Angele: Wow, that Western Grebe is gorgeous!! We have the Pied-billed Grebe that visits here during the winter months but it's very drab in color. That guy/gal in your photo is really beautiful with those colors and bright eyes. Awesome shot!

There were a bunch of little Palm Warblers flitting about early this morning ... I managed to get this shot of one that perched in the Bottlebrush tree:

I love my little brown birds, all hundred of the little suckers I swear, but I would really like to have some of the beautiful birds you all have. I think I am jealous.......

JB: Do you know what your little brown birds are?

We have many year-round birds here in Florida but I love winter when we get to see migrants from the north for a couple of months. The cute little Chipping Sparrows visit in December and January and a few years back we had hundreds of them at the feeders every day; I love these little cuties:

Chipping Sparrows are really cuties. I see them around here sometimes.

Been feeding the birds as usual around here with seeds on the driveway. Lots of morning Doves here each day. Can see them easily right out my kitchen window.

Spotted this one in my cypress tree a few minutes ago. I ran inside and grabbed the camera and as I was going back out the door it flew to my neighbors roof where it perched for a few minutes watching me; then it began making some squeaky like sounds before flying off. I think it was a bit upset that I disturbed it's hunt for dinner!

Red-shouldered Hawk:

Beautiful bird.

I love the big birds almost as much as I do the regular backyard songbirds! I'm sitting here with the sliding door open to the screened porch and I hear a Belted Kingfisher's call! We've seen them around in the evenings lately but I can't seem to get one to light somewhere so that I can get a picture!

Lin, those are some AWESOME shots!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Beautiful!

JB said:I love my little brown birds, all hundred of the little suckers I swear, but I would really like to have some of the beautiful birds you all have. I think I am jealous.......

I'm curious if you put out food or water for the birds JB. God bless the little brown birds We have a really precious sparrow here called the Brewer's Sparrow - I think it might be the smallest sparrow & I love them too. It seems like many of our desert birds are drab compared to their relatives found in other parts of the world. Here is a Western Scrub Jay that was visiting this morning. It seems pretty colorful to me but my birding book says the one found further west (Pacific) has much brighter colors. Our Pyrrhuloxia male (Western Cardinal) has just some red feathers and not the overall bold colors of the Cardinal male but still it is one of our more colorful birds.

Lin your bird photos are awesome as always! Fantastic shots of that Hawk - it sure was nice of him to stick around so you could share him with us!

Angele, your Western Scrub Jay looks very much like our Eastern Scrub Jay & I think they are beautiful as well as colorful!

flaflwrgrl said:Angele, your Western Scrub Jay looks very much like our Eastern Scrub Jay & I think they are beautiful as well as colorful!

it is a treat for me to see them, I mostly just see them in the Fall - I always know when they are around - very noisy!

Thanks Angele! Love your Western Scrub Jay ... what a beauty!

We have a lot of Blue Jays around all the time but I've never seen one of our Florida Scrub Jays: http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabit... which are threatened due to habitat loss.

You're right Angele; they are noisy!

My little brown birds are sparrows of several species. I really wish I could see better to begin to see just which sparrows are here. There must be 50 of them that live in the Black Pussy Willow. They love it there and that does not drop its leaves until after the first snow. There are also purple finch females...they are brown, I think some of the teeny ones must be wrens but I have never heard them sing so I am not sure. Maybe they are just baby sparrows. They line up in a circle of the bird bath and it looks like they are having a party. They all eat the finch food. They line up and wait their turns. They are so cute and very polite I must say.

Today the bell at the driveway kept going off like someone was standing there in front of it, so I went to the front of the house and looked out and there was a very large flock of starlings and a small black bird, not red wings, but smaller and all black. They were all together and so many of them it kept putting off the bell. So funny. I have noticed several flocks are stopping to eat and rest the past two days. It must be getting colder up North.

The hawk was here again yesterday, so all are being really nervous. I will take the time to try and identify some of the sparrows .

I have a really hard time distinguishing between some of the sparrows, female hummingbirds and some of the hawks too. Today was a good day for birds in my yard. Besides all the regulars there was a Red-shafted Northern Flicker and a Red-naped Sapsucker. There are still some hummingbirds visiting but I think they may be passing through and not the ones that were here all summer.

It sure is a cutie ... great closeup!

Nice photo of that hummer Angele.

Sweet widdle hummie.