November Brings the Birds to the Bird Kitchen

Black-Capped Chickadee  (taken on 11/6/14)

Most everyone knows that I  spoil feed my Backyard Birds...  I don't take (or have) time to take too many pictures these days  --but since it has been awhile since I published a Bird Blog Post, I decided that it was time to do one.

I have 11 different feeders in my Bird Kitchen ---and I have to store them in a large container we have on the deck,  every night!!!!  If I didn't put them away from view,  the Raccoons (which always visit us at nights) would STEAL eat everything...

SO--each morning,  fairly early,  I put out the feeders.  Then I ring the dinner bell (a windchime) ---and step back inside the house.  The birds flock to the feeders for breakfast....It's so much fun to watch them.

We have different birds at different times of the year... Right now,  we are watching LOTS and LOTS of Finches (mostly Goldfinches) at our feeders... I didn't count them when I saw them on Saturday (8th),  but there were probably 40 Finches on the deck...

Hope you enjoy today's pictures --and remember to click on them for enlargements.   None of the pictures are very clear since I was shooting through a dirty window and screen --and the lighting on the deck was not very good.  But--you'll get the idea of all of the joy I have watching 'my' birds!!!!

Above is a cute picture of one of my favorite little birds,  the Black-capped Chickadee.  We have these birds year-round ---and when I'm outside, they love to chatter to me from the trees around the Bird Kitchen.  Wish I knew their language---but I'm sure they are either saying: "Thanks for the delicious meal"   OR   "Get in the house, Lady,  so that we can EAT in peace."  Which do you think they are saying??????ha ha

A Black-Capped Chickadee and a Tufted Titmouse on the Plate Feeder  (11/6/14)

Finches anyone????? We have more finches right now than any other bird.  They love to 'hog' the feeders......UNTIL???????  (11/4/14)

.... the Mourning Doves visit!!!!  The Doves are so big --- they TRULY can 'hog' the Plate Feeder.  (11/4/14)

The Finches are patient for awhile (see that one waiting?).... BUT ????  (11/4/14)

...Then --they decide to descend upon the Doves!!!!  One Dove (named Mabel) flew away --but I heard another one (named Joe)  say to the third one: "Henry,  let's get outta here and get away from these noisy Finches".  (11/4/14)

Did you notice the Eastern Bluebird in the photo above this one????  Anyhow --we have several Bluebirds (year-round birds here) who love to come to the Mealworm feeder...  I love this photo of the Mourning Dove staring at Mr. Bluebird.  Wonder what he is thinking???  (11/4/14)

I love this:  watching the cute little Eastern Bluebird (perched on TOP of the Arbor) waiting to get a turn at the Mealworm feeder.  (11/4/14)

I love this picture of Mr. Bluebird grabbing a mealworm.  (11/4/14)

Another photo showing Mourning Doves,  Finches and a Bluebird  (11/4/14)

Here's one more showing a bird in flight --along with the Doves, Finches and a Bluebird... The Mourning Doves are SO big compared to the small Finches!  But that doesn't seem to bother the much smaller Finch in the plate with the Doves.

On  11/8/14,  look who came to visit!!!!   It's a Pileated Woodpecker (even larger than those Mourning Doves).  AND it looks like this guy is getting fattened up for the upcoming long winter ahead!

BUT---as you can tell,  even the big Pileated Woodpecker doesn't scare the Finches away!!!! The Pileated Woody didn't pay any attention to them since he was going after the suet... AND--the Finches didn't pay any attention to Mr. Pileated... I guess they know it's 'safey in numbers' when it comes to being around the bigger birds!!!!

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my Backyard Birds... I am blessed to have so many here to enjoy!!!!  There are many more who visit --and I just need to take some time to get some more pictures to share.  I do enjoy these sweet little birds.

We are still very BUSY in the yard these days (getting up leaves,  cleaning out flowerbeds,  planting spring bulbs,  etc.)...  It's just THAT time of the year!!!

Hope all of you are enjoying November SO far... Get out and enjoy Nature before it gets too cold.  Speaking of COLD,  we are supposed to get VERY cold beginning this Thursday --and then stay cold for awhile....SO--winter is coming!

Hugs,

Emoticons

More Fun on Galveston Island, Texas 9/20/14

If you missed Part I of our visit to Galveston, Texas,  click HERE.   Today,  I'll share some more of our visit that glorious day.   I was surprised at some of the comments from Part I  saying that so many people have never heard of Galveston and didn't have any idea that it was on an island... It is truly a neat place ---and other than the worry of hurricanes,  it is a fantastic place to live and to visit.

Most of this post is about and for BIRDERS... Galveston is one of the top places for birding in the United States.  Many birders come to Galveston looking for the Reddish Egret,  which is only found in a few places.... There  are many online sites talking about birding in Galveston.  I marked three for you:  HERE and HERE  and HERE.

I love my backyard birds but truly don't know much about shore birds. I do know that my eldest son --who lives in the Galveston area--- has become a real birder and knows alot about the birds in his area.  We were only there for a few hours,  but I got to see several 'new to me' birds....  Since my pictures are not too good in spots (too far away plus having to crop them),  I am enclosing some other pictures from the internet also --so that you can see how gorgeous these birds really are.

First were the ROSEATE SPOONBILLS.   Wow --what gorgeous birds.  Wish I could have seen them closer and not sleeping!!!  Bert (son) raved and raved about these beauties --which were not far from where he lives....

This  is what I wish I had seen instead of them taking their morning naps!!!!! ha  (Photo from the internet)

OR-- wouldn't it have been fantastic to see THIS????? Wow--one of the most beautiful birds I think I have ever seen.  (Photo from the internet)

This is another picture (not cropped) of the Spoonbills --but it also shows a couple more birds,  a Great Egret (white one) and a Tri-colored Heron (darker one)....  What a great place for birds to enjoy!!!!

When we were riding around Bert's resort,  he saw a LONG-BILLED CURLEW...  I jumped out of the cart and tried to get a picture.  But--he kept running away from me.  This is the best I could do!!!!  Look at that bill!!!!!!

Here's another photo (from the internet) of the Long-billed Curlew.  Beautiful birds, aren't they?

As we kept riding around the area on the golf cart,  I also saw an immature BLUE HERON.  I have seen Blue Herons before --but it was fun seeing one in Texas.

Later,  while we were riding the ferry across Galveston Bay toward the Bolivar Peninsular,  I enjoyed watching lots of birds following the ferry.  There were several different birds around including PELICANS.

Then Bert saw HIM......  (Lots of excitement here!!!!)    There he (or she) is:  a MAGNIFICENT FRIGATE BIRD.  You can't tell it from here --but the wingspan on this bird is HUGE.... Wow!!!!!!

Here  is a picture of a female Magnificent Frigate Bird  (from the internet).

AND,  here's another one from the internet showing the female and a male Frigate Bird (which has a red neck) ----'blowing' himself up to get the female's attention!!!!!  Wonder if he will POP?????? ha ha

IF you want more information about any of these special birds,  there are quite a few sites on the internet.  One I chose for you today is All About Birds.  Click HERE for any info you are looking for when checking out birds.

Back to the ferry,  another area of excitement for me during that day was seeing the DOLPHINS.  They jumped in and out of the water ---but neither George nor I could catch a picture of them totally ABOVE the water.... ha

Here's  another DOLPHIN ---or is it part of two Dolphins??????  We had so much fun watching them --and 'trying' to get some good pictures... ha


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OKAY---for all of you who are not interested in Birds or Dolphins,   I have four more cute pictures taken when we were wandering around the STRAND in Galveston that afternoon.    First, I took a picture of son Mark in an old telephone booth...

Then,  George just had to take one of me in that telephone booth... By the way,  that door was heavy... Maybe George wanted me to STAY in that booth for awhile... ha ha

More Info:  Do you see the crown  above the word TELEPHONE?????  That means that this was a British Telephone Booth.... Bet my British Blog Friends will know something about this booth....


Finally here are two cute shots of George and me ---while visiting a HALLOWEEN Shop on the Strand....

George seems to be having a conversation with a couple of Cutie Pies!!!!  Ya think????

I was trying to have a conversation with this guy --but he wouldn't talk to me... (A little boy walked by at this time, and gave me a strange look....  I looked at him and said:  "This man won't talk to me."  The boy's eyes got big,  and he ran back over to his mother probably telling Mama about this strange old lady!!!!!! ha ha)

I'll  finish my posts from Galveston, Texas by sharing one last picture of my THREE GUYS:  Son Mark,  Sweetheart George,  and Son Bert.   (photo taken from the balcony at Bert's condo)

Hope you have a wonderful day.  We are in for some cold weather on Saturday --with a low of  26 degrees F  and a high of 42 degrees.  We also 'might' have some snow showers....  Wooooo--welcome to winter...  (Think I wanted to enjoy Fall a little more--although I do LOVE snow!!! ha)

Hugs,

Emoticons

Summer Backyard Birds

RED-HEADED WOODPECKER 

I've had a lot of fun this summer watching and taking pictures of my Backyard Birds when they visit the Bird Kitchen on my back deck.  All but one of today's pictures were taken in August of 2014.   The first batch are just a variety of some of our many visitors.. The last group are from my favorite little birds,  the EASTERN BLUEBIRDS....

Hope you enjoy the photos.. Be sure to click on them for enlargements....  SO---get another cuppa,  sit back and just enjoy!!!!!  Above is another of my favorites  (Ahhhh Shucks --they are ALL favorites!!!! ha),  the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER.. All of the woodpeckers love the no-melt Peanut Suet....

NORTHERN CARDINAL on the Plate Feeder

RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER at the Suet Feeder

PILEATED WOODPECKER  (our biggest visitor, also at the Suet Feeder)

HA HA, What a Face!  Mr. PILEATED is giving ME the 'look'!!!!  I think I heard him tell me to "Get Outta Here" -----Ya think????

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I bought this new bird feeder in July for peanuts for our Blue Jays (which we have many)... The new feeder is domed which protects the bird food when it rains.  It also helps protect (sorta) the food from the squirrels...  BUT--since buying this one,  I will say that the Blue Jays don't like that feeder... They are TOO large for it --and since it is light-weight,  it swings too much for them.  SO--I have made some adjustments this month.  The smaller birds love this feeder --so I now have Fruit and Nuts in this feeder.  The Blue Jays will continue to grab their peanuts from the Plate Feeder (which is heavier and larger)...  BUT--I do recommend this domed feeder --which is similar to the domed feeder I use for the mealworms for the Bluebirds.

Here  is a photo of part of my Bird Kitchen.  There's something new there.  Can you see it?  Look in the upper right corner.... We have a new bird feeder made with Stained Glass.  Isn't it gorgeous?  This actually came from an antique store --and was given to me for my birthday from son Jeff and daughter-in-law Dawn.  I love it!!!

We have a new bird house on the front porch  (also given to us by Jeff and Dawn).  I have been concerned about our little Carolina Wrens --who want to nest in the garage (a NO-NO)... Now they are nesting in the hanging basket you see there...  SO---hopefully they will use the new little nest box the next time they raise a family!!!!!



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These last 6 pictures (some of which were taken by George when I was in the shower)  are my favorite ones.  I love our EASTERN BLUEBIRDS ---and they live here year 'round.  They begin nesting each year in Spring (in the nestbox we provide for them), and have had at least TWO families this year..   Sometimes they have THREE families ---but I'm not sure they will this year.  They are happy here and love the mealworms we provide.   I love this photo of Daddy in flight --as Baby is BEGGING.

Note that the Baby Blues are as big (or bigger) than the Daddy...

This one has been cropped --so it's not very clear.. BUT--I wanted you to see a close-up picture of this precious Baby Bluebird... They are very spotty --and full of little fuzz like so many baby birds are!!!!!  TOO adorable!!!!

YUM------Baby is enjoying some delicious mealworms!!!!   Daddy also tries to teach the little ones to feed themselves. 

Now we have TWO Babies begging for dinner!!!!  Is Daddy Blue looking at ME ---telling me to leave them alone??????

Both Little Blues are being patient while Daddy gets some more mealworms to share with them... Once Daddy turns around,  I wish you could hear and see those little ones.  They shake all over and make the cutest little tinkly sound!  It is truly awesome!

The other thing I wanted to share today was to tell you that the older brothers/sisters (from the first family born this spring) also help Daddy with caring for, feeding and teaching the young ones.  At some times,  there are 5-6 Bluebirds in or around the feeders.   They are SO much fun to watch.  Wish you were here!!!

Hope you had a good weekend and have a great week ahead.
Hugs,

Emoticons