We've all gone to the birds!

Hi and welcome to the October bird photos thread. Please join us. We love to see birds from all over the world. We came from here:
The thread "Bird Photos, September 2016" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum

I apologize in advance for the wall of photos I'm posting but I'm so excited about my Summer Tanagers!

Summer Tanager male splishing & a splashing





When this guy goes for it, he really goes for it! Is that enjoyment or what?


Mrs. Summer Tanager


She doesn't take any guff off of the Bluebirds






Happiness is having the bath all to oneself


Nanny, nanny, boo, boo


And here's a Tufted Titmouse



The Bluebird mob. I count 10.

Nicely done Ann , you throw the best pool parties
congrats on the Summer Tanagers , love seeing the Bluebird clan still at it too

Truly wonderful Ann, but .. . Hey, you bin holding out on us? Made a wonderful start to the new month.

Great photos Ann, that was some pool party.

Too funny! And I understand the excitement over seeing a Summer Tanager. You guys know I just saw my first one a little while ago. It was the female; haven't seen the male yet.

You guys know I'm a new birder, so I have to ask what's up with the Bluebirds in Ann's photos? Are they going through a change in coloring? They're Eastern Bluebirds, right?

mellielong said:Too funny! And I understand the excitement over seeing a Summer Tanager. You guys know I just saw my first one a little while ago. It was the female; haven't seen the male yet.

You guys know I'm a new birder, so I have to ask what's up with the Bluebirds in Ann's photos? Are they going through a change in coloring? They're Eastern Bluebirds, right?

Yes, Melanie, the bluebirds are going through changes. Each summer the juveniles that were born start getting out & about and they sort of "flock up" -- all the juvies together. Every afternoon the birdbaths become THE place to be. I call it the bathing frenzy. Starts with a few & that prompts more & more & more to come. They even line up on the carport roof waiting their turn or any available space to get in the bath. This frenzy also attracts the juvies from all the bird species. The young cardinals come, the mockers, brown thrashers, sparrows, house finches, titmice, summer tanager, blue jay, carolina chickadee...... all the juvie birds of differing ages so there are many different looks/colorings to the juvies, even of the same species. The bluebirds are the most prevalent & they really do mob the place. I think they have more broods per year as well as a larger success rate in raising the broods. They also intimidate the other species & run them out of the bath. In the beginning of summer everyone is younger & still unsure of themselves so things are much more peaceful with everyone getting along. As the summer progresses, you see the older ones becoming much more bold and bossy and the maturation continues until many of them have attained their adult plumage. Around this time of year they have split up into their individual species and you start seeing "species wars" where one species will not put up with another species bathing at the same time as them. I have learned so much by observing this behavior. Right now, the mockers had become king of the bath & when they want to take it over they DO. Everyone else is intimidated & has to leave but the other day, the male summer tanager ran the mockers off! I was surprised! He's smaller than the mockers & the mockers can be very tough but the summer tanager managed to not only hold his own but claim the bath as HIS kingdom. It gets pretty funny to watch.

What I would give to see those birds in my yard Ann. I have the titmice, and I love them, but I dont get the others.

They certainly are a blessing to me Pam. Many, many hours of enjoyment & entertainment watching them as well as listening to them.

Well my eyes are peeled for those tanagers. I think I might have seen a female. We have too many hawks here. I took down the feeders, but still feed them on the ground, under cover of bush. Most of the birds seem happy with that. Squirrels and crows a problem, but they are a problem even with the feeders.

Ann, What an awesome start to the October thread! I'd love to see those beautiful Summer Tanagers as well as Bluebirds down here. I'm glad you posted a photo of the female tanager ... I think I saw that one a couple of times when we lived in Daytona Beach but I never knew what it was! You sure have a bird sanctuary at your place!

My husband checked my camera settings and I had indeed messed up the ISO or some such but he reset it for me. Even with the reset, this picture I took this morning of a Red-bellied WP is off ... probably because I hadn't had enough coffee yet and I was still shaky.

Thank you Lin!
I think that's the most red I've seen on a red bellied woodpeckers head - ever!
@ the coffee comment. I know the feeling. Don't ask me to do anything right before I've had at least a full mug of java liberally spiked with sugar. Get yer engines running.

Pam, we have a pair of resident red shouldered hawks who has kids every year and I've seen numerous Cooper's hawks around. I think though what makes a big difference is the acreage and that of the homes in the surrounding area. There are pastures but there are also large areas of mixed hardwood forest on every property. If you took it all as a whole there's probably more treed acreage than cleared pasture or "meadow".

Yes, the female summer tanager is quite different in color than the male. Their backs & wings are much more olive greenish than yellowish. I've seen the females every year and I know there are at least 2 this year b/c I saw them together at the same time. In the 3.5 years we've been living in this home, this is the first year I've seen the male. I was overjoyed to catch him in the birdbath the other day!

Bird people! I have lots of feeder visitors today but it's the usual suspects. However, I saw something interesting I wanted to share and get your opinion on.

First, some random pics I took. I think this is the Downy Woodpecker because the beak looks much shorter. Feel free to disagree or correct me!



Mockingbird was sitting in my Pokeweed but camera wanted to focus on the plant.



Red-Bellied Woodpecker and Carolina Chickadee on the feeder right before I was spotted!



Okay, so then I see what I believe is the same Downy Woodpecker. I have lots of Woodpeckers so it might be different. And I see it kind of pecking at this one spot on an oak tree.



About that time I realize it's a cavity in the tree, and the Woodpecker crawls into it! Is this its home? Do they make that perfect circle? What's going on here? FYI, it crawled in, turned around, and flew away.

Melanie!! It indeed looks like that Downy has excavated a nest cavity or has enlarged an unused one. Keep your eyes out in the coming weeks and months for the adults going in and out and eventually babies peeking out and waiting to be fed! We had a pair of Downy WP's excavate a hole in a Camphor tree once, where they raised their young. It really surprised me because it wasn't real high in the tree either, maybe about 10 feet up. I think it was in 2010

Downy Woodpeckers nest in dead trees or in dead parts of live trees. They typically choose a small stub (averaging around 7 inches in diameter) that leans away from the vertical, and place the entrance hole on the underside. Nest trees are often deciduous and the wood is often infected with a fungus that softens the wood, making excavating easier.
From:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/...

In the winter, they roost in tree cavities. Downy Woodpeckers forage on trees, picking the bark surface in summer and digging deeper in winter. They mainly eat insects, also seeds and berries. In winter, especially, downy woodpeckers can often be found in suburban backyards with trees and will feed on suet at birdfeeders.
From:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

I love seeing new things (to me, anyway) in nature. I'll keep my eyes on that cavity. It's technically in the neighbor's yard, but I think everyone is used to my roaming by now.

Roaming Melanie.

It is cool! I watched a male flicker work so hard to excavate a nesting hole only for it to not be used at all! I found out afterwards they often do more than one and the female picks the one she likes. But I had a blast watching the process.

Same thing with wrens I think. They work and work and work, but only one chosen

A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers have been around all afternoon, mostly eating seed and dehydrated mealworms from an old broken feeder.

Female and Male:


Male:



Female; the last photo shows a Blue Jay peeking over the side, Mrs. RB was not happy and ran it off:

dyzzypyxxy said:Truly wonderful Ann, but .. . Hey, you bin holding out on us? Made a wonderful start to the new month.

To be honest, these photos are from late September but I hadn't had time to edit & post them until last night when I finally got an uninterrupted hour. Now I need to go back & do the same for the butterfly photos I took but I have lots of paperwork to get ready for a doctor appt. early next week. PLUS I've been wanting like heck to read Melanie's thread about her trip which I haven't even started yet.