Saturday, November 07, 2009

A Few November Backyard Birds

Like so many people who have reported to me, the birds in the backyard have almost disappeared. Almost no finches and very few sparrows. The resident Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers are regulars, plus a few doves and pigeons, a stray starling, our cardinal pair, and nuthatches.

The chickadees and titmice are also regular visitors, and when I went out this afternoon to take advantage of the wonderful light, the Tufted Titmice were making regular forays for the sunflower seeds ...


The one species for which there is no shortage is the Blue Jay; this morning I counted twelve in the flock, and this afternoon they kept coming and going - rather uncertain about my presence in the yard with this long thing pointed at them. With patience, I was able to get them to hold still, and even pose from time to time ...



Among the sparrows, only the Dark-eyed Junco has been present in anything more than one or two. So far only one sighting of a White-crowned Sparrow, and no Fox Sparrow as yet.

We're off to Texas for the Rio Grande Bird Festival in Harlingen next weekend. I hope to have some good photos to post along the way - I am sure I will have plenty of photos to choose from.

Good birding!

4 comments:

Erica Houskeeper said...

Really nice photos, Chris. The Blue Jay images are especially beautiful.

Like you said, there do seem to be a lot of Blue Jays around lately. Is this typical for Vermont?

I thought I spotted a couple of Finches in my yard this morning, but maybe it was something else (the birds were mostly yellow with a little gray).
Take care!

eileeninmd said...

Great photos of your November yardbirds.

Angie Moore said...

Lovely images Chris.

Kim said...

Chris, VT sounds a lot like MA lately. I am not getting any finches or sparrows but am getting plenty of Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse and Blue Jays. Love your 2nd Tufted picture with its bill open, so cute!! And your Blue Jay photos are so handsome!

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