@Michael Dean , that bird with the seed in his mouth is gorgeous. I've never seen one like it. We have the grey herons at our coast. @Hal Pollner , the vultures are as ugly as sin on the ground but while they soar in the air, they are graceful and beautiful. I once watched one soar for close to an hour and he never flapped his wings. "Everything is beautiful in it's own way."
My redbirds are back and the bluejays. a couple of doves have showed up. I still have not been able to tend my feeders.Maybe when it warms up.
I am out of bird seed and I don't think I'll buy anymore until next fall. I figure if I help feed them during the winter, they should be able to find enough bugs and worms to eat all summer.
Our birds, the other day. The bunny-rabbits ain't birds! The tiny guy left of them is a Chipmunk! We are mainly interested in the Quail, number of them there, Doves, few Pigeons, the munks dart in, grab food, dart out, but are fearless though small. My wife's "Dining Credits" around twenty bucks a month, buy 4 "double-stack" delicious burgers, but Keto-ism forbids the buns; those are cut up for the little ones outside. They also get wild bird seed with the bread.
Everybody is slightly concerned up here in Scotland. It's the end of April and the Swallows haven't arrived yet!
Shirley, your bird pictures would be an asset to the Audubon Society! They are so nicely framed, with interesting backgrounds, and have great resolution! On the other hand, our High Desert birds are large, coarse, mean, and destructive! We have Coopers Hawks and Redtail Hawks, and our ever-present Ravens like to make raucous calls, much louder than their smaller Crow cousins. Our Ravens like to knock the lids off of trash cans when we set them on the roadside for pickup, then they pick and scatter the trash all around. We can't harm them, because they're protected by the State of California, like our Desert Tortoises and our Joshua Trees. We also have the big Turkey Vultures, with their 6 to 7-foot wing spans. They stop in our neighborhood twice a year to rest in our trees on the way to and from their hibernation spots in Mexico. A family of Hawks live in nearby pine trees, and we see the Mother hawk frequently zooming over our yard looking for a small bird. But we do have the tiny Hummingbirds, who like to visit the feeders we have in our back yard. We have Sparrows and Finches as well. Yes, we have Doves, and I answer their calls with my sporting Dove Call. Hal
The only hummingbird that we have is the ruby throated hummingbird. I understand that out west, there are several varieties. I have red tailed hawks nesting in the woods behind my house. I hope they eat mice, moles, rabbits, etc. and leave my birds alone. The only birds that are legal to kill here are starlings and European sparrows. Maybe grackles but I'm not sure about them.
Some of my fledgling bluebirds: I think the one in that last picture must have been cooling off. It was hot and the grass in the shade was cool and wet. He spread his wings out like that, sat for a while then flew.