What’s Up? – More Green, More Flowers, More Birds!

More Green, More Flowers, More Birds!

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Although the Spring is on now, it’s manifesting slowly. What I mean by this is: We have nights and morning on the cold side and then slowly warms up to a normal spring temperature. Or, sometimes , rains for a few hours and then warms up. It’s hard to predict what exactly the weather is going to be.

I’ve noticed more activity in my backyard lately. the amount of bird traffic is more than it was two weeks ago, however, It is less than it was in prior years. By measures of quantity of feed consumed , indicates and increase. It means that more birds are eating the seeds I provide them.

Most birds do not show at the same time it’s obvious,  I can not see every bird that may show up therefore I can not take photos of all birds that show up during the day.

For today I have a gallery for you , despite the rain and the cloudy dark sky. I hope you will enjoy what I shot for you. The Northern  Cardinals  are not included (You wait for Saturday and you’ll see them as usual).

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Photo Gallery

Mourning Dove

Brown-headed Nuthatch

European Starlings

House Finch (F)

N.Mockingbird aka “Sheriff”

House Finch (M)

Carolina Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Red-winged Blackbird (M)

H. Finch + two A. Goldfinch (All males)

“Nutcase”

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101

What’s Up? – Warm a Bit…

Warm a Bit…

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We may have entered a better weather pattern for a change, I don’t really know for how long…I don’t care, I’ll take whatever comes.

Birds are taking longer to come back to this area, compared to previous years.I can’t wait to see more birds and shoot more pictures of them, I miss the busy bustling in the backyard. My son Tyler went on a School Field Trip  to the Etowah Indian Mounds in Georgia and he bought me the most beautiful pen. It’s a wooden pen,hand carved (See picture below). I was very delighted by this.

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Photo Gallery

Northern Mockingbird

American Goldfinch

Mourning Dove

Pine Warbler

Brown-headed Nuthatch + A. Goldfinch

Carolina Chickadee

House Finch (M)

Song Sparrow

My beautiful pen!

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101

What’s Up? – Back to…Winter?

Back to… Winter?

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(Written on March 9,  2018)

Alas! We’re back to the cold weather. The North East of USA is being buried in snow at this time. Meanwhile us in the South East have a frigid wave that it’s getting ridiculous because we had already Spring like temperatures and blooming plants.

This morning at 7:00 we had 23º F  (-5 Cº) and frost all over.

Back to the heavy coats too!

When it is very cold, most of my birds usually remain sheltered in their nests and wait for the sun to bring up the temperatures. My plans to shoot some pictures get very complicated because I can not be there at all times just waiting for them. I’m always trying to compromise to that effect and make changes to my activities, but sometimes it’s hard. We can only try…

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Photo Gallery

Song Sparrow

Eastern Towhee (M)

American Goldfinch

House Finch (M)

Eastern Bluebird (M)

Field Sparrow + Brown-headed Cowbird (F)

Carolina Chickadee

Yellow-rumped Warbler

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101              

V.I.B. Gallery – American Goldfinch

V.I.B. (VERY IMPORTANT BIRDS) GALLERY

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101

What’s Up? – Birds are back! Is Winter over?

Birds are back! Is Winter over?...

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It may sound farfetched but I have the felling that winter is over for us in Georgia.

I was  on the road yesterday on my way home from shopping, when I saw a several home lawns teeming with probably over a thousand birds, the majority were Brown-headed Cowbirds an some European Starlings. I did not have my camera with me but to shoot any of this.

At home, I got my cameras ready just in case the flock of retuning birds would land near my home (It has happened in the past). They did not this time.

However, I shot some pictures of a pair of  Brown-headed Cowbirds being the very first of this kind to return this year.

Saw a pair of American Goldfinch flitting around and stoping to eat at the feeders.

I was also thrilled to see a male Eastern Bluebird, interested  and checking for a home to build a nest. This bird was the first of its kind to arrive this year.

Does this return of birds an indication that our weather is going to change? I certainly hope so!

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Photo Gallery

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

Brown-headed Cowbird (F&M)

Brown-headed Cowbird (F&M)

Eastern Bluebird (M)

Eastern Bluebird (M)

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101

What’s Up? – A small sample of Spring

A Small Sample of Spring…  

I wrote this post on: Feb.7th, 2018                

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The past week we had a teaser two days samples of Spring, on which we had sunshine and  semi-warm days (Low 60º F). The sudden new energy of seeing bright and warmer days worked on me, also, was inviting for my avian friends. Those sunny days inspired me to sit behind my camera and wait for birds to appear…my plan paid off! I had the opportunity to shoot photos of a variety of birds. (See photo gallery)

I set my birds up, cleaned their feeders and filled them with plenty of seeds and water,  then little by little the birds showed up! That was really rewarding.

Today is a different story whatsoever, it is raining buckets! At 8:00 am we got phone alert message from Tyler’s School saying that all children in School were being moved to a shelter because of high winds and possibilities of  tornados.

We’ve had thunders and heavy rain so far. I hope we never get to see a tornado in our area.

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Photo Gallery

H.Finch + BHNuthatch + N. Cardinal (M)

Song Sparrow

Mourning Dove

American Goldfinch

Northern Mockingbird “Sheriff”

N. Cardinal (F) & House Finch (M)

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Pine Warbler

Carolina Chickadee

Downy Woodpecker

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© HJ Ruiz – Avian101