WBU's BIRDING BLOG

This is the male Baltimore Oriole that showed up in my yard yesterday!

2009-09-28T20:22:00.000-07:00

I am only putting out grape jelly right now to attract the orioles. When it is a bit cooler I will also put out orange halves and nectar. I set up a pole system with just oriole feeders...everything orange!

Here's another Baltimore Oriole update! We had 2 in our yard on the 7th, another on the 8th! They're here!!!

2009-09-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to let everyone know that we had our first sighting of a Baltimore Oriole in Tallahassee by Joanne H, who came by the store today. Exciting!

2009-09-06T21:07:00.000-07:00

Amalia has emailed us a couple more of her wonderful photos. Hope you enjoy them!

2009-08-24T20:49:00.000-07:00

Piliated Woodpecker. We hear them a lot more than we see them, so this was a great sighting.

This is a baby Bluebird in Amalia's yard. I have several, too, that are hanging around every morning for a helping of mealworms.

Emily, our store companion, is recovering from a facelift!

2009-08-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Emily had a facial wrinkle that was rubbing against the bottom of her eyes. It was causing the eyes to cloud with pigment because of the rubbing. She would have eventually gone blind because of this. Her wrinkle was completely removed. Dr Patricia Novey did a wonderful job with the surgery. Emily will now be wearing this inflatable ring around her neck for a while to keep her from scratching her face. Even wrinkleless, we think she will be as cute as ever.

We raised Painted Lady Butterflies in the store in this case called A Butterfly Garden which we sell in the store. Today we released them!

2009-08-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

Susan is releasing the Painted Lady butterflies.

This butterfly sat on the edge of the Butterfly Garden for a long time before it took off flying all around the yard.

A couple of the butterflies sat on the liriope flowers when they flew out.

A visit to St Marks National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, August 14th.

2009-08-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

This Gray Kingbird was a life bird for Susan and myself. We were happy to get a fairly decent picture of it. We were using a Nikon Coolpix L100.

Tern, Tern, Tern...Royal Terns and Skimmers. This is a digiscope picture I took with my new Swarovski scope. We were at the lighthouse tower and these birds were far out on the sand beds.

Caspian Tern...This was also digiscoped with the Swarovski Scope and a Nikon 8400 Camera.

Not too great a picture, but worth sharing because this oprey had a huge fish... I think almost as long as he was.

Susan took this picture of Mary. Susan was using that new Coolpix she bought. You can also see the sheer beauty of St Marks NWR. It's my favorite place on earth!

The lighthouse at St Marks.

On our way out of the Refuge we noticed this alligator. We actually haven't seen too many of them there lately. We used to see so many more. Where are they?

At the end of the day, when we leave the refuge, I always say I would like to see a bobcat, a Florida panther, a black bear, and deer. We saw the deer as we were leaving. One down and three to go. In the past we have seen a bobcat and a black bear...I wouldn't mind the panther to add to that list!

These are some wonderful photos by our customer, Amalia. She has a great backyard for the birds!

2009-08-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird

This is a leucitic hummingbird. If it were completely white, it would be considered an albino hummingbird, but because there are some markings on it...it is termed leucitic.

Great photo Amalia!

This male Rose-breasted Grosbeak was photographed last April. During migration in the Spring and Fall they visit our yards here in northern Florida. They particularly like safflower seed!

Northern Parula

Baby Bluebird. There are lots of these all around Tallahassee right now. We love our bluebirds!

This father Bluebird has chosen the side of a tree truck to feed his baby.

This is my favorite shot. Baby Bluebirds can do a lot of begging! Wonderful photo!

Susan and I did a birding trip on June 30th to Marymoor Park while in Seattle. It's a fabulous place for birding!

2009-07-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

We saw 59 birds during our morning visit to the park. Most of them were Life Birds for us (Mary and Susan).

This is a photo of a baby Barn Owl in a nesting box. The photo is by Clay Taylor. He is a representative for Swarovski Optiks and joined us on the walk.

This is Susan along with other birders who are obviously in awe of some bird. This is a typical pose for us birders!

The next 3 photos show some of the interesting plants and flowers that we saw in Marymoor. It was a wonderful park to visit. I would go again if I lived a bit closer!

This is a dark-eyed junco. She is a cute bird. We get a few here in Tallahassee in the winter.
Photo by Clay Taylor.

Susan sneaked this photo of me (Mary). You can see Clay in the background with his huge camera lens.

The next two photos are tree swallows. Mom has just arrived to feed her starving babies!
Photo by Clay Taylor.

Feed me! Someone please feed me!
Photo by Clay Taylor.

Spotted Towhee. We had one here at Alligator Point last winter...very rare for us. I didn't see it, so this was my first!
Photo by Clay Taylor.

Red-breasted Sapsucker. Life Bird!
Photo by Clay Taylor.

This is a beautiful bird...Lazuli Bunting. It apparently loves to sing. It sang the entire time that we watched it.
Photo by Clay Taylor.

The singing Lazuli!
These are but a few of the photos that Clay took (and I took a few...his are much better). He downloaded all his photos of this birding trip and allowed me to share them with you. Hope you enjoyed them. If you are ever in Seattle, go check out Marymoor Park. I think you'll like it. Happy Birding!

Mary and Susan's whale and bird watching trip around the San Juan Islands in Washington State, June 30th.

2009-07-08T10:39:00.000-07:00

We boarded a boat at Anacortes about 1 1/2 hours north of Seattle. We spent 5 hours around the islands searching for whales and birds. We saw the Orca Whale, which I have pictures of below. We also saw the Minke whales and harbor dolphins. In addition to the birds pictured, we also saw the Pelagic Cormorant, Common Murre, Heermann's Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Great Blue Heron, Black Oystercatcher, and Bald Eagle. I am sure I have forgotten some...I don't have my list at hand. All but the heron, eagle, and Double-crested Cormorant were Life Birds for us. It was a marvelous trip. I took many pictures, but these are not mine. These were taken by Bart Rulon, who was a naturalist on the boat and his camera lens was about as long as my arm. His pictures are way better than mine!

Orca Whale "Spy Hopping"

Orca breaching the water! They were incredibly fun to watch.

Orca whale again. These whales have distinct markings, as in the white under the tail. These whales all have names and the naturalist could tell them apart!

Another Orca Whale! There were many to see!

There were several of these rock islands covered with birds. There were mainly Double-crested and Brandt's Cormorants, with a few added gulls.

This is a Pigeon Gillemot. Another bird for the Life List!

Rhinoceros Auklets were everywhere. They are related to the puffin. But the Tufted Puffin in the picture below is the bird that we were searching for. We saw two on this trip.

Near the center of this picture is the Tufted Puffin. Right near the end of our five hour trip through the San Juan Islands, this marvelous bird flew into a group of birds floating by the boat. What a treat!

Down at the refuge

2009-07-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Purple Gallinule

Gull-billed Tern

Ring-billed Gull

Orchard Oriole

Assorted waders...can you spot the Wood Stork?

This male Towhee has been pecking mirrors at HQ pond car park for over 3 years now! Give it a rest dude!

All pictures taken by Carol Miller

Carol's latest

2009-07-06T18:36:00.001-07:00

Gray Kingbird

Clapper Rail

recently fledged Osprey

Reddish Egret

Beautiful in flight

2009-07-06T18:34:00.000-07:00

Kim Chason took these beautifully composed flight shots of a Great Blue Heron and a Snowy Egret

It's nesting season

2009-07-06T18:33:00.001-07:00

taken by Kim Chason

Flycatchers

2009-07-06T18:32:00.001-07:00

Great Crested Flycatchers are nesting in Amalia's neighborhood.

Birding in Georgia

2009-05-22T18:58:00.001-07:00

Canada Warbler

Scarlet Tanager

Summer Tanager

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Loggerhead Shrike

Carol Miller took these pics on a recent trip to Kennesaw Mountain nr Atlanta. I also took a trip to the Georgia Mountains. To view a report of my trip click HERE.

Build it and they will come!

2009-05-22T18:53:00.000-07:00

I put up a Bluebird house and was just as pleased to get Chickadees! Here is a picture of the babies. I think they are pretty close to fledging. The nest check was a spur of the moment decision when I saw the mother leave and I had a camera with me. I did some research later and read that nest checks for Chickadees should stop at 11 days old to prevent premature fledging. I'm not sure how old these guys are, but I think they are pretty close to the 11 day mark. Luckily the babies stayed in place and I saw the mother feeding them afterwards. I'm hoping to have baby chickadees visiting my feeders soon!

Thomas Wiatt

Thomas also had one of his Purple Martin photographs included on the Great Backyard Bird Count website. Click HERE to view it

Bluebirds 'R Us

2009-05-22T18:48:00.000-07:00

Pam got a shot of these bluebirds in Mary and Susan's yard. They have quite an appetite for mealworms!

Meanwhile Amalia Agramonte had her very first nesting bluebirds this spring. Congrats!

Birdathon Pics

2009-05-22T18:38:00.001-07:00

Sora

Killdeer and baby killdeerlets

Taken by Pam Flynn during the Birdathon

Carol's latest pictures

2009-05-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

Dunlin

Least Bittern

Purple Gallinule

Sora

Virginia Rail

Red-headed Woodpecker

2009-05-22T18:32:00.000-07:00

Amalia Agramonte took these great pictures of a Red-headed Woodpecker

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks in April

2009-05-22T18:25:00.001-07:00

A number of you sent pictures of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks that arrived in your yards this spring. The pictures above were taken by Kim Chason.

I Like Birds....

2009-05-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I've been busy with finals and work. I'll be going on vacation tomorrow but will post everyone's pictures when I get back. In the mean time here is the Eels latest hit, I Like birds....

Photo's from Christine

2009-04-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Parents feeding at the mealworm box. They learned very quickly how to use it.

baby chickadees only 2 days old.April 10th.

Squirrel feeding on corn stick.

Bluebird baby just prior to leaving the nest.

Mom at nesting box with first brood.

I am so excited this year as I have had bluebirds return to have another brood. Of the 4 eggs,3 hatched and left the nest on april 5th 2009. The parents are already working very hard at building another nest. They started it friday april 10th.
the photos enclosed are taken in my back yard and I am such a novice photographer. Please excuse the poor pictures but wanted to share......

Thanks for being in Tallahassee. Your help,friendship and wonderful store has made such a compliment to my life.

Love, Christine Reker

Bald Point birds by Carol

2009-04-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Black-and-white Warbler

Northern Parula

Palm Warbler

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

White-eyed Vireo

White-throated Sparrow

Yellow-throated Warbler

Okaloosa Island

2009-04-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron

Osprey

Great Horned Owl

Pictures taken by Mary on her way back from Fort Morgan.

Kim's recent pictures

2009-04-10T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Brown Pelicans

Amalia's recent pictures

2009-04-10T16:04:00.000-07:00

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Purple Martin

Brown-headed Cowbird

American Goldfinch

St Marks pictures by Carol

2009-04-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Yellow-throated Warbler

Cooper's Hawk

Redhead

Bald Eagles

The eaglet in the nest by the saltwater boat ramp is exercising his wings and getting ready to fledge. Parents are watching close by and chasing off intruders. Several other adults are prominent at other areas of the refuge.

There are still 6-8 different kinds of ducks at Lighthouse Pond, though Redheads are the most numerous. A Cooper’s Hawk flushed the flocks, but they settled quickly.

Little birds are numerous around the Visitor’s Center.

FORT MORGAN

2009-04-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

Susan and I went to the bird banding at Fort Morgan on March 28th. It was my first time there...Susan's second. We went to both banding stations, but the quieter one was where the two Freds were. I did enjoy meeting Bob Sargent. He was great with the kids.

(1) Susan is holding and then releasing a warbler. (2)The table where the birds are measured and info input into the computer. (3)The female cardinal was the most fiesty of all the birds banded. She fussed the whole time. (4)I added the picture of the little girl to show that even the little people are given the opportunity to release the birds after they are banded and measured. (5) This shows the Cedar Waxwing being measured. (6) Just as we were leaving the park we saw this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. It was caught and banded the next day.

Whoopers in Texas

2009-03-17T09:45:00.002-07:00

Whooping Crane

Pam Flynn writes....

Here's a couple shots of a whooping crane at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. This bird is one of about 200 in the only wild migrating flock in the world. They will be headed back up to Canada to nest in the next couple weeks.

They are in desperate need of some blue crabs too so if you have any you need to get rid of, send them on over to Texas. These amazing creatures would definitely appreciate it!

Great Blue Heron by Kim

2009-03-17T09:45:00.001-07:00

Amalia's pictures

2009-03-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

Osprey

Laughing Gull

Eastern Bluebird

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Mockingbird

Bathing Beauties by Kim Chason

2009-03-17T09:38:00.001-07:00

Hermit Thrush

Hermit Thrush

Yellow-rumped Warblers

Mixed Flock by Carol

2009-02-27T19:13:00.000-08:00

Carol took this shot at Mashes Sands. How many species can you pick out?

Sylvia's St Marks pictures

2009-02-27T19:03:00.000-08:00

Savannah Sparrow

Wilson's Snipe

Eastern Phoebe

Northern Mockingbird

Great Blue Heron dining on a swamp rat!

Eastern Towhee

Whooping Cranes

2009-02-27T18:56:00.000-08:00

Sylvia sent this great picture of the Whooping Cranes arriving at St. Marks last month.

Purple Martins

2009-02-26T05:07:00.000-08:00

I already have a full Purple Martin house! I counted over 30 martins last night. It is such a thrill to hear them sing as they are coming in for the evening. During this early part of the season, they seem to hang around the house until about noon, then leave to feed and possibly recruit other martins. They return just before dusk. Nest building will begin soon in preparation for egg laying. I pre-built their nests with pine straw, but they will add to that and rearrange to their liking, with a final topping of green leaves.

Here are some pictures of the season so far.

Thomas Wiatt

Ice birds

2009-02-23T15:34:00.001-08:00

We turned on the water last night so our pipes wouldn’t freeze and it made for some nice photos. As I was taking the photos out the front window I heard the Carolina Wren singing and got these from the little window out my door. His singing was so cool!

Thank you,

Kimberly Chason

Backyard photos by Amalia

2009-02-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

Orange-crowned Warbler

American Robin

Eastern Phoebe

Carolina Wren

Northern Mockingbird

Cedar Waxwings

2009-02-23T15:23:00.001-08:00

I had a flock of cedar waxwings visiting my front garden for about a week..It's a good thing they are pretty because they are quite messy!

Pam Flynn

The Purple Martins are back!

2009-02-23T15:20:00.001-08:00

We had two scouts on Saturday, one on Monday and several more today. They have been checking out our purple martin house and we hope they are thinking about settling in!

Warren & Rita May

Yellow-throated Warbler

2009-02-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

Folks have sent a lot of great pictures to the blog but this has to rank as one of THE best. Thanks to Amalia for this stunning image of a truly beautiful bird. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Rusty Blackbirds

2009-02-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

taken by Tara Stevenson in her Tallahassee yard.

Rusty Blackbirds are declining dramatically and Cornell are asking birders to help monitor them. For more info follow the link below

Rusty Blackbirds need our help

Dark-eyed Junco

2009-02-12T19:27:00.001-08:00

Carol Miller took this picture of a male junco at Maclay Gardens SP. There have been at least 4 junco's there since early January.

Squirrel Cafe!!

2009-02-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

I'm so impressed my husband managed to get a picture. My sister gave me this feeder for Christmas. We didn't have to wait too long for them to find their way to the squirrel cafe.

Robin Yeatman

Recent sightings from Amalia's yard

2009-02-09T11:32:00.001-08:00

check out that Ruby Crown!

Red-headed Woodpecker

Orange-crowned Warbler

Myrtle Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Pileated Woodpecker

2009-02-09T11:30:00.001-08:00

I read the blog today and I know what you mean about the birds eating a lot. Between all of the Finches, Sparrows, Titmice, Chickadees, Wrens, Robins and Cardinals, I go through a lot of feed but it’s worth it. I get home from a long day at work and there’s nothing like relaxing to all the songs from them and watching them go from feeder to feeder.

Sunday as I was sitting on my porch watching, I caught out of the corner of my eye to see this beautiful Woodpecker. I grab my camera and tried to get as close as I could to get a photo. Stepping on all the leave in my yard and making noise, I could only get about 20 feet from her and she’d fly away. But at least I got one. I also got one of a Robin chilling in a tree.

Kim Chason

Pileated Woodpecker

American Robin

APALACHEE AUDUBON TOUR OF YARDS 2009

2009-02-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

FOR MORE INFORMATION THIS EXCITING EVENT CLICK ON THE FOLLOWING LINK.

http://apalachee.org/Events_Calander/aa20090221.html

TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT 2009

2009-02-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

LETS GO FOR NUMBER 1 IN 2009 TALLAHASSEE!

2008 RESULTS

Localities Submitting the Most Checklists

Rank	City	Checklists
1	Charlotte, North Carolina	493
2	Mentor, Ohio	460
3	Tallahassee, Florida	437
4	Richmond, Virginia	359
5	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	326
6	Durham, North Carolina	294
7	Cincinnati, Ohio	282
8	Virginia Beach, Virginia	271
9	Knoxville, Tennessee	264
10	Birmingham, Alabama	258
Statistics updated 11-Feb-2008 14:11 ET

Localities Reporting the Most Species

Rank	City	Species
1	Corpus Christi, Texas	185
2	Savannah, Georgia	166
3	Rockport, Texas	165
4	Tallahassee, Florida	151
5	Lakeport, California	142
6	Jacksonville, Florida	139
7	Mission, Texas	137
8	Saint Petersburg, Florida	135
9	Weslaco, Texas	134
10	Wilmington, North Carolina	133
Statistics updated 11-Feb-2008 14:11 ET

Localities Reporting the Most Birds

Rank	City	Individuals
1	Yakima, Washington	299,102
2	Smithville, Missouri	243,160
3	Dugger, Indiana	217,020
4	Mannington Mills, New Jersey	150,403
5	Clewiston, Florida	143,748
6	Woodstown, New Jersey	130,981
7	Parsons, Kansas	102,709
8	Ashburn, Virginia	101,735
9	Tallahassee, Florida	76,113
10	Willard, Utah	50,956
Statistics updated 11-Feb-2008 14:11 ET

2009 GBBC News Release

September 23, 2008

JOIN THE GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT

Count for Fun, Count for the Future

New York, NY and Ithaca, NY—Bird and nature fans throughout North America are invited to join tens of thousands of everyday bird watchers for the 12th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), February 13-16, 2009.

A joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, this free event is an opportunity for families, students, and people of all ages to discover the wonders of nature in backyards, schoolyards, and local parks, and, at the same time, make an important contribution to conservation. Participants count birds and report their sightings online at www.birdcount.org.

“The Great Backyard Bird Count benefits both birds and people. It’s a great example of citizen science: Anyone who can identify even a few species can contribute to the body of knowledge that is used to inform conservation efforts to protect birds and biodiversity,” said Audubon Education VP, Judy Braus. “Families, teachers, children and all those who take part in GBBC get a chance to improve their observation skills, enjoy nature, and have a great time counting for fun, counting for the future.”

Anyone can take part, from novice bird watchers to experts, by counting birds for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event and reporting their sightings online at www.birdcount.org. Participants can also explore what birds others are finding in their backyards—whether in their own neighborhood or thousands of miles away. Additional online resources include tips to help identify birds, a photo gallery, and special materials for educators.

The data these “citizen scientists” collect helps researchers understand bird population trends, information that is critical for effective conservation. Their efforts enable everyone to see what would otherwise be impossible: a comprehensive picture of where birds are in late winter and how their numbers and distribution compare with previous years. In 2008, participants submitted more than 85,000 checklists.

“The GBBC has become a vital link in the arsenal of continent-wide bird-monitoring projects,” said Cornell Lab of Ornithology director, John Fitzpatrick. “With more than a decade of data now in hand, the GBBC has documented the fine-grained details of late-winter bird distributions better than any project in history, including some truly striking changes just over the past decade.”

Each year, in addition to entering their tallies, participants submit thousands of digital images for the GBBC photo contest. Many are featured in the popular online gallery. Participants in the 2009 count are also invited to upload their bird videos to YouTube; some will also be featured on the GBBC web site. Visit www.birdcount.org to learn more.

Businesses, schools, nature clubs, Scout troops, and other community organizations interested in the GBBC can contact the Cornell Lab of Ornithology at (800) 843-2473 (outside the U.S., call (607) 254-2473), or Audubon at citizenscience@audubon.org or (202) 861-2242, Ext 3050.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is made possible, in part, by support from Wild Birds Unlimited.

The old saying goes...

2009-02-01T15:37:00.000-08:00

The birds are eating us out of house and home! It's not quite that bad but it seems I'm going through more food this winter than in any previous in the 4+ years we have lived in our current home. I am putting out bark butter and grape jelly on a daily basis and I estimate I'm going through about 5lb of bird seed every week not including millet and nyjer. The orioles are providing us with great entertainment and the lone siskin is taking no nonsense from the very aggressive goldfinches who are competing for his perch on the nyjer feeder.

Andy

Pine Siskin

Chipping Sparrow

Carolina Wren at dawn

American Goldfinch

Gulls and Pipits by Carol

2009-02-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Carol captured this shot of 2 American Pipits at Lake Lafayette in Tallahassee. She went to St. George Island last week and got the following pictures of gulls.

Herring Gull

Bonaparte's Gull

Laughing Gull

Ring-billed Gull

St. Joe Peninsula by Carol

2009-01-30T19:49:00.000-08:00

Red-breasted Mergansers

Bufflehead

Common Loon

Hooded Merganser

Close encounters of the sparrow kind by Kim

2009-01-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

I finally got a photo of a Tufted Titmouse through my kitchen window. I had an unusual visitor in my yard, a Gray Catbird; I’ve seen them when visiting St Marks but not here. He didn’t stay long. Then this little Chipping Sparrow let me get about 3 feet away with my zoom lens without flying off.

Kim Chason

Chipping Sparrow

Tufted Titmouse

Gray Catbird

January photos by Amalia

2009-01-30T19:42:00.000-08:00

Orange-crowned Warbler eating Bark Butter

Myrtle Warbler

American Goldfinches

American Robins

European Starlings

Refuge Pictures by Glenda

2009-01-30T19:38:00.000-08:00

Gray Catbird

Common Yellowthroat

Red-shouldered Hawk

Baltimore Orioles

2009-01-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

We had an exciting new bird for our yard this week in the shape of a 1st year male Bullock's Oriole so I put out our Birdcam in the hope of catching him on video but so far we have had no luck. The Baltimore's have been coming in and here is some video of them.

Carol's Yardbirds

2009-01-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Myrtle Warbler

House Finch

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

A Typical Bark Butter Day

2009-01-20T14:47:00.000-08:00

My Birdcam took 137 video clips today of the birds visiting our redbud tree that we have smeared bark butter onto. Now that it is really cold (for us anyway!) I am having to put out fresh bark butter every day. The Baltimore Orioles and Orange-crowned Warblers are going through Grape Jelly like there's no tomorrow and the Chipping Sparrows are emptying all, our feeders every day! So far we have only 4 American Goldfinches nut that number should increase daily from now on.

Andy

Pine Siskin

2009-01-19T19:36:00.001-08:00

Watch your thistle feeders carefully there are tons of Pine Siskins in town this winter. In Georgia the siskins are outnumbering the goldfinches at the thistle feeders! By the middle of february we all should have at least a handful of this species hanging on our socks at tube feeders. Kim got these great pics of a siskin at her feeders.

Pine Siskin

Chipping Sparrow

Northern Cardinal

Carolina Wren eating mealworm

Amalia's warblers

2009-01-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Amalia has quite a winter warbler collection. Here are two more warbler species she has visiting her feeders.

Yellow-throated Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Aside from the warblers she has had a whole bunch of other cool birds visiting.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Eastern Bluebird checking out Amalia's bluebird house. Bluebirds are starting to claim their territories so put out your bluebird box asap if it isn't already up.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

White-breasted Nuthatch

Changes

2009-01-16T18:48:00.000-08:00

Many of you may already know that I am no longer working at the store BUT Mary and Susan have (kindly) allowed me to keep maintaining the blog so please, please, please keep emailing your pictures, stories and questions we have quite a big following to entertain!
I would like to extend a big hug to Mary and Susan for their support and friendship over the last 3 years as well as a big thanks to all the customers I met, many of whom have become good friends. I am proud to say that I am now a member of the Daily Savings Club! Show me the bird bucks!

cheers

Andy

Downy Woodpecker eating Bark Butter

Bullock's Oriole by Amy

2009-01-15T14:12:00.000-08:00

Bullock's Oriole (male)

There have been less than 5 records of this species verified in Tallahassee. Amy captured this beautiful bird feeding at her oriole feeder recently.

Baltimore Oriole

Amy also has many Baltimore Orioles visiting her yard including this stunning male.

Cedar Waxwing

Amy captured the Cedar Waxwing synchronized eating team in action as well!

Pine Warbler by Janet

2009-01-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

Pine Warbler (male)

Eastern Bluebird

Black-and-white Warbler by Amalia

2009-01-05T19:06:00.000-08:00

Black-and-white Warbler

Kim's pictures

2009-01-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

American Goldfinches

Northern Cardinals

Charlene's pictures

2009-01-05T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Eastern Bluebirds

American Goldfinch

Orioles like mealworms

2008-12-17T13:26:00.000-08:00

Baltimore Oriole (female)

Carolina Wren

Most of you who offer your birds mealworms probably have Carolina Wrens eating 'em......well so do Baltimore Orioles! Mary and Susan have a female oriole who loves to eat mealworms.

More pictures from Amalia

2008-12-14T10:26:00.001-08:00

American Robin

White-breasted Nuthatch eating bark butter

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Carolina Chickadee

Chipping Sparrow

Goldfinches are coming! Siskins as well!

2008-12-14T10:23:00.001-08:00

American Goldfinch by Amalia Agramonte, Lake Jackson

American Goldfinches by Carol Miller, Monticello

We have started getting the first reports of goldfinches at thistle feeders. Yesterday we had one backyard birder reporting several Pine Siskins at his feeder.

Scott Weidensaul

2008-12-11T09:33:00.000-08:00

Apalachee Audubon Welcomes Scott Weidensaul to Tallahassee!

Enjoy two entertaining evenings on Thursday, Jan 29 and Friday, Jan 30

Mark your January, 2009 calendar for an exciting opportunity to hear Scott Weidensaul, author, naturalist, researcher and Pulitzer Prize finalist. Scott's field research focuses on bird migration, including birds of prey, hummingbirds and the movements of Northern Saw-whet Owls. He lectures widely on conservation and nature. His writing has appeared in Smithsonian, the New York Times, Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife and Audubon. His most recent book, Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding (2007), traces 400 years of ornithological history. To learn more about Scott's other interesting books and activities visit his website at http://www.scottweidensaul.com/

On Jan. 29 join us for wine and hors d'oeurves at a small gathering to welcome Scott to Tallahassee. Attendance will be limited to 30 people, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM at a alocation to be determined. The cost will be $50 per person which includes a ticket to his Friday night talk. To reserve a spot, contact Pam Flynn at (850) 383-1238 or pflynn57@gmail.com. Your donation is tax deductible.

On Jan. 30 Scott will be speaking, along with a book signing, on Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding. His talk will be at 7PM at Tallahassee Community College, Building 38 (Economics and Workforce Development at SW end of campus). http://www.tcc.fl.edu/

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at the Wild Birds Unlimited store as well as by mail. Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a check made payable to Apalachee Audubon. Mail the check to: Pam Flynn, 2801 Sterling Dr., Tallahassee, FL 32312. Please indicate an address, phone number or email address where you prefer to be contacted if we need to convey further event details. As a bonus for early ticket buyers, if you purchase your ticket before Jan. 1, your name will be included in a drawing for one of three prizes. Watch for additional event details at the apalachee audubon chapters website http://www.apalachee.org/

All donations to Apalachee Audubon are tax-deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code. All procedds will go to Apalachee Audubon and to the Operation Migration: Whopping Crane project at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.

Strange Yard Birds

2008-12-04T07:12:00.000-08:00

Glenda writes...

These are ceratinly not great pictures, but wanted to share with you the "new to my yard" yardbirds. In the past couple of weeks, I have seen on a few occasions 2-9 Ibis walking on the street in front of my house and in my yard, foraging in the yard and the rain puddles on the road. This is the first time in over twenty years that I ever recall seeing an Ibis in my yard.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets like Bark Butter

2008-12-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

Amalia sent us this picture of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet eating bark butter. We have had several reports at the store of kinglets eating bark butter. It must be winter!

Stoney Bayou

2008-12-04T07:05:00.000-08:00

Carol writes....

I took the Bataan Death March around Stoney Bayou II on Monday. Lots of ducks, but almost all way out. Best birds were American Bittern and Snow Geese, three blue and two white.
There were good views of Lesser Scaup on Stoney Bayou I, and Blue-winged Teal in the canals next to it. Marsh Wrens, Swamp Sparrows and Sora were abundant in the same canals.

American Bittern

Snow Geese - White Morph

Snow Geese - Blue Morph

Swamp Sparrow

Sora

Marsh Wren

Kim's Birds

2008-12-04T07:02:00.001-08:00

Kim writes...

It’s been a while since I’ve sent photos so here are a few photos if you would like to post. All these were taken out of my kitchen window. The female Cardinal was on a very chilly afternoon and she was all fluffed up. The male was just sitting pretty. I finally got a picture of the Carolina Wren who’s been avoiding my camera. Today, I took photos of what I think is a Warbler but when I visited your site it looks like the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I can’t see the top of this little birds head. He acted like a Hummingbird as he went leaf to leaf getting something from under the leaves.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Carolina Wren

Northern Cardinals

Limpkins

2008-11-23T12:06:00.000-08:00

Tracee Strohman and her friend Beverley were out birding in Jefferson county and had this to report...

Tracee writes...

At Letchworth yesterday I think I (and Beverly) heard at least 2 Limpkins at 4:30 PM in the unseen swampy area to the east of the main mound. Unless another heron or ibis or peacock has a similar "hysterical woman" call then we may have a good limkpin location. There was no guttural quality to the calls and they varied much more than the Cornell and All About Birds sounds online.

Andy writes...

Limpkins are not a common bird in our area anymore but they can be found in several areas. Finding them can sometimes be tricky but they have a very distinctive call that sounds like a murder victims scream! Jefferson County is good for them, especially along the Wacissa River so it is very likely that Tracee heard Limpkins near Letchworth Mounds. In Tallahassee they can be found at Lake Munson Preserve and have recently been sighted along the banks of Lake Talquin. Limpkins are known to wander and a customer from Georgia told us recently how one had shown up not far from her home at a nearby state park river. Birders from all over Georgia went to see it as they don't normally stray into the peach state.

Wakulla Springs was once home to many Limpkins but they disappeared along with thier food source, the apple snail, several years ago. Biologists at the park are reintroducing native apple snails. The unintended introduction of hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, to the area is one of the reasons why apple snails disappeared and park staff are working very hard to get rid of it. Hopefully their efforts will allow the apple snail to flourish and therefore entice Limpkins back to the springs.

Limpkin at Lake Munson Preserve, Tallahassee

Limpkin near Orlando

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

2008-11-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures from Amalia Agramontes.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Cooper's Hawk

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Northern Cardinal

Carol's raptor pictures

2008-11-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

Bald Eagle

Red-shouldered Hawk eating a caterpillar

Red-shouldered Hawk

Bark Buttter Part 5 - Northern Cardinals

2008-11-17T18:30:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly surprised when I first saw the cardinals visiting the bark butter, mostly because they often find it difficult to cling to the side of a tree trunk and I thought they preferred to eat seed.

A lot of you have been asking whether the squirrels are eating the bark butter. So far, since late August, my birdcam hasn't recorded a single visit from a squirrel!!! I guess my squirrels prefer to eat the sunflowers and peanuts that get dropped below my feeders.

Andy

Amalia's Pictures

2008-11-16T10:57:00.000-08:00

Wakulla Springs Boat Tour

2008-11-16T10:53:00.000-08:00

Carol went on a boat tour at Wakulla Springs and reports that the winter ducks are back. Here are a couple of pics she took of them.

American Wigeon

Gadwall

Lower Rio Grande Valley

2008-11-11T17:16:00.000-08:00

Carol Miller took a trip to Texas recently.

she writes...

So many wonderful new birds to see in Texas’ LRGV. We saw 24 NEW to us, and over 100 total in six days.

Great Kiskadee

Green Jays

Least Grebe

Couch's KIngbird

Common Paraque

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

Glenda's Hawks

2008-11-11T17:14:00.000-08:00

Cooper's Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk being harassed by a Northern Mockingbird

Bark Butter Pt 4 - White-breasted Nuthatch

2008-11-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

We have a pair of White-breasted Nuthatches that nest in our yard and they had at least 3 youngsters this year. They visit almost all of our feeders espeically ones that have some peanuts in them. I had to wait almost a month before they started visiting the bark butter on a regular basis but now that it is getting colder they seem to be visiting it more often. It is almost a month since I started my project collecting data on the birds visiting the Bark Butter. I have been monitoring activity using my Wingscapes Birdcam and will post the results soon.

Andy

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

2008-11-03T05:43:00.001-08:00

Glenda Simmons got a big halloween surprise when she spotted this beautiful Buff-bellied Hummingbird in her yard, only the 5th Tallahassee record. Congratulations Glenda!

Glenda writes....

I am very excited that the Buff-bellied Hummingbird that first appeared in my yard, Oct. 27, was banded, shortly after daylight, on Halloween. The day before, Fred Bassett with the Hummer Bird Study Group, arrived from Montgomery, Alabama, assisted by Fred Dietrich of Tallahassee to try to band it. This hummingbird, is not common to our area. It generally resides year round in Mexico and is common in southeast Texas in the lower Rio Grande Valley but some of them migrate along the Gulf coast. This is only the third Buff-bellied hummingbird to ever be banded in Tallahassee and Fred recalls two others being reported, that were not banded. On Oct. 30, at 4pm, they set up two traps, one on my front porch and one in the back yard. While fred and I were standing on the front porch, setting up, the hummer approached, paused and hovered a moment. We both froze and the hummer blasted off. Fred finished setting up and we moved out into the yard, Fred holding the trap door open with fishing line. Ten-twenty minutes later, the hummer reappeared and buzzed all around the trap, but did not fly in. He then went back to the Crape Myrtle tree that is next to the front porch feeder. He perched there and was very vocal, probably cussing us out, and thinking about what his next move would be. He did this another couple of times, then blasted off over the roof of the house. Fred yelled to the other Fred in the back, "COMING YOUR WAY" Fred D. saw the bird go to one of my hummer plants and then flew off, again, without giving that feeder a glance. We waited...and waited until almost dark, but the hummer did not return again. He obviously was finding some other nectar sources, close by. (The majority of my hummer plants were killed by our cold weather that week) Fred was not ready to give up, and they returned the next morning, before daylight and set up one trap in the front. (We took down the feeder in the back, so it would not be availabe) This time, he ran the fishline that holds open the trap door under my front door and we sat in the dark at my dinning room table, watching for the bird. It appeared within twenty minutes and did the same thing as the day before, almost as if it was giving us the finger, (or claw) and laughing in our face. But it was hungry and needing it's morning fix and finally flew in. Whew!! I got a Halloween treat that I will never forget This hummingbird is the largest hummingbird that we see in the east.
The first time, I saw it, I noticed it was a good bit larger than our Ruby-throated and when it flew in to the feeder, it's wings beating, gave it a much heavier sound. Fred determined it was a first year hatchling and was fairly certain it was a male. He says "The bird knows", and that's all that matters.

I did not see the hummer again that day...or the next day and was beginning to think that Fred really ruffled his tailfeathers, but this morning (Sun. Nov.2) he appeared again and I saw him off and on, all day. He is skittish and certainly does not like to pose for my camera. With any luck he will stick around for a while?? Time will tell. At any rate, I will be keeping my fingers crossed that he will return next winter.

Glenda Simmons

(The picture of me holding the hummer was taken by Fred Dietrich and I took the others)

Amalia's Backyard Birds

2008-11-03T05:41:00.001-08:00

Pine Warbler

Carolina Chickadee and Chipping Sparrows

House Finch and Chipping Sparrow

Bark Butter Pt 3 - Red-bellied Woodpecker

2008-11-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

So far only the male Red-bellied visits the bark butter, the female still prefers going to the Eliminator to grab a peanut or going to the suet cage for some no melt hot pepper dough. Interestingly it was the male who first went to the hot pepper suet dough and I didn't see the female eating that for several weeks later so I expect she will eventually try bark butter.

Bark Butter Pt 2 - Carolina Wren

2008-10-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

We have up to 8 Carolina Wrens using our yard at this time of year and they really like to feed on Bark Butter. I am currently collecting data, using my Birdcam, to figure out how many times each species visits the Bark Butter for a snack. Since last Tuesday 21st October my Birdcam has recorded 19 visits from our Carolina Wrens. Since then they have spent a little over 6 minutes eating bark butter averaging approximately 20 seconds a visit.

Bark Butter Pt 1 - Downy Woodpecker

2008-10-20T18:27:00.000-07:00

Jim's Birdalicious Bark Butter is a new kind of bird food I have been using lately. Since early September I have seen up to 8 species (Downy & Red-bellied Woodpecker, Carolina Wren, Carolina Chickadee, Blue Jay, House Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch and Mourning Dove)feeding on it in my yard. We have a whole family of Downies feasting on it throughout the day. Over the next few weeks I will be posting new video of the different birds that Bark Butter is attracting. It has been a lot of fun watching the footage my Birdcam captures. Over the last 2 days the Downy Woodpeckers have visited the tree on which I spread Bark Butter, a total of 15 times! The birdcam is a great tool to keep tabs on the bird activity you are missing. I look forward to coming home every day and seeing what birds have visited while I am at work or in college.

for more information on the Wingscapes Birdcam please visit their website

http://www.wingscapes.com/

or go to our store website and click on wingscapes birdcam

www.wbu.com/tallahassee

to view my other birdcam movies please visit

http://www.youtube.com/user/Limeybirder

Andy

Carol's pictures

2008-10-17T07:22:00.001-07:00

Bald Eagle

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Amalia's pictures

2008-10-17T07:21:00.001-07:00

Northern Parula

Brown-headed Cowbirds (male and female)

Hooded Warbler

2008-10-17T07:17:00.001-07:00

Miles sent these pictures of a stunning male Hooded Warbler that hung about in his yard for a while. Hooded Warblers are a summer breeding visitor and common migrant to our area. I have seen more Hoodies this fall in our area than in the previous 4 years. A great bird to get in your yard!

Birdcam in Costa Rica

2008-10-13T13:39:00.000-07:00

While we were in costa Rica we left our Birdcam hanging next to one of the hummingbird feeders. This is a video and a couple of pictures from the Wingscapes Birdcam. Over the 4 days that we were there, our Birdcam took 1570 pictures!!! If you would like to know more about the Wingscapes Birdcam, please visit our store website, www.wbu.com/tallahassee

Green-breasted Mango (female) , Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, and the White-necked Jacobin (female).

White-necked Jacobin (female), Rufous-tailed Hummingbird, and a Green-breasted Mango (female).

Mary's Backyard Birds

2008-10-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

These are some birds that I digiscoped on Sunday afternoon in the backyard.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak (immature male)

Carolina Wren on WBU Peanut Feeder

Downy Woodpecker on WBU Peanut Feeder

Costa Rica pictures

2008-10-11T07:09:00.001-07:00

We had a wonderful trip to Costa Rica and chalked up 129 species in 5 days. We saw 15 species of hummingbird at Rancho Naturalista including the beautiful Snowcap. Here are a selection of digiscoping pictures taken by Mary using her Nikon Coolpix 8400 attached to a Skyline ED telescope with a Swarovski digiscoping adapter.

Green-breasted Mango

Boat-billed Heron

Groove-billed Ani

Great Kiskadee

I also took a lot of video of the lodge hummingbird feeders with our Wingscapes Birdcam so look out for that in a future blog entry.

Mary & Susan

Amalia's yard

2008-10-05T13:11:00.000-07:00

Amalia Agramonte has had some very exciting birds in her yard this fall...Veery (pictured below), Chesnut-sided Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Summer Tanager and she also had Great Horned Owls nesting nearby.

Veery

Carol's warblers

2008-10-03T08:39:00.001-07:00

Carol Miller took these great pics of warblers at St Marks NWR.

Yellow Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Hooded Warbler

Hooded Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Kim's pictures

2008-09-20T07:38:00.001-07:00

Kim Chason sent these cool pictures of her hummers and a chickadee.

Chesnut-sided Warbler

2008-09-20T07:36:00.001-07:00

Amalia Agramonte sent us a picture of a Chesnut-sided Warbler she had in her yard recently. This warbler is a regular fall migrant to our area but a very cool bird to get in your yard.

Carol's Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

2008-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Carol Miller sent us this assortment of great hummingbird pictures taken in her yard last wednesday.