I am really happy that I am seeing the hummers every day, I have 2 Rufous males, and 2 females, and so far 1 Calliope male and female. I haven't seen a Black-chinned so far this year.

I would love to see other types than the Ruby-throated. But we see ours everyday. Just a glimpse of one female so far but as soon as they are nesting it will get busier.

These were taken through the window this afternoon ...

White Ibis that had been traipsing through the yard and then flew up to the fence:


Brown Thrasher:


Cardinal:

A few more Cardinals

Female mallard picking up the dropped seed under the feeder.

Nice close ups Dave!

Bird people, I have pictures! So you guys were talking about whether you still have hummingbirds and it got me wondering if ours were still around. I haven't been outside much lately because it's really hot and I'm very tired. But I was determined to do some gardening today. First though, I had to release a couple of butterflies that came out last night. I step outside the front door and I've got the camera in hand, ready to take pictures of the butterflies. And I see the hummingbird on the firebush! I put up the camera, zoom in, get ready to take the picture, and the hummer flies away. I got to work and grumbled a lot. I was walking toward my neighbor's yard when I wondered if the hummingbird liked his Firecracker Fern, too. And then it was there! I told myself to just take some photos and don't worry about if they're good or not. So here's my bad pictures! I figure as long as you can tell it's a hummingbird, then I've proven it and that's all that matters on the internet, right?



And one of the Cardinals decided to fight Dad's side view mirror today. I had to chase him away a couple of times. Silly bird.

Melanie!! Hummingbirds love Firecracker Plant (Russelia equisetiformis) It's a plant I've thought about planting in my garden; I had a real small plant once but it died for some reason. So glad you are seeing the hummers in your area. Love the Cardinal ... I have a problem with them attacking the back door. We had that film put on the doors and windows a couple of years ago to keep the hot sun out and I did put decals on them so that the birds don't run into the mirrored reflection ... it's worked great, no birds have been stunned or killed but I do have issues with little Cardinals on the back deck that get down on the bottom and peck at their reflections. I guess I should put a couple of decals down low. :)

I've seen hummingbirds a couple of times today ... once at the Aloe blooms and then at the feeders. I managed to get some bird photos through the window today.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, female:


Blue Jay:


Little Cardinal that perched on the fence and went about preening his feathers:

I've seen a lot of birds, doing interesting things but no pictures... a couple of Kites chasing a crow... a hawk flying off with what looked like a big rat with a long pink tail... and some colorful birds, maybe painted buntings. Oh well.

This morning I noticed the branches bending near the forest edge when I saw this very large female Northern Cardinal hop on the ground. I think she sees me too.

Christine, Cute little lady Cardinal! Now that would be interesting seeing Kites chasing a crow, they must have been some hungry kites or maybe they had babies to feed. I see Mockingbirds chasing the crows all the time and occasionally I see Swallow-tailed Kites circling as they are on the hunt but I've never seen them chase or catch anything.

I was out in the yard a little while ago and noticed a bunch of White Ibises flying around. A few flew into the large Sycamore trees down aways from my house but four perched on a power line. It's been very windy and they were a bit of a distance away but I zoomed in as much as my camera allowed to get some pictures.

Nice photos!!!

Thanks Becky!

The only bird photo I got today; I was standing at the kitchen window and noticed this female Red-bellied Woodpecker at an old birdbath so I grabbed my camera, zoomed in and got this shot through the window.

VERY nice shot Lin!

Excellent!!

Beautiful shot, Lin!

Also, back to talk about the kites chasing the crow. I wondered if maybe the kites were chasing the crow from their nest, since you said the crows like to steal babies from the nest.

I still have a fondness for the crows. And, I have a great respect for the hawk. But, the crows often keep the hawks run off. Every spring I hear a noisy battle between the crows and the hawks, I guess it's for territory? It lasts for a couple of days (all day long) but I often see the crows chasing off the hawk. It's amazing to watch as the crows loudly surround the hawk until if flies off and then they will chase behind the hawk, cawing the whole way.

My fondness began when I saw a crow swoop down on a hawk that had one of my chickens in its talons! I was able to run towards them and save my chicken. It was quite a sight to see, I'm sure. My chickens listen to the caws of the crows and will run for cover. I love those crows for that.

I love both crows & hawks. Since we moved here I have enjoyed having the crows as yard birds. Our original group of 3 is long gone but they became quite predictable. I would buy cat food & corn for them.

Heh, if I put food out for the crows within hours I could have 30 to 50 of them in the yard.

Started a new thread here The thread "Backyard Birds-June 2015" in Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum