Yay Pam That is so cool that you got to see one!!

We've had a lot of visitors here at Happily EverAfter this weekend to see the Whooping Cranes. They have all been very respectful and have given the Whoopers a wide berth so as not to disturb them. They are still here and just leisurely wandering around and foraging. This cold weather for the next week or so may keep them here a while longer.

Wonderful Dave!

I guess I didn't click on watch this thread because I have missed 2 weeks of birds, going to take awhile to catch up with you guys.

A few little guys in the yard today.

Goldfinches and Pine Siskins



Brown-headed Nuthatch

Gold Finches are active here pulling threads off of things for their nests.

TnDave, Great pics of the brown-headed nuthatch. They are always so fast, I have a hard time getting a decent picture.

Filled all the feeders here. We are supposed to have snow or ice tomorrow. I hope its just a false alarm.

I hope it's just a false alarm for you Becky. Those little nuthatch are so cute Dave.

@ beclu727 Same here in Tennessee. It's going to be a real cold stretch over the next week or so.

You know, I think it's easier to stalk butterflies than it is birds. I saw some birds at MOSI today but not too many. We have a feeder and there was a fat Mourning Dove sitting in it. One of my regular guests was watching it and said there was a cardinal but the dove kept chasing it off.

My aunt lives in WV and is really into birds. But it's funny because she's also afraid of them which I don't understand. She's fine as long as they don't get near her, but I really don't think that's a problem. Today on Facebook she posted a Purple Finch and a pair of Killdeer which she says they normally only see once a year. My grandma (just up the street in WV) likes birds, too and has hummingbird feeders and one feeder that usually is covered in finches. I forget the seeds they like but she always buys that one at the store. I like to watch them scatter back to the trees when I walk out the door. They hop back to the feeder pretty fast.

I will have to start practicing taking bird pictures. Much more difficult than butterflies, I think, since they tend to fly higher and don't exactly want to come down and check out my flowers. That's one nice thing about those Sandhill Cranes. You can practically walk right up to them and they don't care.

Oh, I love those Pine Siskins ... cute little ones!

I was hoping we'd get by with another mild winter this year; we've had some nights dip into the mid 40's which isn't bad at all and most days have been in the 60's to low 70's lately. Today's high is supposed to reach 72º and tomorrow 75º but we're predicted to have a low of @ 33ºF on Wednesday morning! Brr ....

It is COLD with freezing rain this morning at Happily EverAfter but the birds are out. Even the Whooping Cranes are close today.

Whooping Crane




A fluffed-up Eastern Bluebird




You guys are probably tired of seeing this little guy but since he found the suet he is a constant visitor. Brown-headed Nuthatch


Harbinger of Spring? American Robin

Oh my, I never get tired of seeing those pretty little nuthatches! We don't get those here in Florida and they are so cute. Those Whoopers are beautiful as well and I love the pretty Eastern Bluebirds all fluffed up! Aaah, the Robin ... I sure hope it means that spring is just around the corner! I haven't seen Robins around here yet this year, they usually arrive in large flocks for only a few days before heading back north.

Nope, I never get tired of them! I spotted Red-breasted Nuthatch this weekend but missed getting photo. Hope it shows up again. They are one that does not show up here every winter. One year we had lots of them.

Dave, glad your visitors are being respectful of the cranes.

We've had just hundreds of birds this year. I just went to the local Ace hardware and resupplied our seed and suet. Late season sales helped, I got 50# sunflower, 80# wildbird seed, and 12 suet cakes for about $70. Hopefully that will be the next to last trip.

Thanks for the latest Whopper photos Dave!
And the rest of the photos too. Love that little nuthatch.
Last week we had a flock of Robins in the pecan grove one afternoon. Haven't seen any before or since.
Sandhills flew over this morning. Circling while small groups joined up till there were around 70 of them & then circling gaining altitude & then they all headed off NNW. I looked to see if there was any pure white in there that might possibly be Whoppers but it was impossible to tell what with their altitude & the sun in your eyes.

Okay folks, here's my first attempt at taking a bird picture. Not counting the big guys that just stand still for you. I was walking the yard just checking on stuff and there were about five or six of these guys pecking in the lawn. They scattered when I approached but two of them stayed near the house so I tried stalking one. I looked in my field guide and man - I thought butterflies were hard to tell apart! I'm sure this is something super common but there were like 4 or 5 birds that looked like this one in the book. I'm not sure if that's actually a bit of yellow near its tail or if it was the lighting or some weird reflection from the grass. No laughing at me!

Melanie, They are Warblers of some type but many Warblers look alike. Watch closely the next time you see one ... if it constantly flicks it's tail, it's the Palm Warbler: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g... We see them around here throughout the fall and winter.

Here's an even worse picture, if it helps.



And I have to learn their behaviors, too? Yikes! Well, if I can do it with butterflies I suppose I can do it with birds.

LOL, the flicking tail is the only way I can tell it's a Palm Warbler rather than one of the other type of Warblers we sometimes see in the winter. These are Palm Warblers from last month. They eat the dehydrated mealworms from the feeders but seem to spend most of the time in the lawn eating whatever it is they find there.