Tag Archives: Backyard birds

More Local Birds

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These days on outings, I’m carrying just my camera, not my binos. It’s easier and I can use the telephoto on the Canon for bird spotting.

Here’s a Chipping Sparrow at the ball field.

The other day, I heard a constant cheeping sound and came upon this fledgling on our back deck.

After ten minutes or so, I approached to see if it was tangled and off it flew to the nearby bushes. I trust it will grow up to be a catbird, sparrow, or whatever.

The other morning, a flock of young Cedar Waxwings were foraging.

And then, on our path to the river, a couple of Common Yellowthroats were chipping away at us.

Have a good September of walks and birds.

Testing the iPad

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We are traveling to Europe soon and since I won’t be bringing my laptop, I have been practicing with my phone and tablet. Hummingbirds are also heading out soon and have been hitting the feeder and flowers pretty hard. Here are some photos I took this morning where I used the camera and iPad.

I saw my first hummer here on May 12th this year so it’ll be eight months to wait. Viajes seguros mis amigos.

Early Morning Backyard Birds

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Nearly every morning this summer, I walk Ginger early. We often start by going down our path the the river and then on to nearby trails. It’s not unusual to see and hear many birds right in our backyard.

Two days ago, this Common Merganser was just cruising down the river.

Yesterday, about six-thirty, we came upon this little Wood Duck family. They gently eased away from us and I wondered if the youngsters were to young to fly.

In a summer of chaos, it’s calming to start the day with a taste of the natural life right around us. Get out and enjoy July.

Some Backyard Birds -2025

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In the last week or so, we’ve had some interesting visitors to our backyard patch. We get woodpeckers every day and here’s a Hairy.

More often these days, we are delighted to see and here Red-bellied Woodpeckers like this morning’s.

Two days ago we saw Wild Turkeys out back for the first time ever. They hung around for a half hour and then moseyed off.

Yesterday, there was this Red-tailed Hawk perched across the river at the end of our path, patiently waiting for breakfast.

Living on a busy street just a mile from downtown, we have a wonderful backyard from which to see nature. We’ve recorded 140 bird species here over the years.

That’s Nature!

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Many years ago, my grandson Dane and his family was visiting our Vermont home on a lovely summer day. We were relaxing on the back lawn when suddenly, in a flash of brown and an explosion of feathers, a Red-shouldered hawk grabbed a Mourning Dove and flew away as we all gaped and shook our heads. Dane, in his young boy voice announced, “Well, that’s nature.”

Ginger and I had a That’s Nature day yesterday. Our walk on new snow started with watching some birds in the back yard.

We went down to the frozen river to walk a bit when I spotted a pile of feathers which I suspect once was a junco, and Ginger was very interested. Probably a Sharp-shinned Hawk had an early breakfast.

We then walked a few miles on trails and returning, I spotted this dead deer right beside the trail. I suspect a coyote/coydog got it . The sight was grisly and I kept Ginger from seeing the carcass.

We then returned to the relative placidity of our backyard and our American Tree Sparrows and American Goldfinches.

I’m reading a great book – The Courage of Birds – by the noted birder/author Pete Dunne. In addressing the worry about backyard feeding causing birds to be killed, he writes “A Sharp-shinned or Cooper’s Hawk is going to catch and consume two birds per day no matter what.”

That’s nature!

Dog Walk Birds

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I seldom watch birds without our dog, Ginger, along on a leash. It adds a challenge of stabilizing dog and camera when photographing but we often log 15-20 miles a week together. With mud season in full bloom here, most of our walks are on the great network of sidewalks throughout Montpelier. Here are some recent shots, a couple from today.

Blue Jays are here through the winter.
Likewise, Canada Geese stick around – we see this pair every day.

Yesterday, I came across this Pileated Woodpecker in a close-by neighborhood. I’ve heard them this year but this is the first I’ve seen.

Then, this morning, just as we were heading out, this Wood Duck pair, recently arrived, were riding the river current downstream. They are very shy, unlike our Mallards, but just wonderful to see.

Female (this is the year I master manual focusing.)

Brightening A Gray Day

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We’ve had a long stretch of gray days and with icy trails and muddy back roads, one can long for warmer climes. Then, out on a chilly walk, you get a look at a neat bird, it could be a Chickadee or Blue Jay, and your attitude is adjusted. Such it was this morning when this Hooded Merganser, just tooling down our river, brightened my day.

December Birds

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Life sort of got in the way of blogging but I’ve been back lugging my camera with me the last few days. But first, here’s an iPhone shot – an American Tree Sparrow – through the kitchen window.

Several days ago, I came across this Cooper’s Hawk – at the limit of my SX70 Canon’s range.

Backyard birds like these Mourning Doves continue to delight us.

These Mallards are taking advantage of the still-open river out back.

This morning, I came across these Hoodies who were heading upstream. The morning light resulted in some interesting images.

Season’s Greetings and hopes for a more sane, more peaceful world in 2024.

A Few August Backyard Birds

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We are fortunate to have a nice birdwatching venue behind our house, located less than a mile from the center of the city. Here are a few visitors in the last week or two:

We’ve had a family or two of Mourning Doves. These are waiting for me to refill the bird bath.
Ruby-throated Hummers delight us at the back porch feeder.

Our path to the river is still pretty muddy since the flood but this Gray Catbird is enjoying the lawn chair which survived the disaster.

The dead trees across the river are favorite perches for crows, kingbirds, and the occasional hawk or eagle. This Osprey, while not unusual to the area, is one of the first I’ve seen out back.

Checking eBird just now, I find that I’ve submitted 950 checklists and observed 136 species at this backyard patch. Nice spot for a birder to live.

A Summer Surprise

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For various reasons: vacation and a major flood being the primary ones, I haven’t posted for a month. This morning, I was standing in our neighbors’ backyard as the dogs played and suddenly noticed this big white bird at the river. Of course, my camera and binoculars were elsewhere but I retrieved them and photographed this cooperative Great Egret.

Very unusual bird for this part of Vermont – first one I’ve seen.

No sooner had I taken a few shots when in swoops the local Great Blue Heron and both birds flew. Here’s a pre-flood shot I took – it was nice to see him back.

Later, I saw both birds together downstream and chasing one another. Some birder friends and I watched the egret fishing contentedly a little later in the morning.

It was a nice Friday morning surprise and we hope our white friend will stick around for a bit.