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...

Friday, April 6, 2012

Birds-Birds-Birds

There are many birds who visit our feeders on the back deck... Recently,  they are all busy singing their songs and finding a mate... It's a great time of year to watch the birds... And since our weather recently has been so nice,  we are able to sleep with the windows opened... The birds love to sing loudly the first thing in the morning ---so it's totally awesome waking up to the beautiful sound of birds singing!!!!!

Today,  I'll show you some pictures (taken at various times over the past 3 years or so) of eight of my favorite Backyard Birds... Above is an all-time favorite bird of mine,  the EASTERN BLUEBIRD...   Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird are busy nesting in the Bluebird House... I hope we have some baby Blues soon.  Be sure to click on the pictures for larger views.




Here is another favorite bird,  our NORTHERN CARDINAL.  The Cardinals are the first ones at the feeders in the morning and the last ones there before dark.   Such beautiful birds --and it's fun to watch the Mister feed the Misses during the mating season!!!!!   I love seeing the colorful birds this time of year since they are beautiful showing off their colors.




We have more GOLDFINCHES this year than any other bird I think... I don't know how many we have --but there are a BUNCH of them!!!  It's fun to watch the males change to this gorgeous yellow color in the spring.




These little CAROLINA CHICKADEES are year-round visitors along with their buddies,  the Tufted Titmice and the Nuthatches....  When you see one of these guys,  you usually see them all.  I love this picture since that Chickadee was telling me to quit taking pictures so that he could come to the feeder!!!!!  Is this a bird with 'attitude'?????? ha




This beauty,  the ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK is a short-term visitor here every year.  They stop here in April or May as they migrate north ---and then they stop again in September on their way back south for the winter.




We have at least five resident woodpeckers which visit the feeders off and on during the year.  Woodpeckers love suet --- so I try to accommodate them!!!!   Above is one of the prettiest woodpeckers,  our NORTHERN FLICKER...  Isn't he gorgeous?




This woodpecker,  the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER,  unfortunately does not come around as much as the others... He comes in the Spring ---and brings the little ones to the feeders during the Spring/Summer... SUCH a beautiful bird!!!!




And finally,  you know I cannot do a bird blog post without featuring this bird...  This is another favorite,  the PILEATED WOODPECKER.    This huge woodpecker lets EVERYONE know when he is nearby... He has a very loud call!!!!   Oh --how I love this bird!!!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my Backyard Birds today!!!!!  I have SO much fun --feeding them and watching them...  Soon,  I'll do another bird post showing you some of the 'funny' bird pictures I have taken...

We have been out-of-town for the past 3 days... SO---again,  I'm behind on blogging...  I love traveling and we have a wonderful time ---but it's hard to catch back up when we get home!!!!  I'll catch up with you SOON.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you on Monday.
Hugs,
Betsy

76 comments:

Anonymous said...

I, like you, love waking up in the mornings to my birds singing outside my bedroom window!

I have yet to see a Rose-breasted Grosbeak, so will be keeping a close eye on the feeders this month and next. LOVE the photo of the Pileated and Red-head Woodpeckers, was surprised to see the Pileated eating suet!

Have a great weekend Betsy! :)

Denise Covey said...

Hello again Betsy. I forgot to follow you last time but I've remedied it now. These bird shots are just breathtaking. Great that you had a wonderful trip.

Thanks for visiting my blog.

This is a blogger I think you may enjoy reading:

http://theresjustlifeyaliveit.blogspot.com/

Denise

Betty Manousos said...

good morning, dear betsy, what glorious birdie images!
your lovely post did put a smile on my face.

terrific shots, too.

wishing a great weekend from start to finish.

hugs.

Ms. A said...

Betsy, these photos are amazing!

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy,
These bird photos are absolutely brilliant! Such lovely colors, must be a joy seeing those visit your bird feeder.
Happy Easter my friend!
Hugs
Eva

From the Kitchen said...

Hello beautiful birds. I've missed you!

Best,
Bonnie

happyone said...

You have such a wide variety of birds in your yard. All are beautiful with their striking colors and your photos are wonderful.

Janice K said...

Totally awesome pictures! I look forward to seeing some of your Baby Blues this spring.

Have a wonderful Easter...God Bless!

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful,Beautiful! As these birds migrate through,tell them to hurry on to my yard,I am ready and waiting for them.:)

Valerie said...

Awesome birdies!!

Catherine said...

You must have so much fun watching all your colorful birds at the feeder Betsy. Fantastic!
Wishing you and George a very happy Easter weekend!
xo Catherine

Connie said...

Wonderful photos, Betsy! I love the one giving you attitude. hahaha! :D Happy Easter to you and yours!

Shug said...

Love the picture of the "Fat" little Goldfinch....Great photos...
Have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

You've got a wonderful set of bird photos, Betsy! And your favorites are the same as mine, with the Bluebird being at the top of my list. We have had all of these in our backyard except for the Red-breasted Grosbeak and the Pileated Woodpecker. I'd love to see those!

Wishing you and George a wonderful Easter weekend!

I Am Woody said...

We have tons of goldfinches as well. Mine are so skiddish that I haven't been able to get a photograph!

TexWisGirl said...

i love all of your birds and all of your shots. your goldfinch is just a perfect little guy...

LV said...

You do an excellent job on capturing the birds. Looks like you could touch them or hear them singing. Keep traveling right on down the road of happiness.

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

These are gorgeous, Betsy. I think the Bluebird and the Grosbeak are my favorites, but every one of this set of images is stunning. Excellent work.

imac said...

You have a song in the air and a blog full of Beauty Betsy.

Out on the prairie said...

Some charming friends, I love them all

Out on the prairie said...

Some charming friends, I love them all

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Great shots- that first one is a big WOW!

Small City Scenes said...

Wow! You bird images sure are wonderful. We have Western Bluebirds here but I have yet to see one and alas we don't have the Cardinal which I would dearly love to see in person. Thanks for the birding tour. MB

Sylvia K said...

You have so many gorgeous, colorful birds at your feeders, Betsy! And your photos are so delightful! Such a lovely way to begin my day!! Wishing you and George and wonderful and very Happy Easter!

Sylvia

MadSnapper said...

these are fantastic photos of your birds, so pretty and the colors are magnificent in all of them, even the black and white is so sharp and brilliant. you are getting better and better with your bird shooting. LOL we

Starry Dawn said...

Hi Betsy, dear one,
Oh!! These pictures are fantastic.
I love birds, animals, mother nature, mountains, waterfalls, the Ocean, sea waves, the beach, the rainbow, the sky, nature beauties all around, and so forth...
Thank you so much, sweet Betsy for sharing your caring and loving ways with the world!!
You are an awesome friend, darling.
I take this special moment on a Holy Friday to wish you have a Happy Easter with all your beloved ones!! God keeps blessing you, sweetheart!!
All the best,
Poet & Song-Writer Starry Dawn.

Anonymous said...

Happy Easter! Love those colorful birds--which we don't see in Hawaii.

Cheqna said...

When I read about the birds singing in the morning, I heard in my head the Disney cartoons' princesses singing in the wood..hehe..

Beautiful birds..(I'm not good at naming them if I came across any.)

and I like your caption on that bird with attitude :-D

Ginny Hartzler said...

So much beauty!! Hard to pick a favorite here, but it would have to be either the bluebird or the little goldfinch. There are two kinds of chickadees, and we have the other kind. I can finally see a difference with your picture, never could tell between them before!

Beth said...

Oh, what a beautiful bunch of bird photos, Betsy! Alas, I've never had the opportunity to see the red-headed woodpecker or rose-breasted grosbeak in the wild, but I'm pleased to see your captures of them. I, too, am partial to the pileated and his almost tropical-sounding call. Such a handsome fellow...

A happy and blessed Easter to you and George!

Glenda said...

Your beautiful birds add color to your already-beautiful yard! I'm waiting for the first grosbeak to show up; they are one of my favorites. Great photos as always!

joy said...

Beatiiful birds:) how lucky you are to have then on your backyard:)

Unknown said...

Beautiful! I feed birds too. Love your photos.Joann

Hootin Anni said...

I am in awe of your bird photos. I especially like the cardinal...they are my all time favorite birds. Today, when coming back from the islands we saw two huge ospreys ---they were on the light poles but I could NOT pull over to get any pictures of them [the two are usually seen in the same area...I've named them Gilligan and the Skipper] ...anyway, today they were on the highway crossing the causeway/waterway so no place to pull over.

Enjoyed this post immensely!!!

Karin said...

They are all dressed in their spring-time finest aren't they! That little scrappy is one little chickadee with attitude, isn't he! I was actually wondering how they all compare to each other in size - are all your photos approx. the same distance from the bird? Just curious.... Enjoy your Easter week-end!

Unknown said...

Beautiful Blue Bird. They are my favorite. There are 4 eggs in my Blue bird box.

Anonymous said...

Such pretty photos of the birds, Betsy. That little chickadee is really telling the news! ha
Hope you and George have a nice Easter weekend.

Latane Barton said...

Such beautiful birds, Betsy, and such great photography.

Tracy said...

Oh Betsy, they are all so sweet looking but my favorite is that little goldfinch; aren't they just the most precious? This little guy looks like he needs his little knickers to keep him warm. He looks puffed up :)

Donna said...

Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos!

Sally Wessely said...

I'm behind on blog reading. What it was a treat to see that darling first little at the top of the blog - the Eastern Bluebird. I can see why he is one of your all time favorites. He is adorable.

Velva said...

I love this time of year too. The birds wake me up each morning. We have lots of cardinals! I have seen the northern bluebirds too.

Happy spring.

Velva

amy @ Life in Pink Hi-Tops said...

Such great pictures. The birds in the morning here are very rambunctious!

Jeanne said...

If I had those birds in my backyard I think I would have to camp out all day watching. My very favorite is the bluebird also!

momto8 said...

LOVE your pictures! I love my backyard birds too! thanks!

carolina nana said...

Bet you won't have those windows open listening to the bird songs in the morning,hahaha !!!
Blessings
MArilyn

Carletta said...

Some lovely shots of your favorites. The Grosbeak and the Flicker shots are gorgeous!
It's only been the past couple of years that I've started bird watching but it's an everyday ritual now. I had a flicker visit today and a few days ago a Pileated that I'll post next week.
Have a wonderful weekend and more happy birdwatching!

Nava said...

Wow--I so wish the Redhead would come to our feeders--they are fairly rare. Have never seen the little ones. Hope you can get a photo of the juniors. We have not seen the Pileated or Flicker in a while either. Still have a lot of birds singing in the morning.

Anonymous said...

You are very blessed to have these colourful birds in your backyard to photograph.
Have a lovely Easter break, Betsy.

SquirrelQueen said...

You always have the prettiest little birds come to your yard Betsy. I love those sweet little Eastern Bluebirds.

I heard you have possible frost coming. Wait til you see what we had Friday morning.

Happy Easter!

Larry said...

Oh my... what a wonderful assortment of wonderful creatures! I just wanted to take a moment Betsy,and wish you a wonderful Easter! Larry

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Excellent bird pics! I love bluebirds and the goldfinches too!

BlueShell said...

It is the first time, in my 51 years of life, that a see a RED bird! I'm so excited....

Hugs
BShell

Living In Williamsburg Virginia said...

What a beautiful array of colorful birds you have hanging out in your neighborhood.

Darryl and Ruth :)

penny said...

I always enjoy seeing the beautiful birds that visit your backyard banquet.. you and they are fortunate to have each other.
Have a wonderful Easter, Betsy.
:)

Beatriz said...

How beautiful are these little birds!!!! I love them. It made me remember my grandpha, who was particulary in love with all kinds of them. He usually have them free in his private land in the south of the country, and used to take care of the sick ones!
Thanks for sharing those beauty images!
Bia
www.biaviagemambiental.blogspot.com

Christmas-etc... said...

Oh... what beautiful creatures!!! And how they thrilled our souls with their beautiful songs!
Happy Easter!
Blessings!
Ann

Terry and Linda said...

You take really good bird photos....I have GOT to learn. Or at least be there when they are around.


Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

Neal said...

Wow Betsy, those are great shots.

Cassie said...

Wow Betsy, they are all quite glorious! Great shots!! Happy Easter to you and George.

A Colorful World said...

Thanks so much for your comments, Betsy! Oh, I just love these bird photos! That bluebird picture is one of the prettiest I've ever seen! And I love the flicker...look at his spotted tummy. You are right about them being VERY pretty! I keep trying to get pictures of the goldfinches around here but it's not easy! :-) The Pileated is neat....I just watched Ghost Bird about the Ivory Bill and am expecting the book in the mail that I recently ordered directly from the author...a blogger friend! Keep an eye out for my post on it!

Hope you had a wonderful trip! I know you do look forward to lots of sunflowers at Biltmore! Can;t wait to see the blog on that one as well! :-) Have a beautiful, blessed Easter! God bless you and George!

Chatty Crone said...

I LOVE your beautiful birds. Have a blessed Easter. Sandie

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I hardly ever see such beautiful birds at my feeder, Betsy. We get mainly sparrows as visitors, so I always enjoy seeing your beautiful photos.

Hope you and George have a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Val said...

I LOVE your birds! We have the same ones here!!

Buttercup said...

Betsy, what fabulous pictures. Wishing you a bright and blessed Easter.

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Betsy these birds are just sensational!!! I LOVED THE FIRST one - it is colour-coordinated with your Blog!!
Just so utterly gorgeous. :)

Jane said...

Such beautiful pictures! Hope that you and G are keeping well,

Jane

Hootin Anni said...

PS...just to answer your question about A/C and hurricanes [we have a lot of sea breezes -morning noon and night...but it's the humidity that's a 'killer' around here. Being so close to the Gulf -- and that means lots of mold and mildew if we have open windows too long. I'd rather have the a/c going than fight with mildew in the house.

As for hurricanes...we haven't had any damage, but the 2nd year we've lived here Hurricane Emily caused a lot of shore damage and high winds. Our son, lives in Houston, and he had his apartment flooded from IKE...thing is, he was on vacation in South America for 3 weeks....what a mess he came home to.

Hope you're having a blessed holiday weekend.

Faye said...

Your wonderful bird photos has lifted my rather low spirits today,Betsy. Thank you. Opened up your post to be greeted by the Bluebird of Happiness.

I never noticed birds very much until became interested in photography. Now am thrilled to see them and try to get a camera shot in before they fly away. My favorite of your photos today is the sweet little chickadee. Love the flashier ones too!

Happy Easter and safe travels.

eileeninmd said...

Betsy, I loved all your bird photos. I especially loved the woodpeckers. It is cool you see the Pileated at your feeder. Lucky you! I hope you had a wonderful Easter Sunday!

blueskyartist said...

Beautiful birdies!
P.S. Please tell me how to get rid of word verification! I'm not sure if I have it or not!

blueskyartist said...

Good news...I figured out how to get rid of word verification!
Thanks again for your beautiful photos! I really enjoy your blog!

Small Kucing said...

They are so pretty. We dont get much of pretty bird here unless we go to the Bird Garden. Mostly its becoz we are in the city.

kathy

http://www.smallkucing.com
http://mamakucingbooks.blogspot.com

ratieh said...

Long time not visit you Betsy! as always, love the birds ^^

Happy Easter Betsy!

KathyA said...

Love all of your feathered friends, but my favorite is the bluebird. We have another family living with us this year!

Rohrerbot said...

I like your bird post:) Very very nice. Lovely colors on all the birds.....I have to admit that the Woodpecker is one of my favorites as well. I would have a field day around your area....so many beautiful birds around your place. Thanks for sharing:)