We have new tenants! Mr. & Mrs. Bluebird :)

My mother had given me a birdhouse, the same as she has in her backyard in Maine. Even though I already had two other bird houses in two different trees, in the past 6 years, no one chose to live in them. Lo and behold, mom's birdhouse encouraged two bluebirds to take up residence. The problem is that the house is on a pole and I had not yet gotten the pole into the ground!  It's just leaning against the fence. I hope it's heavy enough to stay put & not let our cat, Rocky, disturb it. 

We officially have an owl

Finally was conscious enough in the early morning to identify our owl sounds. It's a Barred Ow.Check him out at:: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/id

Velvety Cowbird

Well, it was the right size, the right color, but was not the Red Winged Blackbird I had hoped for. When I got a closer look through the telescope, I saw the unmistakable head of the Cowbird. Pretty on a Spring day, and hoping for more colored songbirds with the warmer weather. 

Back after more than a year...and with the 1st Bluebird of Spring!

I've taken a long hiatus from writing in my bird blog.  In the interim I've moved into a newly built house.  It's taken 6 months to encourage the birds to visit over what has been a very long and difficult winter.  But, with more forested lands and with a pond, there are new birds as well as old friends.  Check back for more pics soon!

Writing will resume soon

Haven't had much time with family and work obligations to write.  Plus, we became much more involved with our new cat, with new cichlids in the fish tank, and our semi-wild polish bunnies in the backyard.  Just started refilling birdfeeders again now that the weather has dipped to the 40's and hope to see the birds return.  We really haven't seen any birds around except an occasional woodpecker and lots of vultures.  Stay posted!

Perfect birding morning--blue skies, comfortable temps!

We are still watching this Osprey carefully!

I'm not sure why an Osprey would be hanging around our suburban neighborhood.  The pond is over a mile away and their are no good fishing rivers nearby.  He's enormous and beautiful, but a little scary when circling over and over.  We keep checking on the bunnies!

Caught Daddy Cardinal and the Kinglet in flight.  Pretty awesome how they maneuver in between the feeders : )

We're so happy that a pair of Goldfinches has decided they like our backyard this year.  Of course they get along well with the other finches in the yard, too!

I have never seen a finch this shade before and wonder if it is the elusive Purple Finch we've been reading about.

This Carolina Wren is the life of our backyard.  Always in a good mood and usually singing!

Savannah River loneliness

While waiting for my son to finish his stint with the Augusta Rowing Club today, my daughter and I marveled at the Great Blue Heron who was looking so lonely on the dock.  It was almost as if he, too, were waiting anxiously for the teens to return ; )