We need to get that guy on a Holiday card for next year!!!

BigBill said:We need to get that guy on a Holiday card for next year!!!

The vivid red color of the male Cardinal sure works for the holiday color!

There was a Turkey Vulture swooping around the neighborhood today and I almost got the entire bird in the frame!

I spotted little Warblers flitting about in the Maple trees a few minutes ago and managed a not so great picture of one of them. I had to lighten it a bit.

My Cedar Waxwings are here!!!!!!!!

My northern Flickers have been here a week or two but are being very shy.


Baltimore Oriole(s) are here!!!! Wouldn't you know it? A couple days after I had to throw away the oranges I had out there for them b/c they just weren't showing up. Now I'll have to get some more oranges.
Does anyone know just how rapidly they can change color? I've either got more than 1 or that 1 is changing color by the half day!!!!!! I never see 2 at the same time. This began with sighting a vivid yellowish orange which turned vivid orange & there is dark on the head now. I'm trying to figure out if it's just 1 changing that rapidly or if I'm seeing 2 or 3 different ones.

I would imagine, as a guess, a full molt could take two weeks, give or take.

I photographed Orioles last May in my backyard. There is tremendous variation in the males. I got a few gradations between juvenile males but noticed differences between adult males as well.
The most obvious thing that I noticed were differences in the bottom of the black hood on the 'boys'. One had a pointed bib, kind of like Captain Kirks sideburns!!
Others had rounded bibs. Both broadly rounded like 1 1/2" to 2" wide and one had a rounded bib of 1 1/8" or so. I think I remember getting 4 distinct patterns, maybe five. I don't believe that looking through binoculars would show me these subtle differences. It's the photographic image that lets you study those differences.
Females should variation as well. Some show some more orange shading, some yellow. There are not all the same. Very interesting!!

I'm envious! Haven't seem waxwings yet. I need to take a tour around town and check out all the holly bushes; one of their favorite snacks.

Look at Lin's Warbler up above for example. At first I said Yellow rumped Warbler. But I am not so sure.
I thought that the striping, even for a juvenile should be a bit more intense. Eye ring, check. Yellow on shoulder, check. Yellow rump or at least a hint of it. It might be there, fairly faint, but the angle at which the bird was captured is making it hard for me to be more confident.
Such variation in these guys!!!

Thanks Bill. I'll just have to keep watching. It or they are gobbling the suet like it was going out of style.

The cedar waxwings love to eat the red fruits of my dogwoods. I know they also like the fruit of the eastern red cedars. We have 9 of them. I don't think all of them are fruit bearing age yet but certainly about 1/2 of them are. We planted 5 in what was our barren west field (the desert) in 2017. I chose them b/c they are native & they can take the conditions in that field & for the cedar waxwings. The mockingbirds LOVE to make their nests in them.

They've grown SO much since we planted them!!!!!! Plus there are only 4 in this picture - we planted a fifth in December of that year.

Thunderbird Park, Phoenix

Tufted Mallard

Ringneck

Muscovy

Mallard is having a bad hair day.

They sure are beautiful birds! Even the Muscovy. Love all the photos.

I don't know if I have ever seen a Mallard with a tumor like that before! Poor thing.

I thought it was a Crested Mallard...

Well, being on the back of its head it should be okay unless the growth continues to grow. Poor baby!

Couple Ravens enjoying a fish...


We didn't know Ravens were such accomplished ice fishers...they're not, but they are accomplished thieves. We missed that drama, but caught this one:

The seagull decided it wanted breakfast, but was initially rebuffed.


The ravens got a little distracted and the seagull made its play.


It took the fish and then inexplicably dropped it into the water.


Then told the raven all about it. We don't speak bird, but it seemed to be a rather animated telling.


The seagull had second thoughts about the plan, dove, and retrieved the fish.


And then let it fall to the bottom again. We don't think bird, either.
And the ravens, frustrated, wandered off. As did the seagull some time later.
Birdbrain.

Muskovy Ducks are interesting looking and that Crested Mallard is a cool looking duck but I love the the Ringneck, that is one beautiful Duck!

Beautiful shots, Dirt! LOL, it looks like the Ravens and the Seagull didn't want a cold fish.

There is no such bird in North America. Crests would be on the top of the head or they would look like ear tufts as in Double crested Cormorant.