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Monday, January 26, 2009

BirdCam Adventures 2

It's obvious that I've been having a lot of fun with my Wingscapes BirdCam. Every few days I move it to a different location within my yard in hopes of capturing the best variety of birds and maybe even something new and exciting. In its new location it has done just that. I've not only captured a nice variety of songbirds, I've managed to capture a new bird in my yard. The new location happens to be the backyard corner deck post - it's a partial deck that extends around the pool. It seems to be a favorite perching spot for the backyard birds. Here's the line-up:

Click any photo to enlarge

Eastern Bluebird (male) - lots of these...

Bbird

Eastern Bluebird (female)

WSBC0023

House Finch (Male)

Hfinch2

House Finch (female)

WSBC0011

American Goldfinch

Gfinch2

Northern Mockingbird

Mbird

Carolina Wren - This wren was puzzled as to what that white stuff was falling out of the sky. We haven't gotten snow in a long while.

CWren-snow

Look closely at this next one (click it to enlarge). A Mockingbird (bottom left corner) has chased a bluebird (top right corner) off his perch.

Hey, it's a tough world out there!

Fight

Last but definitely not least was a bird that I was not expecting to see - the Common Redpoll (female). This bird was a first for me. It typically doesn't come this far south; in fact it only enters the US in winter:

"An abundant breeding bird of the boreal and taiga regions, the Common Redpoll is seen in North America primarily only in the winter. Even then, it generally occurs during irruptions, typically every other year." (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds)

RedPoll1

She's a little bashful...

I get a lot of house finches, a few purple finches and pine siskins at my feeder; so as you can envision, it's easy to miss this bird in the mix of other finches. I spent this past weekend watching the feeders closely and spotted what looked like a male common redpoll. Unfortunately I wasn't able to snap off a photo in time.

On the same note, Check out Bill of the Bird's blog post titled "Starting the Year Off Right". He tells an interesting story about identifying a redpoll in his area.

Stay tuned for more BirdCam adventures!

20 comments:

Unknown said...

These are some great photos you have posted here!

Janet, The Queen of Seaford said...

I really like the pictures. I think we have had a Redpoll here on the pennisula. Will have to be more alert. Yesterday we had a Rufus sided Towhee stay for most of the day. Will look for him today.
Janet

Dave said...

Very neat to see a new bird in the yard! I may have to ask for one of those cameras for my Birthday or Christmas this year! I've never seen a redpoll before.

Patsy said...

Love your birdcam.
patsy

Christopher said...

More great shot from the Wingscapes BirdCam. And REDPOLL! Sweet!

Anonymous said...

I love your bird cam! Keep the pictures coming. Now that my yard is more diverse, more birds are visiting. Do you have any recommendations on a good general bird guide? Or should I try to find one that is specific to my region?

Anonymous said...

Very cool.looking forward to more "captures".

Shelley said...

I love all the photos of your birdy friends! I am envious of your birdcam too!!

Wisconsin Birder said...

How cool to have a birdcam! Adding that to my wishlist for sure. I posted Redpolls this week too. Not so unusual for us to see them but surprised they showed up as far south as you are!

Kim said...

What great picturs. The fence post is wonderful for photo taking. Thanks for sharing them, I miss the blue birds terribly.

Bob Kaufman said...

Those are so nice! It seems like all the birds are waiting for their turn to be photographed. :-)

mick said...

Really nice photos. That webcam is amazing!

Alan Pulley said...

Hey Willi,
I personally like the Sibley field guides. I would recommend for you "The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America". I think you will be pleased with it. You can order it online from Amazon.com.


Thanks everyone for all the kind comments. The BirdCam has been a lot of fun! I hope to be posting more in the near future.

Leedra said...

Well worth the BirdCam, great photos. Actually the sharpest I have seen with one of these cameras.

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Wendy said...

Great collection of birds at your feeder. Temps me to get a bird cam. Great pictures.

Anonymous said...

The BirdCam is so fun. How cool that you are having Redpolls there!

We've seen more this year than in recent past years.

Good birding to you!

Mary C said...

Your birdcam sure takes good pictures. I love the idea that you used the deck post - just one customer at a time. ;o)

Eve said...

I think that Redpoll was thinking that was a very "used" post!!! Ha Ha!!
I had up to 35 Common Redpolls all winter last year and this year not one! They are funny aren't they!

Neil said...

Love the colour on the House Finch

NW Nature Nut said...

Looks like a popular stop. The evidence on the post would indicate that, was well as the cool birdcam pics.I have a Wingscapes cam and it is a lot of fun, huh?