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, February 27, 2009

Bird Sightings 2/26/09


Yesterday was a warm and windy day on the Cumberland Plateau. These are the birds I saw in my backyard: Pine Siskins, Goldfinch, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinals, Mourning Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, Downy Woodpeckers, Carolina Wrens, Robins and Northern Flickers.


I didn't even try to take pictures of some of our 'regulars'--that I have featured on several blogs. I did however try to get a photo of the Red-winged Blackbirds and the Mourning Doves---but both were camera-shy. I did get some pictures of a male Cardinal --who is getting his bright colors back. And George got some pictures of the Northern Flicker and one of our Red-bellied Woodpeckers. The Flickers are such gorgeous birds--and have been gone most of the winter. I was happy to see them return!!!! Hope you enjoy the pictures. Above is a picture of the Northern Flicker and below are more of our photos! Be sure and click on them to see them larger.














Didn't George do a great job getting these pictures of the Flicker?? There were two Flickers eating on the ground. SO pretty, don't your think?







The Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been with us ALL winter.. I named the male Pete and the female Petunia. I hope they have some baby Red-bellied this spring.. Wonder what I'll name the kids?????????? Hmmmm---how about Penney and Paul...????







"Aren't I just the most gorgeous bird in the world??????"





"See my back side... My pretty color is coming back!!! Wonder where my lady-friend is?"





"I thought I would smile for the camera one more time!!!"


For a bird-lover like me, it was a good day!!!! Hope you had a wonderful day also.
Hugs,

43 comments:

Kim said...

Love the flicker pictures. I guess the memo went out amongst the birding community to high tail it to your house for their meals yesterday. HA!

Shelley said...

Betsy - I can see why you said it was a good birding day!! I especially enjoyed seeing your flicker! And I love the names you have for your red bellied - cute! Hope you have a birdy filled weekend!! P.S. We had to wait till this morning to leave for the cabin - but should be an easy drive up! Hugs - Shelley

Cedar ... said...

Wow,... great pics! They look like they are posing for you, especially the cardinal. We know spring is here when our red-winged blackbirds arrive. I don't expect them for at least another 4-6 weeks this far north. Enjoy your warmer weather!

Unknown said...

You did have a wealth o birds in your yard! Great photos!!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great day. Enjoyed the pictures. Hope you two have a great weekend.

Jayne said...

A good bird day indeed! Love the flicker photos! I see them so rarely here for some reason. Have a wonderful day Betsy. :c)

Jane said...

This is one of the unfortunate aspects of living downtown - our birds consist mainly of pigeons and cat birds! Great shots....

Jane

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Thanks for visiting today.. George and I are headed to Hendersonville to check on his parents. SO--we won't be around to check your blogs. We'll catch up when we get home tonight!!!!

Have a great day.
Hugs to all,
BETSY

I Am Woody said...

Beautiful pictures!!

Harriet said...

Love all of your bird pictures. I am in East Tennessee - Chattanooga.
How do you get such great pictures?
We have a feeder in a tree in our back yard and sometimes we may have 15 to 20 Cardinals at one time. I can never get a good picture they always fly away.

Rose said...

Oh, Betsy, they are beautiful, aren't they? All of them...I know I don't post a lot of birds on my blog, but I sure do love them. I have ever since I was just a child.

Busy Bee Suz said...

Great pictures and I have ZOOM envy over Georges pics.
I think Cardinals are my favorite of all...just love the way they stand out.

Mary said...

Beautiful Flicker! I so seldom see one here. All of these are wonderful and nice and colorful :-)

Mary said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Creations by Marie Antoinette and Edie Marie said...

Hi Hon,love the pictures of the birds.They are so beautiful arn't they? I raise peacocks so i appreicate all birds.BTW,I use to live in Oakridge Tenn,and Kingmen .I loved it there.Hugs Marie Antionette

SmilingSally said...

The cardinal is a beauty indeed.

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

It's so nice to find someone from Tennessee also. I love your pictures.

Karin said...

Starting my day out with a visit to your blog is always rewarding! Stunning photos! Enjoy your day!

Susie said...

Betsy I loved these bird pictures. That Flicker is a really pretty bird. I like his polka-dotted belly. Hope you and George have a wonderful weekend!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots! I love the thought of bird color returning. won't be long before we hear the flickers up here, too!

Tina said...

Betsy,
Wow, what an array of bird visitors you are having!! That's wonderful...so love the colors on those flickers..that yellow under their wings is so nice!! Great pics of your tenn. birds! Hope you had a good visit with George's parents! Have a great weekend.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

I'll say it was a good bird day.Hope I get my turn soon,when the weather warms up.

Blessings,Ruth

Cicero Sings said...

A bumper crop of birds kinda day!

Anonymous said...

The Cardinals are still my favs - they remind me of my g'ma - she loved Cardinals!!! I miss my grandparents!

Leedra said...

I have GOT to get to Rockwood....hopefully first of next week. Oh, I am finally caught up with you. Tell George he has to wait until I get to the S's.

Leedra’s Photos For Fun
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Jen said...

Wow that red on that Northern Flicker really stands out doesn't it. I've not seen one of those; not yet anyway. :)
Have a great weekend Betsy.

Neal said...

Those are really great. Maybe spring is on it's way. :)

Anonymous said...

Betsy! You have to go check out Neal @ Photographic Memories if you haven't already! Big WATERFALL!!!
http://memoriesbyphoto.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Nice pictures! I wonder if I'll ever see a flicker around here!

betty-NZ said...

Absolutely gorgeous birds! George did good!!

Betty said...

Hi Betsy,

You have a really good camera to capture the close ups of these beautiful birds. You can see every little detail in the first picture you showed.

I didn't realize the cardinals loose their color in the winter time. Ed is a bird watcher, and he said he didn't know that either.

I'll see you when we get back around the middle of March. Take care.

dot said...

Enjoyed George's pictures. The flicker is a beautiful bird. I don't seem to get such a variety of birds here. Maybe I don't feed them right.

Wendy said...

Nice pics. Loved the bright red cardinal and all the rest too. You must have had fun!

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

I so love seeing all of your beautiful bird pictures.....I wish you a wonderful weekend. I heard the word SNOW n our forecast for Tomorrow.....M...

Anonymous said...

Great pix of the birds. Looks like Spring is on the way.
Hope you find the parents doing great.
It won't be long before you will have to find more falls to hike to.
Have a great time.

A Brit in Tennessee said...

What fantastic pictures !
We had a Red-Bellied Woodpecker in the yard this morning.
Thanks to your blog, I knew exactly what it was...yah !

Unknown said...

Great shots Betsy. Digital cameras have been such a watershed milestone in the history of photography: not only can we take more, but we can share them much easier. What would blogs be without photos? And bird photos are top on the list. It's revolutionized the hobby.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Glad all of you enjoyed my backyard birds today... We had a great trip to Hendersonville and found George's parents in good shape. My blog tomorrow will talk about them.

I hope you had a great day. We've got snow coming tomorrow night and Sunday (so they say)....

Hugs to all and thanks for stopping by,
Betsy

Anonymous said...

Your bird pictures are wonderful! I've gotten some photos of Northern Flickers in my yard, but they are not nearly as good as these. And I'm seeing so many Pileated Woodpeckers, but just can't get close enough to get a good picture.

Diane AZ said...

I like the black spots on the Northern Flicker's chest. Your cardinal sure was cooperating with you taking his picture, just beautiful!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Betsy: I'm missing getting out to visit. These are super captures of so great birds. You did a nice post on the in-laws above.
I ahve a surprise for you later this week.

Adrienne Zwart said...

Wow, wonderful post. I just love watching the birds, too. Haven't seen any flickers yet, but then I'm a bit further north than you are.

Beth said...

Betsy, I meant to comment earlier on how much I enjoyed these bird shots! I'm a birdlover, too, as is our whole family, but I'm never able to get such good shots. I especially love the shot in your sidebar of the pileated woodpecker. We have one that hangs around here and I have had a year-long quest to get his picture. No luck yet, but I'll keep trying! :-)