Birding.

[MikeandRong]

I think I solved the mystery as to what bird was attacking the young Blue Jay. This yearling Male Great-tailed Grackle was mixed in among a flock of Blackbirds that were all over the yard feeding. If it's not this exact one then it is another one, as there were about a half dozen mixed in with the flock and all having this color phase and being very similar looking in appearance.

 

 

[MikeandRong]

This young Female Cardinal came in to feed all puffed up and trying to make herself look bigger and more intimidating. The timing of the angle of the sun was at that magic 15 minute window where it really lights up this particular spot and the sun is directly in the birds eyes and they do not seem to see me very well at all. If you look carefully at this birds eye pupil you can watch what it is seeing and reacting to in this set of pictures.

 

First she is munching calmly on a safflower seed with an open gaze of the general area.

 

 

Next she hears the camera shutter go click and starts to stare more into the direction of where the sound is coming from.

 

 

Next a small safflower seed falls out of the feeder and is going right by her beak as she goes wide eyed and stares right at it looking like it startled her a bit.

 

 

As the seed passes by her beak just missing hitting her, she next cocks her head up at an angle and gives the evil eye stare to where it had fallen from.

 

 

Upon seeing that there is no more immediate danger from any other falling safflower seeds she relaxes her gaze and soft scans the peripheral areas once again.

 

 

She must not be feeling as puffy, brave, and intimidating as she first had displayed when she arrived, because she now just crouches down and half sits all the while scanning the entire area for any threats that may put her in danger.

 

 

It's rare that I can get such clear photos of the birds pupils and to be able to actually see where they are looking.

[Randy W]

one from Costa Rica on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/birdfun.1/photos/a.419716744791119.1073741828.419698664792927/1425241414238642/?type=3&theater

 

Birdwatching

15 hrs ·

Male Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) in Costa Rica by Glenn Bartley.

[MikeandRong]

Monday evening was hot and sticky, crystal clear and not a single breeze. This brought out lots of mosquitos along with other flying insects. A whole bunch of Chimney Swifts were swarming overhead eating their fill of bugs. They are only about 5 inches long but their wing span is huge compared to the other birds in this area for their size. They look like little miniature flying footballs and are incredibly agile in their flying antics and ability to catch their food on the fly.

 

[MikeandRong]

Tuesday morning was bright and sunny with even more Cicadas hatching overnight. This adult Female Downy Woodpecker was busy playing with the empty Cicada shells, knocking them off the wall off the shed again and again. She never stopped playing the entire time she was keeping her eyes on her 2 babies that were feeding in the garden. The 2 yearlings being 1 male and 1 female were eating some small insects they were finding at the tops of the green bean poles.

 

 

 

[MikeandRong]

Whatever insect hatch was occurring had birds coming into the yard all morning and feeding in the grass like crazy, they completely ignored the food in the bird feeders.

 

 

[MikeandRong]

It wasn't till early afternoon that they started to eat at the feeders again. This Female Goldfinch is the first one I have seen since the end of March. 5 pairs of them stayed all winter and didn't migrate this year as they are supposed to do. I was able to watch them go through their winter color phase in which they turn from yellow to all white and black, looking totally different than they do for springtime breeding and then summer molting.

 

[MikeandRong]

It was getting time for dinner so I stood up in plain view and this Male Cardinal came in and did not see me until I snapped the first photo. He looked a little startled but instead of leaving he just shifted his body to look at me from the other side without even moving his feet. After a couple more photos he did leave, but only up to a dead cluster of branches where he must have felt more hidden and safe, but the low and direct sunlight lit him up like a LED stoplight.

 

 

 

[MikeandRong]

Wednesday morning was more cooler outside leading all the birds to start feeding more early. This White-breasted Nuthatch climbed down the tree trunk and hung upside down while staring at me.

 

 

And this yearling Male Downy Woodpecker went straight for the peanuts that are in the feeder.

 

 

Because the birds were acting more clam today I decided to try and sit in front of the first tree and try taking the photos from a different angle and a few feet closer than usual. This young Red-winged Blackbird did not seem to notice me at all.

 

 

This yearling Male Hairy Woodpecker was just waiting his turn to come in and feed.

 

 

This adult Female Hairy Woodpecker is who he is waiting for to leave so he won't get beat up trying to feed together with her.

 

 

This Adult Male Blue-headed Grackle was also waiting his turn at the feeder. I sure do like the look of his piercing yellow eyes with deep black pupils when he is busy staring at something of interest to him.

 

[MikeandRong]

Next to come in and start feeding on the suet block was this Male Red-winged Blackbird. I'm only showing him due to the next birds photos, to be able to use as a size comparison, as my position and the angle of the sun was only later by 3 minutes.

 

 

I have never seen this species of bird before. According to Merlin it is quite possibly a Female Great-tailed Grackle. But with the yellow eyes instead of being white and the purple colored shoulder patch I am not quite sure of the ID match. If anyone else happens to know what this bird is, or can confirm it is a Female Great-tailed Grackle, please post a reply here as I am curious what it really is.

 

 

 

[MikeandRong]

This was a very vocal Black-capped Chickadee that was singing up a storm this morning. I could hear him calling from a couple of yards away before he would come in to feed.

 

[MikeandRong]

This Mourning Dove landed on top of the shed and was just staring down at me. What's cool about this photo is the perfect way the sun is lighting her up from the bottom, and the 3d effect of her side wing feathers mixed in with all the extra black markings she has throughout her body.

 

[MikeandRong]

This Female Goldfinch came in the late afternoon today. All 3 photos are of the same bird. It's nice to see these yellow birds come back to the yard after such a long absence. They are usually quite tame and you can get very close to them. As of now they are not used to me so I didn't want to push my luck by moving to get better light in the background. Each time I moved or she heard the camera shutter she would stop feeding and stare at me.

 

 

 

[MikeandRong]

This Male Cardinal came in to feed totally silent, I think he startled me as much as I startled him. A few bites of food was all he took before leaving.

 

 

[MikeandRong]

This yearling Male Goldfinch was just sitting on the clothesline and soaking up the afternoon sunshine. First Male I have seen since early spring this year.