More Bird Pics from Sunday morning.

Sunday morning while standing on the deck getting buzzed by the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, I also took pictures of some of the other visitors to the feeding area. Using the digiscoping equipment (Nikon Fieldscope ED III and Nikon Coolpix P1) I was able to capture some of the larger visitors who were willing to sit still long enough. The smaller ones (Tufted Titmouse, Chipping Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker) were either too quick for me--zooming in for a seed and disappearing into the trees before I could focus, or just too doggone jittery for a good picture. Others, like the American Robin and Eastern Towhee stayed too far afield for me to get them in the scope before they moved on.




An immature Northern Cardinal. You can tell it's an immature by the spikey, bright red Mohawk it is sporting. (Actually, the gray on the back and mottled white breast help too.) This is probably a male (again the Mohawk is prominent) and he'll be bright red in a couple of weeks.



Another immature bird. This time it's a Blue Jay. Man, that's a face only a mother could love! Lucky for this bird, it will sport much brighter and colorful facial feathers in a week or two. Male or female? Only a member of the opposite sex could be sure!



That immature Blue Jay was accompanied by at least one adult.



Several (okay, make that over a dozen) Mourning Doves have found the yard a good place to pick up a free meal from the spilled seed. Unfortunately, several have fallen prey to the local semi-feral cats who like to stake out our feeders for a (nearly) free meal.