Linda: How in the world do you keep the squirrels out of your backyard? There are so many of those critters everywhere around here ... I wish I could send a few to visit their relatives in Texas.

Marilyn: How fortunate that you get to see the beautiful Indigo Bunting; that's such a beautiful bird with it's vivid blue color! Cute shots above; what happened to the birdbath? Love the pic with the bunny and the variation of birds. I love the Cardinals and Doves; and one looks to be a young Brown-headed Cowbird.

Thanks!

That birdbath was our first one. As you can see from the pics, the base kept chipping/cracking at the top where the bowl would sit in it, so I left there like it shows in the pics. That was many years ago.

We've had a much better one for years that sits on our patio. It's taller, wider and sturdier. We use a water wiggler in the warm/hot months and in the cold months we plug a heater in to keep the water from icing up.

We see the Indigo Bunting feeding at one of our feeders. It's a tube feeder with a cage around it and I add mixed seed in it.

I scatter mixed bird seed on the ground (daily/year round) for the ground feeding birds and the wild rabbits.

A few pictures from this afternoon. I think I've messed up the settings on my camera again because I'm having trouble with the focus. Lighting isn't great on some of these either. The Blue Jays were screeching in distress (along with a bunch of other birds) because of a Hawk that took a young bird. The Hawk flew into the shrubbery and it was awful to watch and hear because it didn't kill it's prey quickly; the bird it took was really screaming. The hawk flew across the water and landed in my next door neighbor's yard and after a few seconds it took off with dinner in it's talons.

Lin, there's not that many squirrels around here. The local squirrels have full access to the feeder in the side yard and also the food in the wildlife feeding area outside the fence. The back yard they didn't like that much anyway. So I put up a double shepherd's hook pole in the back yard, then put a squirrel baffle above the feeder. Why would they go there when they have better choices? The raccoons, however, find a way to get to the birdseed back there...I'm often amazed how clever those are! I've started working on solutions to the raccoon problems lately.

I thought the colors were especially bright on this Painted Bunting male!

Wow, he is really beautiful.

Love the beautiful rainbow bird!

One more, just here. I'm pretty sure it's an Audubon Oriole, but when I looked closely at the pictures, something's odd...don't think there's any feathers on its head! And of course, out of range again...global warming, maybe.

Cute bald Oriole! I see bald birds every so often and have wondered if it was perhaps mites? These are pictures I took two years ago of a bald Blue Jay and a balding Brown Thrasher ... the Jay is so pitiful looking!

A few pic's from today; Brown Thrasher, juvenile ? Brown Thrasher and Northern Mockingbird:

I sure do envy you having those Brown Thrashers. Sure wish I had some in my yard.

Rita: I didn't see them for a long time ... not one last year and they are few and far between this year for some reason. I used to see them year round at our other house.

They are such wonderful birds.

A few more from late this afternoon.

Pair of Pigeons on the powerline, Mockingbird at the top of a Palm tree and a female Red-bellied Woodpecker:

Boat-tailed Grackle singing his heart out ..... and a curious little Northern Cardinal:

The little hummingbird was feeding on the Butterfly bushes but then was nice enough to sit on a branch while I was out there with my camera in hand!

Oh Rita, that is so cool ... such great shots of that little one! I love it when they perch long enough to get a shot or two!

We've finally gotten some much needed rain this afternoon and hopefully more through the weekend! I was gazing out the window a little while ago and spotted this Mockingbird perched beneath the big leaves of a Pagoda flower ... fluffing, shaking and trying to dry his wings.

Red-winged Blackbird and ................ Northern Mockingbird:

A few close up shots I just took a few minutes ago. I was on the deck and birds just kept flying to the tree about six feet from where I sat. The suet feeder is in that tree and a bird feeder below. I was surprised when the one Cardinal landed on the deck rail to eat a sunflower seed; he kept watching me but didn't fly off until he finished the seed.

Northern Cardinal:


Red-bellied Woodpecker:


Tufted Titmouse: