Turkey Vulture

The Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura, is beautiful in flight, but has a most unattractive head.  These shots show the buzzards with their wings spread in the "sunning" position. 

Bobolink

The Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, is a comical bird to watch.  They showed up in our yard when the surrounding field was planted in wheat.  Haven't seen them since.  These two males were in the top of a sweetgum tree.  I should have some pictures of the female somewhere.  They were pretty numerous for a couple weeks, then disappeared when the wheat was cut.

Blue Grosbeak

The Blue Grosbeak, Passerina caerulea, is seen sporadically during the summer months.  The male, bottom is much more wary than the female at the top.  The image in the middle is a first year male still growing into his blue suit.  They really enjoy feeding on the seedheads of my sweet sorghum patch.

Purple Finch

This male Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpureus, is a rare visitor to our yard.  At first glance one could easily confuse him with the male House Finch.  The big difference is the red coloring that goes down his back, where the House Finch is mostly brown.

Yellow-throated Warbler

This Yellow-throated Warbler, Dendroica dominica, Is the only example I have seen in the 4 years I have been interested in shooting bird images,  He didn't stay long, but at least I got a couple quick shots in the Crepe Myrtle.

Summer Tanager

The Summer Tanager, Piranga rubra, is a very interesting critter.  They are known for dining on bees and wasps, often catching them in flight, taking them to a tree and beating them to death, removing the stinger by rubbing it against a branch.  The female is yellow, sometimes with red feathers blended in.  The male above is the only one I have seen.  I have seen several females the last couple years, but the male apparently is more shy.

European Starling

The European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, is a very common visitor nationwide.  They are a nuisance because they appear in large groups and can be very messy.  They can clean out the feeders pretty quickly if allowed.  They do have pretty markings when viewed closely, especially in their breeding colors.

Wood Duck

The colorful male Wood Duck, Aix sponsa, is a favorite down at Burnt Bridges.  These two shots were taken about 4 years apart.  I don't know if it is the same individual or not.  They always appear to have been hand painted.  I keep telling myself I need to put a nest box down ther, but I seem to forget it until it is too late.  They are known to nest as high as 30 to 40 feet over the water.  The babies leave the nest a day after hatching, plopping down into the water unharmed and ready to follow mama.

Northern Bobwhite

The Northern Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus, is more often heard than seen.  This pair showed up one day behind our grapevine and I was able to get a few shots of them.  I think they were looking for a nesting place.  The next day, we just saw the male by himself acting lost.  I looked around near the grapevine and found the remains of the female.  I think it was killed by a hawk.  Sad story.

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus, is a common bird, most often associated with marshy areas perched on cattails.  They appear once in a while in large flocks with other blackbirds and starlings.  The middle image above is the female and the bottom image is a first year male.  I don't have a decent image of a mature male, yet.

Chipping Sparrow

The Chipping Sparrow, Spizella passerina, is very common year around in this area.  It is fun to watch and listen to the male singing for all he is worth from the top of a tree.

House Sparrow

The male House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, is easy to spot especially in his breeding colors like this one.  These little guys are sort of a nuisance since they are known to take over another nest as their own, especially in bluebird boxes.  The nest is usually made of all sorts of materials and is sloppy looking.

Tufted Titmouse

This Tufted Titmouse, Baeolophus bicolor, was shot in Henderson, NC.  We have them around here, but I don't see them in our yard.  They are a very active little bird and usually visit backyard feeders.

Indigo Bunting

The male Indigo Bunting, Passerina cyanea, strikes quite a figure with his brilliant color for which he is named.  They are solitary birds and the female resembles a sparrow.  I believe the bird above is the female, but am not certain, so if you can correct or confirm this, I would be grateful.

Orchard Oriole

The Orchard Oriole, Icterus galbula, Is a rare visitor to our yard.  We had a nesting pair in 2009, but I don't think they nested last summer.  The male could be confused with the American Robin at first glance.  The female seems to be less timid than the male.

Eastern Phoebe

The Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, is an efficient and solitary flycatcher.  This one seems to hang around our yard quite a lot.  It seems to prefer low perches, 8 to 10 feet off the ground when in our yard.

Mourning Dove

The Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura, is very common in this area, probably due in part to the different grains that are grown around here.  We commonly see them by the dozons on powerlines and in the fields as well as at our feeders in the wintertime.   The wings produce a whistling sound on takeoff.

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, is seen year around, but in larger numbers here in the summertime.  The male in breeding colors is a beautifully marked bird while the female is a pretty plain jane.  They really enjoy the two 50ft rows of zinnias I plant every year, as well as the sunflowers and the sweet sorghum seedheads.

Pine Warbler

The Pine Warbler, Dendroica pinus, is the most common warbler in our yard.  Seen year around, it is often found in the pine and maple trees hunting for insects on the limbs and in the bark.  There is very little difference in the markings of the male and female.

Dark-eyed Junco

The Dark-eyed Junco, Junco hyemalis, is our most common bird in wintertime.  Also known as the snowbird, these little fellows are often seen in large numbers at the feeders.  The male is a contrasty slate gray and white and the female has more subdued coloring, with brown on the wings and back.