Favorite Backyard Garden Birds?

[Taiji]

Our state bird is the cactus wren. They live in holes in the saguaro cactus. I don't think I have ever seen one since I don't live in that type of landscape. Around here we do have the canyon wren which I've never seen either, but their song is unmistakable, I've heard them many times. They start out with a high pitched whistle then more whistles descending in pitch til they get really low and it slows down. (all in one breath!) They live in canyon walls, (of course), but hereabouts they live in among granite boulders.

[A Happy Seedling]

You have interesting birds. Thanks for the pictures. I will probably only see most of these birds in pictures. Sadly, even our native birds are so rare and dependent on specific native plants for food that most of them won't be seen in home gardens. All I see are sparrows (not as many now), bulbuls (too many), cattle egret (imported by the plantation), finches (pets people deliberately let go), parrots (also escaped or released pets), Sharma (rare, and has a beautiful song), cardinals, great northern cardinals, golden plover (they migrate from the Aleutians every winter), occasionally a pheasant, native white owl (very rare I have only seen it twice on the Big Island's Parker ranch, mynah, spotted neck doves, small grey dove, mejiro (Japanese white eye), pigeons, and feral chickens.

I feel for you. Cattle egrets are nice though. Their white plumage is beautiful!

[tomf]

Took the photos from a ways off through a window of this Flicker.

[tomf]

I have a field guid book but would like a better bird book, anyone have any recommendations?

[rainbowgardener]

I think I just saw an eastern bluebird in our backyard! It didn't stay around long, so I didn't get a good look at it, but I have seen them before.


https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/id

this is not my picture, just something I found on line

[ButterflyLady29]

Which one (field guide) do you have? I've got Peterson's, Audubon, and National Geographic. Of the 3 I prefer the Peterson's

[digitS']

I like my Peterson's guide but I don't have the chance now to compare.

It replaced my Audubon guide.

Have you ever wondered what sort of book might be most commonly dropped from a jacket pocket and lost? I bet bird guides are near the top of the list.

Steve

[LIcenter]

If you have a smartphone, ipad or the like. This site lists 19 apps that might interest a few here.

https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animal ... ess-expert

[Susan W]

Who needs many different birds when one has a mockingbird?! They are hanging out in my yard all year, and never cease to amaze with their run-on songs. The Carolina wren makes way bigger song than its little body. (also yr 'round). The brown thrashers are checking out the available real estate, usually lower part of privet hedge (a good use for privet!).

Last week with the never ending rains, many of the birds feasted on worms coming up to surface of yard and even on roadways.

[Susan W]

On those bird field guides. My mother was an avid birder. We grew up with bird guides, binocs, looking and listening. Also sketch books. When she passed on near 20 yrs ago, I was able to get her bird guides, binocs and some of the sketch pads. Her last fave guide was Nat'l Geographic. When I open it and see her notes, let's just say there's a tear in my eye.

[rainbowgardener]

The bluebird was back today and I got a better look at it; definitely what it was and very pretty. We want to get a bluebird house to put on our fence line.

[ButterflyLady29]

My grandpa put up a bunch of bluebird houses around his farm. It was great seeing the bluebirds raising their families there. There were always barn swallows in the barn too.
Grandpa loved all his birds except starlings, house sparrows, and one strawberry stealing robin.

[imafan26]

We don't have the kinds of birds that you do. The finches have been singing and calling in the plumeria tree almost every day and I saw a grey dove feeding its chick in a nest under the eaves of the shed. I have an old nest of some bird in my lemon tree.

[applestar]

I was hoping to attract bluebirds when this area was dotted with horse farms and they were plentiful, they never quite considered my garden good enough, although they did come visit once in a while. Now, most of the farms are gone and I don't see them any more.

Today's loudly singing visitors were Carolina wrens.

[catgrass]

Feeding time

[A Happy Seedling]

What are these? Cardinals? Tanagers?

[AnnaIkona]

I love the tiny type of birds such as chickadees and what are those other teeny ones called...titmice?

[catgrass]

The redbirds are cardinals. I have counted as many as 24 some afternoons. I have 3 feeders set out. I get cardinals, chickadees, fox sparrows, blue jays, doves (lots of doves), cowbirds, goldfinches and some I can't identify.

[ButterflyLady29]

I like the little titmice. Swoop in, grab, and gone. The chickadees come in and grab a seed then fly to a branch and crack the shell, eat the seed, then back to the feeder.

I haven't seen my goldfinches yet this year. Usually they come in the early spring, stay the summer, then take off for the winter. I know they turn brown and I know what winter goldfinch plumage looks like. But they disappear for the winter here. They love zinnia and cone flower seeds.

[A Happy Seedling]

The redbirds are cardinals. I have counted as many as 24 some afternoons. I have 3 feeders set out. I get cardinals, chickadees, fox sparrows, blue jays, doves (lots of doves), cowbirds, goldfinches and some I can't identify.

Cool! For cardinals, I only have a few pairs of mates, a few sibling pairs/groups, and one single male cardinal who, since all the females have been taken up, sings incessantly outside my window all day and night
I get a lot of Tree Sparrows, House Sparrows, Song Sparrows (don't judge, but I like them!), doves (on the ground eating seeds discarded by picky feeder birds, since we have a squirrel-proof feeder that works by weight, not allowing doves either), one cowbird (which never came to the feeder), chickadees (always chickadees), nuthatches (white-breasted), and God knows how many other bird types, I only listed the ones we seem to both have. The evil blue jays migrated away last year, abandoning one with us (it had to teach itself to fly, so we got to watch it faceplant in the dirt for a couple of weeks ), but they came back now. They stay away from the feeder though.
I saw a grackle near the feeder once but it never got on. I never saw another grackle. We have crows but they stay away from the feeder too.