Welcome, Summer (Tanagers)

A pair of Summer Tanagers have been hanging around my house for the last few days.  I've seen males many times and even seen a very morphy-looking juvenile but I've never gotten a good shot of the female.  This morning in the garden I heard her twittering in a tree nearby and managed to get the camera before she flew off.  She's not as flashy as her mate, but still very pretty.

Shelley Lake

The Wake Audubon group that went to Shelley Lake last week saw Cedar Waxwings and Solitary Sandpipers, two birds that I needed for my life list.  I went there today and did indeed see the Sandpiper.

The Orchard Orioles were back in the same tree as last spring and I did get a little clearer shot of the male this time. Why is the sky always white when I go to Shelley Lake?  Someday I will actually be in an orchard and will get a beautiful photograph of an Orchard Oriole with a bright sunny blue sky!

Pairs

The theme for today at Blue Jay County Park in Raleigh is:

Pairs

Can you spot the difference between these two pictures?This male Downy Woodpecker magically turned into a female.  Just kiddin'.  There was a boy and a girl.

 A quick and very lucky shot of Purple Finches that just stopped by for a second and then flew off.

 A pair of lovely blossoming trees

 

A pair of pictures with two differing angles of this Hermit Thrush.  Thanks for posing!.

 A pair of male Brown Headed Cowbirds struttin' their stuff atop the soccer goal.

 A breeding female Cardinal with the reddest plumage I've ever seen.  The boy was nearby, of course.

Positively identified Pine Siskin.  Has nothing to do with pairs.  I just like it.

Spring Birding in Florida Again

It's been a relatively slow spring birding season (for me, anyway) in North Carolina this year partly due to the iffy weather and my birding partner being laid up after gall bladder surgery.  So what a joy to add some birds to my life list from a short Spring Break vacation to Florida's west coast.  It never ceases to amaze--as many times as I've been down there (I lived there for 25 years, for cryin' out loud), 

I always see something new.  

Surprise!  The one that almost got away--a Roseate Spoonbill flying over my in-laws neighborhood in Pasco County.
I had forgotten about this one until I uploaded the pictures from my camera.
Haven't seen one of these on the ground yet.

Common Moorhen
Yes, they're common, but I've never seen one before!  

American Coot
This was a total surprise that came from randomly snapping pictures of anything that looks like a bird.
Take pictures first, ask questions later--that's my motto.

Black Necked Stilt
I was hoping for one of these!

At long last--White Pelicans!
I knew I had seen these growing up in Florida, but didn't have any photographic proof--until now!
Thanks to the Sarasota Audubon guy at Celery Fields for telling me where to find these guys!

Ruddy Turnstone at Siesta Beach

Blue Winged Teals at Celery Fields

White Ibis in a tree at Ringling Museum.  Not a lifer, but an interesting shot!

Snowy Plover

Just Hangin' with My Peeps

One of the fun things about backyard birding is that you just never know who may show up in a flock of familiar birds.  You have to check carefully.  At first glance, it may seem like just a bunch of the usual suspects, but you may find the one odd bird in there just traveling along with his birdie pals.
This is also a good way to get one for your life list without even trying!

I first discovered this when a flock of winter Goldfinches descended upon my feeder a few years ago.  They loved that feeder and I got used to seeing them there until one day a bright yellow bird, not a Goldfinch, mind you, was found among them.

Come to find out Pine Warblers like to travel with winter Goldfinches!

Just recently while going through my old birding photos, I came across this bird that as an inexperienced birder I had passed over as a winter Goldfinch.  I had just heard through the wire that Pine Siskins were seen in backyards traveling with the Goldfinches.  And what do you know? 

Pine Siskin Serendipity.

Woodpeckers!

Woodpeckers may be some of the old standbys when it comes to birding, but they are always a welcome sight.  They are so striking and have such personality with their contrasting colors and odd calls.  I've seen a lot of them in North Carolina.  Most of them in my own backyard.  In fact the only creatures I've seen more of are spiders! (But that's another story!)

Downy Woodpecker

Where have you been all my life?  Finally, a Northern Flicker!

Pileated Woodpecker

Redheaded Woodpecker

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Red Bellied Woodpecker
I would have named it the Red Capped Woodpecker myself.

Fall Friends

Not much doing this fall in my world of birding.  I have seen nothing new,  just old standbys, but it is nice to see and hear the Brown Headed Nuthatches again.  I remember the first time I saw one at my backyard feeder--I almost peed my pants.  I thought I'd found a brown capped chickadee!