Welcome Lori! Thanks for the nice pictures. I do love cardinals, though we have none here.

Baby woodpeckers?! That's something my little brain has never thought of, much like baby pigeons and ravens. Hope you are able to catch a picture of them eventually.

Those are really pretty blue jays, Claudia.

I have a regular pair of cardinals that frequent my feeders. Yesterday, I heard a bit of a chirping ruckus, and caught a glimpse of their babies, although they were too timid to come out of the bamboo thicket to the feeders. Mom and Dad were carrying seeds back and forth from the feeders for them. Pretty soon I'll be able to get pictures!

Claudia said:A few new ones to post. We have hummers now but I have not got any photos of those yet!

Gray Catbird


Two of our Orioles. The odd looking one we can definitely ID as a returning bird!




Blue Jays


Male Rose-breasted Grosbeak! This is first we have had in years, since we quit putting seed out. Was so happy & surprised to see it this afternoon.


Tufted Titmouse, Grosebeak, Carolina Chickadee

Fabulous!

flaflwrgrl said:Red Bellied Woodpecker nest. The babies are in there, I can hear them peeping & see mom coming & going feeding them. This is in one of the pecan trees.

Wow, I too hope you get a photo, but know what you mean about not wanting to disturb them. We have two trees that seem to have been 'woodpeckered', 2 holes in a very old (on the way out) plum tree, and one in an oak







I'm not sure if they are woodpecker holes, but can't think what else they might be. I can't hear any sounds from inside them.

That's cool, Mika! We have a lot of woodpeckers that frequent our yard and feeders. I'll have to go look for woodpecker holes in an old tree they are always on. It may be on the side that overhangs a hill so may not be visible without some searching.

I hear them peeping so I know they are still in there or were yesterday at least. It's not right outside the door or anything. I have to walk down there so it will be sheer luck if I happen to catch just the moment they fledge.

the robin and bluebirds take roughly 14 days to hatch and 20 days to fledge after hatching ,

red bellies 12 day incubation and 3 or 4 weeks until they fledge , so if you knew when they started chirping , you would have a little bit smaller window to watch for
After fledging, the young may remain with the parents and continue to be fed and nurtured for up to 10 week.

In the northern sections of their breeding range, red-bellied woodpeckers typically have a single clutch per season. In the southern portions of their range, though, 2 and sometimes even 3 clutches may be reared per year.

red bellied woodpecker info source page
http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiol...

Thanks for the informative link Kurt.

@cliftoncat
Cardinals (and Blue Jays) live in the north year round, or at the least, the mid-North.
The cardinal is the statebird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, N Carolina, W Virginia, Virginia, and Ohio.

My cardinals are here year 'round, too. I got pics of at least one of the babies this evening, first waiting in the bamboo, and then one was on the cake feeder with the daddy. One of them (I think it's the baby) has a black beak, so I'm wondering if the brown one with the red beak might be the mama. But I think the babies have the fluffy grey tummies.


Got lucky with the red-bellied woodpeckers too, male and female on the cake feeder at the same time.


The bluejay was around too. Not sure he was happy getting his picture taken.

LOL at Elaine - that Jay certainly doesn't look happy that you took his picture! :D

We have oodles of goldfinches now. They are here year round, but now the males are yellow again.


I love the sweet sound they make, although they fight over the feeders all the time.

Great link Kurt!!! Thank you. I hadn't had time to look up the info. on them. I don't know when they began cheeping but your info. at least gives me something to go on. I know when I first discovered them cheeping so I can count from that point & will know when is the very latest date they should be fledging. I'll keep my eyes peeled and try to check them out every day.

Great photos Elaine! I think you're right about which are the young cardinals. I agree Mr. (or Mrs.) Blue Jay wasn't too thrilled with the photo taking.

Lovely goldfinch Lori! They do make a sweet sound don't they? I saw one of ours yesterday but I know the days are numbered. They will be leaving us anytime now & heading north.

Geesh, they're all so beautiful. Thanks for capturing all of it!

@dyzzypyxxy, great photos! I have to laugh at the 'stink eye' the blue jay gave you!

I was able to get some photos of our goldfinches enjoying the feeder yesterday.

Great photos, Elaine, Lori and Marie. Thanks for the info on cardinals, jm, interesting how my assumptions can be so wrong! Marie, that baby cardinal is sooo cute - I love his crest, he looks like a miniature cartoon character.

Wow, Marie, that really is a 'charm' of goldfinches! They're adorable.

There's always something new and interesting on this forum!

I really like that feeder @GrannyMarie, where did you get it?

I agree, it's lovely, really stylish, although no doubt I won't find one in England!

@luvsgrtdanes, my DIL bought it from Amazon. It's like this one but all black. It took about a week for the finches to try it out, now they are constantly on it and the big birds can't get their beaks in the metal mesh so stay away from it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BPU2MY/