Tag: Backyard Birds

You will have to pardon my lack of resolution and sharpness in these photos. They are taken from quite far away from inside my kitchen windows to trying to focus on the farthest boundary of our property. But I was too excited to not post and share them as the first sightings of any backyard birds since we have arrived here in October 2023!

I’m thrilled to get to see mountain bluebirds taking up residence hopefully, and finding food and bugs here. They are a most welcome sight of color and spirit to the drab winter grasses and plains of late. ‘

The prior homeowner left old bird boxes up around many of the fence posts, but I had no idea if they would be used or not.

Here’s hoping we see bluebird families taking up residence in the coming weeks. Next trip to town will include a few bags of mealworms to put out to hopefully help us appear as an enticing location!

The title of this post sounds like a good name for a book, if one does not already exist. But in this case, it is meant quite literally. We have a magpie problem.

Ever since we moved here, I have wanted to set up my bird feeders and begin putting seed and feed out for whatever was willing to stop by. The magpies, however, have other ideas.

Scavengers by nature (they are part of the corvid family), and smart as the dickens, they voraciously will eat us out of house and home if we let them. They fly inside of our trash dumpster and peck our trash bags apart looking for snacks. Their presence pushes away any small sparrows or juncos that occasionally stop by as well.

I truly want to leave my feeders up but it’s nearly impossible with the magpies about. Has anyone else had this difficulty with magpies or other similar birds, and if so, how did you deal with it?

There are not many types of birds frequenting our little ranch house so far, but I was treated to a first-time sighting of a Steller’s Jay outside of my office window recently. My initial reaction was it was a Blue jay in shadows, but once I realized it was sitting in full sun I did a double-take to re-check what I was seeing.

So far, it has only been by the house this one time that I know of. Hopefully we will see it again. It was a beautiful painting of blue in motion to see it flit from branch to branch and then hop onto a caged feeder we had nearby. Just as soon as I realized it was there, it had flown off but I at was able to snap a quick photo or two before it departed. What a treat!

We spotted this juvenile robin calling for its mother in our back yard this afternoon. It’s feathers weren’t grown out yet and it could only hop about as it tried to stay hidden next to hedges and tree lines while it waited for lunch to be delivered.

A sweet little sign of summer.

Today was predicted to have 4-6 inches of snow, but so far it’s just cold with the finest of snow falling that has left town under a solid sheet of ice. A good day to stay home, stay warm and catch up on some things around the house (or do nothing at all)!

This week has been cold and snowy mainly, so it was a nice surprise to see a dark-eyed junco set against such a brilliant-blue sky.  The blue was just as nice to photograph as this little friend.

A pair of juvenile European Starlings were having the best time in our bird bath a few days ago. So much fun, in fact, the they splashed out nearly all of the water.

We’ve been visited by several birds who enjoy coming to have a sip of cool, clean water as well as some who prefer to splash about (usually it’s the robins who have a party in the bath). The bowl was a simple $30 purchase from a local landscaping shop, but has provided so much entertainment to watch our feathered friends while they enjoy their own little watery oasis.

There’s almost nothing so adorable and natural as an infant having just filled up on warm milk and then passing out into a milk coma in a state of utter bliss. Walking by my kitchen window yesterday, I am pretty sure I just observed the Robin equivalent: The worm coma:

This Robin parent was working so hard (as mom and dad birds of all types are in the spring). The fledgeling was perched, unmoving, on our back deck rail for hours while the adult flew back and froth continually. I was worried for 2 hours when I didn’t see the adult return, but then they did and junior was treated to a big piece of yummy worm.

After which he or she promptly passed out into, you guessed it, a worm coma. The little fluff could hardly hold it’s head up as it snoozed the warm day away.

Finally the poor thing was in such a state of snooze, it just let it’s little head fall down and there it lay, the most contented Robin in the history of birds.

Once the worm coma passed, it was up and at ’em again, chirping away as a little homing beacon for the adult to come back again, and again, and again…

A Wyoming snow came in today despite it technically being Spring now. It’s snowed several times over the last few days (but here in Cheyenne, only light accumulations).

Despite the snow, the birds were just singing their hearts out while it fell. Robins, Blue Jays, Juncos, House Sparrows, House Finches, Doves, Grackles, Starlings and Flickers were observed today. After filling all of our feeders, I stood outside under the aspens and quietly listened while the flakes fell.

And it felt more like Spring than Winter.

On a wintery day in Virginia in November, 2013, no other birds in the woods had the fluff on display like this song sparrow. It’s not the most focused photo I’ve taken, as I was about 50ft away and behind a window when I snapped it, but it’s one of my personal favorites. I do miss song sparrows as even though they should be prevalent in the locations I’ve lived in the last three years, I haven’t seen many. I’m sincerely hoping to see a few in our new home in Wyoming soon. Their song is unique, sweet and comforting to hear, wherever I am.