breasted grosbeaks. There was a nice bright male on the safflower this morning.
Scott

 

[Phowley]

First Baltimore Orioles arrived today. Juncos are gone but the goldfinch and pine siskin remain. Titmice, black-capped chickadee, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, northern flicker, red-winged blackbirds, cardinals and jays are regular customers at the feeders. I am looking for a rose-breasted grosbeak who spent some time here last year.

 

[Wanda Darby]

First ruby throated hummingbird of the year appeared last Sunday. We have had rose breasted gross beaks (male and female), red-winged blackbirds, mourning doves, a white-winged dove, chickadee, cardinals, downy, red bellied, red headed, and hairy woodpeckers, goldfinches, house finches, and of course the usual undesirable grackles and starlings.

 

[SixxStar]

My yard was like Grand Central station a week or so ago & I loved it.

Regulars that are present & accounted for: pigeons, house sparrows, goldfinches, starlings, grackles, mourning doves & house finches. I have a female Downey now, but have not seen my male at all this Spring, he was always there regardless of the season.
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Occasionals that stop by often: Blue Jays, cooper's hawk, & Chickdees
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Returning were:
White Throated & White Crowned Sparrows (year 2-throats arrived a few days before the crowns)

Eurasian Collared Doves (year 3).
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New yard birds:

Rose Breasted Grosbeak (male)
Eastern Towhee (male stuck around for about a week, female stopped in a couple of times).
Summer Tanager (male)
Brown Thrasher (stuck around for a few days)
Gray Cat Bird (also stayed a few days from dawn to dusk).
Carolina Wren

& just when I thought that everyone that was going to pass through did... I had a Hairy Woodpecker at my suet feeder today. I have only seen a hairy out there one other time... middle of winter.

I am very pleased with all the activity in the yard.

 

[amasara]

Where's my long post??????

 

[amasara]

Apparently the iphone doesn't mesh with this site - wrote a long post 2 days ago and it never appeared. Was impressed with the above list of migratory birds - noted that some of my winter birds are going further north....
I had bbs nesting but abandoned?? Reg tree swallows lost out to starlings in th "martin" house....have heard and seem glimpses of reg orioles in sycamore!!
In my freezer I have a yellow billed cuckoo!! Friend had a window hit and called for id - told her I'd been dying to see that bird - freeze it!! It's now mine until I decide where it goes next - maybe to local college as retired wildlife mgt friend suggested...it is a handsome bird!!

 

[snowyowl]

We had a Yellow-billed cuckoo here a few years ago. You're right, they are beautiful.
We had the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird here on Monday.
I have a sad story with a somewhat happy ending. For at least 7 years, a pair of American Kestrels have raised a couple of young in a nest box along our driveway. This year the adults showed up on time. A couple of days later we found the female dead and partially eaten. I suspect a Merlin may have got her. The male continued to hang around the box and, to my delight, he has now been joined by a new female so I looks like we will have our usual baby kestrels flying around the place later in the summer.

 

[amasara]

glad to see you back here Dan - great news re: your kestrel. We have one here but have never noticed nesting site?

 

[snowyowl]

There was a White-crowned Sparrow under the feeders yesterday.

 

[kev_n_jena]

Hi All,

Just wanted to post what we've been seeing in our yard. We have a house of Eastern Bluebirds as we do every year.

At our feeders we have the following:

American Goldfinch
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
House Sparrow
Rose Breasted Grossbeak
Brown Headed Cowbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Morning Dove
Blue Jay
Ruby Throated Hummingbird
Grackle
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red Bellied Woodpecker
Red Headed Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White Breasted Nuthatch
Dark Eyed Junco

American Robins in the yard as well as Northern Flickers that pass through.

We saw a Summer Tanager this year but he didn't stick around.

We have lots of Owls but we haven't identified them yet. Several species of hawks. I hope they eat the mice and not the song birds.

On our pond we have Wood Ducks, and Mallards.

And last on our list, we have the Turkey Vultures soaring high above.

We spend a lot of money on bird food here. LOL

Happy birding,

Kev_n_Jena

 

[snowyowl]

Nice list!

 

[amasara]

wish we had the redheaded wp - have only seen one here once on a fly thru....gorgeous bird - my grandson and I nailed a fake one on a tree a few years ago - hoping to attack a real one!!

 

[kev_n_jena]

We seem to have a pair of Red Headed Woodpeckers. They've both been on the suet at the same time. This is the 1st year in 9 that they've come near the house. The Red Bellies haven't been nearly as shy. I wonder if this is typical behavior for both.

I've never seen a Pileated Woodpecker. I'm sure we have some in the woods near us. We're surrounded by hundreds of acres of mature forest with lots of standing dead trees. One of these days I'm going to walk some of the woods and see what I can find.

 

[Euan Buchan]

Just had a few Starlings on my feeder

 

[snowyowl]

The highlights of my feeders right now are a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a White-crowned Sparrow. There has been a shortage sparrow species here this spring, at least at my place. I spent some time yesterday photographing the birds at the feeders and ended up with shots of 11 species.

 

[cavan wood]

I let my niger feeder run out and when I finally refilled it a few days later a few goldfinches returned but not the siskins. I assumed they had finally moved north, but then yesterday there they were againl. I don't ever recall seeing siskins in May. It seems it's a trend this year for them to take up breeding further south than usual. Am I imagining this or are others experiencing unexpected siskins as well.

Scott