Ken, we use hulled sunflower seed; sometimes called sunflower chips. That way there’s no mess with any shells. All the birds seem to like it. The squirrels and some of the ground feeders clean up most of the stuff that falls to the ground. It IS more expensive…
I’ll have to look for that. Looks like you keep them filled year round. I never bothered cause it seemed they didn’t come around much when the weather was nice. Only times I’ve seen a crowd around the feeders was when it snowed. Great pix, BTW!
We do have a few shrubs planted that attract a lot of hummingbirds, but they’re mighty quick and it’s tough getting a picture of them.
I pester the Canada geese outside the door. 
Haven’t seen the goose dog for a few days, so they’re getting a little thick 'round here.
My lovely bride feeds the B1RDs around here, probably to provide an entertainment source for our cats. The feeders are so far away from the porch that any B1RD is just a colored smudge, even with a 400mm lens. If I go off the porch to try to 'neak up on them, they fly away, with a mocking twitter.
Watching the cats try to get them is hilarious. The feeders are high up in the tree. I think the B1RDs tease the cats as much as they do me!
Bruce - beautiful pictures - they are now in my scrapbook.
Last week we adopted a turkey buzzard, called Norman, in our local raptor sanctuary - the UK Raptor Foundation.
Here in the East Anglian countryside we are seeing an ever-increasing number of the larger raptors, coming back after almost a century away. Kites, and red kites and at least three different types of buzzard, too.
I scored a personal success back in 2003 when I was driving to our shooting range one cold sunday morning, and spotted a large buzzard-sized bird on a gate-post. Stopping about 50m away, I saw the red legs and chest of a Rufous Buzzard, not seen here since 1923.
I took about twenty piccies with a film camera, and then called up the RSPB, based not far away from us in Sandy, Bedfordshire [not Oregon] to confirm the sighting.
Since then they have been spotted at least a dozen times in this region, but it’s nice to score a first sighting this century!
Graders to all bird-lovers, whether it be oven-ready chicken or the living item!
tac
That sounds pretty neat. I couldn’t find the rufous buzzard. Saw a rufous-winged one, but that’s in Asia, apparently. Here’s a picture of a turkey buzzard that landed on the neighbor’s shed. Too bad there were a lot of twigs in the way. Not one of nature’s prettiest birds…
They sure are elegant in flight, though.
“Look, Daddy, a honk!” – Ethan, age 2 1/2 (He’s 14 now)
Jean and I had a good birding trip last Saturday and I got some nice pictures at the Occoquan National Wildlife Refuge. Yellow Warbler
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010540w_YellowWarbler.JPG)
Great Egret
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010555w_GreatEgret.JPG)
Greater Yellowlegs
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010571w_GreaterYellowlegs.JPG)
Common Yellow Throat
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010583w_CommonYellowThroat.JPG)
Cedar Waxwing
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010585w_CedarWaxwing.JPG)
Tree Swallow
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010596w_TreeSwallow.JPG)
A pair of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers building a nest
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010602w_Gnatcather.JPG)
Prothonotary Warbler
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010635w_Prothonotary.JPG)
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010642_Prothonotary-w.JPG)
Yellow Rumped Warbler
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010646_YellowRumpedw.JPG)
A young male Orchard Oriole
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010651_OrchardOriole_w.JPG)
In addition to those, we saw Red Winged Blackbird, Northern Towhee, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Cardinal, Chickadee, Blue Bird, Osprey, Bald Eagle, Wild Turkey, Starling, Crow, Goldfinch, Robin…and probably some others I forgot… All in all, a great day.
And, from the backyard, we got a rarity. A Rose Breasted Grosbeak. Of course the first shot was shot through the glass of sliding door…and he’s facing the wrong way.
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010659w_RoseBreastedGrosbeak.JPG)
He flew away before I could open it, but when I stepped outside he was just up on a branch.
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010676w_RoseBreastedGrosbeak.JPG)
Later, he came back to the feeder and I was able to crack the door enough to get a clear shot.
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1010706w_RoseBreastedGrosbeak.JPG)
That grosbeak is a beautiful bird - great shots, Bruce!
A quiet day birding, but did run across an Osprey nest. There’s 3 immatures in there. After one of the parents left, only one wanted to put his head up.
Great pictures. I missed these the first time around.
The picture of the Greater Yellowleg “mirrored” in the water is fantastic.
Ralph
I like birds also, but mine is a Umbrella Cockatoo and he is sitting here on my shoulder helping me with this.
John
John, what is that white mess on your shoulder?
Steve Featherkile said:Speaking of, we have a white heron that hangs around. I guess he thinks there's fish in my neighbors pool. Anyway, my wife came home from work last week and as she was pulling in the drive, was puzzled by the mess all over the front of my pick-up. Seems the heron let loose while flying into the backyard and completely covered the windshield of my truck with his mess.
John, what is that white mess on your shoulder? :D
I don’t know if you are aware of it, but Mac McCalla’s signature on one of his weathering jobs is scale bird poop. I have offered to bring Chablis (my cockatoo) over to his house and give him some 1:1 examples he can work from. Somehow he just won’t take me up on my offer. Probably a good thing as he is in to cats.
Actually these large parrots can be potty trained and Chablis goes back to his cage to do his job.
John
Last night a dusk, our resident Coopers Hawk flew down and landed under our feeder.
Our feeder is under two towering blue spruces just for protection from hawks and the weather.
Anyway a tree rat was at his feeding spot and was yelling at the Cooper, middle finger and all.
Quite interesting and comical. Remind me to take a wide berth around this particular super tree rat!
The Cooper flew away without his dinner. Besides, I don’t think he could get the rat airborne, they were both the same size. He might have been after a songbird that was at the feeder.
jb
August is a tough time for bird watching. The birds are quiet and it’s HOT. Today was a nice day for August, so we decided to head out. (I DO like this retirement thing. 
) Caught a molting Eastern Towhee
(http://www.jbrr.com/Pics/Birds/P1020302.JPG)
We saw quite a few birds but I couldn’t get any real good pictures. The nice thing about summer is that it also brings out the butterflies. Here’s a zebra swallowtail.
