Red-bellied Woodpecker

Spotted this Red-bellied Woodpecker during the Great Backyard Bird Count

Another one of Teddy

Bread snatcher

I threw some old hot dog buns out in the middle of the back yard last Saturday. Later on, I watched this rat run to grab it and then run back to it's hole in the fence. It struggled to get it through the fence but finally made it after a few tries.

Not my house!

This poor sparrow was not very happy to see the squirrel on the roof. The male sparrow wasn't far away and between the two of them, they were able to scare it away.

White-breasted Nuthatch

It's been months since I've seen a White-breasted Nuthatch at my feeder. Made my day.

Jupiter and Venus shine above the Moon

Did you happen to notice the planets Jupiter and Venus shining above the waxing crescent moon tonight? Don't fret if you missed it. They'll be together just after sunset through mid-March.

One of six

Temps were close to 60 at lunchtime today so my office mate and I went for a walk. Halfway through the walk we spotted six deer across the stream. This always makes my day. Unfortunately they wouldn't get close enough together so I could take a picture of all of them.

Another Mallard Duck

Mallard Duck

I seldom see a duck so it was a nice surprise to spot two during the Great Backyard Bird Count this past weekend. We took a walk at a local park and two were swimming in the pond.

Great Backyard Bird Count day 4

Today was the last day of the Great Backyard Bird Count. Unfortunately I had to work so was only able to count once. Three pair of Mourning Dove were sunning in the trees this afternoon. That's more than I've seen in some time.

Other birds counted were the House Sparrow, Northern Mockingbird, and the Tufted Titmouse. My final species count this year was 20.

Great Backyard Bird Count day 3

I spotted this American Robin in the tree yesterday. Seems they haven't left the area this winter so now I won't have the thrill of the first Robin of the spring.

I'll report the following species for today: American Goldfinch, Bluejay, Carolina Wren, Common Grackle, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, European Starling, Field Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Song Sparrow, and Tufted Titmouse.

Great Backyard Bird Count day 2

The weather today was just lovely, great for counting birds. I counted three times, twice from home and once from a local park. I spotted this beautiful Tufted-Titmouse at the park.

Other birds that I'm able to report today include an American Robin, Carolina Wren, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, European Starling, Field Sparrow, Mallard Duck, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Turkey Vulture, and White-throated Sparrow.

The Great Backyard Bird Count begins

Today was the first day of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count. This will be the third year that I've participated in the count.

The first bird in my count was this Downy Woodpecker. Turns out it was the last bird I saw as well.

Other birds counted included the Carolina Wren, Dark-eyed Junco, Downy Woodpecker, European Starling, Field Sparrow, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Northern Cardinal, Northern Mockingbird, Song Sparrow, Tufted Titmouse, and the Turkey Vulture.

In flight

Song Sparrow

Pretty Dark-eyed Junco

Presidential motorcade

President Obama was visiting a local community college late morning today so we decided to see if we could spot the motorcade. We gathered at the window once we noticed that the southbound lanes of the Beltway were empty. First came a motorcycle, a minute later another one, a minute later another one. Then we saw three motorcycles and the flood gates opened. We counted 15 motorcycles, 18 vehicles, and a helicopter.


We have a TV in the office so knew when his speech was over. We started watching the Beltway again and it wasn't long before traffic was stopped in the northbound lanes and the motorcade passed by again. Unfortunately, these photos don't show the string of vehicles. It was a sight to see.

Unwelcome visitor

The birds aren't the only thing enjoying the nuts and fruit I put out.

Crocus are blooming

Two years and still going

Today marks the second anniversary of this blog. I don't have anything special to post today so will post a photo of the same type of bird I started with, a House Finch. It's a fun challenge to come up with the photos. Looking forward to another year of it!

I've got my eye on you

One more view

Another view of the Tufted Titmouse

Tufted Titmouse poses

Any movement and they usually fly away but today this Tufted Titmouse struck a pose and let me snap away.

Downy Woodpecker returns

Waxing gibbous moon on blue sky

Orange and red orchids

Well maybe not red, more like a burgandy. They were beautiful. Looked like velvet.

Piggin' out

Happy birthday to my sister!

She knows who she is ;-)