Purty Birdies

I had a short period of time to go out and photograph birds in the vacinity of the bird feeding station, today. Since it was so warm, I sat out on the deck and quietly waited for birds to appear. I had my Nikon P1000 (which takes rather noisy photos, but allows me a lot of range) at the ready. And, here was the result.

Yup, you got it right! The Ruby-throated Hummingbirds arrived today! I took this shot early in the morning when the hummers were zipping around to gather food.

We also had Brown-headed Cowbirds flock in. The sun was in a perfect position to highlight this one's beautiful feathers. He was singing at the time of the photo.

I do love the coloring of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak male's breast. And, check out that beak! They eat seeds, fruits, and insects.

Speaking of common, but lovely birds...Check out this female Purple Finch! For such a small bird, their beak is rather robust;-) The shape is considered "conical", and it is larger than the beak of any sparrows. These birds love sunflower seeds!

And, the Downy Woodpecker gave me a good view of its tail. I enjoy watching how much birds use their tails for balance. Downy woodpeckers can be differentiated from Hairy Woodpeckers (that are a bit larger) by the black spots on the white outer tail feathers of the Downy Woodpecker. The Hairy Woodpecker does not have these spots.

Of course, I saved one of my favorite birds for last! I can't get enough of the Baltimore Orioles, and can't wait for their chicks to start visiting the feeding station.

Oh wait, I almost forgot... The "mewing" of this bird reminded me that he has also arrived. The Gray Catbird is another favorite bird. They love to sup on the jelly feeder and we'll have lots more photos of these cute birds as the season progresses!