Hmm...note to self...watch for tail-flicking. Your pictures do look like the ones I saw today except I'm not sure mine were quite as chubby. I guess they were chowing down in the yard for a reason. I don't have birdfeeders because I try not to actively attract birds seeing as how I raise caterpillars and all. I'm okay if nature does its thing but I don't want to encourage them.

Speaking of birds and nature, no one took a picture and I was sleeping when it happened...but I have invasive Cuban frogs that are constantly living in my bromeliads. I found one the other day but the bromeliad is pretty long and tubular and rooted to the ground. Otherwise, I would have turned it upside down until the frog fell out. Well, I used my usual method of jamming a stick down in the plant and figured I must have killed the frog or at least mortally wounded it. And I suppose I mortally wounded it because it made it out. Only to be eaten by what my dad and brother said was a Cattle Egret sitting on the top of my car. Wish I could have seen that. When I do kill the frogs I leave them in the yard for nature to clean up. Maybe I can train some birds to eat them for me? I don't think birds can tell the native frogs from the non-natives though, so that could be hard.

Good for you Melanie. If you can learn butterflies you can learn birds! I KNOW you can do it.
You might want to get this bird ID book. I find it invaluable. It has color coded pages so you look them up by the most prominent color which makes things MUCH easier. They have photos of the males & females.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1591931053/

Of course, I don't think any one field guide is totally complete & I always like to double check an ID with 2 more sources so I have a total of 3 that agree --- then I feel REALLY comfortable with the ID.

We've had a gazillion yellow rumped warblers this year. And oh boy! have the birds been co-operating with me for this years backyard bird count! My Cedar Waxwings *just* made an appearance & the Sandhills flew over today & my Great Crested Flycatcher appeared. About the only one who is missing of all things are the Mockingbirds. I don't know where they've gotten off to but I haven't seen a one since Thursday. They're so common you would surely think they would be in my bird count but .

Ann, that's the book I'm using! It's weird because that warbler is in the yellow section and I was flipping through the brown section. To me, the bird looks mostly brown with some yellow accents but I never would have thought to look through the yellow section. Isn't that where the canaries are listed?

Melanie, you are too funny!!!

I know. Sometimes you have to look at what you would consider the secondary color. I think they list them color wise according to a certain time of year & down here they usually aren't that color b/c it's winter & they are in winter plumage. For instance the American Goldfinch ~~~ it's in the yellow section but they way we see Goldfinches is never that bright, all over yellow like the males have in the summer up north. When we lived in Hobe Sound, none of them ever had the slightest yellow on them --- they were all buff/tan colored. Now up here, I get ones who have a goodly amount of yellow on them but not that sunny bright canary yellow.

Icy and cold this morning. Photos not that great but the birds are here.

Dave, even with the icy cold scenery, those photos are really pretty! What is the red-stemmed plant in your first photo? The bark reminds me of Crepe Myrtle and I love the look of those icy branches ... beautiful little Blue Jay and Bluebird too!

I need to take the time and go down the street in the next couple of days and try to get some pictures of the Ospreys. There's a nest here in our subdivision, another atop a street light pole on the main road about 1/4 mile from here and another nest on a platform in the Sams Club parking lot @ 1/2 mile down the road. All nests are occupied and I hope to see some babies appearing in the next couple of months. It seems like every time I'm out I don't have my camera with me and even though my husband tells me that my new smart phone takes great pictures ... I never remember that I have it with me.

It's currently 73º here but we are supposed to drop to 33º tonight and tomorrow night; Yikes I'd so hoped we'd get by this winter without temperatures that low.

Nearly all the feed I put out yesterday is gone. I'll take the leaf blower and clear the paths to fill the feeders.

I just got a couple bags of woodpecker blend at the bird store. Its pricey, almost all nuts, but it sure draws a crowd, and I want as many blue jays as I can get, as they help me trying to keep the hawks from feeding here.

I love nuthatches, we dont have them down here, but when up farther north, I love to watch them come head forst down the tree.

@plantladylin Lin that red bush is actually a Japanese Maple that has that red bark year round. The leaves of this one is a vibrant light green. I believe it is called a coral bark Japanese Maple. BTW the photo I posted is of an Eastern Bluebird not a Robin. I told you the photos weren't very good

Dave, your photos are amazing! LOL I did recognize the Eastern Bluebird ... don't know why I typed Robin. I love that Japanese Maple, is it by chance this one? Coral Bark Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum 'Beni Kawa')

Well, I thought it was a Robin so I learned something new! The heavens have just opened up and we're being pelted with rain here. And I'm with Lin, I can't believe we're going to get such cold temps again! Out come the blankets to cover the plants. Our last frost date is supposed to be Feb 15 but I always check the extended forecast for reasons like this.

Thanks for the tip about looking for the secondary color, Ann. I'll keep that in mind when flipping through my book.

@plantladylin Yes ma'm that's it.

Well, we didn't get snow. We got ice and falling trees and no power for 19 hours. House is finally warming up. The birds loved the full feeders, even with the ice.

Ice is usually pretty bad. That is a long time for no power.

I was looking for a place to share a bird photo. There are several more on the Iris Forum Mindless Chatter Thread. We don't get all the cool colorful birds out here in Central California (inland San Joaquin Valley) but I had a lot of birds enjoying the birdbath in the warm sunny weather we are having (so unlike what more if the country is dealing with right now). Anyway, I hope this brightens your day! It's my favorite of the batch I took this morning!

Becky: Wow, that is a long time to be without power especially if you heat with electricity! As cold as it looks though, what a beautiful photo of the trees and bird feeder covered in ice! I love the looks of the dome with icicles at the top of the feeder; what is that made from?

@Moiris Marilyn, what a great photo of that beautiful Jay! Is it the Western Scrub Jay? We have many Blue Jays here that look similar and the endangered Florida Scrub Jay. I hope you will pop in often and share photos of birds from your area!

I didnt know the scrub jays were endangered, interesting.

When my husband got transfered to Roanoke, I had lived no place but FL. Snow came all excited....ice came...beautiful
beautiful sight. Then came no electricity. Being of the hurricane mindset, I thought Id just melt some snow in the tub, so we could flush the toilets. Just for the record, snow doesnt melt in a freezing house, it just makes it colder.

Great pictures Marilyn and
Becky

LOL Pam ... I remember the 2004 hurricane season when Charley, Frances & Jeanne came through this area within a six week period. We were only without power for a week (unlike many others) and the swimming pool water came in handy for flushing the toilets. We kept a bucket outside the back door to bail pool water for flushing.