Immature Summer Tanager

An immature male Summer Tanager dropped in for a quick bath. If you're a bird watcher then you'll understand my excitement when I just happened to be close enough to take some pretty descent shots of this gorgeous bird. I rarely get the opportunity to even see one of these in my yard, let alone get close enough for pictures. Summer Tanagers mainly hang out in tree canopies and swoop out to catch bugs and insects in mid-air or glean tree branches for the same. They also raid wasp nests and such. Wasps are one of their favorite snacks. The mature males are almost all bright reddish-orange and the females are yellow. Isn't he gorgeous?!!!

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Backyard Birds: May 2020

Photos of our backyard birds taken during May

(birds that aren't posted elsewhere):

First of all, my favorite bird pic this month is this gorgeous Northern Cardinal male...

There are tons of Mourning Doves in our backyard. They visit throughout the daylight hours, often as couples. I sometimes feel sorry for the females because the males constantly chase them down and pounce on them. It certainly doesn't appear to be a courtship behavior although it may be. I haven't really researched enough about the behavior of these birds. I love to hear their soft gentle calls during the day.

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Sweet Mourning Dove couple

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Female Northern Cardinal

The bluebird parents have been doing a little bit of house cleaning lately. Maybe they're preparing for their next family :)

Male Eastern Bluebird

I was excited to see several Tufted Titmouse fledglings at the feeders. There's probably 5 or 6 of these babies. It's so much fun to watch them developing their flying skills. They meander around the feeders while trying to decide how and where to land. They often land in some precarious positions on the pole or hangers. I love their bushy little eyebrows and tiny tufts on top of their heads. They're so stinking cute!

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I've seen several Carolina Chickadee fledglings but haven't had the opportunity to photograph them yet. There are babies everywhere right now!

Bluebirds Learning Independence

I've literally had the pleasure of watching these bluebirds grow and learn from their parents. They're often in the tree tops of our small fruit trees in the field, watching and waiting for something to move in the grass below. Sometimes it's a worm, sometimes a cricket or grasshopper. Sometimes it's only an illusion. It's amazing how fast they grow and learn- but necessary because birds have many, many predators.

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Sunday Morning Bird Prayer

It's a beautiful Sunday morning and this little Titmouse birdie is saying its prayers- "Thank you Lord for allowing me to live yet another day- for allowing me to escape the clutches of the mean and sneaky cat that roams around this yard. Thank you for the tasty tidbits provided by the sweet lady who lives here. She spoils us and looks after us. She gets a little fanatic with her camera out here sometimes, but we try to overlook her eccentricities. Thank you Lord for being our divine Creator and providing us our daily needs. Amen". Have a blessed day, everyone!

Sweet Cardinal Couple

Sweet Cardinal couple. It's mating season so there are several pairs of them around here. My very favorite bird...

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Stashing Seeds

Redheaded Woodpecker stashing his sunflower seed in pine bark- do you think he'll remember where he placed it? I had to google it and read that birds that store food may hide hundreds or thousands of seeds every year. Many species not only remember their hiding places, but what kind of tidbit they hid in each particular place. Some are extra cautious and may re-hide seeds if they think another animal saw the hiding spot.

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