Romans 12:
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
~~~~~~~~~
These are the birds who regularly come to our feeders and baths at this time. Yup, a list. We are birders who like our lists.
- Rose-breasted Grosbeaks
- House Finches
- House Sparrows
- Song Sparrows
- Chipping Sparrows
- Red-bellied Woodpeckers
- Baltimore Orioles
- Common Grackles
- Red-winged Blackbirds
- Mourning Doves
- American Goldfinches
- Brown Thrashers
- Northern Cardinals
- American Robins
- Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
I feel like I am forgetting someone… We also will see the Downy Woodpeckers. Brown-headed Cowbirds, Dickcissels, Blue Jays and Starlings on occasion, but not every day. Fifteen species is more than many of the species counts we had for Project Feeder Watch this last winter. It was usually around ten to twelve.
This activity is starting to stress some of the birds. Especially this Baltimore Oriole. We didn’t see this behaviour last year. When a bird landed in the feeder, he would flutter his wings like this. I guess to try and scare the others off. It never worked while we watched, but this did show us how beautifully patterned he is.
I hope I am not repeating myself, a little one built an additional platform feeder. In that one we put the nuts and oh! it was nuts until the Red-winged Blackbird found the new location. He would call and call expecting someone to bring him his nuts. The old platform is filled with sunflower and safflower seeds.
A tree fell down last year on top of one of our fences and finally it was taken care of this year. Papa wanted to get the bulk off the fence, so cut off some of it and leaving the rest as a brush pile. One of the children set a stump in our feeding area, placing seeds on it now and again.
This is the new home for the oranges. And the Orioles are now stress-free in this part of the yard.
The above is one of two male Baltimores we have. One is bright orange, but this one yellow-ish. I learned that a Baltimore males will not turn the vivid orange until the molt of their second autumn. Sometimes they are able to get mates and I think this one has. He has been seen taking hair from our suet cage.
Thanks for the scripture and picture! I’m glad you’re getting so many birds at your feeders and baths this year. Thanks for disclosing a list. I’m also glad to know the Oriole has found a stress free part of your yard. I’m sure these little feathered cuties can’t wait to get to your yard for the care and time they receive from you and your family.
Thanks for the morning scripture and great list. You have most of the birds we see in the winter. I’m glad someone is taking care of them. Unfortunately we don’t get the Oriole down here on the Gulf Coast, or at least haven’t heard of any.
I am glad you came by. I always wonder how far south our birds go in the winter. Looking at a range map for Baltimores, you’re in the path of migration. They are one of the first breeders to leave Iowa, in late July, if I remember correctly.
Such beautiful birds. I love my birds, but I certainly don’t have the variety you do.
It’s taken us awhile to get this variety. Well, at least that we are aware of them. When we first started feeding, we had House sparrows and finches, Goldfinches, and Mourning Doves. That’s about it, but for the rare something or other. Now they are learning where the food is.
I just get so much enjoyment from seeing your pictures and information that you give. Even though I’ve never seen any orioles near us…I’m going to put some orange halves out in our bird tray and see if it gets eaten….Diane
Thank you so much for the nice compliment. I enjoy sharing the info as we learn about these amazing creatures.
About oranges, they do get buggy. (flies, ants, others) but the birds do not seem to mind. We’ve had Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers check them out, as well as House Finches. I’ve been trying to get the Orioles to eat jelly, so filled one half with grape jelly. The Robins eat that. To try and minimize the flies around the area, I set out “bug collectors” -milk jugs with 1 cup sugar, 1 cup vinegar, banana peel, and filled to half with water. It gets all kinds of bugs, but a lot of flies, too. We have several around the yard. I hope to blog about that soon.