Does anyone know if this is a Carolina Chickadee that I spotted in the Cypress tree this afternoon?


Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker ..................................................................... Downy WP waiting her turn at the feeder:


Northern Cardinal, father & son dining together and Female Red-winged Blackbird:


The Hummingbird back again:

Thanks Lin & Dave!!! I could not remember. Think I'll check around & see what I can get that is at least better than what I have. Will see what Ebay has for the SX50. Maybe, maybe, maybe.......

Lin, yes, that's a Carolina Chickadee! Aren't they tiny & sweet? That's the one that has the song that sounds like a squeaky swing. Remember when I couldn't see the bird making that sound? Then we discovered that it was the Carolina Chickadee. So cute!

The strawberries were a hit with someone, hopefully the catbirds. I put out a whole plateful in the morning yesterday and it was empty when I got home from work. I refilled it last night and hope I catch a glimpse of them before I have to leave this morning.

Ann: I do remember the "squeaky swing" but had forgotten what bird it was. I didn't hear this little one yesterday ... too much bird commotion probably with so many around.

Jeanie: I know the birds are appreciating the fruit and seed you put out in the morning. I fill my feeders between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. and with all the bird activity (and the squirrels) all of them are empty by early afternoon! If you are putting out food/seed of any type at night, it isn't the birds eating it but probably raccoons; birds don't feed after dark.

Lin - don't have a raccoon issue in my yard, and all the fruit was still in the dish this morning. I had a very early meeting and knew I wouldn't have time in the morning, or I wouldn't have put it out at night. I saw the birds in the shrubs near the fruit, but I didn't catch them actually feeding before I had to leave. I'll keep feeding and watching
You posted fantastic photos above!

The strawberries were a hit with someone, hopefully the catbirds. I put out a whole plateful in the morning yesterday and it was empty when I got home from work. I refilled it last night and hope I catch a glimpse of them before I have to leave this morning.

My usual contribution, the Robin...

J: Love the Robins ... never get tired of seeing them. I especially like the last photo!

I love seeing the robins!

Ahhh, the Robins! Love seeing them!
We only see them here in NE, Fl. during the winter months...And that doesn't last very long. (heavy sigh)
So glad you posted them, jmorth!

We only see the Robins for a short time in winter here on the central coast of Florida. I remember one year when there was a very large flock, feeding on fat worms and splashing in the street puddles after an unusual winter rain. I wish we could see them here more often.

I can't believe that tomorrow is August already!! I'm going to be busy the next couple of weeks so probably won't be around ATP a lot but I will try to pop in the evenings if I get a chance. Our tenants are moving out of our rental property today so we are going to be getting it ready to put it on the market and sell it. As far as we know there's not a lot of cleaning or sprucing up to do inside the house ... but the yard is a huge mess and is going to take some major work!

I hope someone will be able to start a new thread tomorrow for August Birds! Here's a couple of photo's from my backyard of Northern Cardinals ... the second one looks to be having a "bad feather day".

Bad feather day--

I enjoy the cardinals who come to my feeder. They seem to have a lot of personality.

Cat: I love the Cardinals. Most folks love the male for it's vivid red color but the female is pretty too ... and it's fun to watch them, especially the juveniles!

I like the female cardinal, too!

Me three! I like both sexes & the babies too.

Lin, don't get overheated doing that yard work now, you hear?

I used to dislike when the Robins came to south Fl. where we used to live, for one reason only. They would feast on the Brazilian Pepper (aka Fl. holly - non-native INVASIVE) & then come play in my bird baths & poo the seeds all over the place. Every single seed is viable & I guarantee you, will sprout! We always had tons of robins as they passed through in winter. Now, they could be here & I would love seeing them but I rarely see any. This past year I only saw a mere handful. I guess I'm not on the flightpath.

On another note, I was looking at the Canon SX50's & the price....... Talked to my hubs about it & he says it's my choice. He's such a sweetie. Then he mentioned Christmas & how we are at that point (& have been a while now) where we get our own gifts, wrap them & open them on Christmas. So I thought, yeh, I could do that. Then I remembered Dave said about the new Canon's coming out soon so the price on the SX 50 would likely come down. I checked the Canon site & the new ones are only going to hit in August & September so I figure a couple months after that, the prices ought to be much easier on the old pocketbook.

A few days ago I saw a wasp chasing a hummingbird; whenever the hummer got near the feeder the wasp took off after it. This morning I was working in the yard and saw a hummingbird dive bombing a mockingbird at the top of the bottlebrush tree ... don't know what was going on there! These pic's are from this afternoon, the second one I see a wasp on one side of the feeder below a port.


Downy Woodpecker:

Excellent Lin. My guess would be that the wasp has a nest somewhere nearby in the foliage there & is "guarding" the nest. You might want to be careful when messing around in that area.

Our hummers will chase off birds or butterflies it considers encroaching on it's nectar source.

Ann, there are a couple of different types of wasps that have been around this year and I've noticed one off and visiting that nectar feeder; I'll have to look around in the greenery and see if I can spot a nest and try to get rid of it. The past couple of years I've kept a can of wasp spray on hand because they've been building nests by the garage door and a couple of months ago I found by the front door.

Yesterday I didn't get bit by a wasp but rather by the big Apple cactus. Ouch! I cleared a flower bed where the cactus is located and I've been working on getting all the river rock out of that area for a couple of weeks! I thought about transplanting the cactus elsewhere but just couldn't find another spot for it so I decided to leave it where it is ... when I was raking the remainder of the rock out yesterday my elbow came into contact with that cactus.

It's so hot here this morning ... it was already 80º at 7:30, and very humid! The Blue Jays were making a racket this morning, waiting for me to fill the feeders.