It's a WOW kind of morning!

We were lazily waking up and just starting breakfast when I looked out the window to see a streak of bright orange.  Someone new at the feeder~~someone interested in dried fruit, peanut, and sunflower seeds.

We were all so very excited to see him through the telescope and that he stayed for almost 10 minutes at the feeder.  You can see him going for the dried fruit in the feeder.  

 

We argued for quite a while looking back and forth in the bird book, since his color was yellowish orange, not true orange, and because he looks like an Oriole, but Orioles are only supposed to be summer birds (the first to fly away when Fall comes).  In the end, we decided he was close enough and must either have lost his way in migration or the winter had been mild enough for him to stick around.  Thanks for a great morning of color Mr. Latecomer!  Last, but not least, is our female Red Bellied Woodpecker. It was the first time that she came to visit, too.  What a great start to the weekend : )

Costa Rican extravaganza : )

So, I mentioned earlier that I started a deteriorating process since a magical date last year. Well, that also caused me to avoid a lot of things. Normally when I came home from Study Abroad trips I went rather quickly to unload photos and upload and print them. That summer I did a little, but not nearly all of the pictures. After a somewhat heartening text extravanganza today, I sat with my daughter and reviewed some of the photos from that last summer abroad 2010. Here are some of the awesome surprises~!

A Kingfisher. Do you see the fish in his mouth? Sorry about the photo, it was taken far away & shady.

OMG, what was that!!! If that's the baby...where is the dinosaur mother??? Lovely orange throat & zebra neck.

No idea what type of bird, but love the seeds it's holding in its beak.

This was the noisiest bird ever. There were flocks of them in these palms.

Not too surprising, but still my absolute favorite pic from 2010. Never saw a hummingbird at rest in her nest before.

Even in the rain...

Hasn't rained hardly at all these past 2 years, so pouring rain & wind is a bit shocking. The kids and I were surprised to see in the brief moments where the rain let up a bit to see the cardinals and squirrels come out. But, someone else showed up, too, that I couldn't identify & the camera couldn't see clearly through the rain. So, we used my son's telescope. Long beak like a Thrasher or Oriole, but more butter yellow belly (unlike a Thrasher) and it's winter, which is not the time for Orioles. We took turns looking, searched through the Georgia Bird Book to no avail. All we can hope is that when the rain stops and the camera comes out, the bird will re-emerge.

Missing our hawk from Fall 2008

Want to know why I really wanted this blog?  Sure the kids are excited about birding and my littlest now points out when she sees Turkey Vultures and my son is excited to see the Carolina Chickadee, but they would not be at all interested to write posts or upload files.  I'm writing it because I'm trying to find that zone; you know the healthy, "I can breathe", anti-anxiety zone.  I love to look at birds. They are untouchable, wild, beautiful, and safely distant and help me find peace in a troubled world. 

My daughter and I believe this to be a red-tailed hawk...in our pine tree in the back yard (run bunnies!  run!)

Something pretty on a gloomy day

In the summer, my daughter found this beautiful butterfly in our yard. Anyone know what kind it is?

Phinizy Swamp on a December Day

I know, it's a birdwatching blog, but there were many wasps out today!  One scared my daughter off her bike!

Blue Heron--My daughter spotted him and we creeped closer and closer, but...

He eventually flew across the holding pond.

We decided to try to re-energize ourselves today and head to the local nature park that doubles as a water cleanup area for Augusta, Phinizy Swamp.  Water levels were a bit low today, sky overcast, but a comfortable 65 degrees with a slight breeze.  Little one on the bike, big boy and I with walking sticks and camera ready.  And, nature did not disappoint!

Correction!  Cormorants!

 We had no idea who these guys were.  From a distance I thought my eyes were deceiving me and that maybe they were black markers on the orange divider rope.  But, we walked closer and closer and I realized they were birds, then closer and thought that they were ducks.  When we got right across from them, it was funny to watch as they stretched their wings, preened, and appeared to be a line of friends just hanging out.  Then one flew off the rope and skipped and hopped across the water until he got airborne.  Thanks to the post on the Facebook Ornithologist page for letting me know they were cormorants!

Maybe a Black Rat Snake?

 I know, another non-bird photo, but we were a little astounded while trying to catch a photo of an Anhinga (which did not come out clear, sadly) to see this snake right under us.  Though my son tried everything from leaves, to sticks, to spit, to get the snake to move, he just stayed motionless--thankfully!

Giant Egrets fishing.  There were dozens in the swamp today!

We are used to seeing Egrets fly at our approach, but not in these numbers!

A Blue Heron (maybe?) in Silver Bluff, South Carolina

Yard birds--Not the 60s band!

I was being eyed by a mocking bird in the far back of the yard.

Just a few photos of who's been in the yard in the past couple days.  No one particularly exciting or new, but, sort of comforting how often they are in the yard.

Mr. and Mrs. House Finch taking a break on a convenient perch.

Missing summer, but not missing Illinois!

When we lived in Carlinville, Illinois, the kids and I would go to Beaver Dam, a man-made dam and pond.  We would sit, have a snack and watch the hummingbirds come to the feeders.  A little split second of beauty in a rather bland environment.

My Guatemalan friend--La Nueva Guatemala/Capital City 2004

So, imagine that everyday while I am on the second floor in my Zona 15 townhouse this little guy came to visit and sing right outside my window. I was seated at a little wooden desk trying to organize my notes and prepare my dissertation research for my Fulbright-Hayes. I couldn't have asked for a better buddy! I think he/she was a Common Yellowthroat.

Woodpecker surprise!

The kids and I were out in the yard filling bunny water bottles when who should show up, but our male Downy Woodpecker!  He was so pretty and stayed long enough at the suet for us to run in the house and get the camera.  He stayed even as I took shot after shot and then a short video clip.  I don't know why he didn't fly seeing as I was crouched and creeping and the kids were literally crawling in the grass behind me.  We must have looked pretty funny from his perch : )

My son and I were startled this afternoon to see a vulture fly over Washington Road near Owens Road crossing.  Huge, solid black, with white tipped wings.  I also swear I saw a Bluebird, the same as on the cover of my Georgia Birds book, in my neighbor's yard when I went to go pick the kids up from school.  I have never actually seen one before, anywhere in the U.S., and my first thought was, "Why aren't you in our yard!"

Caribbean Costa Rican birds 2009-2010

This little bird was outside my cottage in La Laguna Lodge in Tortuguero, Costa Rica.  He was just so bright a yellow, it was gorgeous.



Then, I made the mistake of catching the bird in a dust bath, and he/she did not look too happy about it!

  

For some reason, the "official" bird of Costa Rica is this Clay Colored Robin.

How, 'bout this for a "BLUE" bird?  Same locale as above...Those are rotting bananas to the left, by the way ; )

 

Remembering Costa Rica 2008-2010

There are two different type of toucan's in Costa Rica.  Look for the other one at the bottom of the post!

As the kids just went off to a very chilly Georgia morning at 39 degrees, I am here on the couch with a wool blanket from the highlands of Central America nursing a bad chest cold.  To help get into the spirit of Central America, thought I'd share some images of birds from trips South.  

We stopped at a cafe just outside of Alajuela on the way to Doka coffee estate and the owner, a little old woman, had a row of hummingbird feeders on her porch. They flew in an out, hovered, all colors, all sizes. It was breathtaking!  It was very difficult to get a photo since they were so quick, darting in and out.  Sadly, there was an earthquake the following year and the road to this area was destroyed.

Show off!

Little tame Parrot (Budgie?) at a local woman's cafe.

Cutest little Tiger Heron ever!

On the Caribbean coastline of Tortuguero town, this little guy was on the edge of the canal.  Perhaps he was waiting for his mom to come back and feed him.  He stayed very still and I took many photos before I backed away not to scare him further.

Here's the other bird--a Chestnut Mandible Toucan!  Now if only I could remember the other name... : )

I was embarrassed just looking at this one--he was so angry!

Thought it would be a dull birdwatching day...

Downy Woodpecker

So, I finally saw the Downy Woodpecker in enough time to capture a shot at the peanut suet feeder!  Don't you just love the white, black, and red on the head and body and the spotted tail?  Bea-u-ti-ful!

Mama Cardinal

It took a while, but mama Cardinal finally came out to join her mate.  Sadly, I cannot get the giant tacky sticker off this cheap birdfeeder.  Thankfully, she doesn't seem to care, but she did keep her back to me most of the time.  I don't blame her!

House finches and Cardinals

Apparently everyone was waiting for brunch!
Get ready for tomorrow's post...I'll be putting up photos of birds from my Costa Rica trips!

Look who's coming to a Winter Break Breakfast!

Sorry about the background noise...I was too excited to turn off CNN in the livingroom.  

Hey, it's a 1st time video upload; we'll get better : )

Hello little Carolina Wren! Nice of you to drop in!

So, apparently 9am is Sunday breakfast time for birds...

Carolina Chickadee on the left, Female Cardinal on the right.

Did I tell you we have bunnies?

Willow and Maple when we first brought them home!

Ok, so we have two "mulitated" bunnies that we were given from a friend whose daughter raises bunnies for show.  It had been the mother bunny's first litter and she was overzealous in her cleaning--Maple has one half ear and one stump and no tail; Willow has one perfect ear and one stump.  Maple is sweet as can be and content in her containment; Willow is ornery, lunges, "huffs", and bites and is our escape artist.  Oh, so this is a bird blog...Our big fear is that when we let the bunnies out to romp in the yard, the hawk will swoop down and get them.  That would be a nightmare!

So I just went out with my son while he uncovered the bunnies in their hutch and I checked feeders.  The squirrels (or someone) knocked down both peanut feeders again and one suet was empty. So I refilled both.  I made the mistake of going into Wild Birds Unlimited again yesterday--it's like a wonderland in there.  I just wish it were in my price range. I had sent them an email and a photo of my "Who is This" bird in my previous post and they posted back the same day with links and suggested a juvenile Blue Gosbeak.  What great folks--Thanks Wild Birds Unlimited!

Last day of grading, another day of birdwatching!

So, after a friend asked if I had seen a Thrasher, I looked through my Birds of Georgia Field Guide (I know, geek!), and said, "Nope, never seen that before."  Then I promptly forgot about it.

This morning has started out rather dull.  It's 8am and a frigid Georgia 33 degrees and breezy outside with nary a bird in sight except two mourning doves.  Don't blame the birds, you wouldn't catch me outside this morning either!  So, I decided to go through my photos from yesterday.  Guess who got caught in a photo without my knowing?  You guessed it, a Thrasher!

Not the best photo, but he was there!  So, thanks, Roberta : )

What I really wanted to show you were the house finches, since they have a lovely color even if the photo is not professional.  When I brought the photo to the Wild Bird Center, I was thinking awesome rare bird.  House Finch was not my expectation, but ok ; )

Today, I'm on the lookout for the shy Downy Woodpecker and how to catch a photo of him at the peanut suet feeder.  I'm happy to be inside, nursing a tissue box and cursing my chest cold; at least I have my binoculars and camera (ok, total geek!).   Happy birding everyone!

My favorite bird photo ever---I'm so happy I caught it before she saw me!

The bird bath didn't last very long.  Bought it from Lowe's because it was so colorful and "Mexican"-like, but who makes a birdbath that cannot handle the elements?  By the end of the summer the paint had faded and peeled off and it was a sad remnant of its former glory.  So, all the more reason why this image of Mama cardinal taking a much needed bath is so special.  I was almost embarrassed looking at her in her state of comfort ; )

Savannah River--November 2011

Who is this??? Maybe a juve Blue Grosbeak? Help!

Saturday morning...bright and early

Well, instead of actually grading papers, which is what I should be doing, I keep peeking out the window.  The dining room looks out onto the backyard and out to the feeders there.  This slightly overcast, breezy cool morning, there were some new arrivals at the feeders.  On the hanging tubes with safflower and sunflower seeds my daughter and I caught a male and female pair of House Finches hanging and chatting.  Each had a separate feeder, but were looking at each other and appeared to be having a conversation while eating.  We also saw a small Downy Woodpecker who flew in and out to the peanut suet hanging basket.  Some turtle doves flew down to the ground under the house feeder with the millet.  No one else but the squirrels seem to be active today; but it is fun to watch the squirrels hanging upside down to extract the shelled peanuts I have in another small hanging feeder.

All this bird watching makes me realize I need to clean my windows for a clearer view.  Bird watching is so peaceful.