A Birders Thread! I wanna show mine off!!

Very nice assortment Jennifer

Ann: Wow, it sounds like you are getting a free concert of the best kind with that variety!

Jennifer: Great shots! You have a great assortment of birds way up there in Canada and you have some of the same ones that are year round residents here in Florida! I love the shot of the Blue Jays, their color looks so vivid! And the two baby European Starlings? crying to be fed by their parent is adorable! I know those Starlings are despised by many but they sure are pretty ... I've only seen them down here a couple of times over the years. Those finches are pretty too and I always look forward to migration when we see the Cedar Waxwings ... wish they could stay here longer.

Jennifer!!!! Great shots.
Okay, I can ID most of them but who is the one in the rain with the indigo head? Gorgeous bird! Looks like in the crow family?????
And who is the cute little fatty on the rail in the snow just under the hawk photo?
It looks like the last photo is a catbird?

Oh yeah, I meant to ask about that one too ... did some googling:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Scroll down this page aways for one that looks like it: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...

Gee, I wonder why they are so much prettier than the Common Grackle's we see here in Florida?

flaflwrgrl said: Jennifer!!!! Great shots.
Okay, I can ID most of them but who is the one in the rain with the indigo head? Gorgeous bird! Looks like in the crow family?????
And who is the cute little fatty on the rail in the snow just under the hawk photo?
It looks like the last photo is a catbird?

That is a common Grackle (Very common!)

flaflwrgrl said: Jennifer!!!! Great shots.
Okay, I can ID most of them but who is the one in the rain with the indigo head? Gorgeous bird! Looks like in the crow family?????
And who is the cute little fatty on the rail in the snow just under the hawk photo?
It looks like the last photo is a catbird?

Can you name the 5th up from the bottom? I think it's a slate but I am not sure.

plantladylin said:Ann: Wow, it sounds like you are getting a free concert of the best kind with that variety!

Jennifer: Great shots! You have a great assortment of birds way up there in Canada and you have some of the same ones that are year round residents here in Florida! I love the shot of the Blue Jays, their color looks so vivid! And the two baby European Starlings? crying to be fed by their parent is adorable! I know those Starlings are despised by many but they sure are pretty ... I've only seen them down here a couple of times over the years. Those finches are pretty too and I always look forward to migration when we see the Cedar Waxwings ... wish they could stay here longer.

I spend a small fortune on bird seed and find different birds prefer it in different places. I love all the birds! Even the sparrows and starlings. I know some people try to keep the common birds away but I think they give notice to other passing birds that food is available and besides, ya got yer birds, ya got yer birds! It is very hard to segregate them!

flaflwrgrl said: Jennifer!!!! Great shots.
Okay, I can ID most of them but who is the one in the rain with the indigo head? Gorgeous bird! Looks like in the crow family?????
And who is the cute little fatty on the rail in the snow just under the hawk photo?
It looks like the last photo is a catbird?

Under the Hawk, you tell me. That Hawk, I'd have loved a better pic but he was right at the kitchen window next to the door. If I tried to go out, I'd have gooten no picture at all. I wish the window had at least been freshly cleaned.

jenniferatemple said:

Can you name the 5th up from the bottom? I think it's a slate but I am not sure.

When I saw it I thought it might be a junco. Slate brought up nothing Jennifer so I tried Junco & came up with it! It's a dark eyed Junco.:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...
According to Cornell they are here in the winter! I will have to keep my eyes peeled.

Lin, Great sleuthing on the Grackle! Wow they are just drop dead gorgeous! And the way they are so glossy & shine! They look like the thoroughbred race horses of the bird world. They are supposedly here year round but I swear I've never seen one looking like that! Lin, there must be something wrong with our eyes doncha think????

Jennifer, we DO understand how difficult it can be to get photos of them sometimes so don't worry about the hawk being blurry.


Late this afternoon we were sitting on the back porch & some Blue-grey gnatcatchers were flitting all about in the oaks. Such teeny birds! And they don't hold still for 2 seconds.

Jennifer, Is the 5th from the bottom a Northern Mockingbird? http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...
I agree with Ann, the little one below the Hawk is a Dark eyed Junco: http://www.birdcanada.com/junc...

A few years ago I'd see large flocks of Common Grackles at my feeders but they've been sporadic the past couple of years ... and the vivid color of Jennifer's Grackle puts ours to shame! Our Grackles look rather drab in comparison ... maybe the ones in Florida are in the sun too long. These Common Grackle photos are from 2010 and 2011:

Yes, the sun fades their color right out. Next thing you know, they'll all be blondes.

plantladylin said:Jennifer, Is the 5th from the bottom a Northern Mockingbird? http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...

I do, honestly, believe it is a Northern Mocking Bird. That's what I wrote on the file, anyway.

My sister and I were trying to find a cell phone that seemed to be lost and kept ringing, Did you know the mocking birds can mimic a cell phone? That's what was ringing, the silly bird!

Oh I can believe they can mimic a cell phone ringing. They are amazing mimics! And silly!

They are the state bird of Florida Jennifer.

Another thing that's pretty silly - that Florida's state bird has "northern" in its name.

Love those mockingbirds! In the spring when they're mating sometimes they sing all night, and they are loud! We call those guys nightingales, although they really aren't.

Has anyone else ever seen a woodpecker feeding from a hummingbird feeder? We were at my sister-in-law's house yesterday for dinner and a downy woodpecker was hanging out on one of their hummer feeders... and apparently has been doing so a LOT. ??

Also, I don't think the photo of Jennifer's is a Junco, although I don't know what it is. We have Juncos here all winter -- here's a link with a good photo of the "Dark-Eyed Junco" http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...
Edited to say -- I think I was looking at the wrong pic -- there IS a photo of a Junco in Jennifer's post! Sorry!!

Do not get me started on how the state bird of Florida should be the Scrub Jay. You guys know I'm not much of a bird person (still working at it) but I have very strong feelings about that.

Also, everyone's photos are great! No complaining! You're giving me a complex.

The Northern Mockingbird is a real "mimicker" and I can totally believe it would imitate a cell phone ring! The Mocker is very abundant here in Florida, a common year-round resident. It's not only the state bird of Florida but a few other states as well: http://www.statesymbols.us/sym... It kind of surprises me that it was designated as our state bird; you'd think they would have chosen one of the Heron's/Egrets or Osprey .... or some other that's found statewide. I wonder if we had a different state bird before 1927 when the Mocker was given that title?

Melanie, I don't know who (what committee) etc. decides on state birds. I bet if Fla. residents were allowed to vote, there would be many suggestions other than the Mockingbird. With the Scrub Jay being endemic to Florida and found only in this state, I think it would be a great choice for state bird! The Scrub Jays are so pretty and I hope I get a chance to see one before my time on this earth is up. : http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabit...