Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

When it Rains, They Come!!!!


Yesterday, it rained off and on during the afternoon... As you know (from previous blogs), I always have alot of birds at all of my feeders most all of the time. BUT--they seem to REALLY be present when it is raining --or has rained. I sat on my recliner (my throne) and watched them for awhile ---while enjoying hearing the rain hit the roof and the deck. I enjoy rain--especially on Summer days when it cools things off , and on days like yesterday when we NEEDED the rain!


While sitting and watching the birds, I decided to take a few pictures to share. Above is a sweet picture of a little Tufted Titmouse. This may be a juvenile Tufted since we have alot of them around now, in addition to two little birds which I didn't get photos of yesterday (the Carolina Chickadee and the White-Breasted Nuthatch). Those three different birds flit in and out of the feeders all day long --even when it's not raining. More pictures are below.











We also have lots of House Finches (the one above is either a juvenile or a female) around now also.









Besides the House Finches, the Goldfinches come to the feeders almost constantly. I love the male Goldfinches in their bright yellow color.









Bluejays love the suet feeders. They usually announce themselves when they come. Sorry, but it's not a great picture-- since he had his bite and was flying away when I snapped it. Oh Well!!!!







Between showers, the male Cardinal decided to take a bath... I was surprised since I figured that he had gotten wet enough after all of the rain.









The Downy Woodpeckers (above) and the Red-bellied Woodpeckers take turns at one of the suet feeders. There was also a baby Downy at the suet feeder today but I didn't get a picture.









Do you remember my blog post talking about Pete and Petunia, my two Red-bellied Woodpeckers that were in our yard all winter???? First, there was Pete... I wasn't sure he had a mate... Later though, I met Petunia, and was so happy that Pete did indeed have a 'friend'... Pete and Petunia are both still with us (Petunia is the one pictured above) ---but now there is a little one (or maybe more than one)!!! See the next photo.









Meet PAT.... I had to name him/her Pat since I'm not sure whether it's a he or a she right now. For those who do not know Red-bellied Woodpeckers, the little ones don't have red on the top of their heads. An adult female has red on the front and on the back--but white in between. An Adult male has a red stripe all the way from the top of his head down to his back.









The Brown Thrashers still come to our suet feeders alot--off and on all day long. This is one of the little ones which were born about a month ago. Remember the nest in our Jasmine Bush in our front yard???? It's nice that the Thrashers are all still around!









Another picture of one of the baby Brown Thrashers. He sat on the top of the suet feeder for the longest time--just resting I guess. OR---maybe he was protecting the feeder so that other birds would stay away!!! ha


Hope you enjoyed my Rainy Day Birds!!!!


Hugs,

42 comments:

betty-NZ said...

Those are awesome photos! I love to see the birds that adorn your garden! Thanks for sharing them with us.

Rose said...

That one of the cardinal is priceless, Betsy. I like them all, but it just makes me want to giggle.

Sandy said...

I love your photos Betsy, I can't sneak up on our birds fast enough. I keep trying to get photos of the hummingbirds outside the office window. We have a lot of young fuzzy birds right now, especially a sweet female cardinal who seems to be living on my back deck right now. Love your beautiful photos!

Beth said...

Betsy, you are one lucky lady to be able to have the double pleasure of recliner reposing and bird watching at the same time! :-)
I love your pictures, especially of the tufted titmouse and the baby thrasher. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Unknown said...

You have a great camera! I wish I could get close ups. They are so precious to watch! I had a male goldfinch trying all day yesterday to get inside my house! It fluttered at all the windows and doors as if trying to tell me something. I kept going out, making sure the feeder was full, trying to see what else could be going on. Have you seen that before? hmmmmm

Pat - Arkansas said...

Wonderful photos, Betsy! I've heard, but not seen, some sort of woodpecker in our vicinity, but don't know how to attract him/her to my property. I'd love to see one at my feeders. Had a juvenile brown thrasher come sit on the window sill and and look in at me for a while yesterday, up close and personal, as it were.

It rained about an inch here from Monday night to Tuesday morning, and cooled things off a bit. It's 72 as I write this, just before 7 a.m. on Wed.

Wishing you a great day!

Darla said...

I wish we had more colorful birds around here.

Inday said...

What a delightful blog you have here Betsy. I am smiling all the way down to the end of the last last letter.

How interesting life that you live. I am also surrounded with birds but I can't get them close enough with my cell phone camera.

Even if I bait them with food, they cannot be bribed, they all will fly away. In sneaking, they always come out far away in the shot. I want to take them real close up to get to know them.

What is sad, I don't even know their names except for a few. They are my clocks, my radio, my entertainment.

Happy bird blogging to you! :)

Loran said...

We had rain and hail yesterday! Afterwards I sat on my patio and watched the birds at my feeders as well. I thought about getting out my camera but the light was dark so I just enjoyed them. There's just something so soothing about doing that, isn't there?

Dorothy said...

Wow! You really DO have a lot of 'Rainy Day Birds'! Nice that you captured them. Thanks!

Small City Scenes said...

did you get rain whe we NEED it here. Send it this way please.
I love the Goldfinch. Our state bird ya know.

Betsy I entered those pictures in the Stanwood-Camano Community Fair which is this week end. Small town--small fair--love it. MB

NCmountainwoman said...

Oh, yes. I did indeed enjoy your rainy day birds. We have a bit of rain here today and we are grateful for every drop.

Busy Bee Suz said...

So cute. Mine go crazy after a nice rain too..so funny, just like little kids playing in puddles.
I LOVE PAT!!! You are too funny.

Snap said...

All of your birds are wonderful. Lots of action at your house. I wouldn't get anything done except bird watching! (I name *my* birds, too.)

Arkansas Patti said...

You should get a tax credit for feeding so many strays.
You could always write the feed and camera equipment off as business (blog)entertainment.
Great pictures per usual.
I had to quit feeding due to the many cow birds who came. Now I just feed the hummers. Only the wasps poach their food.
Thanks for letting me visit your feeders.

Stephanie Suzanne Designs said...

Good Morning Betsy,

Loved all the pictures..that one of the cardinal is fantastic!

Hugs, Steph

Susie said...

Loved your rainy birds Betsy. The cardinal in the bath is especially cute!

We too are enjoying lots of wonderful rain. Everything is green again!

Cicero Sings said...

Oh for a rainy day here. 35C here yesterday in the shade ... I count anything over 30 HOT.

Glad you were so well entertained by live video!

I Am Woody said...

Beautiful shots!! I love the one of the Cardinal in the birdbath.

Diane AZ said...

I'm surprised how many different kinds of birds visit your feeders in the rain, and by that cardinal bathing between showers! When it rains at our house seems all the birds clear out except goldfinches and hummers.

Diane said...

I'm just amazed always at the array of color that flies in and out of your yard. That red! Gorgeous.

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

I always look forward to coming here and seeing all of the beautiful things you post about....hugs...m.

amelia said...

Lovely, lovely pictures. You really have a huge amount of birds visiting and you take some awesome photo's!!!

Adrienne Zwart said...

Betsy, so glad you were enjoying the rain and your visitors. We're having a rainy today, too. So nice for relaxing.

Cheryl said...

You can have all the rain you want if you come to Maine! I don't think we have had two full weeks of sunshine since June...but your rainy day birds are a delight to see. Usually when it rains my feeders stay busy, but when it rained a couple of days ago the opposite occured. Maybe the birds are sick and tired of the rain as well. So glad you shared the photos.

Dirt Princess said...

SOunds like a relaxing evening....bird watching...listening to the rain....

Anonymous said...

Awww The cardinal is taking a bath! I love cardinals!

Have a great Wed, Betsy!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Wow,this sounds and looks like a good rainy day.You certainly have lots of bird company.
Blessings,Ruth

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Betsy: I knew all the birds well except the Brown Thrashers. It is a neat bird.

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

You certainly got off some gorgeous shots of birds. Once our trees get a little bigger, i want to place some bird feeders around. Don't you just love watching them?

Diane said...

So pretty up close. Thanks for sharing them!

SmilingSally said...

One day you'll have to tell us how much you spend in bird feed! I'm sure it's worth it!

Anonymous said...

We are enjoying the rain and the antics of the hummingbirds today.

penny said...

The variety of birds you have around your yard amazes me. Where I live we're lucky to have three or four different kinds. We use to have a lot more but over development seem to have taken away their natural habitat.

Sunny said...

I really enjoy your blog and your pictures are really great. I love the Cardinal.
Sunny :)

A Brit in Tennessee said...

I was wondering if you were getting as much rain as us here, closer to "Twang Town".
We had sven house finches hunkered down under the porch this morning, they didn't want any part of the rain.
You should get some kind of tax write-off for feeding all those little birds, I know the expense, and try to just feed in the Winter now.
The Cardinal picture is so beautiful, my favorite I think.

Leedra said...

A very nice birding day you had.

Leedra’s Photos For Fun

Tootie said...

I enjoyed seeing your birds, Betsy. I have been so busy with Grands all summer, that I haven't been by to check on you for a while. I'm on my way to see if George has some new flowers blooming on his blog. :-)

Jo said...

Hi Betsy;) what a BRILLIANT post and record of the birds in your garden. I love Woodpeckers which we don't see in our area. We travel south east and south to see these beautiful birds. Thanks for sharing. Guess what? I've managed to add myself as a follower to your blog.Yay! Hugs Jo

Janice K said...

Neat post, Betsy. I guess when tummys are hungery it's okay to get wet! The rain doesn't seem bother the squirrels from steeling seed from the bird's feeders either. I have noticed that sometimes just proceeding rain there seems to be a real feeding fenzy--like they are trying to eat as much as they can in case they can't get back for a while.

Janie said...

Those birds certainly provide you with a lot of amusement on a rainy day -- and in turn you amuse us with your great photos!
You have such an amazing variety of birds. It's really interesting to see who's at Betsy's feeder on any given day!

Connie said...

You got some great shots of your rainy day birds, Betsy! You get quite a crowd at your feeders.