Alice, my copper pipe worked great for a long time but lately it has seemed to stop working too. Isn't that weird? I've been thinking about going back to copper pennies (pre-1980). I thought it was from our oak tassels just overloading it with organic matter but the tassels are done now & still the birdbath is getting gunky faster.

Great shots of the Bunting!

I tried starting out fresh by drying out that bb and cleaning it well with bleach to kill any mold. It looked great but only for a few days then it started growing algae again. The oak trash does not help.

That bunting is a beauty.

Thanks, their colors are startling when you see them for the first time. We had out of town guests once and all of a sudden the woman started shaking and pointing her finger at the window saying "the bird, the bird."

Alice, when I read that, I was hearing it in my head as more Hitchcock than amazement.

I heard it like Fantasy Island, with Da plane, da plane!

LOL

I'm too young to remember Fantasy Island. I went out to my favorite preserve today. Lots of birds making noise and a few flying around but it was hard enough getting butterfly photos! The only bird I managed to get a picture of was this one with a cool yellow underbelly. Kind of a large bird. I mean, bigger than a Cardinal, if you know what I mean. I saw a couple of them in the area.



In exciting news, on the way home I was stopped at a red light at a major intersection. My eyes drifted up, and I saw an osprey nest on one of the platforms we've built for them! There were two adult birds in the nest, too. I was dead tired or I would have pulled over. But I don't think they'll be relocating in the next few days so I'll drive back that way, park in the shopping plaza on the corner, and walk to the edge and get a picture.

Love the Cardinals! They are very common here but always a favorite and fun to watch! The Painted Bunting is one I've always called the rainbow bird because of the males gorgeous coloration. I haven't been able to attract them to my garden in the almost four years we've lived in this house, probably because of the many large, boisterous birds like Blackbirds and Grackles!

:hurray: Melanie, that pretty bird you've caught on camera is the Great Crested Flycatcher! Look forward to seeing your Osprey photos. We've got more Ospreys here the past two years than I've seen the entire 48 years I've lived in Florida! They've built nests on the many man-made nest platforms as well as in a couple of large oak trees. I need to take my camera out and get some photos soon ... been so busy lately that I haven't had a chance to take any pictures.

Melanie, it looks like a large flycatcher, maybe a Great crested.

I just looked in the book and it does look like the birds I saw today. Is that a good one to see? I need validation! Also, here's a bad picture I took of it but I think you can see how his crest is up. Probably didn't like me on the ground.

Great birds to see!!

mellielong said:I just looked in the book and it does look like the birds I saw today. Is that a good one to see? I need validation! Also, here's a bad picture I took of it but I think you can see how his crest is up. Probably didn't like me on the ground.

Melanie, you succeeded in doing something I have been trying to do for the 2 years we've lived here & that is getting a GOOD photo of the Great Crested Flycatcher! I have them here but I'll be darned if I've been able to get a decent photo of one yet. So YEH, you done good! REAL good! You go girl!!!!

There you go Melanie, validation!

Yay! I'm becoming a bird person! I feel accepted into the flock now.

mellielong said:Yay! I'm becoming a bird person! I feel accepted into the flock now.

Melanie, bird person, to the flock!

I second that emotion!

Melanie is too young to remember that song.