“Use your eyes. Use them and have faith in them. Use your eyes and trust them. And go out and listen to the birds. Oh, if we would listen more often to the singing of the birds!” H.R. Sass, On the Wings of a Bird 1928
Red-headed Woodpecker
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Carolina Wren
Tufted Titmouse
White-throated Sparrow
Brown Creeper
Eastern Painted Turtle (Yes, this is a reptile, but you don’t see them out sunning in February very often).
Eastern Bluebird
Dark-eyed Junco
Brown-headed Cowbird
Our snowy morning brought many birds to the feeders. They didn’t all like to share as you can see by this sparrow’s greeting to the bluebird.
Goldfinches and brown-headed nuthatch
Pair of Barred Owls high in a pine tree.
Cedar Waxwing
Chipping Sparrow
“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 119:14
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (female). An unusual visitor to my backyard as they only pass through in the spring and fall. I saw a juvenile male the next day.
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Red-headed Woodpecker (juvenile)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (looks like he’s holding a Chee-to, but I suppose it’s not).
Wood Ducks (female)
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Flicker
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Red-Headed Woodpecker
Northern Mockingbird
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (juvenile)
Blue Jay
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Cedar Waxwing
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Monarch Butterfly
“I exalt You, my God the King, and praise your name forever and ever.” Psalm 145:1
“Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell; they sing among the branches. From Your lofty abode You water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.”
Psalm 104:12-13
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Bluebird (fledgling)
Eastern Bluebird
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Black & White Warbler
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Cape May Warbler
American Redstart
Scarlet Tanager (male) As you can see, he’s already exchanged his brilliant red for his winter green/yellow. Still a beautiful bird and was happy to see him feasting in my backyard.
Cooper’s Hawk (juvenile)
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Gulf Fritillary–No feathers but striking fall colors.
Wood Ducks. Very cloudy day, so hard to get great pictures of these ducks in a tree. There are two pairs though one of the females has her back to us.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Great Egret
“Every time you feel in God’s creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: ‘O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of all!’ Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain
Prothonotary Warbler eating a juicy caterpillar for lunch!
Summer Tanager (female) eating a bee.
Green Heron looking for lunch.
Common Yellowthroat
Indigo Bunting
Blue Grosbeak (male)
Blue Grosbeak (female)
Belted Kingfishers (male above and female below)
Pileated Woodpecker (male)
Young Wood Ducks. Male on Left and Female on Right.
Mama Wood Ducks and offspring
Juvenile male Ruby-throated Hummingbird (showing off his red)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
Eastern Kingbird
“At whatever moment you read these words, day or night, there are birds aloft in the skies of the Western Hemisphere, migrating.” Scott Weidensaul in Living on the Wind Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds
Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I have heard this bird several times at different parks, but didn’t have much hope in seeing it. They stay high in the trees, so I was delighted when this one had his lunch in a tree low enough where I could watch him. These cuckoos come to the Carolinas in April for breeding and stay through October. They spend their winters in South America.
Eastern Kingbird. These birds are part of the group known as the flycatchers. They can be seen around different bodies of water, and they also come to the Carolinas in April and leave in October; making their winter home in South America.
Mourning Doves. These doves don’t migrate. I have them in my yard all year round. I recently ran across an article titled “How to Attract Mourning Doves to Your Yard”. I felt no need to read it.
White-eyed Vireo. This vireo is fairly common in the Carolinas and you will usually hear them even if you never see them. I had walked past a heavy thicket, ready to go home when I heard this one singing. Fortunately, he decided to make an appearance and I was able to get several shots. The white-eyed vireos winter along the Southern coast of the U.S. as well as the coasts of Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker. This woodpecker lives here year round. They don’t come to my feeders as often as the downy woodpeckers, but they do show up and often bring their young to show them where the snack bar is located.
Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, male fledgling. A male fledgling is the best (probably the only way for me) way I can know for sure that the hummingbirds have had their babies; if not in my yard, then close by. These young males are just starting to flex their red throats, but by next year will look the one below.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, adult male. Ruby-throated hummingbirds are the only hummingbird that comes to breed in the eastern part of the U.S. The males are the first to arrive in April. They leave in October to cross the Gulf of Mexico to spend their winters in Mexico.
House Finch–parent and fledgling. The House Finch, though they only came to the Carolinas in the 1960’s, are quite common and can strip a cylinder of sunflower seeds in record time. I had noticed they seemed noisier than usual lately, and when I saw these two, I understood. I’ve been hearing the fledglings (for the most part). They’re in the trees and the feeders and chirp their heads off until a parent finally feeds them.
pmgilmer 