So sad, so sad on all counts but we do know that's nature. That doesn't make it any easier to see though.

Kurt, so sorry about the babies...

Kurt, is there any sort of bird rescue organization near you? They might come and try to rescue the babies if you call soon!

Kurt, I am so sorry about your baby birds. I hope Elaine's suggestion leads to something positive. Many years ago my mother successfully raised a fledgling starling, but I think that when she found it, it was a bit older than yours are. Yesterday the sparrowhawk from the start of this thread returned and a blackbird, much smaller than the sparrowhawk, flew up and started attacking it, then about five other blackbirds joined in and the sparrowhawk gave up.
The RSPB here suggest attaching a tube onto the entrance to bird boxes to add additional protection. I've never tried it but it might be something worth thinking about. I don't think it would stop a snake, but it might prevent a larger bird or animal from gaining access.

Elaine there is one person licensed to help several different kinds of animals in my area but the babies were so young and the number I had was an answering machine with a long message. With all the rain we been getting and plants and yard work I have to do , I just decide to let it go for now. I am not even sure if they were even alive when I last checked this morning.

Finally got some pics of one of our robins today. I think they are so pretty.








Bluejay


Downy woodpecker




And the goldfinch was busy chowing down.

Wonderful photos!

Isn't that a Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Marie?

Funny y'all are talking about hummers liking the water. When Dad saw the hummer while he was watering he said to me how they like flying through water. And I was like, "I don't know Dad, I don't think they'd come that close to people just for water." Now, I can't help but wonder if that was part of the attraction. Maybe eventually they'll get comfortable enough to do some runs through the hose while I'm watering.

Oh, and technically I live in a subtropical zone so I don't know how the birds get classified. I like to think I get the best of the both worlds. That's kind of how it is with the butterflies.

I had to visit a preserve today and saw this feather on the ground. Don't know who it belonged to, but I thought it was pretty.



On the way back home, I pulled over so I could try my hand at getting pictures of an Osprey nest. It's at a three-way stop that's actually pretty busy. It's a cut through between a major highway and U.S. 41 so lots of traffic.



I've been spotted!



Since we're all showing feathers on the ground, looks like one of the Crows lost a fight. Maybe it got into it with the Hawk?



Three White Ibises were in the neighbor's yard as I was working.



And I scared the Hawk into flying across to the neighbor's. I apologized; I didn't know it was up there.



And in hummer news, I have a female!



Don't know if it was the same one, but I saw it again. Not only did it hit up the feeder, I saw her sipping from the Salvia 'Mystic Spires'. (She's to the left of the stalk in the middle.) That's good; I don't just want them eating from the feeder.



I had just finished planting and watering the Salvia 'Saucy Red' when Mom came out to get the mail. She walked over and was looking at the garden when another hummingbird showed up. Mom said she saw the red on it, but I was too busy messing with the camera. And I can't see it in the picture. But Mom isn't the colorblind one (that's Dad) so I'll trust her.

We were fortunate to be visited by a fledgling Thrush, he was under our carport sitting on the rungs of my stool. Mother and Father were putting up a racket. Left his droppings and has gone off.

Anole

Nice!

So sorry to hear about the missing birds and snake attack. Nature can be so cruel sometimes.

Melanie - Congrats on the female and male Ruby-throated hummingbirds!

You asked about the feeders. I change my feeders every 2nd or 3rd day in the late Spring - through Fall. The sugar water tends to turn moldy pretty quickly in the heat. In colder months you can leave it out longer here in FL, but not when the temps rise.

And yes! Hummers do bathe by flying through water sources or bathing on leaves that cup to hold water. I bet your father watering was a treat for the hummer! Some people set up a mister on a shepherd's hook and let it run during the day. You can put plant cuttings (in pots, of course) underneath the hook so that the mister does double-duty.

Melanie, you hit the jackpot with the bird photos! That osprey nest with the osprey peeking out is amazing, so are the Ibises and hawk! Love the hummer!

I may very well be wrong about the woodpecker. I don't think i'll ever get them straight!

@anole, cute little thrush hanging out on your chair!

I agree with Melanie , a female red bellied woodpecker.

speaking of which I actually heard and saw a Pileated Woodpecker today. My first ever, I heard it , then saw it being chased by a smaller bird from my back towards the front yard. brief but still very cool.

Thanks, everyone! Becky, that's a good idea about the mister.

Kurt, I just saw my first Pileated a few months ago and got pictures of it, too! And then I came to the thread and demanded why no one told me they're that big! I was really surprised by how large a bird it was!

And as I like I say to the butterfly thread, I live on a half acre, although I have the advantage of being in a pretty rural-vibe suburb. There's cows across the street and several pastures up and down the main avenue. I spotted all these birds (except the Osprey) in my yard or the neighbor's. And technically, that Osprey is still in Lutz so I claim it as my neighborhood. I guess so many times we feel like we have such a small space in this world, how could we possibly make a difference? So I like to show the diversity of things I see in my little patch of the world so people know it's possible. It helps if you have neighbors or a community that also support nature, and Floridians are pretty good about that, but know that even a small change can make a difference! Plus, when your neighbors see all the cool stuff your yard attracts, they'll (hopefully) want to be more like you! Teaching by example is sometimes the best method.

Wonderful photos, everyone! You all have such a variety of bird visitors, I'm envious. Love the fledgling thrush, John - especially the fuzzy hair-do that baby birds seem to have.

Female mallard stepping out and a song thrush, both in our garden


My sister was here for a couple of days and we visited Bletchley Park, where they did all the Enigma machine code breaking in WWII. Really, really interesting in case anyone gets the chance. But they have a small lake, and I got this double-decker pic:



It's a bit hard to see, but the heron in this one is scratching his throat with his foot

Nice to John & Mika's photos of thrushes!

krobra said:Sadly there will be no fledgling bluebird or robin pictures. It was still closed last night but I found the bluebird house door open this morning and feather scattered around the ground and one in the house. No body though which makes me think it was a cat and it carried her body off. I see a few babies in the nest but are so young , barely moving and won't survive with out mama to keep them warm. Also seen papa checking it out once , so he is still alive , but other then feeding them really doesn't care for them.

So I also checked the robin's nest while I was out there and found one egg on the ground and the nest pretty much empty , and no longer cup shaped inside. I still put the one egg back in but doubt they will return again this year.

on the bright side I can go back to gardening without worrying about disturbing them.

That is terrible about your little bluebirds, so sorry. I wonder if it could have been a raccoon. They are nocturnal and have been known to eat bird eggs.

I was fortunate this morning to get a photo of the very elusive Levitating Ohio Cardinal.

I'm loving the pictures from everyone. I never got any posted in the April thread so am going to include a few here along with my May sightings so far. It may get a bit long. I haven't been seeing too many of the migratory birds so far, hopefully it picks up soon.

I have two white-breasted nuthatches that have been hanging around for several months. I hope they are a pair and are nesting nearby. I have never seen them on this regular of a basis before. I love the weird noises they make!

The robins are busy as ever taking baths and racing around the yard looking for worms.

Mr. and Ms. cardinal are seen daily flaunting their PDA. I love how she just stands there and waits to be fed by him!

We had some of our expected spring visitors pop in briefly like: gold-crowned kinglets, ruby crowned kinglets,
yellow-rumped warblers,

palm warblers,

white-throated sparrows,

white-crowned sparrows,

rose-breasted grosbeaks (this is the female- we saw a male and female both, but only one day).


A couple of generally less well liked visitors that I still think are pretty:
brown-headed cowbird,

and common grackle with a menacing look! Don't want to meet him in a dark alley!


Just this Sunday we saw a small group of a few pine siskins stop in which was a nice surprise. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen them.


Then one day I heard the call of a Baltimore oriole taunting me all day and searched all over to find him two streets back high up in a tree. This is the picture I got fully zoomed in (24x), can you spot him?

I rushed out to put out an orange half and some grape jelly and think I spot a female in the shrubs. A short while later he came down to check out the orange and I got this somewhat better picture .

Then they disappeared and I have not seen any since, which is usually how it goes! My grandma in rural Wisconsin used to buy CASES of grape jelly to feed orioles over the summer. I buy one jar, use a few tablespoons (that usually goes uneaten) in the hopes of seeing orioles for a brief moment.

We always joke that when we see "good" birds like those, they are the dumb ones that get separated from the group and are hopelessly lost. Then they figure out where they are and get to flying! Our location is not great because there aren't many "natural" areas nearby. Plus we have some other issues.

Yes, there is quite a population of feral cats in town. Not a good situation for birds I know, but it is not the cats' fault. Irresponsible people caused the problem, and left others to clean it up. We're working on trapping, neutering (+ vaccinating) , and returning them with identifying ear tips. Ones that are friendly enough to be pets or can be socialized get brought indoors and put up for adoption. That's how I now have three kitties myself. You Florida peeps have roof rats, we have roof cats! I've never actually seen a rat that wasn't a pet. I would be freaked out to see one running around on the roof. We used to have mice occasionally, but I think the feral cats have been dispatching of them.