Baby Wrens

We have babies!

The old cigar box proved to be the cutest little house

and those eggs were laid, hatched and babies fed in

a matter of days!  The other wrens in the tiny bird house

are just now sitting on eggs.  Dad comes and goes....

pictures of them on another day.

♥

Carolina Wren

Speaking of wrens (see previous post),  I've been watching a lovely

wren couple making a nest in my sweet antique box I put on this

 ledge on in the top corner of my front porch.

Only one nest has ever stayed up there because the wind circles

up in that spot and knocks it down.  Well, I attached this box there

last evening and the wrens have already turned it into a little home.

I guess they like antiques as much as me!

Mrs Wren must have liked this spot because she is helping build the

nest.  They don't seem to notice me watching with the front door

open a few inches...just enough for my camera to capture them at work!

♥

Northern Wren

I believe this is a Northern Wren.  Tiny little thing and oh so loud!

I took this picture this morning through my kitchen window.  He's been nest

building all over the yard and this little house is one of his picks!

For those of you who may not know, the male wren

will build 3-4 nests all on his own even before meeting 

his lady!  Then he will call and call for as long as it takes!

Once she shows up, he changes his calling to a romantic,

soft song and takes her around to all the nests he has made.

She gets to choose which ever nest she likes!

After she chooses, she starts tearing it apart

and then the two of them rebuild it together!

What a man, huh, to put up with all of that!?

Just after reading all of these facts a few years ago,

I got to witness it right in my own yard.

That obnoxious call that had been going on for days

suddenly turned into the sweetest little cooing!

I couldn't believe it was the same bird!

I'm so happy that we get to watch another romance.

Hope the lady picks this spot so we get to see babies right

outside the window!  I'll keep you posted!

♥

Sparrows

♥

Goldfinch

First sighting of the year!

I love these yellow birds....their sweet voices

and the buoyancy in their flight pattern.

This one was munching on black oil sunflower seeds.

♥ 

Winter Wrens

This is the first year we've been able to keep the

wrens happy and fed all season long!  They don't eat

seed, so when they come around, they are looking for

bugs to eat!  I have seen them searching old webs for

dead, frozen spiders but after that there isn't anything 

out there in the middle of winter!  

Well, meal worms seem to be the answer!

It took a while for the wrens to find them in the feeder

but once they did, the word spread and they have hung

around and dined on those things every day!

We tried freeze dried crickets but they were

 soundly rejected. haha. 

Even birds can be finicky. 

Even when they are hungry. 

Even in the dead of winter.

♥

♥

Yep, it's starting to look like spring!

After a week of pouring rain we have sun!

And a robin sure helps with the overall feeling!

♥ 

Thankful Thursday

I'm linking up with Michelle and her Thankful Thursday weekly

group!  As most of you know, I'm an avid bird watcher and

have lots of feeders outside the windows so I can enjoy

my feathered friends all year long.  I've been happily

watching Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Cardinals,

Chickadees, Finches, Wrens and Sparrows

this winter, so it was really nice to see some

Starlings in my crab apple tree yesterday!

I know a lot of people don't care for these birds.

They come in flocks, swooping in like a bunch of

bullies to graze across lawns in the summer or

to take over feeders in a frenzy during the winter.

But I love their iridescent feathers and those

heart shaped stars on their breasts.

And murmurations?  Don't even get me started!

Today I'm thankful for Starlings.

And especially for this last photo.

Sometimes you're just standing at

the window with your camera at

exactly the right moment!

Swooning at those wings!

And look at the little one with 

the crab apple! 

If you want to see more posts

about thankfulness, click HERE.

And feel free to link up yourself!

♥

Merry, Merry!

I snapped these photos today from my kitchen desk

and they were just too cute not to share!

I immediately thought of the Henry David Thoreau quote,

"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a 

moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden,

and I felt that I was more distinguished by that 

circumstance than I should have been by any

epaulet I could have worn."

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season 

and the last few days of 2017!  Sending love 

and good wishes to all my blog friends!  

♥

American Redstart

I had a new little bird in my yard today!

This sweet little thing (smaller than a sparrow!)

was flitting around the trees looking for insects

instead of eating from the feeders.

After some investigating online, I discovered

she's an American Restart.

Her male counterpart is black with bright

orange flashes.  How very fun!

First warbler of any kind here at

my home sweet home!

♥

Feeding Baby

House Sparrows in my crab apple tree today.

♥

Dinner Time

Mama House Finch and her baby

outside the kitchen window.

♥

Ms. Bird

Ms. Bird has a fancy nest holder, doesn't she?

This is out on the back porch on my gardening table.

Looks like she needs to do some spring cleaning....

I see some cobwebs! 

♥

Cowbirds

I had a tree full of them the other day!

The cow bird is mostly known for laying their eggs

in the nests of other birds so they don't have to care

for their own young.  Many times the baby cow birds are

larger than their adoptive parents, like sparrows, and the

struggle is real in keeping up with the demands of feeding

a very large hungry baby along with their own little ones.

And with those brown heads and black bodies, they look

kind of evil, don't they?  Tisk, tisk.

♥

Titmouse

This little one made me smile today!

♥

Miss Cardinal

You know it's a gray day when she's the brightest thing around!

♥

Suet Pinecones

♥

Dinner at Betsy's

♥

A Hawk Came To Visit

Isn't he handsome?

He was looking for an unsuspecting bird at

the feeders but they were all suspecting. haha.

One of them gave a signal and they flew deep

into the pine trees for safety.

It's been a few years since we had a hawk

hanging about.  I saw one catch a Mourning Dove

just outside the window years ago.  Amazing to watch!

They have to eat, too, right?

♥

Thankful Thursday

Michelle is starting a new link up called Thankful Thursday.

You can check out her post, join in, and read other

link ups by clicking HERE.

Today I'm thankful for birds. 

And sweaters.

And bird sweaters.

♥