Purple Finch

Over the past 10 days I have been seeing Purple Finches in my backyard.

photo © Jane Binns

VISITOR

I am not the only one watching the birds at my feeders! Today, this Coopers Hawk was not only watching the birds at the feeders but was also closely watching me!

photo © Jane Binns

BACKYARD BIRDS

ALL HELP APPRECIATED WITH ID!

I think that this is a Yellow-rumped Warbler. At least, that is my best educated guess!!

I also saw this in my garden this afternoon .At first I thought it was some kind of Grosbeak?, maybe a Towhee? but the closest I can find color wise is a Dark-eyed Junco but the bill is the wrong color and the size of the bird does not fit.

What do you think?Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!!

all photos © Jane Binns

BIRTHDAY GIFT

My birthday gifts today were the beauty of nature. It was fabulous to see my first Red-breasted Nuthatch of the year at my feeders.






all photos © Jane Binns

ENGLAND in SEPTEMBER 2010 (Part 2)

I had the opportunity to photograph a lot of beautiful backyard birds.

One of my favorite birds - the Robin

Dunnock

Chiffchaff


Blue Tit

Goldfinch

House Sparrow

Magpie

Willow Warbler

all photos © Jane Binns

ENGLAND in SEPTEMBER 2010 (Part 1)

Crab apples

Corfe Castle on a breezy, overcast day.

Sloe berries

Yellow Crabapples

Brambles

Berries and fruits of all kinds were in plentiful supply.

All photos © Jane Binns

BALTIMORE ORIOLE

You never know what you may see in your backyard....what a wonderful surprise it was to see this stunning Baltimore Oriole.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Male Ruby-throated Hummingbird at feeder.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird at feeder.

Female Ruby-throated Hummingbird in flight.

BREEDING CHICKADEES

Carolina Chickadees are busy finding food to feed their chicks. They come in every 5 minutes to feed them caterpillars, spiders and bugs.

The adults do a swift change both bringing in food.

As they exit out of the nestbox they regularly remove fecal sacs.

At the pond the Creeping Jenny is in full bloom.

and the green frogs are wrestling.

Butterflies are everywhere including this Red Admiral.




A Painted Lady.

Red Admiral.

Red Admiral.

Cabbage whites were mating - the top butterfly kept dipping down to mate with the stationary butterfly on the flower.

The Clematis is in full bloom

A DAY OF BLISS -MAY 1st, 2010

Sharing family events with your friends are always special occasions...such was May 1st, 2010 when Melissa Renzi got married to Bob Gustafson.

This was their day of BLISS....All you need is love....

Howard Renzi walking Melissa Renzi down the isle.

Melissa and Bob

Husband and wife!

Wedding guests.

Melissa and Bob

Proud parents.

What a wonderful happy time it was.

Your family is such an important part of your life.

Wishing Melissa and Bob a lifetime of BLISS.

BALD EAGLES

Bald Eagles are nesting in Philly.

How exciting!

It is hard to imagine that such a regal bird has chosen to nest just 5 minutes from I-95 and Philadelphia airport! They can be found nesting at the John Heinz National Wildlife refuge at Tinicum.

It is thrilling to see this bird fly so low right over your head on its way to its large stick nest located high up in a tree.

There are 2 chicks in the nest . They are easy to see as the nest is open and not covered by foliage from the surrounding trees.Here you can see the adult tearing up food to feed the chicks - an endless job!!

I would highly recommend a visit to Tinicum to see this wonderful spectacle.

ENGLAND IN THE SPRING

Daffodils eveywhere you look....









Primroses blossoming along the roadside verges

Camillias of all different colors.....



A stall in Lymington market

Delicious pork pies



Pheasants seen busy feeding in all the fields



One of the highlights of my trip was observing Long-tailed Tits



I watched a pair of Long-tailed Tits constructing their nest. If you look closely you can see the cobweb strand in the beak - they use this to contruct their nest along with lichen.