Thank you to those nice folks who submitted photos in our time of need. Today we have Doug Hayes’s latest installment of bird photos from his feeder in Richmond, VA, called “The Breakfast Crew.” Doug’s notes are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them. And today we have a bonus bird.
The Breakfast Crew is back. We’ve had a population explosion of house finches. Two years ago, there was a serious outbreak of Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, AKA house finch eye disease among the little guys. The disease can lead to blindness, leaving the birds vulnerable to predators and death from starvation or exposure. During the outbreak, wildlife officials urged us to take down our feeders or disinfect them regularly, as infected birds can spread the disease when they stick their heads into the openings of tube type feeders. They have now bounced back big time and outnumber sparrows and other common birds around the neighborhood.
A male house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) enjoying the morning sun as he hangs out in the bush just outside our kitchen window. Sparrows and finches roost in the bush at night and sun themselves a bit before heading for the neighborhood feeders:
A female house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), showing the rather drab plumage compared to the flashier males:
A tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) snags a peanut. Another fairly common bird in the neighborhood:
Most birders consider the common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) a pest, but I find their intense eyes and iridescent feathers striking:
Looking as if he has gotten up on the wrong side of the bed, this Northern mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) watches the action at the feeders:
Mourning doves (Zenaida macroura) like to find a nice roosting spot near the feeders and just sit, sometimes for hours. This one found the basket an ideal spot to sit and eat:
Carolina wrens (Thryothorus ludovicianus) are another common bird at the feeders:
A red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). This one is either a juvenile or non-breeding male. It is unusual to see them at the feeders during nice weather. They normally live in marshy areas along the river but will venture into the neighborhood during and just after rainy weather:
A male northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Breeding season is getting near. The males can be seen chasing each other out of “their” territory and trying to attract the attention of females:
A female northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). While not as flashy as the males, some of the females have very intense coloration of their own:
A white throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). Most of these sparrows are ground feeders, gathering seeds scattered by the other birds. A few of them have figured out where the food actually comes from:
A dark-eyed junco (Junco hyemalis) enjoying the morning sun:
Despite their Latin name, American robins (Turdus migratorius) live in the neighborhood year round:
This red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) was one of a pair that showed up in the neighborhood last month. Twice when I was watching them, they were driven off by a mob of crows. The same thing happened last summer when a pair of hawks tried to nest in a nearby tree. The unusual thing about this incident is that crows are rarely seen around the neighborhood:
Camera info: Sony A1 III mirrorless camera body, Sony FE 200-600 zoom lens plus 1.4X teleconverter. High ISO noise cleaned up with Topaz Photo AI and Adobe Photoshop. All shots hand held.
Thanks Doug. Funny, I was just thinking that we had not seen your breakfast crew in a while as I was watching several families of Cardinals chasing around our feeders just downriver here from you this morning. We too have noticed what appears to be an explosion of finches. Particularly nice photo of the Mourning Dove.
These cheering pictures are a welcome respite from the insanity of the current U.S. administration: so nice to see something (i.e. spring) progressing mostly as per usual, and the birds behaving quite normally. We have some of those birds here in the Maritimes as well, and I have seen (and heard) the first of the spring explosions of starlings. The cardinals are back to scout out their territory in our backyard, in spite of the fact that all the ice on the ground has not yet melted.
Ooo, wow, juvenile hawk!
I think this is the first time I noticed the mesh seed dish – very good design.
Very beautiful photos. And thanks for helping to save our host’s “Readers’ Wildlife Photos” feature.
+1
That male house finch looks like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with! I, too, find common grackles interesting—and seemingly quite intelligent. Excellent collection of pictures!
The Breakfast Crew is one of my favourite of the Readers Wildlife features. Beautiful pictures once again.
Glad to see you back Doug with the breakfast crew. It’s such a wonderful collection of birds and photos.
Thanks!
Lovely pics. The “year round” robins are a bit complicated. Most of the robins in Virginia during the winter will migrate north to nest, and the one who nest here generally winter to the south. Many of the northern/nesting birds have dark heads that contrast with their lighter backs, while ones who nest here tend to have uniform head to back coloration.
Lovely set. Thanks.
Great photos! And thanks for the equipment data.
Actually, the camera is the Sony A1 II. I was looking at the specs on the A9 III while I was organizing the photos. The A1 II was just released a month ago, hopefully the III won’t be rolled out for a few years.
We don’t see the grackles that we used to see, nor do we see as many of those obnoxious starlings who apparently like to bathe as a group and splash out most the water in the birdbath. We do have a gang of five crows who have been keeping things lively for a few years. I suppose we don’t live close enough to water to get any redwing blackbirds, who I believe are among the handsomest birds out there, the homely females notwithstanding. I always look forward to the wonderful photos of the Breakfast Crew. They let me see close-up what I usually see only from a distance.
Very nice! It is the White Throated Sparrow that is the subject of all that controversy that it is a bird with 4 sexes!
Nice batch there… thanks for posting.