Enough of the Florida photos!!
On to finally seeing the Spring unfold in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.)
of
Michigan.
As usual, we get Spring much later than the entire rest of the nation,
due to the fact that we are very far north and on the chilly shores
of
Lake Superior.
The photos below were taken the end of April.
We had a snowstorm then (our last one!)
and it seemed that every type of bird within 100 miles
started flying into our area.
I don't have photos of every kind of bird we saw within a few days, but we had so many different
migrating birds coming in..it was amazing.
Some of these birds stay all year round but some we only see for a little while
and they go even farther north.
The Flickers are still here, but we hadn't seen any until April this year:
We had pretty Juncos this winter, but now in June they are all gone.
This little sparrow was hiding from the storm:
The grackles showed up late April and even more came in May:
We had a family of 13 blue jays that stayed with us all winter. Then, they started nesting in late April and disappeared for a while..Now, in June we have seen 4 back:
We have several of these little chipping sparrows to keep us company:
I am amazed by the colors in the European Starlings...they showed back up in May:
Our 11 doves stayed here all winter!:
This fuzzy European Starling did NOT like the snowstorm either!:
We weren't sure what kind of bird this was...we thought a female finch, as it loved the thistle!:
We heard the distinct call of the Red Winged Blackbird before we actually saw one! Now, in June, we haven't seen them come to the feeders much...but are still seeing them out in fields:
A Flicker and a European Starling sharing the suet!:
Two doves snuggling on the branch during the last snow storm of the season!:
We have been enjoying many more birds coming our way this spring....goldfinches, purple finches, hummingbirds, robins, house wrens, catbirds, and our biggest thrill at our feeders: Baltimore Orioles....
but
THAT is a story for a different day.......
Bird migration is a wonder. These birds are very cute and your photos superb.
ReplyDeletelove all the little birds...they are like little living artworks with their various colors...the snow was a nice respite in our oppressive heat here...
ReplyDeleteso beautiful all of these. first i thought my favorite was the starling and his beautiful feathers, then i got to the starling and woodpecker hanging on the feeder and that was my favorite, but then i got to the the two cold cooing doves and they took my heart. so i am choosing as my favorite the doves. really good photos all of these
ReplyDeleteThe unidentified bird is a pine siskin. We have lots of them here, and they also love the nyjer thistle like goldfinch and can eat upside down like them.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots, as usual!
Great photos, Joan! We have a bird feeder hanging in front of our house but I only put wild bird seed in it. It's mainly for the amusement of the cats! I usually only see sparrows and starlings and the doves and rabbits eat the seed that falls to the ground!
ReplyDeleteWow - you must have a heck of a zoom lens! Do you use a tripod? These photos are so crisp! I've never seen a European Starling. You've even made a grackle look beautiful! :)
ReplyDeleteThese are just gorgeous. The colors and patterns on the birds are so pretty. I want a hat like the first bird's!
ReplyDeleteFabulous pictures of your feathered visitors. You must have had a wonderful time with them. They're entrancing.
ReplyDeleteWow! What great photos!! I would be watching the feeders all the time. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, my! I had never seen a Flicker before. How beautiful! And the shot of the blue jay is breath-taking. Wonderful photos, as usual.
ReplyDeleteBirds seem to be the theme today on many if the nature blogs. You have some lovely pictures.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have nightmares about that grackle's menacing stare...thank you for that! ; )
ReplyDeleteYour Junkos are down here. They got in about 2 weeks ago and are having a ball. My sister and her husband were stationed in Marquette "for several centuries" back in the early 70s. She said they had two seasons up there; July and winter.
ReplyDeleteLovely bird photos. That one you don't know the name of is probably an English thrush. We have some here but they are such friendly birds I think cats catch them. There seems less around now and they may be becoming extinct here. They are lovely birds - Dave
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, the grackle looks like he is giving you the evil eye. Great bird photos, your flickers are a little different from ours.
ReplyDeleteSuch fantastic bird shots and the snow helped cool me down on this very hot day. ;) I love that last image the best. It's a beauty.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos! Your Chipping Sparrow looks more like an American Tree Sparrow. Notice the bottom yellow beak, breast spot, and rufous color on the eye line.
ReplyDeleteLovely photos! The birds are so fun to watch! The Chipping looks to be an American Tree Sparrow. Notice the bicolored beak, breast spot, and rufous eye line color.
ReplyDelete