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Off Topic: Such Pretty Birds

16 years ago

I was watching these babies today.A little hummer & a blue bunting.

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Comments (14)

pagrdnr
16 years ago
Wow that blue one is really nice, I never seen one of those around here. I see blue jays every once in a while. I can't wait until the hummers come back here. I was pleased to hear and see all the birds coming back within the past few weeks. The pair of cardinals that live somewhere around our house is back again.
bonnie12210
Original Author
16 years ago
The blue one is a blue bunting,I believe he is in the finch family,we have three pair of these that come back every spring,and there are 3 differant kinds of hummers,and Lord only knows at how many cardinals.
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We have both blue jays, crows, band tailed pigeons (a flock of about 40), mourning doves, and many many small birds in our garden, including humming birds. I have four bird baths - two at ground level (installed years ago to provide water for the raccoons who come at night when the figs are ripe, so that they would stop breaking into our basement through the cat door - they were just after the cats water, and it worked), one about 12 inches high, and one at about 2 1/2 feet high. None of them have pumps. I replace the water every day or two (when the blue jays take baths, they splash out half of the water). Over the last 20 years, we have not had any problems. Occasionally, I do find bread bits in the tallest largest bird bath. I could not imagine what was going on, but one day I saw a crow fly to the large bird bath with half of a loaf of bread. It put it in the bird bath (was probably stale) to soak, and then ate off it. We are close to downtown (about 4 blocks away), and I am guessing he was raiding a store or restaurant's garbage. All of the birds give us great joy. The crows congregate in our oak tree every morning (see pic above from the Fall), and if I am not up by say 7AM to give them their peanuts, they start cawing to wake me up. Not kidding. The crows sometimes nest in a very very tall old pine tree in our next door neighbor's yard. The blue jays nest in our huge barberry bush - this Spring one of the fledglings came out to the edge of the bush every time I walked by and begged for food. We have identified over 50 types of smaller birds in our garden over the years. I don't believe there are "good" birds and "bad" birds - I like all of them. The only predation we have noticed is that maybe 3 times a year a small hawk will take one of the band tailed pigeons (who are about twice the size of city pigeons) and pluck it on our lawn - leaving lots of evidence. Jackie
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Hello, I was working in the front yard yesterday afternoon and something hit me rather hard atop my head. It felt like an orange fell on my head. Not knowing what it was, I just proceeded to the backyard. When I again walked past the same area, I was struck once more. This time I noticed it was a Pitirre or Grey kingbird swooping down from atop an electrical line. That bird has been perched there for about two weeks. The bird stayed vigilant and was ready to attack again. I noticed it kept flying into the almond tree across the street in the school yard. Perhaps it's nesting there. I guess birds don't understand the delineation of fences & gates. The attached photo was the best I could get. The bird is silver grey on top and white underneath from beak to tail. I thought I saw black stripes along its sides but don't see that in the photo. It is smaller than a pigeon, approx the size of a raven but fatter, and about 8" long. I double-checked Wiki and it is apparently defending its territory. "Gray kingbirds wait on an exposed perch and aggressively defend their territory against intruders, including mammals and much larger birds such as hawks." However, its territory cannot include the yards of this house, nor the neighbor's where there are two little children playing. Nor the street or the schoolyard. How can I get it to stop charging people's heads like that? A lot of people walk & jog this path to the community center. Can you imagine it attacking children playing under that almond tree? Good thing school's out for the summer ... Hey, that's a song!
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maemae0312
16 years ago
Bonnie, those are pretty. We had our first hummer here Sat. Or so my family tells me. Everyone has seen it but me :(

Mary
fool4flowers
16 years ago
Oh, those are pretty. I've never seen the blue bunting either. I have several different birds in the yard that are new this year. I didn't get any pics though but I know 2 were doves but I don't know what the others were. John told me this morning there were 2 birds with red breasts hanging on to the hummingbird feeder and trying to drink from it. He said they weren't hummers. Wonder what they were?
karyn1
16 years ago
That blue one is gorgeous. It's so blue it almost looks fake. I've never seen one before.
Karyn
pagrdnr
16 years ago
Kristy, could they have been orioles? I don't know if you get them down there but I do believe they have reddish orange breast. I don't know if orioles live around here either, I've seen the feeders and the nectar in stores around here but I don't know if I've ever seen an oriole. Anyone seen these in PA?
Shawn
fool4flowers
16 years ago
I'll google them and ask hubby if thats what he saw. Thanks.
karyn1
16 years ago
I've only seen an Oriole a handful of times in MD and that's our state bird!
Karyn
beth7happy
16 years ago
the Baltimore Oriole was passying through my backyard this last week...we see one or two each season (fall and spring). Have never seen an indigo bunting, however we have the painted at our feeders most of the winter. beeaaUtiful bird! only the occassional hummer here...maybe I just don't have the right environment.
threas
16 years ago
So pretty, Bonnie! I've seen the Baltimore Orioles down at the Jersey shore, lined up on the electrical & telephone wires at the marina where my mom & dad have their houseboat. I've seen a few in SE PA in open fields, but not at my house.Try a half an orange with grape jelly on top to attract them. I get catbirds and mockingbirds with it.I just like watching them.

Theresa
lovelyiris
16 years ago
Hey Bonnie, it's kind of funny if you read up about the Blue Buntings. They say they are very seldom seen at feeders. All I have to say is the people that wrote that book havn'et been to your place or mine.

I have tons of blue buntings at my feeders every year. I'm also lucky enough to have a flock of Bluebirds also. We have blue birds houses on every wooden fence post for about 1/2 a mile. We just love them and they visit the feeders once in awhile too. Not nearly as much as the Buntings however.

I still have the white headed cardinal too. It is sooooo strange looking with that bright orange/red beak on that white head. It almost looks like somekind of tropical bird. I've seen it's babies and it's a cardinal for sure and none of the babies have any white on them. It's a color screw up in nature.

I saw my huge hoot owl again yesterday perched in the pine trees. I hoot at him every night when he starts talking. LOL
My husband thinks I'm crazy but the owl always hoots back at me.

Next to flowers is my passion for bird watching, followed closely by my love for anything to do with nature...except SNAKES.......

Have fun birding, I know I do!
Happy Gardening everyone!
Love Marian
chena
16 years ago
Bonnie they are beautiful... We have Painted Buntings each yr..The first time I saw it I thought someones pet bird had escaped...LOL
fool4flowers
16 years ago
Nope, wasn't an oriole. He says he has seen them the past few mornings and got tired of looking at pics I kept showing him going is this it, lol. He will try to get a pic of them for me since I don't get up that early, lol.
wildflower
16 years ago
The blue buntings are beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen one of those either.

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