We’ve had a lot of wonderful avian visitors to our yard this spring. Dave set up a new feeding station since we suspect that our old one was knocked down by a bear and it’s been quite a hit. There are also now two bluebird boxes in the field so this year we have an Eastern Bluebird pair! Many of our yearly visitors have returned, including the Chipping Sparrows, Gray Catbird pair, American Robin pair, Rose-breasted Grosbeak pair, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Broad-winged Hawk, and the Red-eyed Vireo. Our Northern Cardinal and Pileated Woodpecker pairs have also been making frequent appearances.
Gray Catbird (Image by Michelle Horowitz)Gray Catbird (Image by Michelle Horowitz)Pileated Woodpecker male (Image by David Horowitz)Pileated Woodpecker male (Image by David Horowitz)Yellow-bellied Sapsucker breeding male (Image by David Horowitz)Chipping Sparrow (Image by Michelle Horowitz)
What kind of birds have been visiting your yard/area this spring? Let me know in the comments!
Hi everybody! Guess “hoo” I saw yesterday? The Great Horned Owl! About 2 1/2 weeks ago, there was a Great Horned Owl outside my apartment. It was my first experience with an owl at night (you can read about my other owl experiences here). Around midnight Dave heard the Great Horned Owl calling again so we went out to investigate. This time we found the owl quickly. We could see its silhouette on a branch in the same tree as our last encounter. As it called we could see its tail moving and were also able to see its head movements. Now that we’ve seen it a second time I’ve been wondering more about it. Where does it come from? Does it live here? It would be cool if we had an owl neighbor that moved into the complex. I’m happy it came back. I feel so lucky to be able to be in the presence of a Great Horned Owl. I’ll let you know if we see it again.
The rain continues here in South Jersey. I like rain, but I’ll admit it’s been pretty dreary lately. It has basically been raining since last Friday, with a brief break Saturday morning/afternoon. I haven’t been able to go birding, but our backyard has been pretty busy.
Just from today Dave said that he saw most of our Feeder Friends: American Goldfinches, Downy Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, House Finch pair, House Sparrows, European Starlings, Northern Cardinal, Mourning Doves, and Carolina Chickadees. We have a new balcony visitor: the Carolina Wren. I know that the wren has been living here for awhile because I’ve heard its calls numerous times, but these days it likes hanging out and singing from our balcony.
We have a nest box that is currently occupied by House Sparrows and on our bird cam we discovered that the Carolina Wren has a secret: he steals nest material! What a sneaky wren! We caught this little guy entering the box multiple time and stealing twigs. The wren usually gets caught by one of the sparrows. Oh the drama that unfolds! Once the House Sparrow pulled the wren out of the box and the two fought in mid-air. Speaking of the House Sparrows, they were mating on top of the box today so we’ll see if the female finally lays any eggs.
So I will leave you with my favorite “silly bird”, the Mourning Dove. These two cuties spent a few hours one day just resting on the balcony. I hope the sun returns so I can go birding this weekend and show you some more of our spring visitors.
BirdNation 