Lately

Backyard bluebirds, towhees, phoebes, white-throated and song sparrows, both nuthatches, redheaded woodpeckers, RC kinglets, chickadees, cardinals, bluejays, mockers. House & Carolina wrens are nesting,

Greg's Cumberland Island trip

I just returned from a wonderful 4-night family camping trip to Cumberland Island, GA. As a very novice birder, this was a wonderful opportunity for me to add to my list. Below are some less ubiquitous birds that I saw for the first time.

Highlights -
Juvenile Bald Eagle (twice the size of the common osprey) and White Pelicans on the ferry ride to the island.
4 species of Terns while at the south-end jetty, including a flock of Black Skimmers, one of my new favorites.
Pair of Wood Storks flying over the dunes.
Turkey Vultures eating the after-birth of a new born horse at the Stafford Airfield. The horse was still wet and shaky.
My first two Warblers: Many Yellow-Throated Warblers in the live oaks above the camp site, and a few Northern Parulas (another new favorite) near the marsh by Stafford. A magnificent little bird.

Challenges -
Trying to distinguish between the species of plovers and sandpipers on the beach. The Ruddy Turnstone stood out to me though.
Trying to find the hundreds of birds singing and flying among the live oaks above me. This was maddening to my untrained eye that owns a bad pair of binoculars.

Yellow-rump warblers

In the backyard

Owls at dusk

Along Nelson Ferry barred owls and screech too, along about sundown last night, then another screech call 2:30PM today in the back yard.

sparrows

I'm not so hot at sparrows but there were a lot of em out at the cemetery this weekend, songs, chippings, maybe some fields too

Nice afternoon

Backyard sunshine brought out a Yellow-rumped warbler, a tail-bobbing Eastern phoebe, Towhee, Cardinals, Bluejays, Mockingbirds, Titmice, Carolina chickadees, Carolina wrens, American robins

Red-tailed hawk lunch

The pair was out again at the DHS garden yesterday, one having caught a rat with a lovely long tail which settled down to eat, and the other coming along to harass it - they both flew shortly after with nothing in their claws.

Cooper's Hawk

Saw one flying low at Nelson Ferry & Scott Blvd, then again on Woodlawn about a minute later, likely the same critter

Striped, rounded tail, flying low through the trees...

sparrows and C wrens...

some cardinals and mockers, robins & brown thrashers, crows & Red-tails

Are you seeing anything fun? Migration is well under way

Early spring activity

Seen much going on? I've seen several American Robin flocks enjoying holly berries.

Stan sez (Feb 21)

If you're out today or this week and it's clear or clouds are at a
higher level, watch for migrating sandhill cranes, turkey vultures,
and raptors (broadtail hawks, for example). I've seen all three headed
north today. These birds are typically way up or circling in thermals
for altitude. You may also see the cranes reassembling in a V-
formation, much like ducks or geese. And you might hear the cranes
before you see them as their calls really carry. Various raptors may
fly together. Of course, many smaller songbirds are passing through
our area now, too. 

birdhouse today

St Pete

Just returned from a St Pete visit - such a great place for birds. Saw many robins & rw blackbirds, in addition to
Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Wood stork

flamingo

roseate spoonbill

little tern

Royal tern

Laughing gull

Herring gull

Ringbilled gull

Ruddy turnstone

Willet

Sanderling

Osprey

This morning

More barred owl calls by the creek at Lamont

Goldfinch

American Goldfinch, male, at the feeder today, along with Ruby-crowned kinglet, Carolina wrens, titmice, Carolina chickadee and mocker.

from wikipedia

sparrows

White-throateds and Songs. Towhees too, around the house, and lots of other activity as well, mild weather after yesterday's rain.

closer to GH owl now

they went off again - now I'm going towards GH owl - very plain call, no personality in the voice like a barred.

Maybe horned owls

I've been hearing owls lately at dusk and reported them as barred; I'm rethinking they are Great Horned instead.

13th annual Great Backyard Bird Count

This is always fun

wrens & nuthatches here, you?

Pine warbler

At the feeder - yea!

Titmice, Carolina chickadees, both nuthatches, Carolina wrens, 3 house finches, 2 Northern cardinal males fighting in the wax myrtle, mockers here and there. Ruby-crowned kinglet has been on the suet block for several days now.

What's out there?

What have you been seeing?

The culprits

Location: Cemetery suet feeder

Barred owl going off

Sounds like it's near Coventry Road. Several repeats, 5:15 PM.

Pond opening is ever smaller

The mallards sleep in the water or on the ice; the muscovys prefer the grass where they can make a quick "getaway" of maybe 8'. Put out new suet block this AM - they're lasting about 2 days in this cold weather. Also saw sparrow flocks, what I took to be Songs and White-throateds.

In the backyard, several towhees came by for water at the little waterfall, along with American robins, Titmice and a Ruby-crowned kinglet.

You can see the kinglet's crown, slightly depressed

Here his wingbars are evident, and a bit of his split eye-ring

Bluebirds & Slate-colored Juncos

9AM cemetery walk - several Eastern Bluebirds and Slate-colored Juncoes were clustered on the suet feeder there - they don't seem to mind bacon grease at all. Makes me think of Cattle egrets at a Jamaican place we stayed at: meals were on a veranda and the egrets would perch on any vacant chairs. The instant you leaned back from the table they'd make a bee-line for leftover scrambled eggs. Another guest's comment "That's just wrong" gave me fits.

Mockers seemed stupified by the temperature in the teens as they perched in the sun, fully fluffed, and let you come much closer than normal, within a few steps.

Cooper's Hawk

The cemetery this morning about 10AM was dripping, overcast and 45°F or so. A Cooper's Hawk flew up from a low perch into the top of an oak as we approached, and tolerated us on the ground for about 5 minutes before shifting position and ultimately flying off over the hill. It was backlit so I couldn't see too much detail, but the size seemed about 16" tall, and sported the accipiter's long tail when flying.

Barred owls and bad weather

OK, here duck is falling, the sky is overcast and lightly sprinkling, temperature is in the lower 40s F, and I'm hearing a Barred owl hooting nearby, four or five series. I haven't heard one around this house in many months.... I dunno.

Suet

The Carolina wrens and the nuthatches have taken a liking to my suet made with bacon grease, peanut butter, flour and several seed  varieties.  There are several recipes on the web; this one I adapted from a Bluebird suet.

Flocks

Squirrels were huddled on the tree trunks, fussing away as the two Red-tailed hawks found perches high in the oaks. Flocks of American robins are out in the mild, wet air after last night's rainsqualls. Further on, large flocks of Red-winged blackbirds, grackles and other icterids squawked and whistled from the treetops.

Back at the feeder the Carolina wren, Titmouse and Carolina chickadee feed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Bluebirds galore

4 at once on my 8" wide feeder! Even the White-breasted nuthatchs stood in line. Also had a couple of mockingbirds, first time at the feeder.

Ruby-crowned kinglet

WOW just saw a r-c kinglet male displaying a HUGE crown, visible with nekkid eye from 40'! A little orangier than a redheaded woodpecker.

mixed Icterids

Large flock of mixed blackbirds at the cemetery this afternoon. Although it was a grey day and the flock about 500' I could make out some red wingbars, and some greenish head/neck on larger ones with longer tails, leading me to Red-windged blackbirds and Common grackles, though they were rather quiet for 3-400 birds.

Barred owl on Ponce Place

Saw a Barred owl this AM around 6:30 AM on Ponce Place by the Baptist Church playground, sitting on the telephone wire. I stood and watched about a minute, then walked directly underneath him and onwards - he was nonplussed. Like my last sighting of a barred, it was low, perched on a manmade item, and had rained heavily within recent hours. hmmmmm

Shepherd Nature Preserve

Sunday AM the water was frozen about 40' from shore, but the 7 mallards took no notice. Lots of racy Cedar waxwings in the treetops along with American robins. This place is about 5 minutes driving from downtown Decatur - directions at the website.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cedar_waxwing

Redwing blackbirds

Big flock at DHS Community Garden this morning, making quite a din.

Cedar Key, Fla

I was in Cedar Key, Florida last week, west of Gainesville about 45 minutes on the Gulf coast and had a fine time viewing birds there. Firsts were a pair of roseate spoonbills, a Black-bellied plover, Common ground  and Eurasian collared doves. The ubiquitous Ospreys were active and eating their still-flapping catch on dock frames on the bay side. Along the Gulf mudflats the biggest players were black skimmers by the hundreds which put on a great show at sunup in large flocks. My favorites are the American oystercatcher, White ibis, and the diminutive Least tern, and I could swear I heard a Common loon calling.

Red-tailed hawk lunch

Very gratifying to see a pair of Red-tailed hawks fly screeching over my backyard, the first trailing a fluffy squirrel tail from its talons, the second making the racket. They flew across the street into an oak grove, the squirrel-holder in a wide tree-crotch and the other about 30' away, watching for an opportunity. After a few initial bites, the lucky one flew a few hundred feet to a more remote perch, followed by the other about 2 minutes later.

Flock of crows

A flock of crows mobbed a hawk at daybreak in the cemetery today. They were very loud, but settled down in about 5 minutes.

Carolina wrens on the front porch

Just trolling for spiders

open thread

Mourning dove

One of these took over the small birdfeeder this morning.

Sandhill cranes

These guys were migrating - Nov 13 - see entry there. We used to see these overwintering in Gainesville Fla, about 380 miles South of here, on the borders of the prairie there. Hundreds of them standing around in a farmer's front yard. They are much taller when "craning" their necks for a better view (sorry about that).

Red-wing blackbirds

Saw a small flock of Red-winged blackbirds down in Peavine Creek this afternoon - beautiful clear day, 75°F. Also a Ruby-crowned kinglet.

Ruby-crowned kinglet

091114 Morning

Very active backyard today, 9-10AM. Pileated woodpecker, red-headed woodpecker, yellow-rumped warbler, song sparrow, flock of American robins, cedar waxwing, ruby-crowned kinglet, cardinals, bluejays, a pair of Eastern towhees, Eastern bluebirds checking out the birdhouse again, Brown thrasher, Carolina chickadees, Titmice, the nuthatches, Carolina wren... Only the robins were bathing. Also some unidetifieds, once junco-like but without the pink beak, grayish here, and goldfinch-like but missing the strong wingbars

Bluebirds at the feeder

Eating hulled sunflower seed, a pair at 8:20 AM - this is a first here! Now the white-breasted nuthatch is chasing off the brown-headed one, and the chickadees and titmice.

open thread

What have you seen?

Barred Owl at Peavine Creek

This morning at daybreak was blustery, about 60°F with hurricane remnant drizzle, and on mailbox #317 near Peavine Creek there sat a Strix varia just staring at me as I walked past. I stopped once I realized it was a big bird, not a tree branch on the mailbox, and stared back. Motionless for about a minute, it released its grip on the door clasp and flew off over the house and into its backyard. We often hear these in the summer nights hooting "who cooks for you, who cooks for you - all".

Redtails over DHS

Three red-tailed hawks were spiraling over Decatur High School's Community Garden Saturday about 11AM. There was a bit of screaming, and one dove, chased by another. A few minutes later they were all three high above us again, watching for something to eat.

Redtails in the cemetery, 9AM

A pair of red-tailed hawks were out this morning.

Red-tailed hawk

Also dozens of robins were very active, along with bluebirds. Good to see the thrushes out together.

My backyard sported several white-throated sparrows, a towhee, brown thrasher, some jays and robins, redheaded and hairy-or-downy woodpeckers.