Recap of the Seed and Insect Eating Birds

Recap of the Seed and Insect Eating Birds




This post is going to be a little different then what I usually do, why? Just because! This is going to be a recap of the blog posts with photographs of the Birds who are primarily seed and insect eaters. Keep in mind I have been doing this since 2010! In that time I had a host shut down, close their doors, so I took a break from doing this for I was not sure what I was going to do? I have not gotten all the old post at this spot (mrsroadrunner.com).... not sure I will?

Male Red House Finch Feeding Mate

"Up in the apple tree, as snow is on the ground here in the high desert of Oregon, we see this."

Black-headed Grosbeak by Coralie

"The Black-headed Grosbeak is the monarch butterflies worst enemy!"

Young White-Crowned Sparrow Winter Behavior

"This is a young White-Crowned Sparrow. This species of sparrow winter here in our part of the high desert with us."

Yellow-Rumped Warbler Bird

"This Warbler stopped in to check out what was here to eat and to get a drink."

The Tale Of The Bread Thief

"As I was sitting in my spot watching the birds,butterflies,bees just enjoying the nice weather we have here in the High Desert"

Spent Some time with this hummingbird

"Thought I would spend a little time with this hummingbird on this day.

Showing up with his/her click click lets me know this one or the others are around. Typically in the apple tree and coming out during the day. Fortunately for me, they all get hungry about the time I am outside doing my chores then doing my photography!"

Mountain Bluebird Encounter Oregon Bird Watching By Coralie

"We went to a marsh Sunday where I found this Mountain Bluebird.

The bird was acting rather funny, when seeing the Northern Harrier I instantly understood! "

Hummingbird On The Honeysuckle

"Honeysuckle is very popular with the hummingbirds!"

Red-breasted Nuthatch by Coralie

"We had yet another visitor to the garden just the other day!"

Ruby-crowned Kinglet Washing Himself

"Folks who keep up with my photography know home is where the heart is and I spend a lot of my time just watching the visitors show up."

Downy Woodpecker Catching a Meal

"Meet the Downy Woodpecker. The smallest woodpecker in North America."

The Golden-Crowned Sparrow in Need

"This is the Golden-Crowned Sparrow. Biggest sparrow we have here and we have big flocks of them at times here at the house. Beautiful song comes from these song birds!!

The Golden-Crowned Sparrows are also a smart species, like all sparrows I guess? Seen at bird feeders, or gardens looking for that something to eat as the one in the photograph is doing at one of our little ponds. I watch these sparrows quite a lot for they are one of the common birds here at the house."

White Crowned Sparrow Visiting The Garden

"The White Crowned Sparrow can be found for some time here in our gardens and our wild bird area."

hummingbird and the foxglove flower bloom

"Some shots I caught of this hummingbird feeding on the foxglove flowers!"

Female Spotted Towhee in Her Natural Environment

"This is the natural environment for the Spotted Towhee. The species blends in very well to it's environment which is their way to survive."

Northern Shrike High Desert of Oregon

"This Northern Shrike was photographed on one of my walks here in our rural town back in January of 2014, High Desert of Oregon"

Hanging Out With A Ruby-crowned Kinglet

"This is the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Very small and quick bird!"

White Crowned Sparrows Wintering in the High Desert

"These are the White Crowned Sparrows that winter with us here in our part of the High Desert of Oregon."

Lewis Woodpecker of The High Desert of Oregon

"This is the Lewis's Woodpecker I photographed here in our part of Oregon perched on a old fencepost."

American Dipper or Water Ouzel by Coralie

"The Dipper is a great bird to find around unpolluted fast moving waters. I happened to catch this one along the Metolius River."

Mountain Chickadee

"Meet the Mountain Chickadee! Unlike the other chickadee bird species this one has white stripes upon its small head."

European Starling of the High Desert

"Meet one of the most hated birds in our area, the European Starling, or just plain old Common Starling."

Harris's Sparrow Bird in The High Desert of Oregon

"I want to introduce you to a new bird, for me as well! Meet the Harris's Sparrow!"

Junco Bird in White

"Meet the Junco Bird who spends time here at the house."

Flying Western Meadowlark

"Meet the Western Meadowlark."

Pheasant At My Garden

"Meet the Pheasant, a common game bird who is found in Oregon as well as many states here in the USA."

Cedar Waxwing Bird in the High Desert

"Meet the Cedar Waxwing! A very pretty bird in my opinion and when a flock of these fruit loving birds show up they have a very distinctive call! They sometimes arrive in good sized flocks of a dozen or more to the fruit trees! The Cedar Waxwings seam to like our honeysuckle we grow here as well."

Robin Bird Fledgeling

"Meet this baby Robin Bird! I have several posts about different Robin bird fledgelings that are waiting for their meal"

Spotted Towhee In The High Desert

"Meet the Spotted Towhee! The Spotted Towhee has been a constant resident here in our garden in winter clear into spring!"

This all for now! I still feel as if I missed some posts.... however as I said I have been doing this for a while (where has the time gone?). Keep in mind, all my posts are my observations and photographs. I am a HUGE believer in thinking for yourself. Researching yourself! I am only human and do make mistakes, really haha!

I am thrilled when folks link to my blog, photographs etc.! Doing this for a while now, I have seen folks come and go... some days coming up with something to write about is a interesting process! I thank you for coming by and checking this out!

Coralie

PS now that I looked this over I know I missed some posts.... oh well hope you enjoyed this recap!

Flying Western Meadowlark

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Flying Western Meadowlark




Meet the Western Meadowlark. Oregon state bird and one we have here in our area of the high desert of Oregon!

On my walks I take around my town the Western Meadowlarks are a constant companion. Singing, flying by. We are a area the Western Meadowlarks dose not appear to be having survival issues.



Flying by me pretty quickly, but I got the photograph! You can see the farm houses blurred in the back ground.

Thank you for coming by and seeing my Western Meadowlark bird flying photographs!

Time Spent With A Monarch Butterfly

Mrsroadrunner Photography | Time Spent With A Monarch Butterfly




Most folks know of the Monarch Butterfly? If not meet the Monarch Butterfly!

Here in our part of the high desert of Oregon we do not get many Monarch's here at the house, but when we do I try my best to get some photographs! These photographs were taken in October of 2014.





Getting late in the season I thought for butterflies, in October I was a tad bit surprised to see the Monarch Butterfly here to be honest. Feeding on my spent Zinnia flower patch that gosh at the point I was not even watering the garden much anymore, getting ready for cold weather and all.....



My Zinnia flower patch seams to attract what Monarchs we do have in the area most every year! Monarch Butterflies if you have not heard have been having a hard time of it lately. I guard these visitors from the cats and other predators as much as I can, however I just do not have room to keep the Zinnia Patch in a more protected area, or I surely would! In 2015 perhaps I will put in some Zinnia seeds inside the fence of the kennel?? I do have a neighbor whose cats kill the bigger butterflies such as the Monarch Butterfly. I try to keep a good eye on such things and cats are not allowed in the kennel but my sons cat and only the front part of our rather big kennel.

Come to think of it, I believe I have photographs of one of my outings on a local farm I have permission to go onto which had Monarch Butterflies there...... that place has so many critters on that land it is just amazing seeing it is a working, productive farm.  I have not been through all my 2014 photographs, this is what cold winter days are for!





I have to give credit to Guy and my son for keeping a eye out for the Monarch Butterfly and the other creatures we have here at the house! They both keep their eyes open and tell me if they see something I need to pay attention to when they can. It always seam as if I am out front when something shows up out back or vice versa ha!





Every year for some time the Monarchs have been showing up here at the house, two times a year it seams. Always going to the Zinnia patch. What they need milkweed for the larva to eat, and I just do not grow milkweed here. However the farms around our town may have some milkweed growing ? Oh perhaps along the railroad tracks?? If milkweed would say grow along the water canals it would surely be sprayed with chemicals so if this is what is going on the Monarch Butterflies are not going to survive there. I actually have yet to be given a acceptable excuse, or any excuse as to why chemicals are dumped along the canal roads? These chemicals go into the water as well.... just does not make sense to me?

However I do understand controlling weeds..... just seams to me there is a better way to control weeds around the water.



This series of shots has not been my best though it was fun to see, photograph and document the Monarch Butterfly in October!



The shot above I had leaves in my way. The Monarch Butterfly being such a rich vivid color this one flying off still came out ok. I also thought it was interesting that this Monarch has no damage. None what so ever, so I am thinking it might be young?? In any case I sure hope it made it south , because our fall and winters can get cold!



I have one more photograph to share, though I think that photograph of the Monarch flying off is a good one to close this post with? Hope you think so as well?

Thank you for coming by to my write up of the Monarch Butterfly! Keep in mind the Monarch is a flashy, larger butterfly that frankly it sure would be a shame to see their numbers decline to the point our grand kids can not enjoy them like we do.....in California I hear they really gather!!

More reading of the Monarch Butterfly;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly

The Tale Of The Bread Thief

Coralie aka Mrsroadrunner | The Tale Of The Bread Thief

As I was sitting in my spot watching the birds,butterflies,bees just enjoying the nice weather we have here in the high desert of Oregon I looked over to one of our ponds and seen the swimming young frogs wanting their piece of bread.

Well, I can not just feed them one day and not the other right? I admit I am against feeding the bigger wildlife, however these smaller wildlife do not have much of a life span and are not typically hunted.

So I headed in and got them their bread breaking it up into chucks to get water logged which is the only way they can consume such a thing. Went on with the other thing I found to do, which was photographing a spotted new species of frog who showed up.

Not to stress out my little visitor I left the spotted frog to go back to my chair. Folks I am sure understand that photographing wildlife can be a thankless thing with a lot of waiting around, and waiting and waiting!

As I wait, I observe the activity around me. There is so much activity! I looked over to see how the swimming young frogs were doing with their bread. Geesh, quite a bit of it was gone!! They never ate their bread this fast before! Something was up!! So I give a dirty look at the dogs, thinking one of them got into the pond and ate the little pieces of bread even though the dogs have never did this before!?

So I wait.

Soon a pair of Brewer's Blackbirds showed up!

As a bird as smart as these blackbirds are, this Brewer's Blackbird being no different, the female walked out into the pond grabbed a piece of bread from the swimming frogs and devoured it. Oh you little stinker!!

That was not the end of the show! Oh no end of the show yet!

The male Brewer's Blackbird jumped onto a rock we have in this pond for the birds. He grabs a large piece of the bread and eats it right in front of his female! The female was not impressed! She ran in grabbed a small piece of the bread and flew near the other pond!

The male was hot on her tail with his remaining piece of bread in his beak!

I swear you could actually see the wheels turning in the females brain!! How do I get that bread from him?? She walks over to the edge of the water of this other pond. Walks in the water and pretends to eat something?

Well, this was just to much for the male to bare, not knowing what she was eating and all. So watching her, he moves towards her. Mind you he still has a good junk of bread left himself, but greed is getting the best of him!

He moves closer to her to see what she is eating.... she sees her opratunity and takes it! She flies to his bread, grabs it in her beak and off she flies! Whipping those wings near me, with the male hot on her tail and screaming at her!!

I just laughed!!

This is the tale of the bread thief. Hope you enjoyed it I sure did as it was happening haha!

Yellow Headed Black Bird In Flight

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photographs... | Gather

Yellow Headed Black Bird In Flight. Something about seeing birds in flight that shows their true beauty.

Grey Heron Coming In For A Landing

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photographs... | Gather

Grey Heron Coming In For A Landing.
In the cow pasture we seen this heron and was ever so quiet so I could get this.
Did not want to scare the cattle, which would scare the heron.

Snagged Osprey

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Snagged Osprey. Watching this Osprey fish between the snow coming down we noticed he missed his fish and came up with this crud on his feet. I hope it is not someones fishing line and just grasses.

Skimming the Water

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photographs,photo... | Gather

Skimming the Water. This birds wings were so close to the water!!

Osprey Coming Up From A Dive

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photographs,photo... | Gather

Osprey Coming Up From A Dive. It is amazing watching these fishing Hawks fish.

Oregon Osprey, or Fish Hawk

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photographs,photo... | Gather

Oregon Osprey, or Fish Hawk. We watched the Fish Hawks fish today at the lake.

Clark's Nutcracker Flying

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Clark's Nutcracker Flying. I waited for this bird to fly to get this. Since I read up about this bird, it makes sense the squirrel and this Clark's Nutcracker were fighting, they both eat pine seeds.

Peaceful Scene On The Lake

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Peaceful Scene On The Lake.

Flying Ducks

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Flying Ducks

The Duck Couple

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

The Duck Couple. We were up in the mountains and seen water, so we started hiking in. These are a couple of several ducks we ran into.

Just Working

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Just Working. Caught this vulture looking to clean up, natures janitor. Just so long as they stay down wind of me.
I think there colors are pretty! Caught this one flying through the canyon.

Eagle Landing

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Eagle Landing. This golden eagle did not pick a good spot to land! The branch was not holding his weight real well.

Done Here, Gotto Go!!

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

Done Here, Gotto Go!! This little guy I am sure was liking the bugs we were kicking up while walking.

If Only We Had Wings

Photo by MrsRoadRunner . : photography... | Gather

If Only We Had Wings.
We were watching some birds last night flying in the gorge and it made me wonder again what would it be like to soar.