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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Purple Finches and a Mystery Bird!!

They say winter is "for the birds"....

Well, all I have to say about THAT
is that
I thank GOODNESS for our birds
in the winter....

To look out at the frozen land
and snowstorms
and to still see some life,
well, it is a Godsend....

Especially the little colorful ones...

Like our
(click on link to know more about them)
(which are really more red than purple!):



















They are so tiny...
we often wonder
how they have the metabolism
to stay alive
when it dips below zero here in the winter!


Now, I have to ask you a favor.

We had a visitor, just briefly...
last week...it only stayed long enough for me to grab my camera
and get two quick shots of it.

But we aren't sure what kind of bird it is!:

Please look at these photos and let me know?:

At first, it kind of looked like a rose-breasted Grosbeak, but
I am positive now that it wasn't....








Then we wondered if it was the Baltimore Oriole we saw once this year...but when I looked that up, it wasn't that either!!

Any ideas what it is????

25 comments:

Alan Burnett said...

What fantastic colours they display.

Brian Miller said...

sorry i am going to be no help on the bird...but they sure are pretty...

MadSnapper said...

no idea what it is but adorable comes to mind. the purple finchis new to me also. very pretty bird, looks like it has been photoshopped to be that color, amazing little birds, you got a great capture on both of them.

Joanie said...

I'll have to get my bird book out. Great photos!

Unknown said...

Pretty, but I have no clue. You get such great shots!

Vicki Holdwick said...

Love your blog and your pix. I was raised in St. Ignace (a yooper to be sure).

Could that bird be a red poll?

xoxo

Joanie said...

I'm not having any luck finding any info on that orange-headed white bird! The other one sure looks like an oriole though. Maybe an albino oriiole?? :)

Bossy Betty said...

I think it's a purple finch who has had some work done. Has it been to Hollywood lately?

Lovely pictures!

Anonymous said...

Joanie--My husband and I think it might be a house finch. Same type of body and colors. Not positive though

Country Gal said...

Awesome photos ! I looked through my Smithsonian Field Guide to birds , I think it is a house finch, some of the males can look like this, its related to their age and their diet. We also live near a bird sanctuary and they have known there to be mixed breeds now adays like dogs muts lol It could be a mix of House finch and a Common Red poll breed ! Hope this helps I tried lol . Have a great day !

A New England Life said...

I don't recognize it either, but I would doubt you have an Oriole this time of year. Usually they head south for the winter.

Where are the bird experts when you need them? I'll have to send one your way!

Chris Petrak said...

Pine Grosbeak – and congratulations. I have not seen any reports of the bird yet this year, though I don’t check areas outside of VT very regularly unless I have time to travel. PIGR was my immediate reaction. Then checked Sibley and appears it can be refined to “Russet adult female.” Or a female (here I speculate) that has been eating a lot of caroteen rich berries, hence more reddish head. I have a poor picture from 07 of a female with similar orangish wash on breast, but with the browner head that is more typical.

Vicki@MorePowerfulBeyondMeasure said...

Well, doggone I read every comment hoping for the answer! It's beautiful, and my first thought was a Grosbeak. I heard on NPR the other day that they are showing up in places across the country that they don't normally visit. It's interesting and now I won't be able to stand it until you find out! Great photos! Vicki

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi---- A Pine Grosbeak.. That is SUPER, Joan... He's a beauty... I knew it wasn't a House Finch or a Redpoll.

Love your Purple Finch pictures also... You did GREAT.
Hugs,
Betsy

Far Side of Fifty said...

A Pine Grosbeak..cool..he is rather Orange..must have been eating lots of Mountain Ash berries:)

Anonymous said...

We've had pine grossbeaks in the winter and they don't look like this, but it could be a new breed. Dan and I went through our two big books and can't come up with anything. The head reminds me of a juvenile tanager...maybe it bred with a sparrow then you could have a tanarrow???

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Yes, a Pine Grosbeak--which happens to be featured this month on the songbirds calendar right next to my computer. Would love to see one in the yard!

CiCi said...

My mother sent us a subscription to Birds and Blooms magazine and we are enjoying it immensely. We want to know what birds are in the yard. We have geese flying over and I can't begin to count them. This midwest life is so rewarding.

Insanitykim said...

I love seeing new kinds of birdies! Aren't blogs just great? You can snap a pic, and soon enough someone is there to tell you what the bird is! :)

Tracy said...

Goodness Gracious Joan, those are wonderful photos. I actually never heard of a Purple Finch but I'm new at all this bird watching and attracting birds so I couldn't help you with identifying the mysetery bird, but it's so cute!
Nice post Joan!

Linda Reeder said...

We don't have pine grosbeaks here, so I had no idea. We do have purple finches. They nest here in the spring and produce noisy offspring. Grea pics.

Ginnymo said...

He is a beautiful bird. I've never seen one of those kind but have seen the red breasted Grosbeak a few times here in the summer. Isn't it always exciting to see a new bird??!!

Ryan said...

Sorry I can't help but they are gorgeous wee guys.

Carole Barkett said...

no idea but he's sure beautiful!

SquirrelQueen said...

The purple finches are so pretty, I love their rosy color. I'm glad other could ID your little mystery bird, I had no idea.

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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