Feathers on Friday for 7/14/17

Scarlet Tanager

Happy Friday and first Friday spent in Wisconsin!  The last few weeks that we were in New York, I had two male Scarlet Tanagers and at least one female in my backyard.  Here is one of them looking for berries.  

He grabbed an unripe berry and popped it in his beak.   

He gave me a curious look and flew away to enjoy his berry in a more private area of the yard.   Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!  

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Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Happy Friday!  It's been a rainy few weeks here in Capital Region of New York.  It doesn't seem to have bothered my backyard birds though.   The pair of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds don't seem to mind the rain either.  I noticed an interesting behavior that the above male was doing.  He was constantly sitting on the the railing of our back deck near the feeder in the rain.  At first, I thought he might be sick or injured as I have never seen a hummingbird stay in one place that long.  I pulled out my binoculars for a closer look.  He was actually drinking the rain water.  I could see his little tongue going in and out as he caught the raindrops falling.    

Here is him sticking out his tongue and flapping his wings.  Now that the weather has gotten drier, I just see him at the feeder.  I feel like there is always something new to learn in the world of birds.

Here is the female perched on our feeder.  

Have a great weekend! It looks like finally, we will get some decent weather here so enjoy it! 

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Feathers on Friday for 6/2/17

Tree Swallow

Happy Friday and first weekend of June!  On a recent trip to a local state park, this Tree Swallow was perched on top of it's nesting box.  It's beautiful blue coloring shining in the sun.  

Here is a zoomed out view of the guy on it's Audubon Society of the Capital Region's built bird box.  The chapter has put a lot of these bird boxes at the park and around the Capital Region.  

Happy Birding and enjoy the ongoing nesting season!

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Snowy Egret 

Happy Friday!  It is pretty ironic that I found a bird named Snowy Egret in Florida while trying to get out of the snow and cold of New York.  But this smaller egret does migrate south and is a common sight around the beaches of Florida all year-round.  

Showing of it's yellow "socked" black feet

I had a lot of fun watching this guy forage in the surf.  It kept running away from the waves when they came in.  

Then in between waves, It looked for something to eat.

Have a great weekend and I hope all those in the Northeast have gotten dug out after the big storm.   Happy Birding!  

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Feathers on Friday for 2/3

White-throated Sparrow

Happy first Friday in February!  This beautiful White-throated Sparrow will be even more impressive in the spring but right now it has a duller plumage.  I came across about a dozen of these guys eating some berries in a bushy area along a trail.  It is perched on a Rose(I think) bush as can be seen from the thorns.  Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!

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Feathers on Friday for 11/4

A Hawk and His Shadow

Happy first Friday of November!  This week, I went a little artsy.  This is the male Red-shouldered Hawk in my yard perched in the sun.  It didn't last for long but his shadow was cast on the tree behind him.  His coloring goes perfect with the foliage right now.  Don't you think? Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall weather!  Happy Birding!

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Feathers on Friday for 10/14

Hairy Woodpecker

Happy Friday! The leaves are changing and the weather is getting chillier here in Capital Region of New York.  This female Hairy Woodpecker was pecking at the wood knots in my deck.  There must be little insects of some sort living in there. 

Here is a shot of her working on one of the knots.

Yes, you got caught!  I have seen a lot more woodpecker activity lately.  Pileated Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpeckers, and of course the Hairy Woodpeckers are all active in my yard.  Have a great weekend and enjoy the fall colors!

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Feathers on Friday for 9/23

Black-capped Chickadee and Some More 

Happy Friday and the start of fall!  This chickadee came to visit our deck a few weeks ago.  He was fluffing his feathers when I got this shot.  Here are a few other recent visitors to my yard.   

Here is some "Fur" on Friday!  This mom and her fawn have been visiting my yard a lot lately.  

Stick bugs are just so cool!  It is just so amazing how much they look like a stick.  Happy Birding and enjoy the first official fall weekend.

Don't forget to Follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.  

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Feathers on Friday for 8/19

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Happy Friday!  August has been a busy month for me and my family so I haven't had much time to post.  I don't know why it took me so long to buy a hummingbird feeder but I finally bought one and almost instantly, we had two females visiting the feeder.  A male has now joined them as a frequent feeder.  My two boys have loved watching them and their amazing flying.  I was able to get these two shots of them.  I have lots of not so good ones as anyone who has tried to take pictures of these fast moving, small birds know.  

The Hummingbirds love to drink from the milkweed plants too.  Though, we haven't gotten any Monarchs this year just Swallowtails.  

I posted this picture on Twitter but I figured I would post it on the site too.  This is our garden friend, the Pickerel Frog.  While trying to ID this guy, I discovered it is the only native frog in the United States that is poisonous.  I never knew there was any poisonous frogs in the U.S. but, this little guy secretes poison out of it's skin that can irritate the skin and eyes.  

Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!  

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Feathers on Friday for 8/5

Eastern Bluebird with a Friend

Happy Friday and first weekend of August!  The Eastern Bluebirds are back in my backyard eating some sort of bugs in my lawn.  He was joined by a Chipping Sparrow friend in this shot.  They are both very active today and foraging for bugs.  

Have a great weekend and enjoy the nice summer weather.  Happy Birding! Don't forget to follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.  

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Feathers on Friday for 7/22

Turkey Vulture in Flight

Happy Friday!  This Turkey Vulture was circling near my house looking for something.  The Red-shouldered Hawk family was not very happy and they were sounding the alarm until the vulture finally left the area.

Enjoy the warm weather and your weekend!  Happy Birding!

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Scarlet Tanager

Happy Friday!  I was struggling to find a picture to post today and then this molting male Scarlet Tanager paid a visit to my yard.  What a striking bird! Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!

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Feathers on Friday for 6/24

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak and Black-Capped Chickadee

Happy Friday! This one is for my 5 year old son who is becoming a good little birder.  We made this homemade bird feeder to attract one of his new favorite birds, the Pileated Woodpecker.  I'm not sure they can fit in it but the other birds love it!  

Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!

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Feathers on Friday for 6/17

American Goldfinch

Happy Friday!  This male American Goldfinch and his family are a frequent visitor to my feeders.  This striking little bird eats mostly seeds from feeders and plants.  Have a great weekend and keep cool if you are part of this heat wave.  Happy Birding!

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Feathers on Friday for 5/27

Red-Winged Blackbird

It's been a long week and half since my hard drive died on my laptop.  I'm finally up again though I did lose some pictures.  I guess the lesson is to backup your computer more often.  

I was visited by this male Red-winged Blackbird at one of the Bald Eagle nests last weekend.  He was really showing off his red wing probably to attract a mate.  In the first shot, he is calling and puffing out his feathers for all to see.  

Update: If you have read the blog for a awhile, you know I have a nesting pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in the woods behind my house.  It looks like one eyas has fledged.  I witnessed a noisy soaring lesson between one adult and one juvenile over my house this week.  I'm hoping I can get a shot of the juvenile soon.  Happy Memorial Day weekend and Happy birding!

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Feathers on Friday for 5/13

Tufted Titmouse

Happy Friday the 13th!  I got some shots of this Tufted Titmouse taking off from a tree and perched.   These guys are frequent visitors to my feeders and they stick around year round with their cousin the Black-capped Chickadee.  Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!

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Chipping Sparrow

Happy Friday and Happy Mother's day weekend! A flock of Chipping Sparrows has been foraging in my yard for a few weeks now.  I was able to get some shots of them.  We'll see if they stick around or continue heading north on a longer migration.   Have a great weekend and Happy Mother's day to all the moms!

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American Robin

Happy Friday!  April is almost over.  It really "flew" by with many interesting visitors to my yard.  The American Robins are now out foraging for worms every day.  I snapped a few shots of this female this week.  She posed nicely while the male wasn't so cooperative.   Happy Birding and have a great weekend!

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Canada Goose

Happy Friday! This guy came to visit when I was watching one of the Bald Eagle nests last weekend. I love the early morning light that shows off all the detail of the feathers.   Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!

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Ring-billed Gull

Happy Friday!  I took this picture of (I think) a non-breeding adult Ringed-billed Gull on the Gulf Coast of Florida near St. Petersburg in November.  Have a great weekend and Happy Birding!

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