Warbler vs Goldfinch

 

In the previous post I asked you to identify the bird on the bottom right of this collage.  Some of you thought it was a Goldfinch, but the top two pictures in this collage are Goldfinch in their winter plumage.  See the difference?  The Goldfinch won't be bright yellow until Spring. 

In the Spring the Goldfinch will get their bright yellow feathers and will look like this. 

 I have a lot to learn about these beautiful birds.

Name the Yellow Bird

While we were eating lunch, this yellow bird flew in and started eating his lunch at the feeder.  It seems to us that we have the most birds at our meal times!  I thought this bird looked slimmer than the Pine Warbler I've been used to seeing.  I also thought this one's bill looked thinner and more pointed.  It's probably a Warbler, but which one?  There are so many different Warblers that look similar.

He was soon joined by a female Cardinal that swooped in with the intent of scaring him away.

Not sure what he's doing here, but he may be trying to scare the Cardinal away:-)

 

He's had his seeds and is about to leave and fly to the woods.  You think it's a Pine Warbler or one of the others?  Or maybe he's not a Warbler at all.  Comment please.

Today I'm thankful for all my blogger friends!

Happy New Year!

Birds in Windy Weather

Today the birds were all puffed up and bracing against the cold wind! This Cardinal looks twice as fat as normal.   I always thought the Cardinal was a fairly big bird until I held an injured one in my hand!

The Mockingbird is taking a spraddle-legged stance to brace against the wind!

Goldfinch are tiny birds, but look at the size of this puffed up little fellow!  He sat in that exact position for ten or fifteen minutes.

Jeep says it doesn't take much to entertain me, and I guess he's right.  This lady Cardinal posed and entertained me for a good while.  At one point she quickly turned her head from side to side and kept it up for at least a minute! 

Thanks be to God for birds to brighten our winter!

Backyard Birds

This is the Mockingbird that fights his reflection in the window almost every day.

Yesterday the Bluebirds were checking out the birdhouse by the woods.

I caught this shot just before he jumped up to the suet feeder.

To drink or to jump in for a bath, that is the question.

This is not a very good picture, but it was the first White-throated Sparrow I've seen in a while.

I think this is a Chipping Sparrow.  They are plentiful around here.

This little Goldfinch is waiting his turn at the feeder after the Cardinals leave.

This is another 'Lady in Waiting' near the feeder.

I'm thankful for the pretty birds that entertain me each day!

Scavenger Hunt ~ Dec 26

Time flies when you're having fun!  It's already time for Scavenger Hunt again.    This week the words we are to interpret are:

1. Family

 This is all of our children,  and grandchildren.   Top left is my only child, Joe, his wife, Kay, and their children Kym and Jesse,  plus Kym's boy friend, D. J.   Top right is Jeep's middle child Jeff and his wife, Cheryl.  Bottom left is Jeep's grandson, Wesley and wife Johanna ( this was made at our wedding and she was his girl friend at the time).   Bottom center is Jeep's daughter, Jennifer, her husband, Bryan and their son, Jackson.  (this is a picture of a picture, sorry about the quality Jennifer).  Bottom right, is Jeep's oldest son, Doug and his wife, Laura and their son, Wesley.  They are watching Johanna as she is coming down the aisle to wed Wesley. 

2.  Motion Blur

These Geese stay at the Legion Lake near here year round.  This was a clear picture until I did the Motion Blur thing to it.  I like the clear version better!

3.  Pretty Package

I played with this package in Photo Shop Elements and gave it glowing edges.  I like how it changed the silver ribbon into blue, and picked up the red and green colors of the package in the three silver bells. 

4.  Glow

 

This glowing flower fits around a white light on our Christmas tree.

5.  Sparkle

My granddaughter, Kymberly, gave me the idea for this.  She had put a strand of lights in a bottle and I thought it looked cute.  I thought about my hurricane style candle holder sitting there without a candle in it, and a left over strand of colored lights with no place to go, so I put the two together.  I covered the top with a small glass plate.   The sparkle was doubled by placing it on our dresser so you can see the reflection.  It pleases me! 

  

Check out Ashley's blog Ramblings and Photos to see more Scavenger Hunt pictures.

Come on and join the fun!  The rules are easy!

Christmas in Dixie

It's snowing in the Pines

I think this Mockingbird would like to come in out of the cold!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Jackson visits Santa

Santa and Jackson ~  2010

I think he is liking Santa just a little bit.

Below is last year's visit.

Jackson's First Christmas ~ 2009

Here he is saying, "I want down"!

Merry Christmas!

Blooming Right on Time

Today was my day to go into town, buy groceries, run errands and stop by and visit my sisters.   As I was getting ready to leave, Helen said, "wait, I want to show you something".   We went down in the den and this is what she wanted me to see!

Isn't it just gorgeous??? 

She turned it around, and this is the other side of her beautiful Christmas Cactus.

Helen and I went to see our other sister, Allene, and she served us some delicious hot spiced tea.  I didn't make any pictures at her house, but while there we noticed the sky getting ready for what could be a pretty sunset. 

By the time I had driven about 5 miles toward home, the sky was getting colorful.  I stopped by the lake and made a few pictures.  I didn't have the lens that I needed on my camera, but wanted to capture a little of this pretty sky anyway.  The eastern sky was almost as colorful as the west.

This is a shot in a different direction.  I made some of the geese, but they were not good enough to post.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!