Lots of bird activity this week

It is test time for you visitors! I think these are warblers, but I am lazy and tired and don't want to look them up in the books. Besides, I get confused! Any help on what birds are in these four pictures?






A Baltimore Oriole hung out for a couple of days. Sure liked the orange on our make shift oriole feeder. Last week we bought this squirrel feeder for a dollar. Nice to see the squirrels not getting into a squirrel feeder!







Momma squirrel hanging out in the trees finding bedding for her new nest!



More color and variety! Blue Jays, House Finch, White Crowned Sparrow.







From Doves sunning themselves to the Red Bellied Wood Pecker eating nuts to the Female Cardinal and White Throated Sparrow, variety and color appear outback.






The Rose Breasted Grosbeaks are visiting again this Spring, probably on their way North. Last year they stayed about a week until a Hawk decided to visit our feeder for a tasty lunch.







Sunset at an elevator near McLean with a front hanging in the West. Pictures taken about one minute apart.




Colorful Spring blooming trees from Normal.






Momma Duck and the little ducklings on Sugar Creek Near Ewing Park.

Our Red Breasted Nut Hatch hanging upside down, how do they swallow upside down?





We have two Carolina Wrens hanging around the back yard this Spring.








The red head is the Male and the Female is plain House Finch.




First CatBird of the the Spring followed by a Male Downey, a Black Cap Chickadee and then a White Throated Sparrow.






The Cardinals were out this weekend, and in full bloom. Is that a mod style on the female or a bad hair day?

April Visitors

April showers bring May flowers, but various birds appear too! Here is a selection of a few visitors in April. The White Throated Sparrow is one of the prettier sparrow.


Visiting Carolina Wren



Red Bellied WoodPecker






Pesky Squirrel being stymied this time!



White Throated Sparrow





Rose Breasted Nut Hatch



House Finch

Go Away Grackels! Where is the Sun and Spring

The birds and squirrels have been out in abundance this past week. This morning a rabbit visited our back yard. We use to have many rabbits in the neighborhood, but they have been rather scarce the last few years.

Of the six or seven squirrels we have one that almost seems human. I continue to seek ways to keep this squirrel out of the bird feeders and he/she continues to find a way to gain entrance. This morning he was not only in the feeder but sitting on top of the seed bin. The feeder tray is at least four feet off the ground and this squirrel leaps up and grabs hold of the edge and pulls itself into the feeder. I have given it the name of Rascal. At first I could yell out of the window, "Rascal you get down!" and down he would go, but now he just glances up at me as if to say "come and make me". To get Rascal to leave the feeder requires going out the door and taking several steps toward the bird feeder.

The grackles are beginning to annoy me as they tend to hog up the feeders and chase off the the more wanted birds. I switched to a mixture of safflower and deluxe mix seed but still have them. Last night I switched to just safflower seed to see if that will discourage them from coming. I will let you know if this works.

This week we have had the usual Downeys, Blue Jays, Cardinals, House Sparrows, and plenty of Doves. Yesterday a couple of Fox Sparrows appeared and we have had a couple of Song Sparrows, and Chipping Sparrows. The Gold Finches are beginning to return, not as pretty as during the summer they are bright yellow and this beautiful color is slowly coming back from their duller winter colors.

Maybe the sun will come out for a few days and warm us up a little, might even get rid of the winter blues that have seemed to hang on so long this spring, it is spring isn't it?

Saturday was a good day to relax and shoot birds

Later that day the wife decided a ride in the country would do her good, so off we went to Evergreen Lake and Lake Bloomington. A lot of birds and a few animals spotted , but the camera and camera man was too slow to get the good pictures hoped for. A trio of deer posed quietly for me, no fear of being shot in the Spring, especially a klutz with a camera! Then Gull Island was populated with tired gulls resting. In another part of the lake the gulls were zipping everywhere. Between the two lakes we spotted at least 8 blue herons and 2 hawks and a first for me a Golden Crowned Kinglet. I couldn't get the Kinglet to stay still long enough to focus my camera. Here are the posing deer and gulls.









Not being one to sit around the house all day, I took off over to the White Oak Pond to see what kind of ducks were present. I found a Killdeer walking the banks. Then a Canadian walking on shore. In the choppy water was a ringed beak gull along with a pair of mallards and a yet unidentified duck?









I have a few starlings and grackles I would love to shoot with a real gun, but today was more a shoot with the camera day. Out in the back yard were a couple of birds and and a hungry squirrel. The bungee cord feeder makes it fun to watch the squirrels work for their treats! The red colored bird is a finch, and the other bird is a a young Junco up close.

In House Bird Motel - Owner dusts out the flying creature

I think our friendly back yard birds are beginning to take our hospitality a little too far! This fall we had a Rose Breasted Nut Hatch that found its way into our family room at least twice that we know about. Who know how many other times it secretly found it way in.

Tonight I hauled out a few left overs to the birds including a couple grapes that would have been tossed and a bunch of breading from WalMart's chicken livers and the left over fried potatoes. Since I didn't want to waste energy I decided the garbage could be taking out at the same time. Passing through the family room I heard a fluttering sound. The first chore was to get the garbage and leftovers out and then find out what was making the noise. Coming back in I search high and low until the cat pointed to the bird sitting on a small lamp like a decoration. I had left the outside door open to give an exit to whatever was making the noise, but the bird just took comfort in sitting on the lamp. Probably keeping nice and toasty as the lamp was lit with a small wattage bulb.

The cat while desiring to get to the bird is also a bit lazy, and maybe a little blind, so it just stayed underneath the birds perch. After a bit the bird flew toward the window and back to the top of the lazy bow chair. It was now time to find a way to get the bird outside. I decided to open a top window in case the bird flew back toward the window as it wasn't to eager to try the door. In the closet was a extending dust mop which could reach about 6-8 feet. With it fully extended I approached the bird from the side and "zowie" out the window the bird flew!.

In case you are doubting this saga I was able to get a few pictures of our resident Dark eyed Junco sitting on the lamp.