Bird as Subjects

Shown on this page are photos of various Wild Birds we have had the pleasure of photographing over the years:

Shown at left is the Bird Bath we set up, just above a small Pond, set into a slopping bank. Water is pumped out of the pond, up to the Fairy Statue that is holding a water pipe. Water squirts into a small Bird Bath, where various bird species come to drink and bath before it cascades down rocks, back into the Pond. Squirrels have been seen drinking here, and there maybe other critters we simply have not seen. In this photo we have a Bluebird and a Chipping Sparrow bathing next to 2 bird figurines on the edge of the Bird Bath. A male Goldfinch is sitting on the Fairy's hand holding the water pipe, waiting his turn to bath. We have seen up to 3 Bluebirds taking a bath at one time...

Hummingbirds do some rather interesting things at times especially when they are young. Early in September we had a large number of the younger birds getting nectar at our various feeding stations. One that hung on a Shepherd's Crook Pole out in our back yard was at eye level. While re-hanging a newly filled feeder, a group of birds just came right on in to get a drink of nectar while Dave's hand was still on the feeder. He just stood there very close and watched the Hummers as they jockeyed for a place to perch. There are three totally unconcerned birds just inches from his face in various stages of coming and going to feed.

The Hummingbird flying just above the feeder seems to be asking, "Who is eating my porridge?" The Bird was rather surprised to see a Butterfly drinking the nectar from this feeder. This was not the first time we had seen this Blue Butterfly feeding from one of the nectar feeders. It has come several times since to this one as well as another one near by. With the draught situation in our area, and the lack of nectar producing flowers, this is no surprise, really.

The owl shown here in the two photos is a BARRED OWL. This species of owl is somewhat unique as he hunts in the daylight as well as at night, while other species hunt only at night. During the couple of years we lived in Conyers, GA (even though we lived within the city limits), we had at least a pair that hunted around our subdivision most of the time. Living around homes with power lines was not without its hazards. The female was found dead one winter day, under the power line she must have encountered, probably while going after dinner.
In the top photo, this individual is on the ground looking rather disheveled and very dazed. I was able to get quite close to take his picture without spooking him (or her). As near as we can figure out, the bird must have been knock out of the tree above him by a group of Crows that did not want him around. We assume this was the case as we had earlier seen the Crows doing the same thing to a perching Hawk. There were several Crows still raucously calling overhead. They must have hit the owl hard enough to knock him senseless in order for him to have fallen to the ground like this. I watched and photographed the owl for perhaps 15 minutes before he recovered his senses sufficiently to fly up into the trees again. I took the second photo of him sitting in a well leafed out tree in a shaded area, apparently trying to figure out just what had happened!

saw whet owl

While shaking the hail damaged apples out of our trees in the fall of 1998, we scared up a cute little owl of a type that we often have found in our trees usually during the winter months. Can you spot the little owl? He is dead center in the photograph. He is pretty much camouflaged against the trunk of the tree due to his coloration and pattern. This is a Saw-whet Owl, only 7" tall. Due to his small size, he most likely feeds exclusively on mice, which makes him a welcome addition to our predator group in the orchards.