Spring Migration

In early May, suddenly our trees seemed to be bouncing with colorful birds.  Some were just passing through, while others have decided to stay for awhile.

Early one morning as I was looking out at one of our birdfeeders, there were a couple of beautiful red-colored birds.  At first I thought a Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, but then it hit me--Mrs. Cardinal does not look like that!

 

 

 

After a taking some more pictures and a closer look,

I discovered it was a Summer Tanger,

a bird I have never seen here before.

Then there was another bird

I only saw once a couple of years ago,

A Redheaded Woodpecker.

He seemed to spend a lot of time

around the bottom of the feeder.

 

Then there were a number

 of my favorite Spring visitors: 

some Red-breasted Grosbeaks.

Then to add a little more color,

the Baltimore Orioles were back. 

There had been a large group of them here

two or three years ago, so I was really happy

to see a group of them again. 

This visit I was able to see Mrs. Oriole also.

            Another bird I haven't seen very often:  

                 Hermit Thrush--I think.

Just to add a little more color,

a couple of birds I see year around:

The Goldfinch

 

 

and the Bluejay

 

 

What an amazing couple of weeks!

 

Things have slowed down a bit,

but I still need to share about our Bluebirds.

Guests for Dinner

One evening about a month ago my husband and I were carrying our plates to sit down at our kitchen table, and this was what we saw:

I immediately said to Jack, "Take my plate and don't move."

This trio of Baltimore Orioles were originally

attracked to my Hummingbird feeder.

Before sitting down to eat, I quickly cut apart some oranges

and placed some on both of our decks.

For the next couple of weeks I could see them

eating out of two different windows.

In previous years I was lucky if I saw them on two days.

Such beautiful birds!  

However, some of my local birds and some visitors

were not at all impressed.

 

Taking turns didn't

seem to be in the

Oriole's vocabulary.

Even a few harsh words didn't help.

Finally the Rose-Breasted Grosebeak got a little creative.

And they ended the day as Friends!

Hope the Orioles come back next year...and bring their wives along.

Picking a Kentucky Derby Hat

I have always enjoyed the times

when we were priviledged to attend the Kentucky Derby

to watch and sometimes take pictures of some of the beautiful hats. 

Some, of course, were funny, some were pretty common,

but some were extraordinarily beautiful

and cordinated with their owners' dresses..

...I know, the Kentucky Derby is supposed to be about horses, 

and those horses when you see them up close

are magnificent creatures...

..Anyway, getting back to hats.. 

Here are some of the birds from my backyard trying to pick their Derby Hat.

This Baltimore Oriole

won First Prize

This little Chickadee was trying to get perched just right.

The Titmouse tried a couple different poses.

A little disagreement insued when  two female Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks saw the hat. 

Mr. Grosebeek seemed to be trying to tell the one sitting on the deck rail that he was buying this hat for his wife, and she wasn't included.

This did not go over very well, but finally

 the man and his missus had their time to wear the hat.

She finally convinced her husband to let her wear it by herself.

Eventually the Baltimore Oriole came back

 because he wanted to have a photo shoot. 

They tried doing it together.

But in the end, all had to agree

that the hat really went with the Baltimore Oriole's dress.

As you may know, feathers have been really "in" recently in hats!

Baltimore Oriole - A First Time Visitor

April finally arrived and so did the birds. Some were just passing through--Some planned to stay a while. In the last three years since I have been seriously trying to attract birds to my backyard, this is the first time I have seen a Baltimore Oriole. He did not stay for more than a week or so, but I was so amazed to see this brilliant flash of color land on my deck.

He sure did love that orange flavored suet.