Favorite Bird Photos of September ’24

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.

Favorite Bird Shots of August ’24

“It can be difficult to accept the fact that a lot of birds have to be identified as “possible” or “probable.”
― David Allen Sibley, Sibley’s Birding Basics

Green Heron

Green Heron (sporting his mohawk)

Red-headed Woodpeckers–Parent showing the newbie the ropes or how to find the best bugs

Little Blue Heron

Barn Swallow

White-eyed Vireo

Ruby-throated Hummingbird–one of my white spotted ones

White Ibis (juvenile)

Summer Tanager (female)

Great Egret

Great Crested Flycatcher

Downy Woodpecker (male)

Northern Flicker Woodpecker

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Young Duck–Mottled or Wood?

Mottled Duck

Acknowledge that Yahweh is God. He made us, and we are His–His people, the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3

Favorite Bird Shots of July ’24

“Watching birds is good for mental health, the research tells us; it reduces anxiety, stress and depression and builds a well-being connection that might remain for life.” Miriam Darlington in Owl Sense.

Red-tailed Hawk

White-eyed Vireo

Barred Owl

Yellow-throated Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Barred Owl (doing a little fishing)

Pileated Woodpecker

Great Crested Flycatcher

(Another) Barred Owl

Prothonotary Warbler

Eastern Bluebird

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (juvenile male; notice the tongue action)

Barn Swallows

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” Psalm 150:6

Favorite Bird Pics May ’24

“On a day like this, I can’t imagine anything better that might happen in a person’s life than for them to start paying attention to birds—to become aware of this magical world that exists all around us, unnoticed by many but totally captivating for those who know its secrets. This kind of spring day, with its bountiful myriads of colorful sprites just arrived from tropical shores, has to be one of the greatest gifts of life on Earth.”
― Kenn Kaufman, A Season On The Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration

Wood Duck Mama and Five Ducklings

Prothonotary Warbler

Red-shouldered Hawk baby

Summer Tanager

Scarlet Tanager

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Pine Warbler

Ruby-throated Hummingbird (I’ve had some with white spots coming for several years now. I’ve decided it must not be the plague).

Hummingbird Wars

Cedar Waxwings

Another male summer tanager

Gray Catbird

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks

Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks (from a different nest)

Indigo Bunting

Black-crowned Night Heron (juvenile).

Tricolored Heron

Tricolored Heron

Bird Photos September ’23

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Eastern Towhee (male) and hungry chick

Eastern Towhees (father and chick)

Baby Wood Duck

White-breasted Nuthatch

Yellow Warbler

Chestnut-sided warbler

Ruby-throated hummingbird (and his amazing tongue!)

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Cape May Warbler

Pileated Woodpecker

Not a bird but a little extra–Zebra Longwing Butterfly

Best Bird Pictures July 22

wood ducks in hiding
female ruby-throated hummingbird
belted kingfisher

Mottled Duck
Mottled Duck

Red-shouldered Hawk
Hawk
belted kingfisher
Eastern Phoebe
Adult Red-headed Woodpecker and Juvenile
Juvenile Red-headed Woodpecker
female ruby-throated hummingbird
Male Red-bellied Woodpecker
Brown-headed Nuthatch

Season of Hummingbirds

My first full season of feeding and watching hummingbirds is coming to an end. I thought I would get tired of cleaning out feeders on a regular basis, but, no, all I did was add a couple of more feeders. I’m not enough of an expert to be able to give an accurate count, but I did have at least two adult males on a regular basis and probably a couple of females. In the middle of the season, several more hummingbirds began to come regularly. At least three of them are juvenile males making me assume the females had a successful season with hatching and bringing out their young. It will be interesting next year to see how many of these males show up to stake out their territory.

The tongue is out!

Any time I interact with nature–whether through observation or studying the life cycles of plants, birds, or animals–I am reminded anew of God’s majestic, artistic creation and His unmatched imagination in creating both the hummingbird and the woodpecker; the whale and the seal; the butterfly and the daylily.

“Some people, in order to find God, will read a book. But there is a great book, the book of created nature. Look carefully at it top and bottom, observe it, read it. God did not make letters of ink for you to recognize him in; he set before your eyes all these things he has made. Why look for a louder voice?” Augustine of Hippo