Happy New Year from Whitney's Bird Blog!

 

 

 

Its Pouring!!!

Its pouring down rain here in NC! I spotted this little Yellow Bellied Sapsucker keeping dry under a big limb on a tree.. poor lil' feller!! At least he's pretty smart to know to keep dry. I wish I could of gotten the rain drops more.. I guess it was raining so hard that it became a blur.. ~Whitney

American Coots

Ever winter when we go out the local nature reserve we see American Coots and Pie Billed Gebes.. Today, we saw both of the species in the same lake.. This picture if one of the two coots that where swimming and eating water grass.. the other pictures are in the photo section of this blog. It was such a beautiful day!! and still is.. ~Whitney

Patience Pays Off!

One of the things I always say is be patient when bird watching..

Keep a camera with you 24/7/365 if you can.. I find this hard.. But I have two cameras, so it shouldn't be.. I have been waiting for this red bellied woodpecker to come back to the corn treat, and finally got him, not the clearest picture due to the door being wet with moisture.. But its the best I could do for now.. ~Whitney 

Chilly Christmas!

Merry Christmas again!

It was a chilly start to Christmas day here in NC! even saw an Ice sickle hanging on the porch rail, which I couldn't resist taking a picture of.. took a lot of bird pictures this morning already! got the birds something for Christmas, a brick of corn sunflower seeds and other things in it.. they really seem to enjoy it, the red bellied woodpecker was eating on it early this morning, of course the door was iced over and couldn't get a picture, so hopefully he'll be back. Anyways, hope each and everyone of you in the world has a very Merry Christmas!!!

~Whitney

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas

from Whitney's Bird Blog!

Hope each and every one of you has a very merry Christmas!

Just remember, That Jesus is the reason for the season!

He's the reason we have Christmas!

We wouldn't have Christmas with out CHRIST!

~Whitney

 

Blue Jay Bath Day

I guess its one of those days for the birds.. saw one blue jay and a couple of house finches taking a bath this morning.. It might be the weather, being already in the 60's.. this is a one of kind shot, never have we seen a blue jay bathing.. and I just happened to have my camera on hand.. I have other pictures I will be posting in the photo section of this blog.. ~Whitney

Downy and Warbler

Saw this downy eating suet with a pine warbler today, took this shot of them before they flew away. Downy's are such a pretty bird, one of my favorite wood peckers..~Whitney

Sunny Day!

After a few days of rain, fog, cloudy and breezy days the sun finally made appearance today! Took a few pictures while sitting in the house, going to go out and take some more pics after awhile.. But the birds seem happy that the sun it out. ~Whitney

A Few Pictures

With it raining for a few days now, I was unable to go out and bird watch or take any pictures.. So, today while the rain let up only for a few minutes I was able to get a few pictures taken.. It was raining while I was sitting there, but I dealt with it for awhile. Here is a picture I took of some European Starlings in a tree.. Very cool in black and white! I also put some pictures on the blogs facebook page! check them out! Link on the right side bar. ~Whitney

Hawk on the Hunt

I went outside to feed the birds and give them some bark butter, and while I was spreading the bark butter on the pinecone I heard a roar of wings sounding from doves across the way in a field along the wood edge, then the sound of a crow.. and I thought something has to be going on, sure enough here comes Mr. cooper's hawk gliding in for the hunt..  I don't think he got anything.. I looked for him after I got done to see where he went. Hoping that I could get a look at him, it was adult cooper's because of the grey on the head and back.. It wasn't brown like that of a young cooper's hawk.. I still hear the crows out there complaining about the hawk.. The rain has quit for now, so maybe I'll be able to go out and bird watch and hopefully the hawk will come by so I can get a picture of him. ~Whitney

To Cold and Wet!!

Its to cold and wet here in NC to go out and do anything with the birds, yesterday I went out to feed them and about froze it was so cold. Only in the 30's! when just days before we were in the 70's.. today is supposed to be a little warm 50's with rain :( so no bird pictures and no sitting outside again.. that's why I havn't been posting any pictures or anything.. Hope to do some birding on Wednesday or Thursday when it dries up some and warms up a bit.. ~Whitney

Bark Butter is for the Birds!!!

Today, I made some bark butter for the birds. And spread it on a pinecone for them to eat. Worked really good! A chickadee was already on the pinecone eating it, but I didn't get a picture of him. I am also planning on spreading some on a block of wood and letting them eat it there to. But, it'll have to get a little bit colder for that, its 80 degrees here in NC today.. so, this weekend I'll do that with the block of wood and see how that goes.. I will be putting the Bark Butter recipe on the Whitney's Bird Page facebook page.. so please check that out!!! ~Whitney

Facebook Page!!!

Whitney's Bird Blog now has a Facebook page. Here is the link to the FB page! Whitney's Bird Page  Yes, it just got started. So there's not much going on.. But, please be patient with me. It will have stuff on there that the blog may not have.. Like a weekly guess that bird contest. And tips of birding and attracting birds to your yard.. if you like this blog, you like this FB page!! to like it today!!! ~Whitney

Making Progress

Well, its getting towards the end of the year folks. This blog has seen a lot of traffic and I appreciate all the viewers and followers of this blog, that is what keeps me taking pictures and posting on this blog.. I have been looking at what this blogs page views have been  It is amazing! Since May 2007 to December 2013, we have had: 11,813 pages views! Page views from last months: was 731 Page views yesterday: 69 and surprisingly today so far, is 20 page views!!! Its so great to see that its getting that kind of traffic!! Thank You! ~Whitney

New Pictures From Awhile Ago

I have been going through bird pictures lately, and found some that I may have not added to the blog.. Its hard to keep up with all the pictures that I take.. so please, check them out.. thanks :) ~Whitney

Great Birding Day

 

Today was a great day for bird watching, took several pictures of birds.. Including this picture of these two Cedar Waxwing. It was a one of kind shot to get this one waxwing stretching his wings.. Beautiful shot, needless to say. I don't shots like these very often. I also saw a Golden Crowned Kinglet hopping around in the tree tops.. I didn't get a picture of it since they are to quick. There where 12 of these Cedar Waxwings in one tree, I spotted a total of 17 different bird species today. Which is about normal for an hour of bird watching. I posted some pictures that I took from today, so please check them out! ~Whitney 

New Page for Beginning Birders

Hi there!! Just letting you birders know that there is a new page for beginning bird watchers out there!! so, go and check it out! Its called Bird Watching For Beginners.

~Whitney

Bird Watching Day!

Today I got the Chance to finally go outside to take some pictures of birds, and was rewarded by this shot of a Red Bellied Woodpecker on the suet feeder.. I took several other picture also, of other birds seen today.. I uploaded them to the picture section of this blog.. Hope ya'll will enjoy them!! ~Whitney

December Brings Birds!

With changing seasons going from fall to winter here in NC, it is the time of year for birds! we are seeing more and more birds coming in; the juncos which arrived in late October, are here heavily.. We have been feeding birds, both seed, suet and a sweet treat.. the weather is not all that cold; with lows in the 30's to 20's.. and highs in the 50's or 40's.. we have had our share of frost, but not snow (yet). I have not had the time to sit outside and bird watch. I am waiting for that day when I can sit and enjoy watching the birds, and maybe a new bird will come along.. However, I have had the time to take a few shots of birds.. And will continue to do so. I will be posting pictures, so please keep checking back! thanks to the viewers for viewing my blog! and to the followers that follow my blog.. ~Whitney

Fall is Here!

 

I am finally get some time to do some things with my bird blog. Been busy throughout the summer months. Now that fall is here, leaves are leaving the trees, it'll make it a lot easier to take pictures of birds. I started feeding my fine feathered friends last month.. And they have been enjoying the seed and also the suet I put out. In September, I ID'ed a new bird.. A yellow throat warbler! at first I thought it was a magnolia warbler, but I was wrong. Late last month, around the 28th I saw my first two juncos this year. I spotted a yellow bellied sapsucker in the tree yesterday. Along with the ruby crowned kinglet that I saw hopping from branch to branch and gleaning bugs from the leaves. I think its going to be a cold and snowy year in NC, so I'm hoping for some new birds. And maybe some pine siskins! anyways.. I'll be adding pictures here and there.. But, for now.. I'll check in now and then! keep visiting my blog! and Thank you to all that do visit my blog! ~Whitney

Summer is Almost Here!

Summer is just around the corner! I am making a visit to my bird blog to post some pictures of birds taking baths.. this is just one of many I took recently! I enjoy taking pictures of the water droplets in the air from the birds splashing around.. It is warm here in NC, but not like it has been in years past.. hoping it will be a cool summer, which would be great! too pictures, please visit the photo section of this blog.. enjoy! ~Whitney

About the Great Crested Flycatcher

Since the Great Crested Flycatcher has been around, I have decided to write about them in my own words using bird books for references for information. I have done this many times, and enjoy doing so, as I learn more about the bird myself.. so, here it goes:

Great Crested Flycatcher: A King bird sized bird, measuring 8-9 inches long. The Flycatcher is a bird that has cinnamon colored wings and tail. Also, has a grey breast and a yellow belly.. The Great Crested Flycatcher has a crest that is erect quite often, the sound of the Great Crested is a "wheeeep" or a rolling "prrrrrreeeet".. This bird ranges from Canada to central U.S. it winters in Mexico and Columbia.. this bird has some strange nesting habits, first of all, it nest in the cavity of old trees and branches, also using woodpecker hole and or bird houses.. For nesting material, they use a wide range of things; such as, feathers, rags, trash, string, hair, grass, roots, and fibers.. Sounds like a normal bird, right? here is the odd thing that I always remember, it also uses recently shed snake skins.. also, wax paper, cellophane, and onion skin.. The eggs are 5 or 6 creamy white eggs with brown spots and erratic wavy lines.. Overall, the Great Crested Flycatcher is a pretty cool bird.. And worth learning more about..

Spring has Sprung!

Spring has arrived! time to get out there and take some bird pictures. If you are new to bird watching or photography, this is a great time of year to begin. Spring has many things to offer to take pictures of, all you have to do is look. This is a shot I took a few days ago, of an Eastern Bluebird.. The color of this bird really pops with taken right, and edited.. for those that have Facebook, I have a photography page that ya'll can like.. type in Photography by Whitney in the Facebook search bar.. this will bring up the page I created for my photography. Here you will get pictures that I post of birds and nature, bluegrass festivals, and odd things (like cowboy boots, old sewing stuff, etc.) so even if I don't post it on here, you will still get to see bird pictures on there. ~Whitney

Winter is almost over, we had our first snow of the year on Saturday.. we have had pretty decent weather, with temps in the 50's sometimes 60's throughout the day and 30's at night. The birds are very active, during the snow they were out there on the suet. This picture was taken while it was snowing, I bundled up in Camo, head band, gloves and boots and went to stand under a cedar tree out of the snow in our back yard.. the birds didn't even seem to see me there, then a red bellied woodpecker landed on the cedar trunk behind me. Would have made a great shot if I could have turned around without him seeing me, but he saw me.. I loaded some pictures that took during this year, hope you enjoy them!
~Whitney