Cardinals in the snow

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

December 17, 2013

 I am not really much a lover of snow or winter.. But, it is Ok if I do not have to go out and drive in it. I deal with crazy drivers on dry roads every day going to work and they scare me.....So, these same crazy drivers on wet, snowy and icy roads are just plain dangerous.

Our last snow was on Saturday, so I enjoyed watching the birds coming and going at my feeders. There seems to be a feeding frenzy when it snows..They do not have to worry, I have stocked up on the sunflower seeds, suet and peanuts. They will not go hungry around my yard..

In the spring, this Cardinal pair will chase off any other Cardinal that shows up in their yard. But, I think they become nicer during a snowstorm and actually become civil and share the seeds and feeders.

My poor female is not looking happy with this cold weather and snow...I think she is ready for spring just like I am..bring it on.

 I have been seeing the House Sparrows going inside one of my birdhouses. I think they are huddling in the house to keep warm.. We do have protection for the birds from the weather with all the birdhouses, pine trees, shrubs, the wood pile and bushes..
 

Thanks for visiting my post and for the nice comments.

I hope you can join in on my MEME called Saturday Critters..early on Saturday Mornings ...join in with the party and post your cute critters.
Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Red-Shouldered Hawk

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

November 26, 2013

These shots are from this past Sunday, as Winnie the Pooh would say it was a blustery day.  The cold wind and temperatures were enough to keep me inside the house most of the day.  I did run out to the deck to fill the feeders and birdbath and then run back inside to get warm.

After filling the feeders I was looking out my dining room window when I noticed the hawk, it was perched on the top of a bare Devil's Walking stick plant. Most of my smart birds all flew for cover and a few brave birds were still visiting the feeders on my deck.

The hawk is sitting just above my driveway and it  watched a Carolina Wren fly under one of our cars.  In the winter these hawks are known to prey on feeder birds.  I am glad my feeder birds have a lot of schrubs and places to hide.

This White-Throated Sparrow was perched among the tangled branches of my weeping cherry tree. I think the sparrow felt protected. Sorry, these shots were taken from inside and looking out my dining room window.

One time, I walked out on my deck hoping to spook the hawk away but it only flew to another tree in the yard.

The adult Red-Shouldered Hawk have brown heads and a reddish chest and pale bellies. I am pretty sure with the size of this hawk it was a female. 

 Thanks for visiting and for the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Around the yard, July 17

I am linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday

 I have a hard time believing it is the middle of July already, time goes by so quickly. It is my favorite time of the week, sharing my skies with Skywatch Friday and some yardbirds for NF Winged. I hope you can join in on our fun. It has been a hot and humid week here in Maryland.  I hope everyone is staying cool.

 For the birdies part of my post, I am sharing the Brown-headed Cowbird and a Redbellied Woodpecker above.

 I have a Brown-headed Cowbird pair hanging around my feeders, they left their eggs for the Cardinals to take over the parenting job.

A male House Finch, looking pretty with his colorful red head.

The House Finch couple.

 I have been enjoying the Sunrise on my way to work. Some of these photos were taken over a couple of mornings.

While everyone seems to be in a hurry in the morning, I guess they are in a hurry to get to work. If I see a nice sky I will pull over to snap a few photos.

 This moon shot..phase is the Waxing Crescent taken on July 14, 2013. I enjoy these simple pleasures watching the birds and skywatching. I hope you enjoy my post.  Happy Skywatching everyone!

Thanks for visiting my post and  blog and I always appreciate your comments.

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.   I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

River walk

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday .

June 30, 2013

It will be nice to see you join in on our fun this week at Mosaic Monday and to have a look into your world.

Since Google reader is being retired, have you chosen a new method for following your favorite blogs? I linked up to bloglovin and you can find my link in the top right hand corner of my blog.

These photos are some scenes from our walk last weekend at the Susquehanna State Park here in Maryland.  The trail is called the Susquehanna Heritage Greenway trail. Also, some shots of my backyard blooms and birds. 

Above the is trail we hiked on at the park, the Deer Creek which empties into the Susquehanna River. I noticed some of the pretty wild tiger daylilies blooming along the creek, along the trail is an old flint furnace.

At the river, I was able to catch a few of the Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies. The Susquehanna River must be an great place for fishing on the way home I saw this field of daylilies.

This field of daylilies is gorgeous.

My purple coneflowers are starting to bloom, they are one of my favorite flowers. I also included some clematis still in bloom, a juvenile Cardinal, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a Carolina Chickadee.

One of my pretty purple coneflowers.

One of my many Carolina Chickadees.  Lately our weekends include a walk somewhere and I enjoy a walk around our yard to see what flowers are blooming and to watch my yardbirds.


I hope you enjoyed my walk, post and photos. Thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more from  Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Birds, Blooms & the sky

I am linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday

June 26, 2013

Another week flying by, its time for sharing your birds on NF Winged and to share your skies on Skywatch Friday.  I hope to see you all there.

Tufted Titmouse with a dried Meal Worm. I am see lots of baby birds lately. The Tufted Titmouse fledglings are fun to watch and they make the sweetest sounds.

A couple of Chipping Sparrows, the fledglings are being seen all over my yard lately. They are so cute.

LOL, my yardbirds and I are excited about our blueberry crop. I have two blueberry bushes that are full of berries. I am hoping I can get to pick some ripe berries before the birds get them.

The Lantana on our deck is looking pretty. I chose Lantana after reading that this flower attracts the butterflies and hummingbirds.

 The Scarlet Tanager singing in the tree across from my driveway.

On this day hubby went off into the woods with Goldie Girl and my camera. He came back with some great sunset photos and moon shots.

Hubby's Super Moon shot! It is a beautiful color.

The Super Moon reflecting on our lake. The sky shots this week are courtesy of my dear hubby. I hope you enjoyed this post and photos.

Thanks for visiting my post and  blog and I always appreciate your comments.

Happy Skywatching  to everyone!
To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.   I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Neighborhood Breeding Birds II

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

This is my second post on my neighborhood breeding birds, the first post Neighborhood-breeding-birds included the Northern Parula, Scarlet Tanager, Great Crested Flycatcher and the Indigo Bunting.

I have three more birds that are breeding birds in my neighborhood. They are the Pine Warbler, the Ovenbird and the Acadian Flycatcher. I have seen the Pine Warbler visit my yard and feeders many times over the years.

Above the Pine Warbler in my weeping cherry tree. The Pine Warbler is a regular in my yard, here is a post I did back in Jan 2013 that included a Pine Warbler visiting in the winter  Happy-New-Year 2013

This is the male Pine Warbler.

The Pine Warbler has a pretty song.

I have shots showing the front and above a nice shot of the side of the Pine Warbler.

This is one of my previous post that included the Ovenbird Happy Earth day

 The Ovenbird shots were taken on a wet morning, while out walking I could hear the Ovenbird with its loud song off the fireroad. They have a thin black bordered orange crown, which is shown above.

The Acadian Flycatcher is another breeding bird in my neighborhood. They are frequently heard while I am out on my walks on the fireroad. Here is one of my first post on the Acadian flycatcher, tanager walk. 

I hope you enjoyed my Wild Birds this week. I feel lucky to see these wonderful birds in my yard and neighborhood.

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your nice comments. I always appreciate your visits.
Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

Sunday walk, June 23

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday .
It will be nice to see you join in on our fun this week at Mosaic Monday and to have a look into your world.

June 23, 2013

This morning I woke hubby up early to take a walk before it got too hot and humid. We drove around the lake so we could walk on a trail that goes right up to our lake. So these are some shots from our walk and a few shots from an early morning walk around my yard.

 I was awake early enough to see the super moon setting, looked pretty thru the trees, a little pink clouds during the sunrise, and Goldie Girl at the lake.

Along the trail, I could hear the Hooded Warblers and lots of Northern Parulas and Ovenbirds. None of which I could get photos of but, they were still nice to see and hear.

Some more scenes from our walk on the trail and lake.  I believe the Cardinal is a juvenile.

The fireroad or trail, it is lush and green and a beautiful place for a morning walk.

Back in my yard, the spirea, some clematis is mixing in with our blueberry bushes. Another type of clematis is still blooming on my fence, a bluejay with a mouthful of peanuts and a cute Tufted Titmouse.

It is amazing to see how many peanuts the bluejays can stuff into their mouths.

The Tufted  Titmouse are cute birds, I love this closeup.

This clematis vine seems to be mixing in with our blueberry bushes. I have not seen any blueberries ripe enough for picking unless the birds are getting to them before me.

This seem to be a young cardinal, I love that look!

Another clematis vine we have growing on our fence, it seems to keep putting out more blooms.

I hope you enjoyed my walk, post and photos. Thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more from  Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to our host: Mary our host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Just House Finches

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes


I see the House Finches occasionally in my yard. They are not regulars but nice to see, especially the male with his pretty red head, neck and shoulders. The House Finch is a moderate sized finch. Some individual males can show orange or yellow rather than the red tones. The male has a distant red breast with a streaked belly.

Above a couple of male House Finches enjoying the birdseed. Their breeding habitat is urban and suburban areas.  They eat grains, seeds and berries.

Above you can see a male House Finch with a couple of Goldfinches, you can see their size is just a little larger than than the Goldfinch.

Above is the pretty male with a female House Finch. Since in the past the House Finches have known to spread the disease that starts with their eyes. I have been checking out every House Finch in my yard.

Another comparison on the front of the feeder is a female House Finch and above is a Pine Siskin. They have the same coloring but a difference in size and the Pine Siskin has the yellow on its wings.

Not a perfect shot but I like this shot of the two male House Finches with the one female.


Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!