Autumn Visitors

The porch and yard have been full of Autumn visitors. Some will stay for a short while, some are passing through, and some are here for the winter. Enjoy this week's offering.


The Scrub Jays are still hanging around the office deck. This guy is literally hanging, on a feeder not really built for large birds.


A female Orange-crowned Warbler visited the water dish at the office for a quick bath.




A falcon was flying around the pond. Then we noticed that a number of Blue Jays were providing an unwelcome escort. The four Blue Jays chased the falcon out of sight.


Welcome back the White-crowned Sparrow. This is one that will stay for the winter, and sometimes well into the spring.




This Carolina Wren flew onto the porch and checked me over before flying down to the big oak tree roots.


He was looking for bugs in the leaves.


Reminded me of chickens the way he was peckin' and scratchin'.


These wild flowers popped out of the ground after our big rain. Any help in i.d.'ing them would be appreciated. The leaf is a very unusual triangular shape. Teri McDonald is our prize winner! This is the Violet Wood Sorrel. Teri, call me and you can come pick up your prize.


Here are some regular visitors to the porch. I am holding Evangeline Rose, and Viola Marie is striking a pose.


One of my favorite porch visitors, Mercedes Noel.


Morgan Wesley, Emma Ireline and Mercedes havin' some swing time with Papa Wes.


Evangeline Rose was a special blessing this morning on the porch.

Traveling Birds

It's that time of year when migrating birds are spied almost daily. And we have been refreshed by a frog-strangler that filled the pond overnight. And with the changing season, the hummingbirds checked their calendar and headed for a warmer spot for winter. So we are on the look-out for our winter crew. Enjoy this week's offering.


In an earlier post we showed you a female Baltimore Oriole on the hummingbird feeder at the house. It wasn't long before we saw this male at the water dish at the office.


The treat was that there was another male in the Spanish Oak near by.


Dan's neighbor Anita Bradley then spied this one soon after in her son's back yard in Leander. So these guys were passin' through.


The Mockingbirds have been attracted to our watering dish, and even show up in numbers.






This little Bunting had me going for a while. I finally decided the only way I would I.D. is by the female. This must be an Indigo Bunting immature male that doesn't have all his color on yet.


If the beak was thicker, the coloring is like a Blue Grosbeak.




Here is the female Indigo Bunting, with rusty brown coloring.


The male Lesser Goldfinch is still faithful at the thistle feeder.


And is given to robbing the black oil sunflower seed as well.


The House Finches always add their color to the mix.


One morning at the office a Ladder-backed woodpecker was bouncing around the trees on the back side of the office.


He seemed to be oblivious to my presence, but the lighting wasn't working with me.


From past experience I recognize the call of the Western Scrub Jay, but have not seen them regularly for quite a while. I was amazed that four of them showed up recently.










And while Dan and Linda were vacationing in Colorado, Linda sent me this shot of a Scrub Jay. Looks like he's got an appetite for cedar berries.


This little sparrow stays down on the ground under the deck most of the time, but popped up to give me a shot. This is a Savannah Sparrow. Dan will be glad to know that there are actually different kinds of sparrows.


Still our most faithful, you can always count on the Cardinals being nearby and ready to come to the feeders when there is an offering.


The same day she sent the shot of the Scrub Jay, Linda sent this one of a Black-billed Magpie. Stunning colors.

Back to School

The school schedule (traffic) has encouraged me to leave earlier, miss the mess, and spend some morning time on the deck at the office with the birds. It has been interesting, as well as seeing the migrating birds recently. Enjoy this week's offering.


The friendly Chickadee is always a steady visitor, and is there as early as anyone.


And they'll come to the seed for a quick hit.


The Goldfinches aren't too sure about my presence on the deck, but nothing much keeps them away from the thistle feeder.




A male and female Lesser Goldfinch.


This morning I spied a really large bird out there.


It kept coming my way, and ended up touching down just across the creek in what normally would be the boat ramp area of Cypress Creek LCRA Park. They took it down, packed it up, and were gone in minutes.


The Titmouse shows up with the Chickadees, our hit-and-run artists.


The hummingbirds have been very active in the morning on the deck, but the light makes it hard to get an action shot. This is a female Ruby-throated hummingbird.


With the dry weather, I've been putting out a dish of water. The male Cardinal will take advantage from time to time.




Later in the day, Dan beckons me to the window with, 'Come here, this is something different!' It's a female Oriole, either Orchard or Baltimore. We only see them at migrating time.


So she graced us by coming up to the water dish. We never saw the male.


This female Baltimore Oriole came to the hummingbird feeder at the house. The male was feet away, but I couldn't get a picture. We since have put out jelly feeders, and are hoping for a second chance!


Saturday morning saw an activity level of hummingbirds at the house that we have rarely experienced. At one time, there were 6 hummingbirds at one time sitting on the feeder.


I missed that shot, but for us, it is rare to even see 3 hummers at the feeder at once.


This bad boy was watching one feeder all day long. The coloring of his ruby throat created a look of a bed of coals on his neck.


Look Ma! No electric lighting involved! Yes, it is truly amazing, and another reminder of God's glory revealed in His creation.