A Few Spring Migrants

I missed most of the spring migrants that fly through during the month of April because I was super busy doing other tasks. I did spot a few of the usual migrants...

Male & Female Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks:

One afternoon, there were about 4 male Grosbeaks at one of the feeders. By the time I grabbed my camera and went back outside, they were gone. The female directly above was fairly nervous about my camera clicks. She stared directly at me for several seconds then vanished.

 Male Indigo Bunting:

My favorite photo of the day:

The Red-Headed Woodpecker seemed to dare the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak to stop at the feeder. The Grosbeak flew by him then took off in the opposite direction.

Rose Breasted Grosbeaks

A pair of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks paused from their northern journey for a few days

and made themselves at home in my back yard...

Females are brown and heavily streaked with a bold whitish stripe over the eyes

Nothing wrong with her appetite- she spent a lot of time at the feeders

Males are black and white with a brilliant red chevron which
extends from the throat down the middle of the breast

This male was very fussy at the feeders- he squawked when another bird intruded.
The color coordination between he and the Red-headed Woodpecker made for a pretty good photo.

He really fussed a lot with the cardinals.  The female was fussy too, but not as much.

The beautiful pair hung around for about 3 to 4 days- long enough to rest and refuel 

then continued on with their journey to their breeding areas in the northern U.S. and Canada.

I wish them well on their journey.  Maybe they'll return for a few days during fall migration.

I hope you all have a great Wednesday!

Linked with Stewart at Wild Bird Wednesday

Thirsty Grosbeak

After munching on a bunch of sunflower seeds, this male Rose-breasted Grosbeak 

needed some water to wash the seeds down...

With his thirst quenched, he flew off into the woodlands for a little while...

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak: Temporary Guest

I was fortunate to host yet another beautiful migrant bird for a couple of days.  The Rose-Breasted Grosbeak is a long distance migrant from its wintering grounds in Central and northern South America. Most of them fly across the Gulf of Mexico in a single night, although some migrate over land around the Gulf. They spend late Spring and Summer in the northern part of the United States and southern part of Canada, their breeding grounds.  

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks often visit bird feeders, where they eat sunflower seeds as well as safflower seeds and raw peanuts. Even if you live outside their summer range you may still catch one visiting during spring or fall migration if you keep your feeders stocked.

I hope to see one or more of these birds during the fall migration back to their wintering grounds.  This male is beautiful!