While birding this past weekend, I had some really nice looks at a Northern Mockingbird. This reminded me of how much I enjoyed the visitors to our yard this spring…

The Northern Mockingbird has some of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. One particular fella would sit on the roof and sing all night long. I think he was trying to woo a mate :)

He would sing a few songs and then he would do sort of a flip in the air, displaying the beautiful white markings under his wings. This would go on and on…

Northern Mockingbirds may be considered drab by some, but not by me – I think all birds are absolutely beautiful – they were made by Jesus after all! :) And their singing is heavenly!

Sometimes I get so caught up in trying to photograph birds that I don’t get the enjoyment that comes from just watching them, studying their habits and listening to their beautiful songs (and I’m not that great a photographer, so it can be doubly frustrating!)

That’s why yesterday was such a great day. I had cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeder, and filled the seed feeders with a new mixture that included a variety of nuts. I decided to leave the camera inside while I sat out on the patio with just my binoculars, my field guide, and a Dachshund :)

To my great surprise and delight, one of the first visitors to the yard was a White-Breasted Nuthatch. Adriane had seen him once before, but this was the first time I had spotted one of these little guys in our own yard! He was on the feeder, grabbed a nut, and flew off to the neighbor’s cherry tree about 25 feet away. I got a wonderful look at him through the binoculars as he had his snack, then proceeded to “peck” at the bark while he haphazardly circled the tree in a downward-facing position (my assumption is that he was digging for insects below the bark). A short time later, he flew onto the fence post and sat there for about three or four minutes, giving me a great chance to just observe and enjoy the wonderful color patterns in his feathers, his unique compact shape, and more. Jesus did a wonderful job (as always!) in creating him :)

I also got to see (and hear!) our Ruby-Throated Hummingbird couple, as well as some Northern Cardinals, European Starlings, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, House Finches, and American Robins. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves and their snack treats. I even got to hear our American Goldfinches singing for the first time!

This experience reminded me what I love about birding. It’s the beauty and enjoyment of God’s creation and not necessarily whether I can post a photo on my blog.  There will be plenty of opportunity for that in the future. Yesterday was all about the fun of it :)

Well, I finally got some photos of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird family that visits us each day. The first photo is the female. I just love her little toes!

We were really laughing at some of her antics. There’s a ceramic wind chime hanging up on the patio that has small green birds dangling from the strings. Well, she was really buzzing around them for about a minute. I wonder if she thought they were other hummingbirds! Probably not, but we got a kick out of it anyway :)

Here are some photos of the male and female in relatively the same poses, so that you can see the difference. The male has the ruby-red throat, and the female has a white throat and a small white patch just behind her eye.

These next photos show them hovering over the feeder. Their wings move so fast I couldn’t even capture them with my camera (sounds like a great excuse to get a better camera :)

We got this feeder at Lowe’s for less than five bucks, and we fill it with a one-part table sugar, four-parts water mixture. So for a very low price, we get alot of enjoyment watching these little ones. They have never come to feed at the same time (maybe one of them is back at the nest “babysitting”). I think it would be great if they raised a family here :)

Finally! One of the Blue Jays that visits our yard (I’ve seen three together) actually stayed still long enough for me to get a few pictures.

Ususally, he’ll yell as he’s getting ready to eat (presumably to clear the other birds away from the feeder), then swoop down to grab a seed or nut, then take off again with his bounty.

Sometimes, he’ll even take the seed and bang it on a tree branch or on one of our patio chairs to break it open.

I guess I was lucky that he took his time choosing his snack treat :) Hopefully, I’ll have the camera ready the next time the whole family comes for a meal.

This blog is dedicated to the wide variety of birds, butterflies and other examples of His bountiful creation that the Lord Jesus Christ has blessed us with in our backyard. I hope to get photos of as many different creatures as possible and then identify and post them here. It’s truly amazing the number and types of wildlife that we get on our little half acre of land.

Our first photo is of an Eastern Bluebird. Bright blue on his back and wings, he has a rusty red chest and a white belly. He’s one of our favorite visitors :)

Of course, sometimes he doesn’t look too happy to see us!

We hope you enjoy this blog and come back often to see who stopped by the backyard.