That must mean that the white crowned sparrows have left my area for the summer up north.

Looks like another nice day here so the swallows should be checking out the houses again today, I have 5 they can choose from.

On that is so nice Margaret. I wish I had Shallows and Bluebirds here in my yard but unfortunatly not.

plantladylin said:When I came home from my volunteering I spent the rest of the afternoon working in my own yard but managed to get a couple of photo's. We've had a lot of Red-bellied Woodpeckers visiting the feeders lately. I was on the deck taking pictures and one seemed really curious each time the camera beeped; then he finally took a sunflower seed and flew off; meanwhile another one was at the suet feeder on the other side of the deck.

I can't believe you don't have squirrels on your feeders (esp. the one in the first three pics).

What is the food you put in the feeder in the fourth pic?

Love the Red Bellies!

Newyorkrita said:Lin, your pictures are outstanding as usual.

flaflwrgrl said: Margaret!

We rarely see the White Crowned Sparrows here and when we do, it's a real treat!

We never see the Swallows and Warblers here in our yard.

Marilyn: We have soooo many squirrels and they raid the feeders all the time! I spend way too much $$$ on birdseed! That feeder you were asking about was sold as a seed feeder but I stuff suet into it or buy the suet logs which fit down inside it perfectly.

I now bring the suet feeders inside at night so the raccoons don't destroy them. Last year I found part of one feeder in the waterway behind the house and the other part somewhere in the yard. I've had suet feeders go missing never to be found again so I began wiring them shut, but that doesn't seem to deter the critters if the feeders still contain suet at night. I put enough food in the seed feeders so that's they are empty by dusk and I bring in the suet feeders until the next morning. That one in my last photo was hit by the raccoons a few weeks ago and they managed to get the wire lid off which was still hanging from the hook ... the feeder part was on the ground beneath the tree. !%#&% Dang Critters!

This is a picture I took yesterday afternoon:

I had some errands to run this morning and had to go right past the Sams Club where one of the Osprey nests is. I was in a hurry but pulled into the parking lot for one picture ... it looks like the baby may be asleep (just beneath mama), at least I think I see what looks to be a ball of feathers there.

Marilyn, do you have a bird bath and feed the birds? I throw seeds under the evergreen and willow trees, the Juncos and White-crowned are mostly ground feeders and they love to scratch in the dirt.

Sweet photo of the dove, Lin.

Hey, I thow seeds on the ground too to feed the birds. Well, not actually on the soil, I throw them on my driveway, that way I don't get so much in the way of weeds. But I get all the ground feeders that way and I can easily see this area from my kitchen windows and back yard patio.

LOL, I fill the bird feeders and then toss a little seed onto the grass; it's always a popular area for ground feeders like doves. Speaking of Doves, this chubby little Mourning Dove was perched in the neighbors Willow tree this afternoon:

I like those Morning Doves. I like their soft cooing sound they make too. But they are not the brightest birds. I have seen them fall asleep on the ground just sitting there after eating. If a cat came around it would be bad news for them.

I love their cooing sounds too! Unfortunately the Mourning Doves are the ones most often taken by Hawks too.

Poor things. I know hawks need to eat also and honestly hawks and falcons are such beautiful birds. Just don't like the idea that they eat the backyard songbirds.

Great pics.

Robin out back ...

Good action photos Jay. Pretty daffs too!

mcash70 said:Marilyn, do you have a bird bath and feed the birds? I throw seeds under the evergreen and willow trees, the Juncos and White-crowned are mostly ground feeders and they love to scratch in the dirt.

Sweet photo of the dove, Lin.

Yes! I scatter seeds out everyday day of the year just for the ground feeding birds and wild rabbits.

We have a birdbath that has a 'water wiggler' in it during the Spring - Fall months and a heather during the cold temp months.

We have four Hummingbird feeders out during the Spring - Fall months also.

http://www.duncraft.com/Babbli...

We used to have this one (below), but love the one (above).

http://www.duncraft.com/Water-...

We also have a ceramic cover for the water wiggler in tan.

http://www.duncraft.com/Water-...

The water wiggler is to keep the water moving at all times to prevent mosquitoes breeding.

We have 5 bird feeders (counting one suet) that we fill every day of the year too.

Marilyn, sounds like you keep your birds well fed and watered!