Woodpecker or Hummingbird?

It would appear that New England Downy Woodpeckers have a sweet tooth. My good friend (and mother of my son-in-law), Suzanne, sent me these great pics from Rhode Island. I have to admit I had never seen this before in my backyard. I have caught woodpeckers eating my sunflower seeds and even pecking away at a slice of watermelon I left out for the butterflies, but never slurping from our hummingbird feeders. Interesting pics, indeed. Thanks Suzanne and keep the pics coming.

Global Warming Welcomed

Here is a bird taking advantage of global warming. The Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) is extremely sensitive to cold weather, but with warmer winters has been extending its range farther north since the early 1900's. This guy was singing his heart out just before I took these pics; pound per pound these birds are one of the loudest signing birds.

A Pair of Pileateds

I apologize for the quality of the pics, but these Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) have been hard for me to find within camera range and even harder to get a clear shot. I spotted this pair at the DeGray Lake marina and this was the best I could get out of the dozens of pictures I took. Pine tree branches just kept coming between me and the birds. Since these guys are year round residents and usually will stake out and defend their territory, maybe I will get some better shots of this pair at a later date.

With the exception of the ivory-billed, these woodpeckers are the largest North American woodpeckers. The pileated woodpecker almost disappeared with the clearing of the eastern forests, but is slowly and steadily increasing in all their native states with the exception of Arkansas according to the experts. This I can believe because I can always remember these birds being quite common when I was growing up, but they can be rather hard to find now.

Old Faithful

Day after day and week after week, the tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor) is the most faithful visitor to my backyard feeders. I get a kick out of this bird's eating habits; they quickly grab one sunflower seed then fly to the nearest tree branch and hold the seed with its foot in order to peck it open --a process that continues all day. These guys seem like the nervous type. Even their flight seems a bit fluttery and erratic. Titmice are found year round throughout the great eastern deciduous forests of North America. They nest in tree cavities (either naturally occurring or abandoned by woodpeckers) where they line the inner portion of the nest with hair. Scientists have identified the hairs as comming from various sources: raccoon, possum, dogs, cats, and even human.

camouflage - Potoo bird

Could not resist sharing this short video. I know we have many camo birds in our area as well, but none that blend in so well as this Potoo bird.


Bird tree camouflage - Potoo bird - BestofYouTube.com

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Welcomed House Guest

Every year Northern Rough-winged Swallows (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) raise their young in our chimney. From early morning into the late hours of the night you can hear the constant chirping of the fledglings. And as you can see in these pics, the occasional adult (and later on the occasional fledgling) will squeeze between our fireplace insert and brick fireplace and escape into the house. They are not too hard to catch and I enjoy the up close pics before releasing them back outdoors.

Another Egret

The yellow feet and curly tail are dead give aways. Yes, this is a snowy egret (Egretta thula) and one of the medium sized members of the Egret family. These birds spend their lives in South America and come into our area during summer breeding season. I took these pictures on Lake Millwood during March. This bird was sharing the small bay with a Great Egret and an alligator.

"Comeback kid"

The symbol of the Audubon Society of which I am a proud member, the Great Egret (Ardea alba) was nearly wipped out in the United States during the 1800's and early 1900's. Populations declined as much as 95% as these birds were hunted down for their feathers. With the help of such conservation organizations as the Audubon Society, the Great Egret is doing well today. Like its cousin the Cattle Egret, the Great Egret is a very cosmopolitan bird with populations in both the New and Old World. It is the largest New World Egret and can live to be over 20 years old. The only threat to these birds today is the constant destruction of wetlands, which is a big problem for so many birds today. Why is it that mankind insists on building on the shores of the ocean or other bodies of water? Such practices destroy land vital to so many plants and animals and when flood or storms come (as they always do) we all get to pay the price for these foolish building practices in the form of higher insurance premiums. And what about all those tax dollars going into maintaining levies and dikes? I am sorry citizens of New Orleans, but to live in a city that is below sea level is foolish and the tax dollars to try to keep such a city dry could be spent more wisely addressing issues that have solutions.

Memories of Winter

The recent weather has made me wish for a few days of winter when these fellows, American Goldfinches (Cardeulis tristis), covered up my feeders. The hot weather has made my bird feeders rather desolate these days. With the exceptional Cardinal or Sparrow in the late evening, the only activity my feeders are seeing now are the two gray squirrels that like to hang from their hind feet and eat my sunflower seeds. Now the hummingbird feeders, that is another story. The activity there is constant. We even got a torrential downpour yesterday evening and there were the hummingbirds still fighting each other over their spot at the feeder. I don't know how they kept from drowning.