We get lots of the Brown-headed Cowbirds here in the winter and they stay through early spring. Used to be the Grackles didn't hang around through summer but they are still here ... too many of them! We still have some Red-winged Blackbirds too and this is the first time I've seen them hang around; they are usually gone by May.

More pictures from this afternoon of the juvenile Mockingbird. We had a ton of rain today and the baby got all wet but it was fun watching it preen it's feathers and looking as cute as ever. It seems real curious about the beep on my camera too. After the thunderstorms passed the sky was blue and the little one was flying from fence to tree to rooftop and back to the tree. When it sees it's parents it takes off flying after them but always comes back to the fence in my next door neighbors yard or to the Magnolia tree in my yard.

This year the Grackles and Cowbirds are here everyday. They used to not stick around by late spring but this year they are everywhere in my yard.

The mockers are so silly looking at that age. All half grown up. Part mature feathers & part baby stuff.

The juvenile Mockingbird was out this evening. He/she perched on a wire plant holder that I have hung in a tree; I've been putting raisins, blueberries and a few seeds in the plastic tray which the adults and baby have been eating. It's so funny to watch this youngster ... he/she screams for food and then the adult flies over with baby zooming right behind, crying to be fed. Mama will eat something and fly off and then the baby will jump to the wire rim of the planter and get something to eat. It perched on the edge of the plant hanger long enough for me to get a picture.

Nice shot.

Thanks Ann ... the Pagoda flowers in the background are a bit blurry but I thought it made a pretty backdrop for the little bird.

Oh no, I thought it was perfect with them not being so highlighted. The baby mocker is the main focus/subject of the photo as it should be.

It looks just fine! I know there must be a way to have everything in focus with my camera when I actually DO prefer it that way, but I don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned, it might as well require a PhD degree in photography to achieve some of those kind of tricks.

LindaTX8 said:It looks just fine! I know there must be a way to have everything in focus with my camera when I actually DO prefer it that way, but I don't worry about it. As far as I'm concerned, it might as well require a PhD degree in photography to achieve some of those kind of tricks.

plantladylin said: I must admit that I sometimes spend too much on food for the birds. I buy regular seed, dehydrated mealworms and suet; and then I end up thinking that I need to give them more variety so I sometimes add raisins, peanuts and dried berries ... along with sharing my trail mix. We have trees and shrubs in the yard that produce food for them too so they definitely are well fed! My husband says the birds know where to go for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!

My husband has said many times that the birds eat better than he does!

Since the airline that he used to fly for closed down at the end of Sept. (and he's not working), I have to feed the birds cheaper than I used to do. I rely on squirrel proof feeders, red pepper suet dough and am able to feed the birds peanuts from the shell that I get a the local wild birds unlimited store.

I still scatter bird seed on the ground daily (for the ground feeding birds, wild rabbits and the sometimes wild turkey hen. Of course, the squirrels are there to get 'their share'.

flaflwrgrl said:


And the little goslings are sooooo cute.

LindaTX8 said:I've been enjoying the great bird pics. Here's a few I took. I was trying to get a pic of another kind of bird when four Brown-headed cowbirds came and chased it off. Geez, the size of that chick! It looks really big! So I wonder, do the chicks raised by other species just find its own kind right away as soon as it is able to get around well? The foster mother probably said to herself "Whew! I thought that chick would never leave, what a little piggie!"

I caught the Black-crested Titmouse with a big seed in its beak (or maybe it had more than one), I think it was afraid of dropping it, so it landed on an Ashe Juniper Tree to avoid that.

We have a birdbath that sits on our patio and we see squirrels jump up to it, so they can get drinks of water. We have a babbling water wiggler in to keep the water moving around at all times.

Marilyn: So sorry to hear that your husband is out of work. What airline did he fly for? The aviation industry has taken a big hit in the economy of the past few years like so many other businesses. My husband has been teaching in the aviation field for more than 37 years and we are fortunate that he has tenure at the University and there's no chance of him being out of work unless the entire school were to close.

Well, I'm heading out for the day ... my husband goes back to teaching next week so his summer break is about over and we decided to take the boat out for the day, or at least until the clouds roll in. It's been so hot here lately with low to mid 90's and awful humidity so the sea breezes and water should be nice! We want to go early so that we don't get caught in thunderstorms later! Have a great day everyone!

For now here's a little Cardinal female and a Dove:

Marilyn, hope your DH gets a good job soon! I've long cut corners where I could (vacations? can't remember the last time we had one), although it's easier now that I can collect a little Social Security. I usually buy birdseed and such at a certain feed store in San Antonio where I can get good quality birdseed a bit cheaper than the other places. You know, I wish we had a forum for tips on how to cut expenses! I know a few!

Marilyn said:

My husband has said many times that the birds eat better than he does!

Since the airline that he used to fly for closed down at the end of Sept. (and he's not working), I have to feed the birds cheaper than I used to do. I rely on squirrel proof feeders, red pepper suet dough and am able to feed the birds peanuts from the shell that I get a the local wild birds unlimited store.

I still scatter bird seed on the ground daily (for the ground feeding birds, wild rabbits and the sometimes wild turkey hen. Of course, the squirrels are there to get 'their share'.

Linda, start a thread in the sandbox on that subject. They have an exercise thread (I forget exactly what it's titled) so why not a tips on how to cut expenses thread?

The sandbox is made for all these off beat threads.

So yesterday I saw both Mr and a Mrs House Wren putting nesting material into a backyard box that Mr has been working on for quite some time. I figgured the babies must have fledged from the front yard box but I looked today and no, they haven't fledged, they are still there. I see someone, I figgure Mrs go in and out. So I am thinking that Mr House Wren has taken up housekeeping with another woman and left his old wife to manage all by herself. I can't see what else could be going on. I mean, I don't think Mrs would build in a new box while they babies were still not fledged in the old one?

I thought I could find out if the males have more than 1 female like some birds do such as Mockers but this site doesn't really say. There might be a clue though in the section on behavior. Check it out:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...

He has never had more than one wife before. Always before both birds moved to a backyard box way after the babies fledged. But maybe he found a single woman around and decided to take advantage of the oppurtunity.