"Brown Thrasher"

A Brown Thrasher at my bird feeder

I have been fascinated with the Brown Trasher ever since I visited the Biltmore Estates in Asheveille, NC in May of 2011.  I had never seen one before and was quite struck by its direct yellow gaze.  I am sure I've had them in my back woodlot since we moved to NC over five years ago, but have never noticed them.  They like to spend their time on the forest floor looking for bugs and such - much like the Blue Jay.

Brown Thrasher perched at Biltmore Estates, Asheville, NC 2011
Photo by Margaret Bednar

They are classified as a song bird and I am looking foreword to hearing (or identifying as I probably have already heard it while out in my backyard) their song which is quite varied and often mimics other birds.    HERE is a link if you would like to hear a few examples.


A Courtship, of Sorts

I enjoy sparrows, towhees,
titmice, finches, and wrens.

Of course, cardinal's red
and Jay's blue do impress;

yet wait for cinnamon garbed bird
to fly in low and land;

flash yellow eyes,
bare speckled breast.

Watch woodland's edge;
rewarded at last

as curved bill and slim, long tail feathers
grace suet dish.

Lured, but silent; anticipate a morning
he'll serenade with elaborate song.

Margaret Bednar, February 11, 2015

Dark-eyed Junco -Mistaken identity - this is a female Eastern Towhee - I'll be back to fix this post later

Sighted:   November 26, 2014

The Junco is a bird that has gone from four distinct species (Slate-colored, Oregon, White-winged, and grey-headed) to one - the Dark-eyed Junco (As opposed to the Yellow-eyed Junco).   From what I can gather,  they mate with each other freely and thus their plumage changes now and again.    Take for example this Dark-eyed Junco - it closely resembles the Oregon type, but its hood isn't as blackish as reference photos show me.  Perhaps it is a youngster - I don't know.  I feel it is too colorful to be a female.

An identifying mark is their bright white outer tail feathers which I captured in a photograph below.

I found this little fellow in a small mixed woodland bog garden.  He preferred foraging on the forest floor amongst the leaves and twigs.  As you can see, he blends right in.

For a sound recording, click HERE.

A poem I wrote that included this bird:

Late Autumn

High crimson has faded
to cadmium & ochre,
slashes of burnt umber
pirouette and plie a mirrored reflection

an image so lovely
even Narcissus would see
beauty beyond himself.

A dark eyed Junco hops along,
scratches, stirs soggy leaves,
rustles his way beneath graceful arms
of the bog's grand ballet

oblivious of solo performance
and his brief moment of fame.

by Margaret Bednar, December 9, 2014

House Finch

Sighted:  Week of December 1, 2014

Identifying birds has me pouring over my numerous birding books.  I also have a few sites that have become quite helpful.  Birds and Blooms is one that helped me today, specifically the post "Purple Finches are Heading South".   At one time I may have ignorantly thought this bird was a female cardinal, but today I wavered between a House Finch or a Purple Finch.

I have finally decided these two are House Finches as the female's face seems to have very little pattern and the male has bold brown streaking on its side.  One reference referred to it as "raspberry headed" and I love that.

I read that in 1941 these birds were sold in NYC pet shops as "Hollywood finches" (from California).  It was illegal (protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty), but before the ban took place at least one proprietor released his stock.  Now, years later, the offspring have spread and are plentiful in the east and southeast and are continuing to spread, even "pioneering" a path back toward California.

Many of my "home photos" are taken through a glass window and are not as sharp as I would like.

American Goldfinch

Sighted:  November 26, 2014

I was trying to photograph a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Dark-eyed "Oregon" Junco (which I will share in later posts) when this dusky little yellow bird quickly swooped in and out - thankfully stepped forward to pick up a seed and came a bit more into focus.

I believe this is a female American Goldfinch - their winter colors are duller and the wing markings are what led me to label it as such.   The male is quite striking with its black cap and wing markings & has quite a bold yellow body - is actually one of the most colorful American birds, but in winter the male is duller like the female.

HERE are recordings of the delightful twittering sounds it makes.

One birding book I really like is The Nature Company Guide BIRDING by Forshaw, Howell, Lindsey, & Stallcup.  It has detailed chapters for the new birder (that's me) and helpful and useful information on the birds themselves.  It is a big hardback, not suitable for packing along, but it has earned a spot on my bedside table.

Northern Cardinal

November 25, 2014

The Northern Cardinal is my first official check on my bird watching list.  My seven year old son and I went to a local bog garden.  The first birds to come out of hiding were the cardinals.  We thrilled how the forested area came back to life as we stilled ourselves.  Playful squirrels rounded a corner and almost barreled into us.   Numerous birds came out - we thrilled at seeing two different types of woodpeckers - a female downy and a female and male red breasted.  I will post about them soon.
Most birds I could not officially recognize and will have to resort to my birding books to identify them.  

The Cardinal Bird - a poem by William Davis Gallagher

Cardinal Bird Sounds:  HERE