My Backyard Visitors

Several times I’ve been asked this question:

– How many species of birds have you photographed in your backyard?

I understand the curiosity, I hear this question made quite often by my friends from the Web and from my neighbors. The other day I decided to have the exact number so I checked my lists and got the count. These birds have been photographed by me, I have seen several species that I did not have the opportunity to photograph, those I never count, not even for my “lifer” list.

VISITORS = 49              ALL TIME LIST = 205

  1. Eastern Bluebird
  2. Northern Cardinal
  3. Brown-headed Cowbird
  4. Eastern Towhee
  5. Mourning Dove
  6. Carolina Chickadee
  7. Northern Mockingbird
  8. House Finch
  9. Dark-eyed Junco
  10. European Starling
  11. Red-headed Woodpecker
  12. Brown Thrasher
  13. Red-winged Blackbird
  14. American Crow
  15. Blue grosbeak
  16. Brown-headed Nuthatch
  17. American Goldfinch
  18. Chipping Sparrow
  19. Song Sparrow
  20. White-throated Sparrow
  21. Field Sparrow
  22. Orchard Oriole
  23. Carolina Wren
  24. Cooper’s Hawk
  25. Red-shoudered Hawk
  26. Indigo Bunting
  27. Green Heron
  28. Eastern Phoebe
  29. Tufted Titmouse
  30. Blue-headed Vireo
  31. Common Grackle
  32. Blue Jay
  33. Northern Flicker
  34. Turkey Vulture
  35. American Robin
  36. White-crowned Sparrow
  37. Eastern Kingbird
  38. Canada Goose
  39. Red-bellied Woodpecker
  40. Red-crested Cardinal
  41. Downy Woodpecker
  42. Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  43. Gray Catbird
  44. Black-crested Titmouse
  45. Pine Warbler
  46. Savannah Sparrow
  47. White-breated Nuthatch
  48. Pine Siskin
  49. Blue Gray Gnatcatcher

Photo Gallery

Northern Cardinal (F)
House Finch (M)
Mourning Dove
E. Starling and Brown-headed Cowbird (M)
My one legged “Vet”
Brown-headed Cowbirds (M & F)

Text and photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101

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Close Friends

BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE (M)

BOAT-TAILED GRACKLE (M)

© HJ Ruiz – Avian101

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Play It by Ear

We are dealing with a real crazy weather lately. One day is very cold and the next is warm, rains a lot or there’s no rain at all. It’s very hard to keep up with it. Just now that I’m writing this post, it’s noon already, a bit after 6 am when I got up it was raining lightly, not long after I refilled the feeders, heavy rain started and I know it’s going to ruin all I did earlier. Birds take shelter and they miss their meals. I checked the weather on TV and the forecast is: Rain all day very heavy at times. For reasons of the leftover clouds from the hurricane Patricia that just crossed the Gulf of Mexico through Texas overnight and now is soaking all the States in the South. Our State included. This Hurricane was devastating in parts of Mexico. As you can realize, forecasts change in short time and get unpredictable many times. We are going to plan ahead and just “play it by ear” later.

Luckily, I shot some pictures before the rain came, the day before and here they are:

Photo Gallery

Northern Cardinal (M)
Brown-headed Cowbird (M) & European Starling
Red-bellied Woodpecker & Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch (M)
House Finch (F)
Brown-headed Cowbirds (M)
Northern Cardinal (F)
Brown-headed Cowbird (F)

Text and photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101

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Look Outside my Window!

Hello everyone, if you look to the right, way back behind the deck, you’ll be able to see a Sumac plant devoid of leaves, sitting there is a male Northern Cardinal. The reason of the absence of leaves on the Sumac is the low temperatures and heavy rains we had, which precipitated the process of defoliation. The cardinals love to eat the seeds from the sumac’s dried flowers.L-075

I’m totally surprised to see European Starlings still hanging out and haven’t flown south yet. Usually they start their move from this area at the beginning of Autumn.

Perhaps they are just delayed while they eat well and have plenty energy to begin their long flight South.L-076

Carolina Chickadees keep working extra hard to have enough food stored to be ready for Winter, I have the feeling that we’ll be facing a long, cold Winter next season.

The chickadee group is larger now, seem like some more couples are staying this time. The more the merrier!L-077

Note: I had the opportunity to capture one shot of two young male Brown-headed Cowbirds on what it seems playing around, not fighting as they are used to do. I get that ‘boys are boys’ applies to them too! It was a delightful scene to my opinion. What do you think?L-078

Text and photographs © HJ Ruiz – Avian101

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