Tuesday, April 27, 2021

The Birds Were Flitting Through This Morning

Maybe it was because my caregiver came early and I was up and away from breakfast sooner than normal, but there seemed to be a surprising number of birds flitting past the window today.  And later on in the morning a very active small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers, my first warblers of the year passed through.

The first bird I noted was the Mourning Dove, perhaps because it's so big and obvious!

It stayed around for awhile, letting me get more pictures.  This I blew up as much as I could and it was still remarkably clear.  I love the feather pattern on the doves.  This picture is hugely cropped, probably more than it should be!

A House Finch visited the feeder, and earlier a pair had stopped together briefly.  I expect they're nesting somewhere close.

There were also 3 or 4 Dark-eyed Juncos around.  They usually leave in the spring to nest in the boreal forest.

But the big sighting of the spring so far was a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting through the canopy of our big trees.  They hardly ever sit still for more than a second, and it was a challenge to get a picture that would show the flash of yellow in their wings.  These photos are enormously cropped, but I was using my big Nikon, so they stayed relatively clear.


We still have a Downy Woodpecker and the Chickadees, but they too will soon disappear to the woods to raise their young.  The only birds I didn't get a picture of were a Robin and a Song Sparrow, but I'm sure they're both nesting nearby.





13 comments:

  1. Wonderful shots! The dove is my favourite.

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  2. What a great assortment! I love the House Finch!

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  3. Cropping is necessary. I had to crop my moon photos a little even though I was shooting at 400mm. Ya dun gud. And you know your birds.

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  4. The Mourning Dove, such beautiful feather colours all arranged to show the darker ones off so well. And a great variety of feathered friends. lovely to see them after your winter is almost done.

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  5. i see my juncos made it safely to you, i miss them already. the warblers are beautiful. i am glad you have a nice variety there to keep you company!!

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  6. Great pictures. In recent years we have juncos staying and nesting here. We had one nest in a hanging basket which made watering it a challenge. I never get tired of listening to mourning doves.

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  7. Lovely bird pictures. I've always like mourning doves.

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  8. What lovely feathered visitors you have. Great photos!

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  9. All of them are birds we never see here, so nice to make their acquaintance. Being able to crop photos is part of the reason to have an expensive camera.

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  10. Given that you are not able to chase the birds, the combination of patience and the long lens brought good results. Well done.

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  11. Pretty birds!

    I've not seen the warblers here, but the others are familiar to me. There are still a few juncos around, lots of sparrows and finches, and the ones I dislike, the grackles. I had a pair of Hungarian partridges in the backyard yesterday as well.

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  12. Yellow-rumped warblers are the earliest of those to return here; but they don't stay, they head your way.

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