Today I am showing you the birds that have been visiting lately. I was a little concerned as after all the upheaval with putting in a new deck, they disappeared for the longest time. Needn't have worried.
Carolina Wren, a little out of focus but I was happy to see it. You can hear its call at this link.
The Mourning Doves weren't put off by a rainy day. Reflection in the glass on the right is a bit distracting, but I didn't notice it until I looked on a larger screen.
The American Robin was a regular visitor for a while.
As well as invertebrates, they like to eat nuts and berries. Because of their sweet tooth they can also get intoxicated on fermented berries. I don't think I have ever noticed a tipsy robin before.
A first-time visitor was the Mockingbird. I don't ever remember seeing one here in the 30 plus years we have lived in this house. It was a red-letter day for me. I have seen others elsewhere but not in a long time, and never at our feeders.
He stayed long enough for me to get lots of photos. I am glad because I haven't seen him since. Apparently, they are very territorial. You can click on all my photos to get a better look.
Both males and female Mockingbirds sing a varied, repetitive song that can be heard all day, and sometimes at night, during the spring and summer. A male may learn around 200 songs throughout its life. They can also incorporate non-bird noises they hear into their songs. You can listen to what it sounds like
here.
The White-breasted nuthatch was next. The longevity record for a White-breasted Nuthatch is 9 years and 10 months. In a study it was found that they prefer unshelled sunflower seeds approximately 25 percent more often than seeds still in the shell. It appears to be because it takes half the time to transport and cache an unshelled seed than it does a shelled one. These interesting facts came from Wild Birds Unlimited which you can find at this link.
I was also happy to see the Blue Jay back. They have an attitude which makes me smile, the rascals of the bird world. You might know a few of your own bird rascals, so let me know if you would like to share. I didn't know that Blue Jays are related to Crows, that was a surprise. They are experts at mimicking and are very talkative. No surprise there!
I was also happy to see the Downy Woodpecker making an appearance. This is a female as she has no red patch on her head. The male House Finch, lower left, didn't seem to be too perturbed but he didn't hang around for too long. Neither did the Downy for that matter.
And Cheeky Face is back but he makes me smile so he's welcome. Another little rascal to be sure.
Thanks for visiting and I hope your day is a great one.
