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...

Monday, March 20, 2017

Birds-Birds-Birds

I got this picture/quote from Facebook --and loved it.  Just had to share!!!
I realized that I haven't taken time to do a Bird Blog Post in awhile.   I still feed my Backyard Birds  year 'round --and love watching them.  Now that Spring is coming (I hope),  I'll soon get to see some of the Moms/Dads bring their little ones to the feeders..  I LOVE that!!!!!

My Bird Kitchen (on the deck) offers a nice menu for the birds:  Suet,  Black Sunflower Seeds,  Fruit and Nut Blend,  Finch Lovers/Nyjer,  Peanuts in the shell,  and Mealworms....

Today I'll share with you some of my little cuties... We probably have over 30 different varieties off and on throughout the year --but today I'll only show you about half of them.  The pictures have been taken off and on throughout several years and seasons.


Hairy Woodpecker;  We don't have many of these --but do have lots of the smaller ones,  the Downy Woodpeckers.



Our BlueJays are only with us from Spring-Fall --but I love these guys!!!  Some people say they are 'bully birds' --but that doesn't seem to be the case here.



Robins LOVE visiting the deck especially during winter when they can't dig for worms...



Mockingbird;   We don't see too many of these.   They have beautiful songs to share!!!  BUT--they can be a little domineering in trying to 'hog' the plate feeder!!!! 



RoadRunner;   We don't have these guys here ---but did see him when we were in Arkansas recently.  I hope they will make it to Tennessee sometime!!!!



Papa Cardinal;  These beauties bring their little ones to the feeders... Such wonderful birds!



Rose-Breasted Grosbeak;  These gorgeous birds visit us twice during the year during migration.   They come in April or May and then again in late Fall....



Brown Thrasher;   They are here  from Spring-Fall ---and they nest here.  One year I was trimming a bush and Mama Thrasher wanted to take a bite out of me.  Scared me to death since I didn't know there was a nest in that bush.



My FAVORITE Bird in our yard,  the Eastern Bluebirds;   As you can tell these are 3 babies begging Daddy for food....  The Bluebirds are nesting NOW --so we should be seeing some of these little ones soon.  They usually make 3 broods a year---and they are with us year 'round!



Beautiful colorful Goldfinch;   We have lots of finches (Pine Siskins,  House Finches, etc.) --but these are the prettiest I think--especially during mating season.



Purple Finch;  These Finches are rare around here ---so I was excited to see him on Jan. 26, 2017.   They are similar to the male House Finches --but much prettier I think.



Mourning Dove;   We have them around here all year ---but they have to work hard to stay away from the Hawks!!!!



Speaking of Hawks,  this young one visited the Food Kitchen on 3/3/17...  I'm no expert on hawks (I'd prefer they stay AWAY) --but he may be a young Cooper's --which are the ones we usually get here?????  (Luckily,  he did not catch anything when he visited.)



Red-bellied Woodpecker;   These guys who are quite vocal (like the Pileated Woodpeckers are) when they visit.  They are with us year 'round... 



Another hawk that visited our deck on Christmas Eve this past year;  He was a big one --and again I'm not sure what he was..  I assume a Cooper's Hawk??????   Look at the next picture to see what he got for lunch!!!!



Oh My.... The hawk caught a CHIPMUNK for his Christmas Eve Lunch.... (Not a good picture because I was inside trying not to disturb him --while I looked out through two panes of glass and a screen.)



Another of my favorite woodpeckers,  the  Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker;   These birds are so beautiful --and I"m thrilled when they come to the Bird Kitchen.



Red-Headed Woodpecker:  I LOVE LOVE LOVE these woodpeckers.   To me,  they are the prettiest of the woodpeckers that visit us...
Well---that is enough,  don't you think?    Oh how I love my sweet birdies ---and I apologize for not sharing them more often with you.

For those of you who have asked,  I am finally WELL (I hope).  My energy level is still ZILCH --but hopefully,  that too will get better gradually.  For someone who is NEVER sick,  that 'bug' really BIT me bigtime... It's so nice to sleep now without coughing....  And I'm so glad that George didn't get it.

Have a great week and thanks to those of you who take time each week to comment... Sometimes I am shocked when I read that my blog posts have been visited by over 200 people ---and yet,  so few bother to comment... Kinda sad,   isn't it???   BUT--that's just blogging (or any social media)... We all do what we can and what we are interested in doing!!!

Hugs,

36 comments:

Ann said...

So many beautiful birds. You get such a nice variety. I think my favorite of all the birds that visit here are the cardinals.

Marcia said...

What a lovely assortment. That redheaded woodpecker is lovely.
One drawback of living on the 11th floor is not having a bird feeder. When the wind is high it would take it right off whatever I had it hooked to. I do get to see the birds when I walk and from our high perch as they fly passed. We see hawks, an occasional bald eagle, buzzards, gulls, and herons fly by or soar of the winds. We were in the winter garden in an exercise class on our backs when a heron flew over. We could see it through the large skylights. How neat was that.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Betsy, you are blessed with wonderful backyard birds. I love the Roadrunner too. Happy 1st day of Spring. Have a great new week ahead!

Rita said...

What a gorgeous display of birds. I live in Indiana and have seen all of the birds except the last one. What a beautiful red headed woodpecker. Thank you so much for sharing so many wonderful vacations and others like birds and roses.

Devilish Angel said...

Sweet and cute birds Betsy...

George said...

You got some great pictures of the birds that visit your bird kitchen. I don't think I could pick a favorite photo if I had to, but I do look forward to seeing more bird photos in future.

David said...

Betsy, Nice bird photos! We especially love our flickers. We have a pair nesting nearby and they have been all over our feeder, focusing on the suet but also picking out the best nuts. Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Betsy said...

You take such wonderful pictures Betsy. We had a bird come visit last week in the snow. He looked so confused. It was a rather large bird, black, with shiny blue feathers and a red head. He was hiding out under our blue spruce tree in the backyard trying to get away from the snowflakes! I have no idea what he was and I haven't been able to find a picture of him on the Internet. I do enjoy looking at yours.

I'm so glad you're better. Whatever this crud is going around this year is bad. I caught a cold a little over a week ago and upped my immune supplements to six a day. That seem to nip it in the bud and I'm almost completely better now . Unfortunately, I shared it with my dear hubby. I think he is on the mend too but he's about five days behind me. I hope spring is springing at your house! It's been a long hard winter for a lot of us.
Blessings, Betsy

Ruth Hiebert said...

Now this post is right up my line. I love the birds.Some of the ones who visit your feeders regularly are seldom, if ever seen here but I do appreciate the ones I do have. I feel like you about the lack of comments. There are time,I'm almost ready to close down the blog,but then someone leaves a really nice comment and I am encouraged to continue. Have a GREAT day. The sun is shining here and it is right now +5C.

linda m said...

Wow, I love all your bird pictures. Especially love the Red-Headed Woodpecker. Can't say that I have ever seen one in person. He is gorgeous. Looking forward to putting out my feeders soon. Since I don't have a deck I have to put "hangers" in the yard. As soon as the ground thaws I will be hanging my feeders. So happy to hear you are feeling better. Praying your strength returns real soon.

Ginny Hartzler said...

A fabulous post, Betsy! And you know what is my favorite here? The news that you are better! Phil and I have a theory about people who never get sick, then when they do get sick it is much worse. Because their immune system has been resting for so long. So I do think it can be a good thing to get sick from time to time. But not as bad as you have been!! My other favorite here is the Roadrunner, what a treat! I have never seen a real one, and I sure would like to!! I did always enjoy the ones in cartoons though. Did you know they can kill snakes? I am glad you did not get a better picture of the poor little dead chipmunk, I love them. As a child, I used to hand feed hem. I also love your shots of the two birds holding a big peanut, and the sweet little bluebird chicks. Hey, what kind of suet do you feed the birds? And I hope you don't say home made! We have had two different suet cakes outside, and no one will touch them!

Busy Bee Suz said...

I'm so envious of your variety of birds. I really only get cardinals and blue jays at my feeder and on occasion mourning doves. Of course, I'm happy with what comes to the feeders.....but still, I'd like more. ;)
We do get some hawks in our yard too and I always worry about my 'yard bunnie's', but you know how nature goes. Lovely photos Betsy!!

thewriterslife said...

I haven't been over here since forever! I'm blogging again at Boomer Chick. Love the pictures...your camera is fantastic. I have one similar...I'll be using it more for my blog in the next few days but I wanted to touch base. You probably don't even remember me but I've got your blog in my sidebar so I'll be stopping by more often!

Dorothy
http://overthehillchick.blogspot.com/

Lady Fi said...

So many lovely shots of the birds! I like your sunrise in the header too.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi Betsy,
I loved seeing all your birds! We have all of these here, too, except for the roadrunner and the hawks are here but I'm not sure what kind they are. We have some feral cats hanging around outside, so our feeders aren't as busy as they once were.
I think a lot of bloggers, like myself, just get busy and don't have a lot of time for commenting. I know I get behind and I don't like doing that, but then there's only so much time and I'm so slow. :) I also get way more views than comments.
Enjoyed your post, my friend. Take care and have a nice week!
Hugs,
Cheryl

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

Those baby birds sure take the prize for cutest! And I looked out over our front yard as the sun was coming up this morning and saw a bluebird eating a worm...I always think those are for the robins! heehee! Thanks for the prayers and kind words my friend. They are very much needed and appreciated. Hugs, Diane

Arkansas Patti said...

I am so glad you are finally seeing the light after your illness. What a beast you had. Just glad you had George to help you through.
Loved all the variety at your feeder.
Do be careful what you wish for with the Roadrunner. Yes they are fun to watch--sometimes. I have one here who uses my feeder to shop for lunch--and it is the birds he wants, not the seed. I saw one catch a red winged black bird then slam him into the ground repeatedly till he was dead. I ran out to try to save the bird, Roadrunner grabbed him up and ran for the fence line. A Hawk almost got them both. Sometimes Nature isn't pretty.

diane b said...

You sure have a big variety of beautiful birds visiting. Sorry to hear you have been unwell, I hope you get better soon.

Kay said...

Absolutely gorgeous photos, Betsy, but my favorite is the first. That is such a wonderful quote!!!

Rose said...

I forgot how many birds you do have visit! When I see bluebirds, my mind immediately thinks of you and how you love them. This is a great group of photos...and I am glad to hear you are feeling better. Maybe the energy will be there once spring arrives in full force.

Pam said...

Oh those are such beautiful pictures! Several of those babies we don't have in Tennessee. The hawk I am very aware of, they are beautiful but deadly to little critters and other birds. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed that.

Betsy said...

I love seeing the little blue birds, they along with the yellow finches. Those blue jays are comical birds I think. I saw one a couple years back swoop down to chase a cat away, that cat ran too. I would've run, that blue jay was pulling hair on his back.
So many hawks out here lately. I know they got all of the baby rabbits and the doves especially last year.
They do what they are designed to do though.
betsy

Connie said...

Beautiful bird photos, Betsy! They are so entertaining to watch, aren't they? Happy first day of spring to you. :)

The Furry Gnome said...

That's a great selection of birds you have visiting, and wonderful pictures!

Lux G. said...

That opening quote gives me life. So true!
Birds are such majestic creatures. I'm fascinated simply by looking at them move.

Jeevan said...

Interesting capture on your backyard birds... this’s a great series upon various birds on different seasons. The yellow shafted is gorgeous with all details. Wish a roadrunner runs your backyard soon:)

Big Dude said...

you sure feed a large variety of diners.

Marie said...

we so enjoy our birds as well. :) love all your shots except the hawk. I've seen a hawk with a bluejay and a crow. :( food chain I know but still sad.
happy spring!

Janice K said...

Your "bird kitchen" must be the most famous in your neighborhood. You have some birds year around that we only see seasonally or during migration. I especially enjoyed seeing the Roadrunner. We've been to Texas to visit our daughter and her husband four times since they moved there, but so far I haven't seen one.

Have a beautiful day!

Jeanne said...

WOW!! That red headed woodpecker nearly took my breath away!! Your so lucky to have good birds year round. We have great birding opportunities during migration season so I can't complain! Love all these pics!

BeachGypsy said...

the woodpecker with the peanut and the bluejay with the peanut........LOVE LOVE LOVE THOSE TWO PICTURES! You sure got some great shots here! Thank you for all the kind comments you leave on my blog too! so glad you are not coughing anymore!!

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

I cannot believe that hawk made a kill right there! I bet you were surprised. I always enjoy seeing your collection of birds.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

These birds are so pretty, and you know what kind they are! I love the woodpeckers best, especially last one. The hawks have a mean look about them

Linda said...

Great bird pics! Love those babies!
I wonder if blog stats include people who view the post in a blog reader without clicking through.

Lowcarb team member said...

So lovely to see all of these beautiful birds, and with such lovely colours too.

All the best Jan

Pat Tillett said...

My area really got shorted when it comes to colorful birds.
One great photo after another Betsy!