I spend a lot of time looking up here Amongst The Oaks because of all the birds. This morning after dead-heading the roses out front, I sat on the porch with a cup of tea. My tea break quickly became a bird watching session. First a hummingbird hovered 4' from my nose as if to say, "Why are you in my territory?" Then it flitted to the salvia for breakfast.
Next I noticed some hawks circling overhead which reminded me of the one I'd seen yesterday whilst surveying some signs.
I was at an apartment complex, trying to pull into a space in the carpark. But the space was occupied by this guy. Yes, he was sitting on the ground refusing to budge. So I chose another spot, got out with my camera, and then he flew up to a nearby redwood tree. I got a good photo of him showing his long striped tail, speckled breast, and dark back. I think he is a Cooper's Hawk. They can be confused with the smaller Sharp Shinned Hawks, but he was larger than a crow, so I'm pretty confident that he was a Cooper's Hawk. Isn't it amazing that he was so comfortable living amongst hundreds of humans at that apartment complex?
Most times we look up to see birds, but sometimes we look down. Like last Tuesday when this baby robin hopped up the driveway. His mother was softly chirping and encouraging from the trees. I hope he found a safe place to hide until he learns to fly.
Along with these birds we enjoy watching Doves, Scrub Jays, Mocking Birds, Starlings, Woodpeckers, Phoebes and Sparrows. I'd love to hear what sort of birds visit your yard.
10 comments:
Aww sweet little robin. Hope he or she is o.k. Beautiful pictures.
Beautiful photos! Of course I love the baby too...I am a birder, so I appreciate you sharing them!
We have watched several clutches of western blue birds and tree swallows fledge from our bird house and nesting boxes. We also see nuthatches, bullocks orioles, phoebes and juncos, several kinds of finches, robins and those fun hummingbirds. We have a golden eagle nest somewhere near. Mom and Dad were instructing two youngster in flight the other day. That was fun to watch!
One of the fun things about living in the country!
Laura,
Your photos are just beautiful!! How cool was having that hummingbird so close! I have them coming to my garden at the lake a lot because my neighbor feeds them (I don't of course because I am not there everyday).
That Cooper Hawk is a cutie. I love it's fierce little face!! We have falcons nesting in my backyard here in the city. Go figure. We listen to them every morning calling to each other. I have tried to get a pic but they blend it so well with the trees. We just love this rarity!
Great post!!
xoxo
Jane
Lovely photos! We have indigo buntings in our neck of the woods. They are a small bird, and the males are the most magnificent iridescent blue. I enjoy listening to their sweet sound too!
You have some lovely images here. Thanks for sharing them with us.
hi from south of you. we have both the c.hawk and the s.s.hawks. and the crows (cawcaw!) and the hummers. anna's, ruffies, the one that looks like anna's whose name eludes me. i love them. they check me out too, as i drink my coffee right by the feeder in the a.m. they provide lots of entertainment. we have doves, and lots of different finches and warblers. and wrens every so often. and mockingbirds that do the wing-spread, tail-bob walk. i never can tell who is supposed to be watching the display! and the beautiful bluebirds. also scrub jays. not so many robins. all are fun to watch. it gets in the way of housework!! i enjoy your photos bec/ i don't take my own. thank you! jkj
Oh you got some great pictures. We have bluejays, mockingbirds, robins, cardinals, blackcap chickadees, tufted titmouses, hummingbirds, and a hawk that would love to eat out of our pond. We too are amongst the oaks.
I still am amazed when I see pictures of humming birds...of course, we don't have them in Britain. In fact, we don't have that many birds visiting us at all, with four cats on parade...so it is lovely to see some one else's and such exotic ones (compared to ours!)
We see a lot of scrub jays around our area. When commuting to work, I see a lot of what I think are hawks. Sometimes hummingbirds come around too. The other day at work there was one lone Canadian goose. I had to drive around it and when I got out of the car I took a picture of it with my sidekick camera since I did not have my camera with me. That reminds me I should post the picture on my blog.
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