Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Backyard Birds


During the cold winter months, plenty of feathered friends visit our backyard for tasty treats and a refreshing sip of water. Black oil sunflower seeds and suet cakes seem to be the most popular snacks. Below are photographs of several birds that have visited our backyard throughout the winter season.


A beautiful Tufted Titmouse selects from many sunflower seeds


Blue Jays seem to favor sunflower seeds, dried corn and unsalted roasted peanuts


White-breasted Nuthatches are quite fond of suet cakes and a variety of seeds


A lovely Dark-eyed Junco samples the seed selection on the ground


Downy Woodpeckers can be seen quite regularly nibbling on suet cakes


 Northern Cardinals visit our feeders most often at dusk. They can't get enough of the fatty sunflower seeds.


Red-bellied Woodpecker ~ These noisy birds fly clumsily in and eagerly feeds on sunflower seeds, corn and suet cakes


Delightful Black-capped Chickadees are the most common of our backyard visitors


Male Northern Cardinal most always arrive accompanied by a mate and  other cardinal couples


Quick moving Red-breasted Nuthatches have been frequent visitors to our feeders this year. Suet cakes and sunflower seeds are their snacks of choice. 


I recently saw a Pileated Woodpecker flying about the area where many of our bird feeders hang. Though the photograph is blurry, I was thrilled to finally snap a shot of one of these shy interesting birds (photograph taken in November)


Tufted Titmouse ~ Delicious!


78 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

it has been SO long since you've posted!!! :) thank you for your continued visits and comments!!!

these are all beautiful. i'd be thrilled to get that clear of a shot on a pileated, too! nice!

Pescalune said...

What a beautiful series !!! Great shots :)

forgetmenot said...

Julie, Such a wonderful variety of birds--you have a busy birdfeeder! Once again, your photos are spectacular--they should be in the Audubon Magazine. What fun you must have watching all the wildlife around your house. Happy Valentines's Day. Mickie :)

Laurence Butler said...

Stunning photos Julie, but no surprise there. I love the grays and blacks on the Chickadees and Titmice. It'd be a thrill to have a Pileated stop by the house! You've got a great variety of birds and a special talent for capturing their beauty and sharing it here.

MoiCLouLou said...

Hi Julie,
These are beautiful pictures and it's funny because I have just did the same in my blog. A post about our backyard birds; many of them are the same birds...
We do see the Pileated Woodpecker but in the woods in the back of our property.
Have a nice Valentine Day!
Louise

Ellie said...

Oh, what a wonderful selection of pictures you have here. Aren't birds beautiful, their feathers are so silky and colourful.
Lovely shots!!!

de schoonheid van de natuur said...

ik ben sprakeloos wat een mooie foto's
groetjes Herman,

Horst in Edmonton said...

Beautiful bird photos. This winter the sparrows have taken over my bird feeders and won't let other birds feed. Once in a while when the Sparrows are resting, the Chickadees get in to get some seeds, also the Red Breasted Nuthatch.

PoetessWug said...

Awwww! They're all so beautiful!!...And so are your photographs of them! Good job capturing them! :-)

Unknown said...

Oh wow! Gorgeous images. My favorite was the white-breasted nuthatch.

Mariettes Back to Basics said...

Dearest Julie,

What magnificent shots you show on Valentine's Day! Have a Happy Valentine's Day and enjoy nature around you, like we do.
Love to you,

Mariette

JRandSue said...

Amazing collection,every image is a piece of brilliant photography.
Love them all.
John.

Ruth Hiebert said...

Amazing shots. I miss my birds this year.I hope that come spring they will make up for their absence now.

theconstantwalker said...

Wonderful images...
You have captured some beautiful birds to share..
Many thanks for sharing them.

Art said...

Amazing photo work!

Mia McPherson said...

Terrific images Julie, thanks so much for sharing the birds you see during the winter!

Jann said...

Ah, such gorgeous photos! I esp love the 1st photo of the titmouse (on my lifer wish list!) and the fabulous shot of the woodpecker, wow! I can't wait to get some kind of bird feeding spot set up at our new house we're buying in SW Florida! :o) We close the 29th!

Tammy said...

Top notch photos Julie! What a wonderful variety of birds you get to observe!

Bill S. said...

Great photos, sharp and clear. You do very good work. My goal is to get a good picture of a pileated woodpecker.

Gillian Olson said...

Wow, what beautiful pictures of your backyard birds.

Dan Huber said...

Wonderful captures of your backyard birds Julie. I love the Red-Belly especially, rare I see one so close up.

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Wow, you could have taken every one of these in my yard. Each selection you shared are so beautiful!

Bets said...

Hallo Julie
What a nice pictures from al the beautiful birds. Realy great.
Greetings Bets

Rebecca said...

Beautiful photos! Especially love the Pileated Woodpecker--they rarely stay still long enough to photograph :)

Jim Braswell said...

Wow! Wonderful post with some beautiful pix, Julie!

Unknown said...

Fantastic shots of your lovely birds! Wow!!!

Guy said...

Hi Julie

You have quite an assortment of birds at your feeder I am quite envious. The Pileated Woodpecker
is a real triumph and I also loved the Red-bellied Woodpecker you got such lovely detail in its photo with the swirl and thrust of the feathers and the dangerous looking feet. Really a pleasure to see.

Regards
Guy

Cynthia White said...

Gorgeous assortment - love your beautiful images:)

Unknown said...

What a lovely assortment of beauties in your back yard. Beautiful photos Julie!!

Derek & Chris Thomas said...

Just wonderful (again!)

Unknown said...

Nice series of photos.

Scott (@NESASK) said...

Wonderful collection, Julie!

Kerri Farley said...

Oh, your birds are SUPERB! LOVE 'em all!

Kathie Brown said...

Nice shots! You are getting the same backyard birds as I am except I have not seen a Red-breasted nuthatch this year and I have never had a pileated in my current backyard. Wonderful shots Julie!

Bob Bushell said...

Great photos, I love your woodpeckers, they are a wonder.

Lorents H Blomseth said...

A lovely collection of birds that we don't have here in Norway, good shots all of them !!

Larry said...

Awesome shots of your yard birds Julie! That Red-bellied Woodpecker takes my breath away!

Unknown said...

I love those bird shots. They are so beautiful and inspiring!

KaHolly said...

There you are! Sweet pictures. The bird photo at the top of your sidebar is stunning. Thanks for visiting my blog the other day!

Cristina Munteanu said...

Wonderful photos! lovely colors have these birds!

Julie G. said...

Thank you all for taking the time to leave such kind remarks. I am very appreciative!

Anonymous said...

Pretty birds by a pretty Lady :)

Dan said...

You've been holding out on us Julie.

This series is bloody fantastic. Take note publishers.

Helma said...

What a beautiful series of photographs of various vogles. Beautiful color and razor sharp. I can really enjoy these pictures. Really very beautiful.

Greetings, Helma (from Holland)

Marco Luijken said...

Hello Julie,
What a lot of lovely shots!! Fantastic to see all these wonderful birds. Nice to see the different woodpeckers and that red Northern Cardinal is amazing.
In my garden there are much birds, but these all never came.
I like to see this very much and makes me happy.

Greetings, Marco

stardust said...

Julie, your backyard is such an oasis for both birds and the residents. I’d like to watch them flitting. Your photos are clear and crisp as always, you’re really an expert. These birds are all photogenic, and my favorite is the Red-billed Woodpecker.

Yoko

Momentos Creativos said...

Hola Julie, Divinas las fotografías hermosa nuestra naturaleza...saludos!!

Gene Vermillion said...

Very nice photographs. Thanks for sharing.

Red Rose Alley said...

These birds are so beautiful, especially the red cardinal. I haven't taken many bird pictures because I don't see them around so much. I got a new camera and have been wanting to take more bird pictures, as I love them and they are special to me. You always get so much detail in your photos, and that's great.
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

Ruby said...

I enjoyed these beautiful, gorgeous beauties. Splendid poses and very varied. Thanks for posting your glorious backyard visitors. Cheers, Ruby.

BIRDINGDUDE said...

Beautiful photos!!! I love that they are all your backyard birds. Perfect for GBBC :) Thanks for sharing your wonderful work.

CMSmith said...

Wow. Your bird photos are putting me to shame. Makes me want to try harder.

I'm very jealous of the pileated woodpecker. I've only seen one of those once in my life and that was many years ago. I keep hoping I'll see one around here sometime.

Rohrerbot said...

Great shots. That Blue Jay is wonderful with a lot of great detail. I just started keeping a record of birds in the backyard and am discovering new visitors now around the bird feeders. Very interesting:)

JM Natur said...

Lovely bird picture!

Unknown said...

Fantastic series! How blessed you are to have such a variety of backyard birds! Great work, as always!!

Debbie Miller @HooootOwl said...

So many lovely views of the sweet birds that visit your feeding area. Congrats on the Pileated sighting .. especially loved that last Tufted titmouse, it reminded me of tossing a popcorn up then catching it. Great timing to capture the tongue!

FAB said...

Definitely a very colourful feast for the eyes. Super shots as usual Julie.

eileeninmd said...

Julie, wonderful collection of backyard birds. I loved them all. I especially love the Pileated and the Redbellied and the cute RedBreasted Nuthatch. Beautiful photos, have a lovely Sunday!

Believe Dream Love said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SLH said...

What a beautiful series! Love all your photos. Amazing shot of the red-bellied woodpecker.

theconstantwalker said...

Stunning images... you have some wonderful birds to share..

Kelly said...

...all of your shots are gorgeous!! I love the color and richness of them. The Red-bellied is a stunner, and I love how close you were able to get to the Pileated. :-)

Scott Simmons said...

Lovely shots! I especially like that chickadee shot.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful birds.

Giancarlo said...

Sono stupende le foto che hai postato...complimenti!! buona serata...ciao

Natuurpresentaties, Kees Boele said...

Great to have found your blog, what a marvellous pictures of birds I have seen during my travels.

Joop Zand said...

Hello Julie

Thanks for your nice comment and that you are following my blog.....i appreciate that very much.

Your photowork is also very very nice, all these lovely colored birds pictures are beautiful.

Warm greetings from Holland, Joop

chris said...

Hi Julie,
Thanks for visiting my blog and yours is also fantastic such as the post of this day. So many nice species and splendid pictures. Well done.

Mariettes Back to Basics said...

Dearest Julie,

Just got back from Curaçao, where we last were in August of 1988... My highlight was getting to see the Trupial, orange breasted Orioles and national bird of Curaçao. And I did get some shots with my little camera. I'm by far not that well equipped as you are!
Love to you,

Mariette

Stina said...

So beautiful.:-) Stina

Larry Ostby said...

Julie, I can't believe I missed this post. All of your photos are as always wonderful. I must say congrats on the Pileated Woodpecker. They are tough to get. I believe my favorite is the Red-bellied Woodpecker, he's beautiful.

ShySongbird said...

What beautiful photos and you have such a lovely, colourful variety of different birds visiting your garden. You also have some lovely light there...please send some over here ;-) we seem to have so many dull days recently...not good for photography at all!

Thank you so much for visiting and following my blog recently :-)

Warnon Patricia said...

Vos oiseaux sont magnifiques,nous en avons eu aussi beaucoup chez nous,mais pas avec des couleurs comme le couple de Cardinaux.
Merci pour le partage.
Patricia

forgetmenot said...

Julie, Thank you for the "good wishes" for my daughter--always a big step in a person's life. Your photos were just as much fun to scroll through this time as they were the first time. Amazing work! Have a good week. Mickie :)

Helma said...

Hi Julie,

what a wonderful blog with beautiful photographs truly magnificent. Pretty sharp, beautiful color and even birds that I have never seen. Really worth a compliment.

Kind regards, Helma

Marcos Souza said...

Hi my dear friend, Julie! Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. I wish you a wonderful weekend. I'll follow you, follow me back. hugs

Noushka said...

Hahaha!
I am so impressed with your pictures I've signed in twice!!
your Red-bellied Woodpecker is fantastic!
A great job to get close enough to achieve this quality!
Truly well done!

Brain Dumps said...

Julie I absolutely love your photos..they are gorgeous..