Feathery Friday
Mourning Doves in the grass!
I woke up with Common Flicker’s (CHECK) out in the yard this morning! Yesterday I had my first Pine Warbler (CHECK) and on Wednesday had my first Winter Wren (CHECK) for 2008!! I didn’t get any pictures of the Warbler and Wren since I was working . . . . but I was still ecstatic for their return into the area. I just love this time of the year because you just never know what you will see next!!
Common Flicker in my back yard.
This will be a busy weekend for me since Young Naturalist J and I are heading over to Erie PA for the Eastern Bird Banding Association Meeting. This is J’s first birding conference and being so close to home . . . it is great that he is joining me (actually, I didn’t really give him a choice if he wanted to go or not)! Tonight Marg is driving up from Toronto and spending the night here before we both make our way out to the conference. I will be great to see her again!
One of many Rusty Blackbirds that I saw.
Having to do a little house cleaning (with Marg coming) . . . I took a half day off from work and of course did a little birding. I quickly found some Rusty Blackbirds walking around a wet meadow and didn’t take long for them to disappear. Then I found this bird splashing in the water and not the least bit concerned that I was taking its picture!!
What is this bird splashing in the water??
Speaking of bathing . . . I have guest coming and I need to do some house cleaning! I will try to visit everyone’s blogs after I finish house cleaning and before Marg arrives. I will return to the blog world on Sunday!
Just an American Robin!
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Great pictures as usual. Have a fantastic weekend! (I vote you should stay outside and keep snapping bird pictures…guests truly only want a clean glass and a clean potty. The rest they’ll forgive you for if they are your friend!)
11 April 2008 at 8:46 pm
Excellent pictures… I’d be excited if I saw such colourful birds anywhere near my home! Wow…
Tom~Young Naturalist J~Marg: Have fun at the conference!
11 April 2008 at 8:58 pm
Have fun this weekend. Love the Flicker picture.
11 April 2008 at 9:14 pm
Great photos!! It is great you have Pine Warblers… so far all we have are Myrtles.
11 April 2008 at 9:49 pm
Hi. I am glad you saw my site. I am very excited about blogging. If you want to add me to your blog roll I would be very happy, thank you!
I really like your site.
Dakota
11 April 2008 at 10:47 pm
I hope you have a great weekend. It sounds exciting.
Great photos. How lucky to have so many birds visit you.
11 April 2008 at 11:49 pm
Have fun with J at the meeting and be safe. Love the flicker!
12 April 2008 at 6:55 am
Hello Mon@rch,
You should report your Rusty Blackbird sightings to the Cornell Labratory of Ornitholigy. There are looking for Rusty Blackbird sightings. Report them to eBird by http://www.ebird.com .
Birdman
12 April 2008 at 8:31 am
I have had at least one mourning dove pair for years, but they’ve yet to make an appearance. They have always spent a lot of time on my roof, cooing for me. They seem to be a gentle bird, though I don’t know if that is true or not.
12 April 2008 at 9:13 am
Great pictures!!
Have a great time in the conferences, say hello to Marg and Young Naturalis J from me!!
ENJOY ;D
12 April 2008 at 11:20 am
Love the photos! Never (knowingly) seen a Rusty Blackbird – they look rather a lot like Brewer’s Blackbirds. Have “fun” cleaning, and have a great weekend!
12 April 2008 at 12:08 pm
Really fantastic shots! (I love the bathing robin) and comparing your common flicker to the northern one…very cool! Those dove shots are fabulous by the way… I find many times mine merge into the bkground too easily. I love that twitter when they know they’ve been seen tho! I think they do that to scare predators? hum… dunno. Brilliant work Monarch!
12 April 2008 at 12:10 pm
Really enjoyed your blog sir.
Cheers,
Nick
http://saskbirder.blogspot.com/
12 April 2008 at 2:43 pm
Nice photos Mr. Tom.
12 April 2008 at 6:45 pm
I finally saw a flicker in my yard last week too and my doves that hung around all winter are starting to act very amorous! Love the Rusty Blackbird–that’s a great picture and very easy to distinguish from the common grackle.
12 April 2008 at 8:10 pm
No flickers here but that’s OK. I can rely on you to show me :o) There’s something about those blackbirds so appealing – the eyes. Beautiful!
Enjoy your weekend – we’ll be here when you get back. Get cracking on that cleaning!
12 April 2008 at 10:44 pm
Peace love and blessings ..2 doves symbolize this message! Wow..what fun that Robin is having bathing!!
13 April 2008 at 2:25 am
Great photos, Tom. I especially like the doves.
Enjoy your weekend.
(Housecleaning is a job for people who cannot do anything else. If you don’t believe me, just ask my wife. :-))
13 April 2008 at 3:33 am
Your photo essay on just common everyday birds is a reminder how woderful they are, and that we shouldn’t take them for granted.
13 April 2008 at 6:09 am
Just to let you all know the house was very, very clean 😀
What a whirlwind trip-wish I’d gotten there earlier and hadn’t had to leave-next time it will be longer!
Great shot of that Rusty Blackbird!
13 April 2008 at 9:09 am
The photo of the morning doves is my favorite, but I love the flicker too. Made me remember last April when I was trying for a photo of flickers in the snow. Much warmer this year.
13 April 2008 at 12:01 pm
It’s really good to see these birds here, monarch. Each one of them a beauty, even if we see more often than the rare find.
13 April 2008 at 12:12 pm
It looks like the color of an American Robin bathing and they do like to take baths! Nice flicker photo! I know that we have the yellow-shafted flickers in the east.-I wonder-do the red-shafted flickers ever wander east?
13 April 2008 at 2:40 pm
Great picture of the flicker. I thought I saw one the other day but it appeared to be a fledgling so I am not sure.
13 April 2008 at 4:19 pm
Nice shots – glad you were able to get out for a little while. Still sounds odd that someone from Toronto would be coming ‘up’ to meet you.
13 April 2008 at 8:01 pm
Thanks everyone . . . . I had a great time with Marg and at the EBBA meeting!
13 April 2008 at 8:23 pm
Great photos and information as always! I’m glad I’m not the only one getting mourning doves – now if I can get one of your flickers, I’d be very happy! I added you to my faves.
Shell
15 April 2008 at 6:17 pm