At breakfast, I sit near my backyard window and listen to birds’ sweet songs in the morning light.
Did you know that birds are one of the best cues to the length of a day? The changing daylight has a hormonal trigger in birds, and starts them whistling.
Our wooded backyard draws all kinds of birds; my favorites are the tiny jeweled hummingbirds who are attracted by our bee balm and other plants. (On the gardening page, you can find our guide on best shrubs and trees for birds as well as best plants to attract hummingbirds.)
I also love the loons who come to breed and nest on our lake. In fact, the land jutting out next to our cove is called “Loon’s Point.” The loons have an eerie, haunting call that echoes across the water.
If you wonder which bird is singing a song, click here for our Birds Sounds
What birds have you seen or heard in your backyard? Please share below! Just type in the box and “submit comment.”
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Goldfinches, House Finches,
Goldfinches, House Finches, Doves, Fly Catchers, Hummingbirds. Hawks and Ravens too. here in Logandale, in Southern NV.
Birds
We are greeted each morning by one of our Pileated Woodpeckers and yesterday (Easter Day) we saw our first Ruby Throat Hummers splashing in one of our fountains.Our Cardinal population numbers well over 150 and they are well fed with sunflower seeds and small pieces of nuts.Our home is back in the woods and we are so blessed with our birds of all varieties. Our hummer population has grown from the first year of around 10 to well over 100 now and they will soon be here in full force.Warm days are not too far ahead and excitement is growing
I am wondering if there is a
I am wondering if there is a time line by area for the country you live in for when which birds show up somewhere. I saw 3 morning doves the other day and this morning 2 Golden Finches this morning and the wind has been cold here the last few days. We have had an early Spring otherwise here in Central MN. Should I be putting out my Hummingbird and Oriel feeders yet or is it to early?
Hi Diane, Here's a bird
Hi Diane, Here's a bird migration timetable by state which you might find interesting: http://www.birdnature.com/timetable.html
And here's another great page on migration forecasts:
http://birdcast.info/forecasts/
ihave a hummingbird feeder
ihave a hummingbird feeder out and have a hummingbird coming to it. I live in NJ
Good afternoon from Columbia,
Good afternoon from Columbia, Alabama. I have my sewing machines set up so I can see out the windows on my front porch, where I have 3 bird feeders and 2 Hummingbird feeders. I love my Hummers and in about an hour there will close to 20 here, but off and on thru out the day. I looked up and saw 5 Rose-breasted Grosbeaks on top of the one feeder. It was beautiful. I have several male Indigo Buntings here just about all the time, with the regular, cardinals, nuthatches, finches, but have never seen the Grosbeaks here before. Are they just moving thru or will they stay?
Thank you, enjoy Nature to the fullest
What beautiful birds! Our
What beautiful birds! Our guess is that they're just passing through during their spring migration.
I had never seen a
I had never seen a rose-breasted grosbeak until last week here in Katy, TX. They are migrating. He stayed for about 3 days. Last week was also the first time I saw an indigo bunting and red-winged blackbird. The regulars are northern cardinals, mourning doves, sparrows, and bluejays.
My husband and I are trying
My husband and I are trying to figure out what this bird is I don't have a picture but it is a reddish brown bird with a long tail and it hops and bobs his beak in the ground we thought it was a
type of thrush but cannot find any information on it
Cornell has a great bird ID
Cornell has a great bird ID guide: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...
Maybe a brown thrasher?
Maybe a brown thrasher?
We have (at last count) 3
We have (at last count) 3 families of red Bellied Woodpeckers, three families of Downey Woodpeckers, Three Piliated Woodpeckers, three families of Northern Cardinals, At least six Red Shouldered hawks, Two Swallow Tailed Kites, Two pairs of Crested Flycatchers, numerous titmice, two observed Chuck Will's Widows, two pair of resident Carolina Wrens, and, during the winter months-minimum 6 pairs of Painted Buntings, 10 Indigo Buntings, tons of Palm Warblers, and American Finches, Plus the flush of ground Doves and Mourning Doves. Occasional renting in our bird boxes of Eastern Screech owls, and Great Horned Owls----
I love this place!
At our house, we have lots of
At our house, we have lots of Peregrin falcons & red-tailed hawks. We also have what we call chicken hawks but I don't know what their real name is. In addition, we have seen barn owls, barred owls, and even a snowy owl, which is quite amazing for mid-central Ohio. Including the predator birds listed above, we have seen 57 different varieties of birds feeding and nesting at our house. Sometimes, it sounds like we are in a rain forest with all the different bird calls happening around us. We feel very fortunate to be living with so many birds and so much nature all around us.
A juvenile red tail hawk took
A juvenile red tail hawk took up residence in our Cape Cod backyard in June and for weeks could be found on the lower branches of trees, sitting on our fence, even on our bird houses and feeders. He seemed indifferent to the constant warning calls of our back yard woodpeckers and blackbirds, who tried to shoo him away, even dive bombing him on his perch or when he swooped low across the yard. He was quite impressive but only once did we see him kill a chipmunk and eat it. He seems to have moved on now, but made a lasting impression while he was here.
I was in my yard the other
I was in my yard the other day and saw a medim sized, darkly colored bird in a nearby shrub. The reason I noticed it was the unusual series of calls it was making. The calls were as follows: Clicks, frog croaks, cricket sounds, duck quacks, goose honks, followed by a beautiful bird song. I know this sounds unbelievable, but it is absolutely true. I stood there and listened for several minutes while it went through the series of sounds many times. I laughed outloud when it did the goose and duck. I would love to know what kind of bird this is, does anyone know? I live in the Cameron Park, CA area if that helps.
Hi, Bertie, It is hard to
Hi, Bertie, It is hard to identify without a photo. However, we're reminded of the Yellow-breasted Chat. The bird is dark olive-green on the upper part. The "chat" can bark, quack, rattle, squall, caw, new, and make a multitude of queer sounds of different animals!
I have two hummingbirds at my
I have two hummingbirds at my feeder. Am I harming them for having the feeder out and not letting them migrate to warmer weather. I live in Ione, CA. near Angels Camp????
I believe that the
I believe that the humminbird's 'hardwire' will indicate it is time to migrate whether there is a feeder or not and they will go when it is time.
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 We
Thursday, June 16th, 2011
We live in a wooded area, right off a main drag. We have our beloved Bluebirds, yearly, Bluejays, Chicadee, Mocking Birds, Cat birds, Cow birds, Cardinals, Titmouse, Jenny Wrens, House Wrens, Flickers, Indigo Bunting, Red headed Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Goldfinches,Robins, Flycatchers, Humming Birds in summer, Baltimore Orioles, summer, Wild Turkeys, Crows, Falcons, Saw-Wet owl, and local to all , is our course, our greatest assest, An American Bald Eagle who nests yearly in a cell tower near the Delaware River. I am so blessed to have so many birds and natural wildlife near me to observe.
While walking this morning
While walking this morning near Fortunes Rocks Beach in Biddeford, Maine, we saw a Tundra Swan. She was swimming in a fresh water pond and would put her head in the water (tail straight up in the air) to feed. Such a beautiful bird. I wonder how she ended up in Maine?
After not seeing any robins
After not seeing any robins for over two weeks, I saw several in my yard today. I assumed that they were eating and getting ready to leave Central Virginia until next spring, so not sure if these are birds that will winter here or not. Pleasant fall-like day, if still a little warm.
White fly catcher. My
White fly catcher. My mother really enjoyed birding. Most interesting - my mother passed away in May this year and since her passing, when I go over to her place in the country, often I get the opportunity to watch the WHITE FLY CATCHER feasting on insects. It is very awesome.
My mother would have truly enjoyed this flycatcher, in its rare form.
Two green heron's landed in a
Two green heron's landed in a nearby tree yesterday and luckily I had my camera, but what I was not prepared for was the third green heron that practically landed within a few feet of me while I was trying to get a picture of the other two heron's in a nearby tree. As for the goldfinch, I see them all the time atop my zinnia blossoms eating away at the seed heads. What fun to watch - I agree.
Since the spring I have had a
Since the spring I have had a mockingbird singing to me nearly every morning. I even talk to him. Does anyone know why they fly a short distance ( a foot or so) off their perch and back down again as they sing?
Just today while sitting and
Just today while sitting and weeding my tomato patch, I had an interesting visit by a group of goldfinches. Not only are they striking to look at but obviously not real scared of people..? Less that 15 feet from where I was sitting, they were working over my Black-eyed Susan and Bee balm. For the last 3 years,I have blamed the insects for trimming the petals of my susan's. Today I had to apologize to all of the insects in my garden. I sat watching and..huh..the little guys were snipping off the petals to get at the seeds! Needless to say it was both an enlightening and relaxing way to spend a summer afternoon. Also thanks to them, my flowers are going to be popping up all over the area.