Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Birds and their offspring. . . . . . . .


The garden has been exceptionally busy these past few weeks - many new
 family members now learning the ropes regarding eating, bathing and doing
whatever parent birds teach their youngsters. We keep the feeders filled - not cheap
 by any means - however we love our birds. The birdbaths are cleaned and refilled for both
 the birds and squirrels during this hot weather, and to get rid of pesky mosquitoes.


Gray Catbird - Dumetella carolinenis

Handsome slate-gray bird with black crown and long, thin black bill. 
Often seen with tail lifted exposing a chestnut-colored patch, 
just visible here.

This young catbird is busy learning its way around my garden with
 a parent (male and female have same appearance) close at hand
 on the suet feeder.


A secretive bird, the catbird was named 'Bird That Cries With Grief' by
 the Chippewa Indians due to its raspy call.


Brown Thrasher - Toxostoma rufum

A baby Brown thrasher perched on a birdbath considering a drink or
 a dip perhaps. . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . . . while one parent watches from the bench. . . . . . . . .


. . . . . . and the other checks out the food supply!


Again, male and female are identical, a little larger than the American robin,
 with streaked breast, rusty coloring, and yellow eyes. The male has the largest
 documented song repertoire of all North American birds with over 1,100 song types.
This pair have either two or three youngsters - lovely to watch them interact.

I actually parked myself in a chair - with a camera of course - on the back deck
 for a while yesterday morning to watch the busy birds and squirrels.
Guess what? Cute squirrel photos coming next time!

10 comments:

  1. Great photos, Mary This is the perfect time to do just that...park yourself and enjoy.

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  2. Your birds are different than the ones we get in the garden. I love the picture with the tail feathers spread out at the feeder. How fun to just sit and watch them. I love to do that in the early morning. We had to empty the birdbath for awhile because the crows were bringing bread and things and washing their food in the bath. What a mess. I am hoping we can soon put it back for other birds. Oh those pesky crows.

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  3. You captured the birds wonderfully Mary. I am looking forward to putting out a feeder at our new home, when it is finished. We can only have them in the winter because of the bears.

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  4. From one bird lover to another, I love this post Mary.

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  5. Now it had totally evaded me that birds would be an excellent way to keep mosquito populations down. Probably well worth the bird seed.

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  6. So lovely to see the birds in your part of the world. The close-ups are great, and thank you for the information. The brown thrasher sounds really interesting, with all those songs in the repertoire!

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  7. What a busy place your garden is, and what great captures you've managed. The catbird is such a pretty grey.

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  8. I so enjoyed these pictures and learning the names and habits of these sweet birds, Mary. I've just placed some feeders here at the lake and I'm trying my best to learn more about these little darlings. I doubt I'll ever get the capture you do, nor will I hear them sing, but I love watching their antics at the feeders and in the birdbath. Any tips on what you have in your feeders? And suet. What sort of birds are attracted to that?

    Love to you,

    Jane x

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  9. I really enjoy your bird photos. The long tail feathers on the brown thrasher at the bird feeder are amazing.

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