Having not picked up the camera except to shoot a flower or two, once I got started shooting, I didn’t stop for quite a while. I missed the Cardinal who was sitting there until the exact minute I pointed my camera over there. He must be eating because he’s quite a porker of a bird. Garry commented that he could even see his feet past that big red belly.
I think the real issue is that he is an early morning feeder and I am not usually taking pictures early in the morning. That’s when I am sleeping, or at least trying to sleep.
And then, there’s the diver …
But from when I got up and managed to have coffee and a muffin, there were finches. Red ones, purple ones, goldfinches and a couple I didn’t recognize, but they are obviously finches of some kind. This is also an area through which birds heading further north — to Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Canada pass. Or maybe this was a house finch who was more orange than red.
Titmouse watching from the wires
Finches do look a lot alike and sometimes, their colors seem to blend from the lightest yellow to the deepest reds. This is part (there are a lot of pictures!) of the collection.
This could also be a Pine Grosbeak — another local resident. All the birds are changing colors right now, which makes the confusion even more confusing
The flat feeder was the big draw yesterday. It was a group celebration of seeds!
There is at least one Tufted Titmouse in the collection as well as a Nuthatch, but the rest are various kinds of finches. House finches and purple finches … and the brown females who are the mates of the purple and red-headed house finches.
I’m sure there was some kind of conversation in progress here!
Goldfinches and a nuthatch
Two red finches. I think one is a house finch and the other is a purple finch. Also a lady in the mix but I don’t know whose lady she is.
I have another fifty or so that are not yet processed. Probably another couple of dozen of Garry’s pictures awaiting me, too. All of these were taken in pouring rain.
All lined up at the feeder. Don’t even know how many are in the feeder!
They eat like crazy when it’s snowing or raining. Some instinctive need to eat extra in case the weather gets worse?
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Categories: #Birds, #Photography, flying, Nature, Wildlife
SPRING HAS SPRUNG, THE GRASS HAS RIZ – Marilyn Armstrong 
NO FEATHERED KITES IN NEW ENGLAND – Marilyn Armstrong 
MORE SNOWY BIRDS – Marilyn Armstrong 
BUSY, SNOWY DAY AROUND THE BIRD FEEDER – Marilyn Armstrong 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
So, what camera are you using for the “Boids”?
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You seem to have two kinds of feeders – the cylinder caged and the open flat bed. Which one attracts the most birds?
Leslie
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The flat one gets the bigger birds. Doves, Cardinals … and of course, squirrels. But sometimes, all the birds settle into it. They like the flat one because they like pecking off a flat surface. But all the same birds do go to the other one, too and THAT one, the squirrels have a go at it, but they generally have trouble getting a real grip on it. From a photographic point of view, the cylinder gives me MUCH better pictures. When they hunker down in the flat one, it’s hard to see most of the bird. If it’s a smaller bird, all you see are their heads.
Both are a good choice, but it also depends on where you are putting it. ANYTHING with seeds in it is going to bring the birds, regardless of shape. Both of these are quite large and that’s good because I don’t have to feed them constantly. Twice a week is more than enough and it will probably be less in summer when they can get to their natural foods.
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I guess the attraction of the flat one is easier access…
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It IS easier and it’s cheaper, too. BUT. If you want to take pictures, the other one makes better pictures.
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The cylinder one does make them work a little harder for the food…
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You have captured some wonderful bird shots there. Have brightened up my day
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They brightened mine, too. I was going to take a couple of shots, but birds kept showing up. Hordes of them! Bad weather gives them an appetite!
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What a colourful, joyful party! I must say that your choice of birds photos made me a ‘bird-addict’….. I always liked them, took photos, commented, even bought – when living in the UK – a bird atlas of their local species, but your photos give me a particular joy and a feeling of deep thankfulness for these, Gods, creatures. And I’m more than happy that, although you’re not swimming in cash, make it a priority to feed your flying visitors with such a wide range of delicious grains and kernels. THANK YOU for your kindness.
And also, I’m hoping your arm/wrist/hand(heck)/full body gets well enough for you to be able to hold that heavy lens…. OR that someone wealthy enough is buying you the exact tripod you need….. (or puts in larger windows)!!!
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It’s better today for no special reason. But I did put the computer away for half the day yesterday. I needed to NOT use the keyboard!
I too am glad birds came around. In the winter, it’s hard to find much to do around these cold places in which we live.
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The rain does’t seem to deter them!
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No, it seems to ENCOURAGE them. The worse the weather, the more they gorge. But that Cardinal really does look like a big red puffball. Garry says he can’t possibly see his feet past that huge belly.
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Ha..so I read. Luckily he has no shoes to put on so he doesn’t have to.
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Lucky guy. No socks. Because he’d never do it. Also, since he doesn’t have hands, it might be tricky even if he was thin.
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