“You’re in my spot!” American Goldfinch, Pine Warbler
Today’s a state holiday and we’re snowed in. So, it was the perfect day to birdwatch. We had 23 total bird species visit our feeders today – and that doesn’t include some birds we typically see like the American Crow and White-breasted Nuthatch (both were present yesterday but not today 🤷🏼♀️). Here’s a few of my favorite visitors today:
Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker
Eastern Bluebird
Northern Flicker
European Starling
Northern Cardinal
No, I didn’t spend all day simply watching my feeders. There was also tax work and a walk around the neighborhood. I’ll let you guess which one was my favorite.
I can’t tell you how excited that makes me. It comes after years and multiple attempts of me thinking I finally found one – only for a more experienced birder that I trust to come forward and say, “that’s a House Finch. Good try.” 🤷🏼♀️
The Purple Finch I correctly identified was hanging out with American Goldfinches. It’s was a bird-filled yard. Below, I included another photo of the Purple Finch and American Goldfinches as well as my other favorite photos of the trip: one of a pair of Northern Cardinals and one of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.
Spring, which officially starts today, is my favorite season. To celebrate, I spent my early Tuesday evening working in my backyard. OK, it was mostly lazy yard work. I cleaned up, made plans for a proposed project and put up new hummingbird feeders.
After I finished, I just happened to glance over in time to see a bird leaving my hummingbird feeder. I. Was. Excited! Could it be a hummingbird, already? Nope. I sat by my window for an hour watching house sparrows, northern cardinals and American robins come up to feed. I’m now positive that it was a sparrow that went to the wrong feeder.
Whatever happened, I enjoyed my time outdoors and watching the birds. It’s not a bad way to pass the time. Here’s some of my visitors:
Arkansas birds were out in force this past weekend when I participated in my first Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC). I’ve just completed entering the 26 bird species I viewed into the GBBC database.
The GBBC only calls for at least 15 minutes of birdwatching. Well, I decided to spend my birdwatching time on Saturday in Wynne at Village Creek State Park. Later, I visited my grandparent’s farm to walk their woods. I got lucky in both spots, however, my best find was when I drove from Wynne to Stuttgart on Hwy. 306. (See pictures below).
Greater Yellowlegs
I say Hwy. 306 was my best find because I discovered the above Greater Yellowlegs and the below Northern Pintails. I also discovered a lazily circling Northern Harrier (third picture below).
In all, my weekend list had American Kestrels, American Robins, blackbirds, Blue Jays, Canadian Geese, Crows, Downy Woodpeckers, Eastern Bluebirds, Gadwells, Greater Yellowlegs, Hermit Thrush, House Sparrow, Mallards, Northern Cardinals, Northern Harrier, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Red-tailed Hawks, Slated Juncos, Tufted Titmouse, White-Fronted Geese, White-Throated Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Woodpecker and Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Here’s some more pictures:
Northern Pintails
Eastern Red-tailed Hawk flying above mallards and northern shovelers.
I visited my grandmother recently in Jonesboro and her front yard was a hot spot for birds! I saw my first female and male House Finch as well as tons of Cardinals — one of my favorite birds! I later passed a European Starling while out walking my dog.
After the bayou float, I had to walk about Arkansas Post to find the red-bellied woodpecker. I found the awesome bird and more.
Do you see the American Alligator? Canada Goose Red-Bellied Woodpecker Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow Rumped Warbler Hairy or Downy Woodpecker Northern Cardinal Brown Thrasher White-throated Sparrow
I previously worked as a news and sports photographer. Recently I have been enjoying wildlife photography. My approach toward bird photos is similar to sports photography. I attempt to capture mostly action and hopefully a unique perspective.
Memos for Me 