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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Nature Notes: Birds babbling brook and a butterfly


I get so much entertainment on hot humid days from standing back from my bedroom door or living room window and watching the antics of the birds.
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The female cardinals seem to favor the deck baths while the male uses the front ones.
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The female cardinal is above and the male cardinal is below.
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I don't usually get a shot of the male cardinal when he's in the bath but from my living room window I often catch him as he flies out of the bath and lands in view.
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I was surprised to spot the woodpecker in my front yard in the shot below because usually I see them pecking at the trees, not the ground.
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The butterfly below moved too fast for me to catch him in the air but I did get shots after he landed.
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I thought the brown thrasher below was a handsome fellow.
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The catbirds love the berries on my deck vines and often fly from eating right to bathing. Unfortunately that makes keeping the bath clean a nightmare.
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The American Robin below amused me because she took a bath in the small bird bath and then moved to take another bath in the larger one.
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I guess she could be called a bath hopper.
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The female cardinal below is drying off after a bath.
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I thought the goose below looked like it was falling in love with his reflection.
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The one below looked like he was standing on top of his reflection.
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We may not have gushing streams yet, but we did get enough rain for some babbling brooks.
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I thought the duck looked like he was giving the goose a dirty look.
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The rabbit below was helping me by doing some weeding with his mouth.
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At first I thought this pair were house finches but I think they may be juvenile cardinals because they are too big for house finches.
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Adult cardinals are so distinctive that I'm thrown by the juveniles but I'm guessing that's what these are.
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The part that made me not recognize them was that they don't have crowns like adult cardinals but they are much bigger than house finches. Now that I think of it even adult cardinals crowns are often flattened when wet.
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13 comments:

DeniseinVA said...

That was a lovely series of pretty little birds, and one pretty little rabbit. Must have been fun photographing them all, you've got some lovely shots there. Thanks so much for stopping by and wishing me a happy birthday :)

Anonymous said...

So many gorgeous bird shots!

Cezar and Léia said...

How lucky you are to have such a wonderful friends in your garden!
Lovely pictures, I like the first one and the bunny!
Léia

ev said...

i so love your photos..i'm learning too about these kinds of birds, i don't see some of them in my country.

thanks for sharing...:)

EG CameraGirl said...

I do enjoy watching birds takes baths. You've caught quite a few with your camera!

??? said...

I always enjoy your bird bath photos. I caught a blackbird (very similar in shape to the American Robin) today bathing in a small bowl I put outside for the birds, but didn't get a photo.

Leora said...

You got many animals/birds this week! The butterfly is gorgeous. And the birds bathing remind me of how we bathed our guinea pigs this weekend. They didn't seem to mind, but they shook their little bodies just like those birds.

MyMaracas said...

Something about wet bird is just so freakin' funny. Great set of shots!

Anonymous said...

A great series; my favorite are the cardinals!

Sara Chapman in Seattle, USA said...

What a neat collection of bird shots. You are so lucky to get cardinals!

Joyful said...

Fabulous, fabulous series. I'm so envious of you having such a variety of birds that come to your doorstep.

Rambling Woods said...

Great catch of the Northern Flicker. I only get them when they are out anting in the garden. I think those are cardinal youngsters because of the bit of black bill at the base.. I wish I knew what the butterfly was....Michelle

Nicole said...

Once again, one wonderful & funny collection!
Thanks for letting me peek through your window :)!