The Birds of Springtime

After spending the winter in Florida I have returned to the north where I thought it would be in a warming trend. Wrong!!! The temps have been in the 40's - 50's during the day and teens to 20's at night. Quite a change from the 70's - 80's I was used to having.  It was so cold last night that the water froze in the bird bath. The good news is the birds don't seem to mind and they are ecstatic that I am back and the seed feeders are back up and full. I've seen more birds in the past week then I have ever seen at this time of the year. That should be a good sign that the migrating birds will be coming through soon. It is supposed to start warming up this weekend and all next week. Hope I can get a nice day and head up to the Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge for a day of bird photography.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Brown Thrasher

House Finch - Juvenile

Slate-colored Junco

American Goldfinch

White-throated Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow - Adult

Carolina Wren

Eastern Phoebe

Carolina Chickadee

Downy Woodpecker - Male

White-breasted Nuthatch

American Goldfinch

Blue Jay

Downy Woodpecker - Female

Tufted Titmouse

House Finch - Male

Cardinal

Mourning Dove

Winter Is Here But, Temps Are Mild

Winter time is here but, the temps have been very mild. Daytime has been in the 50's and this weekend Dec. 12th it's projected to be 72. I hope that it is not a bad sign of things to come. I think the birds are somewhat confused as to how to migrate. I've seen Warblers, Waxwings and others that should have moved south by now. Oh well, it's great for me to get to see them again. The Turkeys don't seem to mind as they have been around a lot looking for scrap seeds near the feeders.

White-throated Sparrow

Yellow-Romped Warbler

Carolina Chickadee 

White-throated Sparrow

Slate-colored Junco

Wild Turkey

Northern Cardinal - Male

Northern Cardinal - Male

Carolina Chickadee 

Downy Woodpecker

Eastern Towhee

Cedar Waxwing

American Robin

A 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Carolina Wrens Fly

Today, 9-12, was a big day for the Carolina Wren Family. The 4 chicks fledged today. They have left the nest and are free to roam the yard. I hope they are enjoying themselves as I see them only occasionally and have not been successful in getting a shot of them. As usual, I didn't have my camera with me when I saw 3 of them a little while ago. When will I learn to carry it with me all the time while outside.

I did go to the local Conservation park and saw quite a few birds but, had trouble getting them to sit still for a shot. The Warblers are on the move through here during migration. I did get some shots of a beautiful Red-tail Hawk shown below.

Downy Woodpecker - Male

White-breasted Nuthatch

Mourning Warbler

Red-eyed Vireo

Grasshopper Sparrow

Red-tail Hawk

Red-tail Hawk

The Carolina Wren Family Update

The family of Carolina Wrens that were so busy building a nest in early August have had success. The female laid 4 eggs on 8-12 and after sitting on them for about 18 days they finally hatched 8-29. Both parents are busy hunting for food and they each bring nice juicy worms to the young on a consistent basis. The nest is on our back deck and they are both used to me being around so I can sit about 10 feet away and get some great observations. Some of the photos of them are below and I'll update later when the chicks have grown a little more.

Just laid eggs

Almost looks like a cave

Looking proud

Waiting for food

Both parents discussing hunting strategy

Looking for worms

2 days old and the mouth is almost as large as the rest of him/her

Proud parent with lunch

 

Finally 2 days without rain. So I got out and took some images of the locals in my yard. We still have large numbers of House Finches. The nesting Wrens have not laid any eggs. Several of the male Cardinals are in the early stages of molting.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Male

Carolina Wren

White-breasted Nuthatch

House Finch - Female

Northern Cardinal - Male
In the stage of molting

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Female

Indigo Bunting - Male

Robin

Indigo Bunting - Female

House Finch - Male

Carolina Wrens Nest Building

I now have a pair of Carolina Wrens building a nest in my wife's pot of fresh Basil on our back deck. They started early in the morning and by late afternoon they had their new home built and ready for eggs. I'll monitor the nest and their progress and see what happens.