Baby Wrens and Other Visitors

Our wrens have a nest of little ones now and are busy feeding them. And I've snapped a few photos of other birds which have visited our backyard.

We're still having temperatures in the mid-90's so we've not done much outside. Wayne put new blades on the lawn tractor. Even in the early morning, it was warm out there.

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The Nest Building Saga Continues...

Today is Memorial Day and it has been raining off and on, so I took advantage of the weather to do a bit of birdwatching from my favorite swing on the back porch. The wrens were very active today...even during the rain. Here's a pictorial view for you to enjoy.

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Nesting

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Today we are burning more piles of sticks in our backyard. I shot a couple of photos of my fire tending. My time in the Girl Scouts indeed is serving me well in how to stack those logs up to get them to burn good. While I sat there tending the fire piles, I enjoyed listening to and watching the frolic of the birds in our backyard. So you know me, I grabbed my camera and shot some new photos.

We have already had one hatching of baby bluebirds in our bluebird house. Once they left, Wayne cleaned it out so they can use it again. When he did, the structure of the nest is amazing. It is mostly made with pine needles that are all interwoven to hold it together.

Today the bluebirds have been stopping by the house to set up housekeeping again. Our bluebirds stay all year long.

The wrens have been building in the wren house too. They aren't as neat as the bluebirds though - look at how the sticks hang out under the roof. Maybe those are just draft dodgers from a crack between the side wall and the roof. Isn't it interesting how they can find those gaps?

I caught a photo of one of the wrens stopping by, and then quickly flying into their house. This house hangs on the clothesline pole so we can watch first hand from the deck all of their comings and goings.

And then I snapped some of the other birds that stopped by for a bite to eat this morning...mourning doves, blue jays, indigo buntings, cardinals, brown thrasher, chickadee,American robin, Eastern bluebird,tufted titmouse, house finches (momma was teaching her little ones to forage for food in the grass), American Goldfinch, and red-bellied woodpecker....and I saw all of those different kinds just this morning.

Mother Nature at her finest!

Azaleas in full bloom and animals are picnicing in our back yard

The azaleas are in full bloom - the hummingbirds love to land and check out the nectar of their blossoms.

To view any of these photos larger, just click on the photo.

Tuffy is the resident cat. His favorite window on the backyard is one of the chairs or the floor on the back porch. From there, he can see all the comings and goings of the birds and squirrels at the feeders. There is a new puppy next door - they haven't met nose to nose yet!

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We feed our birds year round, but it is always fun in the spring when those that fly south return for the summer...or even for just a little while as they head farther north.

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The squirrels share the squirrel feeder pretty well. One can go upstairs to the sunflower seeds and one can stay downstairs with the corn.

The hummingbirds are back and drinking like they haven't had any nectar for a while. This one let me get pretty close with my camera.

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The grosbeak come in the spring and then head out. While they are here we certainly enjoy their color. Look at how big their beaks are - makes it easy for them to crack into corn and seeds.

Here is a photo with a couple of male grosbeaks (the colored ones) and a female (the brown one). They are about the same size - just different coloring.

We don't see many blue jays here, but this year we've had several at our feeders nearly every day.

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We have lots of goldfinches now too. The wrens are back and starting to set up house in our two wren houses that hang on the clothesline. And, we finally have a pair of bluebirds that have taken up residence in our bluebird house. It was new and I understand that they don't like new wood for their homes. This is the first year they have taken up residence in the Brownings backyard.