The young orioles are now as big as their parents but they still sometimes want to be fed instead of going to the feeders themselves. The feeders get a bit crowded when several families try to eat at the same time and this young one is perched on a branch while waiting for its place in line.
Waiting in Line
I normally consider the Northern Cardinal as a winter bird, even though they hang around all year, but the red color of the males stand out against the winter’s white snow. The cardinals are coming to the feeders more right now even though they feed their young mainly insects so I figure they are eating more seeds for themselves as they give the bugs to the babies.
Cardinal Waiting for Lunch
While I was mowing today, I spotted two little fawns who where hiding in the long grass but they did take off when I got too close after they moved to a different spot and I didn’t notice them until it was too late. I was also disturbing a green heron who was hanging around the pond edge and had to fly multiple times to the trees. Green Herons usually hunt by wading in shallow water for small fish and other things so it was probably after my little fish. They also create fishing lures with items like insects or feathers that they drop on the surface of the water to entice small fish.
Displaced Green Heron
I saw three baby orioles trying to land on the feeders this evening and they weren’t very successful with their uncoordinated flying. Baby grosbeaks are rather noisy with their cries as they wait for the adults to bring them lunch.
A Crying Grosbeak
I normally spot Cedar Waxwings in the trees with berries, which they seem to strip in no time, but occasionally I see them hidden in the leaves. They feed mainly on fruits and because they eat so much fruit, they occasionally die or become intoxicated when they consume overripe fermenting berries. Due to more than 2,500 trips to build a nest, the female may take nesting materials from other birds to save time.
Cedar Waxwings
Some birds are less noticeable than others, and may look like another species, until something sets it apart. At first glimpse, the White-throated Sparrow may be mistaken for the common house sparrow but the whistle song of the White-throated Sparrow tells a different story. They also hop when on the ground, instead of walking, so hard to photograph when they bounce around so much.
White-throated Sparrow
This showy black and white bird, with the bright red chevron, sings to attract a females, even though he rebuffs her for several days before he lets her be his mate. But at least he does help build the nest, which takes about a week, and the male Rose-breasted Grosbeak also shares in the incubation, brooding, and feeding duties at the nest.
Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak
With an array of bright and color birds filling the spring skies, some duller looking birds may be overlooked unless they have a loud voice like the little wren. The warblers are a small bird too which have a range of colors but the palm warbler is a dull brownish-olive color with a rusty cap but their near-constant tail-wagging may catch your eye.
Little Palm Warbler
The air is filled with sounds of singing birds, especially the males trying to get noticed by the females. The cardinals are around all winter but his voice is heard above all the returning birds as he sits way up in the trees.
Singing Cardinal
The bird feeder was filled with a range of colors with the blue Indigo Bunting, yellow Goldfinches, red Cardinal, orange Baltimore Orioles, and the red, white and black of the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks. Sometimes there isn’t room at the feeders, especially when my chipmunks keep raiding the jelly feeder and the squirrels trying to get the sunflower seeds. There is even a fight at the bird houses as this bird house had a tree swallow claiming it. The next day a wren was carrying sticks into the house but the following day house sparrows were sitting on it. I guess I might have to build a few more bird houses.
Claiming Bird House
