The house sparrows here are a pain, almost scavenger like. I had a bunch of them on the suet this afternoon.

We used to have tons of pigeons that would get on our feeders and scare off all the other birds. Lately we don't have very many because I think the hawks are taking them out. That is fine with me, bring on the hawks.

The Grackles are the ones that dominate the suet feeders here .... and Grackles go to the seed feeders and scatter through everything to get to whatever it is they prefer in the seed mix; probably the peanuts.

Yep, grackles are good for that. I switched to feeding all sunflower and nijer to discourage some birds from visiting but it hasn't worked. Most will eat anything you put out there. I started to delay feeding till November to cut out the migratory birds from dominating my feeders, mainly red winged blackbirds. When I was feeding in October, that's all I got on my feeders. By November, they are usually gone.

From this morning ...

Great Egret ............................................ Roseate Spoonbill (Immature)


Roseate Spoonbill ............................................. Spoonbill & Great Egret


Tricolored Heron and Roseate Spoonbill

A few minutes ago when I glanced out the kitchen window I spotted a Hawk perched on the fence. I grabbed the camera and stepped just outside the door and got two pictures before it took off. I need to figure out how to turn off the *beep* sound/audio on the camera because it seems to startle some birds.

(I think) Sharp-shinned Hawk


And, a pair of Cormorants that were in a neighbors yard

Yes the beep can startle them. But great shots!

Neat hawk. We have those here but I have never really saw one that up close. I see Coopers and Red Tailed more often.

It's Folklore Friday again from the folks at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. Naturally, it's about turkeys this week!

Folklore Friday: The Turkey is best known as a symbol of Thanksgiving. Many of us will enjoy a turkey dinner next week with our families. The first Thanksgiving dates back to the late 18th century. It became a national holiday in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln declared it so. While often associated with the Pilgrims, turkey was not on the menu at that famous dinner. Native Americans considered the turkey a symbol of abundance and fertility. Turkeys were sacrificed in fertility and gratitude ceremonies. The Creek tribes performed turkey dances during its annual fire festivals. Male turkeys were honored for their beauty. The turkey is a symbol of male virility and pride. Male turkeys observed in the wild are quite noble looking as they strut and fan their impressive plumage. Turkeys were believed to foretell bad weather by giving signs of agitation prior to a storm. The Hopi used turkey feathers in symbolic placements and rituals. The number of Turkey feathers used was four. The Turkey is a symbol of the wildness of the Earth, and the number four represents the four winds. The Sioux used feathers in headdresses. Twenty-eight feathers were used in Sioux crowning rituals. The number twenty eight is sacred and represents the Moon cycle. The Buffalo, which is sacred to this tribe, has 28 ribs. In American history, a year and a half after the Great Seal was adopted by Congress on June 20, 1782, with the American Bald Eagle as its centerpiece, it was noted that Benjamin Franklin believed the turkey would have been better choice. He wrote his feelings about this in a letter to his daughter. “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree near the river, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labor of the fishing Hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. Franklin goes on to say “For the truth, the Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America…” In retrospect, the Eagle was a great choice and represents a strong and proud country. Those of you who have lived in Collier County for many years, may remember that the turkey was once in the center of the county seal. We here at Corkscrew Sanctuary wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Stop by for a visit, you may see the turkeys gathered here in the safety of the Sanctuary. Gobble, Gobble! ‪#‎CorkscrewSwamp‬ ‪#‎FolkloreFriday‬

From this morning ...

Snowy Egret


Red-shouldered Hawk


Carolina Wren ............................................ Grackle


White Ibis .......................................... Pied-billed Grebe's


Chipping Sparrows


Red-bellied WP ............................... Pigeon .......................................... Palm Warbler

Fig bird males have vibrant red skin around the eye. This one was shy and obviously thinking if he could keep his eye hidden and not see me I would not be able to see him. They are fruit eaters and their bottoms are responsible for the many surprise chilies, asparagus fern, tomatoes and mock orange that appear in my garden.

Galah in the very early morn.

Pretty birds. So funny Fig bird thinks he's hiding.

Lin, you had an amazing bird morning.

Glen, that bird is so cute ... I see the vibrant red around the eye in that second shot!

I like the coloration on that Galah too ... you have such interesting birds in your part of the world!

I lost track of y'all when the thread was changed over to November. It's been a busy month at work, so I guess it didn't occur to me that the monthly thread had changed.

I love, love, love all the birdie photos posted so far in this thread!

Glen - Thanks for joining in with photos of some of your Aussie birdies! Always neat to see such unusual birds (from what we see here in the USA!)

Melanie - When I got to your post about the illegally trapped and caged Painted Buntings and Indigo Buntings, my blood pressure went up. I can not tell you how MAD that made me to see those photos! The male in the photo looks sick (look at the loss of feathers around his face). OMG does this make my blood boil!

Lin - Thanks for posting your photo of the Carolina Wren. I think I may have seen one for the very first time today at my bird feeder. Beautiful bird, but I had no idea what it was! So cool!

Here are my birds at the feeders today:

1 of several Ruby-throated males buzzing around my yard. Been seeing the chases!



This is a White-winged Dove and a Carolina Wren (?):



Another shot of the Carolina Wren:



Catbird sitting on my fence. Loved the brown breeches!



Female (?) Cardinal. I can never tell the immature males from the females:



Red-bellied woodpecker at the suet feeder:



Bluejay:



3 green Painted Buntings. There were actually 4 greenies, but one was on the ground. None were banded either! I also saw an adult male but he was moving too quick to get a decent photo or to tell if he was banded. The banding crew coming on Monday is going to be busy capturing and banding all these birdies:



AND I was delighted to see 1 of 2 of my little Pine Warblers back!!! Yay! I have been watching for them to return. You can see the band on it's leg. Not sure if it was the bird banded in Jan. 2014 or the one banded in Feb. 2015. I need to give this bird a cute name. Any ideas?







I love seeing all the water fowl. They are here too, but not in my immediate area. Would have to drive to another location to see them. I wished I could see my Pileated Woodpecker. There is one here, but it's always elusive. I know they are large woodpeckers. Much larger than the red-bellied woodpeckers that come to my feeders.

What do you use to feed them to lure them to a feeder?

When I went back to verify how many Pine Warblers had been captured and banded in my yard, I saw there had also been a Carolina Wren captured and banded. I did not get any photos of that bird, so I didn't remember it. Of course, the bird in my photos above is not banded. I honestly don't remember seeing such a bird. Maybe it was one that was captured and banded when I was not there with the crew. I was in and out of my house during their first visit back in January 2014.

Becky, great photos!! I especially love seeing those little Buntings are the greenest I've ever seen! I used to see a few males and females at our old house a few years ago but never any such a vivid green. That male Ruby-throated hummer is gorgeous and yes, that is a pretty little Carolina Wren ... I've been seeing a few up this way lately too and I love their song. Those Pine Warblers sure are pretty, we've had a lot of Palm Warblers here lately (they look similar but not as bright yellow and the palm warbler constantly flicks it's tail).

Pouring down rain and stormy here right now ... we sure needed this rain because it's been so dry the past few months! We're heading into our "normal" dry season of winter but experts are predicting that Florida is going to have a wet and wild winter due to the El Nino patterns (strongest El Nino on record) with the possibility of tornadoes!

The only bird photo I got today was a Bald Eagle flying overhead ... in a very cloudy sky:

I just put any type of suet out and the Pileated Woodpeckers will come. Here they come to the feeders thru the winter pretty regular.

We had high winds here this morning and I noticed the crows were flying around. I said to my dh that it looked like they were having fun and wondered if they were enjoying the wind currents. Dh said they were more likely flying because it was safer than trying to hang onto the tree limbs.