I like those Cardinal shots but that one of the wren is so special. It perfectly conveys the attitude of those tiny but feisty little birds.

Is the Tufted Titmouse a migratory bird? I was wondering because we get them on the feeder in northern Michigan during the summer.

The purple area in the map here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/... shows the Tufted Titmouse as a year round resident but I see them mostly during spring, early summer and fall.

The Audubon site shows it as a year round resident in many areas too: http://www.audubon.org/field-g...

I was out early this morning and heard the rattle-like call of the Belted Kingfisher and managed to get a couple of shots when it landed on the cable/power lines:

Those Kingfishers look awesome! They can really open their mouth that wide? I had to look at that picture a few times to make sure I was seeing correctly.

Melanie, it surprised me too ... I'm assuming it's mouth is open like that when it's making those rattling calls.

More photos from this afternoon ....

Tufted Titmouse ......................................... Northern Cardina


Myrtle Warbler? .......................................... Belted Kingfisher


Mourning Dove


Eastern Bluebird? I don't EVER see Bluebirds and there were a few around this afternoon, flitting in and out of trees on a neighbors property across the water from me.

Hi guys. I'm a little scattered from these Paris attacks, but seeing all the beautiful birds on ATP is helping. I have one I took a picture of yesterday behind my psychiatrist's office. He has some wetlands back there and I usually check the Willows for Viceroy caterpillars. One time, I saw an alligator, but it was only like 3 feet long. I saw this bird and took some pictures. I wasn't sure what it was at first; I guessed Snowy Egret but I knew I'd have to examine the color of the feet, legs, and bill when I saw the photos. Now, I think it's a juvenile Little Blue Heron. Let me know what you think. And

@plantladylin Yes...... Eastern Bluebird!! Congratulation!!

Lin, yes, I agree with Claudia, a bluebird!

I fiddled with your photo Melanie. I made it as large as I could & only sharpened for a better view. I did not mess with color or brightness or anything else.
I made some notes.



"wingtips show small dark gray tips on outer primaries (vs all white on Snowy Egret)" Look where I circled & then at the neon green arrows. Don't I see grey tips there?

See:
http://www.sibleyguides.com/20...

plantladylin said:The purple area in the map here: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/... shows the Tufted Titmouse as a year round resident but I see them mostly during spring, early summer and fall.

The Audubon site shows it as a year round resident in many areas too: http://www.audubon.org/field-g...

Thanks Lin!!! I kind of thought they were a year round bird but wasn't too sure on that.

We're heading out to a basketball game but thought I'd share a few photos from this afternoon.

Another Belted Kingfisher .......................... Snowy Egret


Cardinal


Finch ......................................................... Grackle .......................................... Pigeon


Tufted Titmouse ................................ Woodpecker ............................................ Warbler

Wonderful photos, Lin!

I just realized I told the other threads about the photo contest but forgot you guys! Well, if you didn't see it on the front page, the annual photo contest is underway! See main page for details. There is an "insect or bird on plant" category. Don't know why we can't have two categories, but whatever. I think there should be more categories overall, but that's just my opinion. Expect fierce competition from the insect thread and I'm bringing the butterflies! But let's all just have fun with it! I think it's good timing for a contest since a lot of you are experiencing this thing I've heard about called "winter".

The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail shared a post on Facebook from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Apparently, they had two separate cases where people were trapping Indigo and Painted Buntings. Here's the post, along with the picture they shared. Floridians, take note of the number and email in case you need to report something.



Free to sing again!
Did you know it’s illegal to trap a migratory songbird? A joint patrol effort between FWC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this past weekend targeting the illegal trapping and possession of protected migratory birds, specifically indigo and painted buntings, resulted in two separate trapping cases. A total of 12 painted and indigo buntings and six traps used to illegally trap them were recovered from subjects. The 12 birds were released unharmed back to the wild. If you see traps like these or someone selling a migratory songbird, please let us know! We encourage individuals to report suspected wildlife violations by calling our Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-3922 or send a text or email to [email protected].

‪#‎MiamiDade‬ ‪#‎paintedbunting‬ ‪#‎bird‬ ‪#‎crime‬ ‪#‎sfl‬

Thank goodness they caught them!!!!! I am so happy to hear those birds were released back to the wild!

Fabulous photos Lin as usual. That little titmouse with the great big peanut in it's beak. Do you think his eyes are bigger than his stomach?
I love the red bellied woodpecker photo.

Dirty rats! Sure glad those pretty little birds were released back where they belong.

WOW.....Thanks for the information about trapping and where to report it @ mellielong.

@Claudia The phone number and email address are just for Floridians. Each state should have something like the Fish and Wildlife Commission so check with your state government to see who to report things like that to. Since we have the port of Miami and many international flights, we unfortunately get a lot of plant and animal smugglers.