# Any wild birders here?



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Just wondering what kinds of birds you're seeing at your feeder or in your back yard?

I'm always thrilled this time of year with all of the birds coming back for the summer.

Right now we see lots of different sparrows, rose breasted grossbeaks, pine grossbeaks, evening grossbeaks, chickadees, rose breasted nuthatches, white breasted nuthatches, vireos, warblers, various woodpeckers (including pileated, hairy, three toed, etc.), great grey owls, Canada greys, gold finches, purple finches, robins, and ruby throated humming birds. Today we saw our very first indigo bunting (at least we're pretty sure that's what it is) at the feeder (see attached photo), so that was a new chapter in our bird book. I'm sure I'm forgetting half of them, but that's what I can think of off the top of my head. 

What do you have in your yard?


----------



## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

Three toed? You must live in the boreal forest near the Canadian border. I have never seen one. 

At our bird feeder (Central Mississippi) we get Carolina wrens, Mourning doves, Titmice, Carolina Chickadees, Red-bellied woodpeckers, Goldfinches, Juncos (winter), White-throated sparrows (winter), Pine warblers(winter), House finches, Blue jays, Cardinals, and an occasional Mockingbird. Last winter we had a flock of pine siskins. Myrtle warblers ( yellow-rumped) overwinter here, but have not visited the feeder. 

Migrants are long gone, and only summer residents remain. During the warbler migration I heard a blue-winged warbler for the first time.


----------



## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I regularly see:

Cardinals
Downy Woodpeckers
Hairy Woodpeckers
Downy Woodpeckers
Red belly woodpeckers
Flickers
Carolina Wrens
House Wrens
House Finches (a white one a couple times)
Black-capped Chickadees
Titmice
White-breasted nuthatches
Robins
Screech Owls
Ruby-throated humming birds
Blue Jays 
American crows
Grackles (great at emptying feeder!)
Mourning Doves
Baltimore Orioles (I think a pair must be nesting nearby right now)
Gold Finches

Occasionally:
Pileated woodpeckers
Sapsuckers (winter)
Juncos (winter)
Pine Siskins (winter)
Winter Wrens (winter)
Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
Redstarts
Merlins
Scarlet Tanager
Red-eyed Vireo
just abut every warbler you can umagine on migration
Orchard Orioles

Once:
Western Grosbeak (accidental)
Bewick's Wren (supposed to be extinct in PA)

Screech owls have roosted in a birdhouse out by the driveway for the last 7 years or so and even raised a few broods. Flickers have used the box twice and red bellies and a colony of miner bees once each. 

What is a Canada grey? 

How often do you see the great grey owls? That bird was actually discovered in North America before it was discovered that it also lives in Europe!


----------



## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

Wow, you guys get quite a few we don't see here.

Yes, we are only about 90 miles south of Ontario, so we get quite a few of the northern forest birds.

I forgot about the grackles, cowbirds, crows, ravens and bald eagles. 

Cavan, the Canada Grey goes by a bunch of names, so I never know which one to call it. It's really the Perisoreus canadensis, but they also call them whiskey jacks, lumber jacks, grey jays, etc.

We do see the great greys all the time. They nest here every year, and last year we were lucky enough to have a nest very near the house. The baby would always call out to the husband when he went out for walks, so we were able to see that one grow up from a distance. I took a few pics with the telephoto lens, so it's kind of cute to the the little "Groucho Marks" face up close.


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I use to be obsessed with wild bird watching until I got into planted tanks, now I'm just a casual watcher.

The regulars are... house sparrows, cardinals, blue jays, titmice, downy woodpeckers, chickadees, mocking birds, Sterling's, black birds, doves.

On occasions... indigo buntings, rose-breasted gross becks, nuthatches, cow birds, pinesiskens, snow birds, white thoart sparrows.

I know there is more, but can't think of all the names.


----------



## Plattykins (Apr 3, 2005)

I was until the woods behind my house was cleared out for a sub-division. Now I'm into my fish. Before that we would see the Titmouse, Chicadee, Junco, Sparrow, Blue Jay, Cardinal, Woodpecker, Cowbird, Crow, Finch, Hummingbird, Dove and Nuthatch. I think we still get a few sparrows.


----------

