Saturday, February 23, 2013

Red-breasted, Red-headed, Red-spotted, Red-winged, Red-tailed

Yesterday was a dreary day, snowing most of the day. Many of the birds used the feeders as a sort of refuge from the snowy weather. The Red-breasted Nuthatches used the suet to shield themselves from the snow, and were just kind of frozen there. The Pine Siskin roosted for quite some time on the black sunflower seed feeder that is under the eaves and clear of any falling moisture on my, as I like to call it, bird balcony.

Another bird who I haven't seen come to the balcony feeder, spent a good deal of time there while it snowed.  I had only seen the red-headed male House Finch once this  year, perched on my bird tree.  He stared me down as I took a few photos of him through the glass slider door.
Handsome House Finch
A male Hairy Woodpecker with a red-spotted crown, showed up in the hood a couple of days ago, and was back again.  Up until now, there was only one female Downy Woodpecker that frequented the suet feeders just about daily. So it's kind of nice to see a male and a Hairy for some variety. In the following picture you can see the size difference between the male Hairy on the left and the female Downy on the right.  They look very similar except for the body and beak size.

When I get away from home, it seems much closer to spring when I'm out and about, away from my snowy wonderland here on the backside of the lake. Today on my way home, I took the back roads and was able to stop and take some snapshots of some birds that remind me of spring. Like the Robin Red-breast (American Robin), I've been seeing more and more while out. Today, there were a dozen or more of robins hanging out with a 'cloud' of blackbirds. A few of them were Starlings, but then there were plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds staking out their territory in the small ponds with spent cat tails. I was able to catch this guy as I pulled up under him with the sun roof open. He started zinging and whizzing and showing me how big he was with his wings and tail all fanned out.
Red-winged Blackbird
Another bird I like to stalk with the sun roof open is the Red-tailed hawk. I always count the Red-tails I encounter along the highway and today was no different (I counted 11), except that since I was on the back roads, I could actually pull over and snap some pics! This hawk was sunning itself in the last couple of minutes before sunset. I got one quick shot in before it flew off (and one really fuzzy one after it took flight).
Red-tailed Hawk
Oh, and how could I forget, the last bird sighting of the day was a highway hawk, but not my typical Red-tailed.  It was smaller, with a long barred tail. I swung back around and did a u-turn to go back and check it out.  The little hawk flew off before I could get a photo, but I did get a good look. After I got home, I consulted my trusty bird reference book and it was indeed a Sharp-shinned Hawk. A new bird for 2013 and for my life list!

All the RED birds featured in today's post...

Red-breasted Nuthatch
(Red-headed & Red-breasted) House Finch
(Red-spotted) Hairy Woodpecker
American Robin (Red-breast)
Red-winged Blackbird
Red-tailed Hawk

13 comments:

  1. I enjoyed your blog immensely!! I have been titled the bird lady by friends and family also! I have and will always love birds! I was keeping a life list for many yrs!! It has been lost now for quite sometime!! I am just getting back into it again!! I used to have numerous feeders! I also was keeping a wildlife life list!! I am a lifer from way back when! From a very young age!! Thank you fir sharing on Google + birding community!! Great to know there is someone else out there that is like minded!!! Have a great birding day!!!! Linda(aka chatty Linda)!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also am starting a blog of my own on WordPress!! Titled For the birds!! Just started it so it is infancy stage at the moment!! Thanks again Linda

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Bird Lady Linda. Thanks for stopping by Bird Lady Blog. Best of luck to you on your new bird blog.

    ~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It takes me a long time to get through your posts. I am a new birder and like to look up the birds you mention. Eventually I hope some of the information will stick! All part of the plan to start noticing birds more.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you are becoming more bird minded Susan. A great way to enjoy birding is to start a life list of the birds you see! I'm hoping to get to 100 bird species very soon!

      Thanks for stopping by!

      ~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)

      Delete
  5. Great photos Sherrie. We have a couple of bird houses out, visitors but no takers, perhaps they haven't aged enough. I wish we could have feeders but not so in our complex. We do have a saucer, quite large, as a birth bath and have placed it on the hedge by our window. The birds seem to appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully your houses will become homes this spring Debbie. I'll bet the bird bath is fun to watch when the birds are bathing. My cat uses my bird baths as lounges.

      ~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)

      Delete
  6. Ha! That's a lote of red parts Sherrie. Congrats on the lifer too, Sharpies are very cool birds, and you never know when next one will turn up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Laurence. I was excited to see that it was a different hawk than my usual Red-tails that I count up to a dozen on some trips to town. Much smaller with that long barred tail. Can't wait til the weather is better to get out there and get some more lifers! I'm really near 100!

      ~ Sherrie (Bird Lady)

      Delete
  7. Sherrie, nice variety of birds. Congrats on your lifer! Have a happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Eileen. Unfortunately, when I went birding Friday, I got car sick, and have had a migraine for the past two days. Bummer.

      Delete
  8. Hi Sherrie, I have a little Mr and Mrs rosy house finch in the garden too! I love those little guys. And they sing so sweetly. Down by the beach there is a wetland habitat and the perfect place to see red-winged black birds. I love your photos and have tons of my own. I have to post more bird portraits on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can't wait for the snow and ice to disappear and more birds to appear! I'm so ready for spring, and all the birds that come along with the season. I love the Red-winged Blackbirds and their antics from atop a cat-tail! Everyone needs more birdie pics on their blog! LOL!

      Delete