More Backyard Birds in our Yard

On January 23rd,  I shared pictures of 7 different varieties of birds in our backyard.  Today,  I will share 7 different ones.   I love my backyard birds and am so thankful that I can feed them --especially in winter.   Here are today's photos.  Above is my all-time favorite bird (besides the Bluebirds of course).  This big guy is a PILEATED WOODPECKER.  These are very large birds ---but they do a good job of getting to the suet feeder several times a day.  (Enlarge for larger pictures.)

Here is one of our MOURNING DOVES  eating in the plate feeder.   Luckily,  we don't have any nearby hawks around here... (I've only seen them in my yard ONE TIME since we moved here.)  Hawks love to eat  those bigger birds, like Doves...  The Crows (and their squawking) protect our birds from hawks around here I think...

Here is another favorite bird of mine,  a NORTHERN YELLOW-SHAFTED FLICKER.   This is not the best picture I have of our Flickers ---but since I am showing 2012 photos,  this one will have to do for today... They are such beautiful birds,  and are in the woodpecker family.

The birds that come to the feeders in huge groups this winter are our FINCHES.....  Sometimes they are at all 5 feeders PLUS the plate feeder PLUS a bunch below on the deck... I haven't counted the total,  but we may have up to 75-100 of them at one time... Talk about eating us out of house and home!!!!  Those little guys can EAT....  We have mostly GOLDFINCHES this year,  with some House Finches mixed in.... I haven't seen any Pine Siskins here this year,  but there was a year when we had this many Pine Siskins around...  As I said,  LOTS of finches!!!!!   Above,  you can see just a few of them in the plate.

Another favorite woodpecker who is with us year-round (like the Pileateds and Downys) is our RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER.   Pictured above is one of them --and you can actually see a little of his red belly!!!

You might not think that ROBINS come to the bird feeders ---but they certainly do during the winter... Here's one of those beauties on the plate...  They will eat suet and  the 'Nuts and Fruits Blend' which I put in the plate.

Here's a great picture of a female HOUSE FINCH.  The males are much prettier (with their red coloring) ---but this little gal is gorgeous too, don't you think???

Finally,  I can't do a bird post without showing you another picture of my favorite bird in the world,  the EASTERN BLUEBIRD...  SO--here's one more for you!!!!!  Isn't he just precious????

Hope you enjoyed seeing more of our January Backyard birds...   I have been taking alot of pictures this month ---so there will be more to come!!!!!

Have a wonderful day.  Can you believe that it is February ALREADY???  Where did January go?????

We have been out-of-town for two days ---so I haven't been able to make any comments this week.  Will try to catch up soon!!!!! 

Hugs,
Betsy

Old Man's Cave Gorge, Ohio

On our September 2011 trip east,  one place we visited and thoroughly enjoyed was the Hocking Hills State Park in Logan, Ohio.   Since I was in the hospital in October,  I didn't finish sharing pictures from this trip.  In fact,  even though we spent two days at Hocking Hills,  I had only shared one blog post from there so far.   That post was about Conkles Hollow.  If you didn't see that post,  you can see it by clicking HERE.

Besides Conkles Hollow,  other areas we visited in the state park were Ash Cave,  Cedar Falls,  and Old Man's Cave Gorge.   Today I am sharing some pictures from Old Man's Cave Gorge.   This is the most popular area of the park and it is easy to understand why.

You can hike deep into the gorge where the temperatures are cooler and the trails are fabulous...  There is lush greenery, ferns and moss everywhere.  IF you love hiking (and seeing waterfalls), we highly recommend Hocking Hills State Park.  There are MANY great hiking trails throughout the park. We hope to go back sometime.

Today I will share some pictures of that gorgeous area ---and you can take the loop hike with us in the gorge...   There are several cascades along the way --and I will show you the two major waterfalls.   Sit back and enjoy the hike!!!  (Please enlarge the photos so that you can enjoy the details.)

Lower Falls

Upper Falls

Did you enjoy that hike????  You did get some exercise---so that is good...  The loop trail is only about a mile --so it's really not a hard hike at all.   But---it is a gorgeous hike with so much beauty all around!!!!   I hope you took time to enlarge the photos.  As I said,  we recommend this state park!!!

Hope you have a great Monday.

Hugs,
Betsy