Colorful New Visitor!

I was a bit down about the House Finch nest being abandon this morning but was quickly cheered up when I looked out my kitchen window and saw a very colorful new bird at my feeder! A Western Tanager!!! A first sighting for me and even more exciting that all I had to do to see him was look out my window. He was a welcome sight on this dreary, rainy, cold spring day! So far he has been hanging around all day coming and going to my feeder and the nearby trees. I hope he decides to stay.

Abandon Nest

It's been 2 days since I last checked on the nest (when I took a picture of the eggs) and it seems mom is no longer sitting at the nest :( It has been a cold and rainy 2 days so I think any time off the eggs would be detrimental and since she hasn't been there any of the times I've checked today I can assume she has moved on. I don't understand why she would leave and I can only hope it wasn't because I climbed up there to take a picture. I did it quick and then high-tailed it out of there so she would be left alone. I guess I will not ever know why. Now, I'm not sure what to do with the eggs or nest so for now I will leave it be and see what happens.

New House Finch Nest, Old Location

May 3, 2011

May 5, 2011

May 7, 2011

May 13, 2011
I knew mom had finally laid an egg when I checked on the nest and saw her sitting on it. When she left, I just had to know (for Nestwatch as well as for myself). I was wrong, there was not one egg...

There were 5 !!!

And here is the proud papa watching from a nearby tree making sure I don't harm the eggs!
I won't do too many updates so mom can have some privacy but I will be keeping an eye on them from a hidden spot in the garage!
This location was used by (I believe) this same pair two summers ago for 2 successful broods in a row. I left the nest up last summer thinking they would re-use it but they didn't. Last fall, I removed that old nest and I am happy to see they are using this piece of prime real estate again!

Cooper's Hawk Building a Nest!

There have been a pair of Cooper's Hawks nesting in the same vicinity for at least the last 2 summers and I noticed yesterday, they're at it again! On my daily walk on the greenbelt near my house I noticed a hawk on the ground grabbing a stick. Of course I hung around so she would lead me to her nest. All I had was my iPhone so I went back today and go some better shots! It will be fun to see it progress. Enjoy!

Decorah Eaglets!

I'm still a bit obsessed with the Decorah Eagle nest cam! In case you've been living under a rock and have not heard...the third hatchling arrived yesterday (April 6) and all 3 are doing well so far. I grabbed this screen shot this morning but the cam was having some technical difficulties so it's not real clear. Clear enough to see all 3 cuties, though!

Live Eagles Nestcam (Decorah, Iowa)!

I started watching this nest yesterday and the eagles had their first hatch over night! The next two eggs are due to hatch anytime! Enjoy!

If you want to watch a great PBS documentary about the history of this nest and American Eagles in general, you can watch it online HERE!

Live Broadcast by Ustream.TV

New Visitor! Hairy Woodpecker!

I looked out my window and instead of my little Downy Woodpecker visitor I saw this extra large looking Downy and knew immediately it must be a Hairy Woodpecker! This is a first sighting for me but I had read about them and knew they are larger and also have longer beaks than the Downy. It was the male I saw first but he didn't stick around long enough for me to swap lenses on my camera. 20 minutes later, this female showed up and I was ready with my camera. After she left, I put more suet out but I haven't seen them again. They know I've got the goods so I'm sure they'll be back!

GBBC 2011

The Great Backyard Bird Count has come and gone again. Time sure flies doesn't it? I have my counts written down but have not entered them on the website yet. I wanted to go out and visit some local parks but I ended up literally counting in my backyard only. Well, I guess that's not exactly true since I did count the Mallards and Canada Geese at a small pond near my house while walking my dog.
I saw a nice variety for my count but not very many of each variety. Here they are if you're interested:
Canada Geese---------------- 50
Mallard Ducks----------------18
House Finch------------------12
Black-capped Chickadee-------2
Northern Flicker-------------- 2
Red-breasted Nuthatch------- 1
White-breasted Nuthatch----- 1
Downy Woodpecker----------- 1
Dark-eyed Junco-------------- 1
Black-billed Magpie----------- 1
American Robin--------------- 1
Blue Jay----------------------- 1
Brown-headed cowbird-------- 1

Sorry for the lack of photos lately. I'm in the midst of an online photography workshop until April 10th so I've been taking loads of photos for my assignments just not of birds. I need more cooperative subjects than birds for now. I'm learning tons about photography so it's been fun!

What else...I'm still doing Project Feederwatch and getting pretty much the same count each week from my regulars...and I'm ready for spring!

Coming in for a Landing!

Birds on a Fence

Dark-eyed Junco

House Finch

There's just something I love about photographing birds on a wood fence. Maybe it's because when they land on a fence they usually stay there long enough for me to get a decent photo of them. Plus there's no branches in the way like there is when they're in a tree!

Downy Woodpecker in Winter

Yellow House Finch!

I can't believe I forgot about these photos I took in December of the less common yellow House Finch. I found them on my camera and thought I'd better share! This fella was visiting quite regularly the last couple of months and I finally got some pictures of him. When I found these pictures I realized I haven't seen him since the day I took these. I hope he returns...

Bird-related Christmas Gifts

Wow, the holidays have come and gone since I last posted and the new year has begun! I don't have any bird photos to share at the moment but thought I'd share some bird-related Christmas gifts I received. First, the cute little owl pictured above was a Build-a-Bear gift given to me by my two sons (ages 6 and 8). They gave her to me un-stuffed and after Christmas we headed to our nearest Build-a-Bear store to stuff her with hugs and good wishes, give her a name (Emma), birth certificate and of course...accessories!!!
I also got the book American Robin by Roland Wauer. It's a sweet little book about my favorite bird that was written some time ago (so the statistical data has probably changed some). I haven't quite read the entire book even though it's pretty short but I'm enjoying it so far. Right near the beginning the author mentions a statistic that I can relate to. He states that 27% of all birders ignite their interest from an encounter with a single bird...a "spark bird". Like the author, my spark bird was the American Robin!
Last, but certainly not least I got 4 new cross-stitching kits and all of them are patterns of...birds!!! I will keep very busy this coming year working on these :)



Speaking of cross stitching, I had mentioned awhile ago about one I had started last spring called 'Bird Seasons' (you can read about it here). Well, I finished it on Christmas eve and it has been sent off to be framed as we speak! I can't wait to see it! Here's a photo of it un-framed...

some close-ups...

Snow Goose and Red-Tailed Hawk!

Nearly everyday, I take my dog (and 2 boys) for a walk on Ralston Creek Trail. We walk by a little pond with the usual Mallard ducks and Canada Geese. Every once in awhile we have a new visitor passing through. On this day, it was a Snow Goose! He was brought to my attention by a couple of neighborhood birders. I can't say I would've noticed him among the Canada Geese because I really don't pay a whole lot of attention to them as there are so many of them. This was earlier in the day and I didn't have my camera with me. I didn't get back to get photos of him until evening. Luckily he was still there and I had just enough light to get some photos. The next day he was gone so I'm glad I went back. The Red-tailed Hawk was hanging around this same pond pretty much all day, too. He was still there the next day :)

European Starling and Other Thirsty Birds!

It has been sooo dry her this fall and water must be hard to come by for the birds. The word got out that I had water so the Robins came back with more friends and this time they brought with them a European Starling. It was the first time I had one of these in my yard and boy was it thirsty!!!