Birds at the Feeders July-August 2022

 Birds at the Feeders July-August 2022

In this Closer to Nature... Blog look for bird visual and writings in the  Maryville Alcoa Greenway Nature Encounters, the Bird Photography and Nature Journals, and a new informational formatted bird cards I am creating. 

UPDATE December 2022... Randy has added a newer DSLR Canon Rebel 7 Camera with a Canon 75-300mm lens that along with practice he has improved his Bird photography. I still have some great photos taken from an older Canon Sure-Shot Camera with and attached lens. 

Just get Closer to Nature.... by getting any type of camera and taking pictures of the wonderful biodiversity that is out there when you are outside! OR from sitting on a porch close to a bird feeder.

To view the pictures in a better gallery view, left click on a image and scroll using keyboard on screen bottom directional arrows

A good friend has always had bird feeders for many years. When she moved back to Maryville, Tennessee from Colorado, she said a priority was to live in a place that had a good deck or porch to have several bird feeders to attract and to watch the birds. 

She bought a place with a shaded and covered front porch that had a maple tree out front that is perfect for hanging a sunflower hearts feeder, a suet basket, and a hummingbird feeder. All these are about 10 feet from her sitting area on the porch. If you sit still and move slowly when taking pictures, the many species of birds that visit regularly are available for taking great photographs with a smart phone or from a digital camera with a better zoom lens.

Her cat Sophie also loves to lay on a table and watch out the window for all the birds that feed off the two hanging feeders. Sophia also is ready to hunt the several species like American Robins, Mourning Doves, or Eastern Towhees,  which usually feed on the ground from the seeds that get scratched and dropped from the feeders by the birds. 

The Eastern Towhee is a species I was not familiar with until watching them feeding on the ground getting seeds dropped from the birds on the feeder.

The colors and patters of feathers on the Male Eastern Towhees are so unique.

The Robin with its orange breast is thought to be the Aves species with the largest population in North America. Domestic cats are also its biggest predator, so Sophie needs to stay inside and just dream about hunting.

Mourning Doves often are in the street or driveway but sometimes they do come into the yard and scratch through the mulch looking for dropped seeds. Their cooing sounds are peaceful and sometimes remind me of being in a forest campground and hearing Owls at night. I have seen a couple of doves in the trees but not actually feeding from one of the feeders.

I always think that when observing the Mourning Dove that their head is too small for the body size.

There is also another red hummingbird feeder out in the open to attract the Ruby Throated Hummers to the area and they often visit both the one in the shade off the porch and one out in the open about 25 feet away in the yard.  

I have learned a lot of how to identify our Aves visitors starting with a Birds of Tennessee pamphlet I viewed often. When I started uploading observations using the iNaturalist App on my phone I was getting identification suggestions and checks from more experienced birders in the iNat community. I have noticed that these iNat birders are always checking for posts to identify birds. A second agreement of the species on iNat for an observation results in it being Research grade for this great citizen science program. 

Using this helpful and easy to use identification APP and the website program I can now spot and identify so many species on my own as iNat is getting me .......Closer to Nature...

Check out their FAQ Help page for information 

iNaturalist Help Link

Below are several screenshots from my iNaturalist home page of some of the "feeder" birds I have observed this summer of 2022.

I got out my older digital camera with a 40-100 zoom lens and borrowed another bridge smaller zoom camera which added better photos when I was sitting on her porch during the times I visited. As I have gotten more involved in using the iNaturalist programs and getting out this summer for walks looking for wildflowers, it has been lots of fun when I am able to nab a good bird picture to add an observation to iNat. 

 

Even though this Black Vulture was NOT at the bird feeders it was only about one-half mile away perched way up high on a tree top branch. I don't think my friend wants a Vulture at the bird feeder in the front yard!

I was recently talking to a very experienced photographer and “birder” friend I met through iNaturalist and have spoken to regularly on our local Greenway trails here in Maryville and Alcoa. I have been viewing her pictures on iNat and I have decided to upgrade my photography equipment with a newer better zoom lens camera and higher megapixel rating. 

I want to get much better photos, especially those further away, of birds and other critters I might run into while on the several days a week I wander on the Greenbelt trails. I also have been seeing and taking bird pictures and adding them to iNat from my condo’s hilltop elevated deck and even on hiking days in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Even these European Starlings are often seen on this American Sycamore tree down the hill from my deck. This species are regular visitors at bird feeders. I had to zoom about 75 feet to get this shot.

This European Starling was on a limb in the Maple Tree above the feeders. You can see the clarity of the photograph since I was much closer to the bird about 10 feet away. I have seen that having bird feeders does allow many of the song birds to get much closer for easier and better pictures. Plus the birds are entertaining to view at the feeders.

I have gotten many great flower, insects, and other pictures using my iPhone that are included in most of my pages in this Blog I do want to get “Closer to Nature…”  To be able to get a zoomed in closer view of Nature, especially for the birds I see when out exploring and looking to document the amazing East Tennessee biodiversity.

One woodpecker I was able to learn quickly is the Downy Woodpecker. It seemed to always like feeding at the suet feeder. When bigger more aggressive birds wanted to feed it usually left the feeder but often perched on a nearby limb or tree trunk waiting to return back to the suet feeder.

For entertainment at the feeders I think these House finches are the best. The male has the bright red plumage on its head and upper breast. The females act like a bunch of high energy giggling girls. One time I counted close to 10 of "the girls" making lots of noise and fluttering all around the sunflower feeder and the limbs in the Maple tree.

The gang of House Finch girls eating and spilling sunflower hearts for others to find on the ground.

When I think of red birds of course the Northern Cardinal is the best. The females are not as bright red as the males. A noticeable feature of this bird species is the heavy seed crushing orange to red beaks they use when eating. 

Looks like this female Cardinal likes the seeds in the suet feeder.

The other bright colored favorite feeder visitor is the American Goldfinch. The males are this bright yellow with the black crown and wings. I read that the males are more olive green after they molt (lose and get new feathers) during the winter. They can be hard to photograph as just when I get focused they move somewhere else. This fellow is chewing seeds as his beak is blurred.

Another colorful visitor is the Eastern Bluebird, but I have only gotten an observation of this species one time here at the feeder. It was a quick visit but I have seen several others when I walk the nearby Greenbelt trails. Seems this species prefers more open habitat with a tree line area. 

There are also many people who build Bluebird specific bird houses for them to nest in. I remember one Boy Scout, for his Eagle project, built and placed several of these bird houses along the Greenway trail long ago. I donated some small hinges and screws to this worthy project when I owned  a hardware store.

Next up is the Tennessee state bird the Northern Mockingbird. One way I have learned to identify this species is from its longer tail feathers that stick up from its body. It has some lighter colored breast feathers, and those gray wings with the splash of white near the shoulder. It is a common bird for me to observe and I have posted 15 to iNaturalist to date on September 20, 2022. Eleven of these were seen on the Greenway and only 4 at the feeder.

A blurred picture but lots of activity as these two younger Mockingbirds, who could be siblings, are fighting over the suet food. The second picture below shows the spotty breast feathers which indicate these are juvenile Mockingbirds. 

 

Another bird who could not stay still for me to get good clear photos with the cameras I have. The Tufted Titmouse gets its name from the tuft of feathers on the top back of its head. They are regular visitors to bird feeders but I have only gotten 1 observation in iNat. I have seen them more than once but unable to get good pictures.

Many bird guides say to not confuse the Red-bellied Woodpecker (with has a red head) with the Red Headed Woodpecker.  The Red-bellied  is common in the Eastern USA and the Red Headed is not as commonly seen. Look closely at the first picture of the Red-bellied and you can see the small reddish feathers on its belly.

One thing I have noticed about the Red-bellied visits to the feeders is that it feeds mostly on the suet feeder, but it will also perch on the other feeder to eat sunflower hearts. The Red-bellied birds are very  aggressive towards other birds and will challenge them and take over the feeders.

Adult showing red head

An interesting bird that seems to like to look into the camera when it knows I was taking its picture is the Gray Catbird. It has a smooth sleek look and a the black cap on the head. Also notice the reddish color on its rear leading into the underside of its tail feathers. Yes the Catbird sounds like it is meowing when it sings!

Head with the darker cap

Reddish rear feathers

The Carolina Chickadee seems to get its name from one of its calls which sounds like a chick-a-dee. A pretty but smaller bird that bounces around on the branches and quickly grabs some seeds from the feeder then leaves to perch and eat. It usually stays during the winter months without migrating and can be see during colder snowy days.

And my favorite species just to get pictures of is the Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds. They are so tiny and how they don't really fly but zip around and then hover in place. They migrate from Tennessee into Florida, Mexico or Central America in the early fall. I only saw the male one time at these feeders and my friend saw a male one other time. The female hatches the eggs and raises the babies in the nest from pea size eggs.

Male moving too quick with the wings for my iPhone camera to get a clear picture

And of course somebody that can not read should know and understand these are BIRD feeders but they may contain nuts and seeds. 

The Eastern Gray Squirrel will come over the roof and jump onto the Maple tree and chase any birds away from the suet feeder. They can hang from the limbs and the suet cage with ease. They will also feed on the ground from seeds dropped while the birds are feeding.

At home on a limb and hanging to feed at the suet feeder

I was trying in this observational Nature Journal to give you a few interesting facts from readings about these birds from the iNaturalist website links. I also was telling some of the visual keys I use to identify the different species from colors, feather patterns, physical shapes, beaks, and other differences I see.

Next I guess I need to learn some bird calls. I do not claim to be an experienced ornithologist. I know many iNaturalist and other bird websites users post their observations for population counts and migration and phenology sightings. 

I do the best I can but will say I have enjoyed watching and learning these feeder visitors.

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Other Bird Photography and information are found in this Closer to Nature....Digital Nature Journal Blog on Posts and Pages from the following links:

Randy's Bird Identification Tips

Photographing Birds in the Brush

Bird Cards 2022

Eastern Bluebird Post Card Format

Bird Photography and Nature Journals

Haiku on Pictures