Birds in my backyard

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If you look closely, you will see a thick, slightly angled line in the lower left of the photo.  This is a glass mirror, viewed edge-on.  The male cowbird has spotted his image in the mirror and is attempting to engage his rival in a battle over territory.

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Backyard Birds!

An amazing variety of Birds!

Personally, I am not very fond of the brown-headed cowbird, endangering the survival of other species of songbirds with their brood parasitic reproductive behavior.  They are migratory, and are commonly seen in large numbers at feeders providing mixed seed and sunflower seed.

The Bird Feeder Page

Blue jays are very common at the bird feeders and have very bold personalities.  They won’t hesitate to muscle their way in front of other birds to help themselves to mixed birdseed, sunflower seeds, peanuts, or suet.  In the fall they will eat fallen acorns from below the pin oak trees.  The biggest surprise is that they love dry cat food!

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Blue Jay

Bluebird

Eastern bluebirds are a welcome sight in any backyard.  The insect eaters do not visit the feeders, but do choose one nest box each year in which to raise a couple broods of young.  I have six bluebird houses for them to choose from; invariably, they prefer one of my two boxes that employ a slot instead of a round hole for the entrance.  The rectangular entryway is 29mm tall and 4” wide.

Towhee

The eastern towhee used to be called the rufous-sided towhee.  They like to eat mixed seed off of the ground next to the deck.  The female is sometimes seen feeding her offspring.  They depart the area after the breeding season is over.

Cowbird

Dove

The mourning doves build a nest on my property every year, either in a tree or in one of my homemade nesting shelves.  They also frequent the feeders, enjoying sunflower and mixed seed.  They are one of the few birds that don’t mind eating the cracked corn and milo seed that most mixes contain.  Actually, the niger seed (also called thistle seed) that is normally reserved for finches is a favorite of doves if I pour a pile of it onto a plank of wood for them.

Mourning Doves commonly lay exactly two eggs.  These young chicks are resting in their nest.  Their parents built the nest in a wooden nesting shelf that I built which hangs in a cherry tree.

A pair of Mourning Doves actively enjoying the cool water of the birdbath by ruffling their feathers and flapping their wings.

Robin

American robins do not eat from birdfeeders, instead taking insects and worms from the lawn.  They also like fruit, and will congregate in and below my cherry trees as the cherries ripen!  They often make use of the birdbath.  They will nest high in the oak trees, and in a nest shelf I built in a front yard tree.  They and mourning doves may swap the use of a particular nest from year to year, though nests made by robins are always more sturdy due to the mud reinforcement.  The newly fledged juveniles are seen hanging around the property as the parents continue to care for them.

Robins will also build their nests in open, homemade nesting shelves.  This wooden shelf provides a floor, roof, wall, and 2 half-walls, giving a lot of shelter from the elements.  It hangs in a japanese maple tree.

The camera caught this robin at just the right moment to illustrate how they make use of the birdbath by dunking.

Blackbird

Female red-winged blackbirds have an amazingly different appearance from the males; they hardly look like the same species.  For some reason, the females are seldom seen.  Males are quite a common sight at the sunflower feeder, frequently chumming with grackles.

This is a female Red-winged Blackbird feeding her baby mixed birdseed.

Bobwhite

Turkey

Northern bobwhites are adorable.  They are not common in my backyard, but I did have the pleasure to host them one winter.  There were nine in the group, and they got in the habit of eating mixed seed I threw on the gravel next to the deck.  Once I saw one sleep in a tree overnight, just outside my window.  They were here from November to March, and then they moved on.

Wild turkeys show up every year, especially in the autumn.  They really love devouring the fallen acorns from the pin oak trees near my house.  I was astounded one morning when one turkey came up onto the deck and gave a peck at the sliding glass door!  I find it amazing that these birds can fly.  They do, but not very far, and certainly not very gracefully.