Sunday, December 03, 2006

Going to Seed

You've no idea how much I am enjoying my new bird feeder, though you are probably getting tired of me chuntering on about it endlessly. But I am really enjoying it! (Did I just say that twice? Guess I did.)

Today's new visitors were a pair of magnolia warblers, wee little things, smaller and sleeker than a sparrow, with brilliant yellow breasts and heads and black and white wing bars. They have a lovely song.

At one point the yellow warblers and the hoary redpolls, with their deep pink caps and breasts, were at the feeder at the same time. With a handful of natty little slate coloured juncos as counterpoint it was a pretty color combination, made all the more attractive by their darting movements and bright eyes.

We got a chuckle out of two quail this morning. They were standing beak to beak, then hopped up to bump their chests together repeatedly. Maybe this is a courting ritual, or maybe they were having quail fisticuffs, but it was highly amusing to watch.

2 comments:

Outhouse Capital of Canada said...

Apart from quail, are you seeing different birds to me across the fence, we have birds with a black cap, but cant find them in the book.
Oh, plenty sparrows and just one Mourning Dove.
We also get regular visits from a hawk looking for a tasty treat.
We dont feed the birds, we just fatten them up for the hawk

Deb said...

The feeder is drawing a good variety of birdies, but I'll bet lots of them are bedding down in your cedars.

The black-capped ones could be either chickadees or slate-coloured juncos. The juncos are commonly called "snowbirds". Today we had a pair of western fox sparrows, which are lovely chocolate-coloured birdies. I'd never seen this species before. I've seen the hawk (up close) but not the dove. I'm hoping for a sunny day so I can take pictures that look like something other than grey blobs. :)