My Favorite Birds of 2012

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

Since the year  is almost over and I do not think I will be doing much birding in the next two or three weeks I believe it is safe to post my favorite birds of 2012.

Above are some of my favorite birds seen while traveling this past year. Some of my favorite birds seen in on the island of Curacao are the Troupial, Saffron Finch and the Bananaquit. And seen in Oregon this year, I loved the cute Pigeon Guillemot. 

 The beautiful Saffron Finches seen in Curacao.

 The Bananaquits above were also a lifer a favorite of mine. They seem so tame and such a pretty bird.

The pretty Pigeon Guillemot was a common bird seen on the Oregon coast, it was a lifer for me.

At home in Maryland, some of my favorite birds and sightings are the Le Conte's Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Snow Buntings and the Evening Grosbeak.

 As a birder some of my sightings were exciting and rare, at least for me they were awesome. The Evening Grosbeaks in my yard was a real treat for me and a few other birders that showed up at my yard to see my Grosbeaks. The Snow Bunting and the Grosbeak appear on my post below and I considered them my Top Ten Birds to see.

Some of the birds are regular breeders in my area and some are birds that pass thru every year but still a thrill to see. The warblers are a spring, summer and fall treat to see and I was thrilled so many showed up in my yard this year.

The Le Conte's Sparrow is a "rare" sighting in Maryland as is the Evening Grosbeak that showed up in my yard.

  Above the beautiful Scarlet Tanager is a breeder in the woods next to my house, I think they are beautiful birds to see and are always a treat to see.

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The Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been a long time favorite. I only see it passing thru in the Spring and Fall but they grab my attention when they do show up in my yard.

I was so happy that this summer was a year for new yardbirds for me, it was cool to see so many warblers eating the berries in my yard.

Above are some my favorite warblers of 2012 the:  Northern Parula and the Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler and the Tennessee on the bottom right.

The Nashville Warbler was only one of the many warblers that showed up in my yard.

Again in seen my yard  the Tennessee Warbler along side a local breeder the Northern Parula. The Northern Parula is also a breeder in the woods next to my house.

The Hooded Warbler is a gorgeous bird, this is a pretty male.

Another new Warbler sighting and lifer for me is the Kentucky Warbler.

The Black-Throated Green Warbler was another great new yardbird for me.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite birds of 2012. I am hoping that 2013 is another great year and I will have a lot more favorite birdsand sightings.

To see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy .  Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Saffron Finch a Curacao Bird

I am linking up with World Bird Wednesday
and Nature Notes


I am showing off my pretty Saffron Finches that I saw in Curacao. The Saffron Finch is a Tanager from South America. Of course they are seen in the Netherland Antilles. The male is bright yellow with an orange crown and the females are a slightly duller version of the male. They prefer live food like insects but I have seen them at feeders.

A closeup of the orange crown

I fell in love with these birds, they are so cheery and brightly colored.

I saw these hopping about in the grass in the front of our Curacao resort.

I hope you enjoyed my Saffron Finches as much as I did.
To see more wonderful birds check out World Bird Wednesday  and for more nature scenes please visit Nature Notes. Thanks to Springman for hosting World Bird Wednesday and to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes. Also, thanks for stopping by to see my post. I hope the rest of your week is a happy one.

Panama highlights

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday

I wish everyone a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

In these mosiacs are some of the highlights from the first two days of our Panama vacation.

Seeing 7 new hummingbirds was also a treat for me the first day, the Violet-Bellied Hummingbird had the prettiest colors.

In the two previous posts I showed some more of my first day birding the Rainforest Discovery Center and the Pipeline Rd.

The second day included Panama Viejo (Old Panama) ruins and visitors center.

On our city tour I was still looking for birds, you never know when you might see a new bird.

And I did see a new bird as we were leaving the ruins. It is called the Saffron Finch. A pretty yellow bird and another lifer for me.

The Tropical Kingbirds were all over the place.

We also visited the San Jose Church with the gold alter and had  lunch at the Panama Canal's Miraflores Locks. The lunch banquet room at the locks included our own viewing area to watch the ships pass thru the locks. My blog Travel with Eileen has a little more info and photos on the Panama Viejo visitor's center and the ruins.

San Jose Church, we were told a story that in the old days the alter was painted black to hide the gold.

Right now they let ships go thru the locks in one direction for 12 hours and then they switch the directions for the other 12 hours. Ships have to wait in line for their turn either at the entrance of the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans. Additional locks are being built to handle even larger size ships than the ones we saw, so there is construction work constantly happening at the Panama Canal.

The brown pelicans seem to like fishing at the Canal locks. Other birds seen near the locks were the Magnificent Frigatebirds, Swallows, Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures and Laughing Gulls .


Please check out all the mosaic and photos at Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.  Thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday and to all the hosts of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Sylvia, Gattina, Lafy Fi and Sandy. Thanks also for stopping by to see my post, I hope everyone has a safe and happy week ahead.