Tag Archives: Purple Finches

Sunday – 10.22.2017

12:28 AM – We had enough decent videos this week so that once again we’re skipping ‘Retro Sunday’. Instead, here’s a series of birds (and others) at the birdbath. We’re getting a greater variety now that the camera is focused on the water feature. In order of appearance: Brown Thrasher, Purple Finch, Yellow Warbler (I think), a squirrel   and finally, a Raccoon passing through on his way to ravage the mealworm feeder. I’m calling the third one a Yellow Warbler, and not a Goldfinch, because there are no head markings. But I could easily be wrong.

Lots of Bluebirds around lately. I’d still like to get footage of them chasing each other, but that’s not really possible with our cameras and very limited cinematography skill. Here’s one having a suet-snack.

Carolina Chickadee at the Squirrel Buster.

 

Saturday – 10.21.2017

12:11 AM – We switched the feeders around, for variety. Now the suet feeder is in the spot light. This little Chickadee is pecking a tiny dent in the cake of suet with it’s tiny beak. The Carolina Wren does a better job, with his long sharp beak. This Wren is really hungry.

Female Purple Finch. They’re not as colorful as the male, but I think quite attractive, with their stripes and brown feathers.

Tuesday – 10.10.2017

3:56 AM – It rained most all of yesterday. Of course that didn’t keep the birds from the feeders. Here’s a Purple Finch discovering that the Squirrel Buster feeder is empty.

A few weeks ago we saw a bird we couldn’t identify. Since then we’ve been informed that it’s a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak. It matches the picture on the Cornell Labs website (our Bible of Birds). The Grosbeak is a migrator, and only seen around here on it’s way to and from Central and South America. Here’s a couple of videos of our sighting.

 

Thursday – 9.21.2017

1;38 AM – This is a video from a few days ago – a Red-bellied Woodpecker dominating a couple of Blue Jays. Here it is again, with a soundtrack, an original score.

We try to keep the feeders filled up, but sometimes they can stay empty for half day or more. This Blue Jay is clearly not happy about it. I like the part where he snouts (or beaks) the chaff around, demonstrating the lack of the good stuff. At the end, I swear he understands that we’re seeing him on camera, and he’s sending us a clear message: “This is sloppy work, you backyard birders! It’s time for a fill-up!” Then turns his back on us.

There was a lot of traffic on the Squirrel Buster feeder today. We got video of these, in order of appearance: A big, bright Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee with unusual coloring, a Brown-headed Nuthatch, and a female Purple Finch (she’s brown striped, not purple). The Brown-headed Nuthatch is pretty rare in our yard.

Tuesday – 9.12.2017

12:02 AM – A couple of Blue Jays, peacefully feeding together, get evicted from the feeder by a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I don’t blame them – I’d get out of the way too. The Red-belly doesn’t stay long, and the Jay returns, after taking a good look around.

We’ve got a cardinal, a purple finch, a bluebird and what looks like a couple of goldfinches in the background, all at the same time.

Wednesday – 8.30.2017

5:06 AM – That young Red-bellied Woodpecker has head feathers coming in. It’s not a particularly attractive stage of growing up, like human adolescence.

For a while we didn’t see purple finches around here. Now a few of them are showing up. This one is taking his time with a sunflower seed. I expect in a few months we’ll have crowds of them, as we did in Spring.