One of these little birds visited my garden today...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

A black-throated blue warbler

He didn't come to the feeder. I think he was more interested in our leaky hose and half-dead cherry tree...

I've never seen one before! :bounce:

[EstimatedProphet]

1. Nice! I've never seen one either!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

3. I had to go online to ID it...

Many of the pictures, including the one in my Peterson's guide, illustrate much greyer top feathers. My visitor was much darker, like the bird in this pic and a few others I found on the web. The white wing spot gave it away, though. We're in their migratory range. I guess they're on their way to Cuba.

[Parche]

2. NEXT TIME TASER IT

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :hi:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. ...

:spank::spank::spank:

[TZ]

5. I'm jealous

I've never seen one of those. I have seen yellow rumped warblers and such but not that one....This time of year is soo cool with migratory birds. I think its time to go to the lake a couple miles from my house--at this time of year I might see a bufflehead on its way south or if I am really lucky an Osprey!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. I see by your profile that you aren't too far from me...

Have you ever visited Great Pool, along the C&O Canal just west of Williamsport? It's a great place to see buffleheads on the water, and other migratory birds as well. :hi:

[madinmaryland]

6. We used to have those on our deck

We were in a third floor apartment that looked out onto a wooded area here and they would come and feed on the feeders we had out. Drove the cats crazy, but it was a sanctuary for them.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. That's one thing I like about Columbia...

They've managed to set aside green areas within the subdivisions. :thumbsup:

[lateo]

7. I see these all the time...

It is wonderful because many times there are about 10 of them at the feeders.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. I love goldfinches!

I never have many at my feeder, but there are a couple who like to visit now and then. The males are so vivd that you have to look at them when they fly by!

[Hand]

23. They're wonderful.

We have lots of them during the summer--so much nicer than seeing them caged in pet stores. Right now we're seeing chickadees and BIG Blue Jays.

We get Northern Flickers and other woodpeckers, too--they're my favorites!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. Ooo! Nice flicker pic!

My neighbor had one of those on his house one day...pecking at the aluminum siding! I thought someone was using a pneumatic hammer!

[pitohui]

11. are those your photos?

i like the one of the little man all soaking wet, i assume after taking his pleasure with your leaky hose!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

12. No, I found them at this website:

http://www.splatzone.nl/florida/drytortugas.htm

I should keep my camera near the window!

[stuntcat]

13. you rock for picking him out

:headbang: for seeing him, I mean. If one of those came in my yard I bet I'd just see another sparrow, you know what I mean? I need to look closer at my little birds and take more pictures. I had a big bird the other day that wasn't on my bird map.. I'm suckin at the bird watching lately :(

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. A few years ago, I sat in front of my window, guide in hand,

and figured out what kinds of "sparrows" were actually visiting my yard. I was surprised by the wide variety, though it took a lot of patience to begin sorting them out. :toast:

[XemaSab]

14. That is one of my top three favorite warblers.

Right in there with Blackburnian and Chestnut Sided.

The picture DOES NOT do the bird justice at all. The blue is iridescent, and the bird BEAUTIFUL. :)

Good for you for getting one in the yard!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

15. I was able to see the iridescence in his feathers, but

because he was in a very shady part of my garden, his back appeared much darker than most of the photos I found in my guides and on the internet. I hope to see more of them!

[JitterbugPerfume]

17. that is a beautiful birdie

which reminds me, I need to refill my feeders.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. This is such a wonderful time of year to catch the migratories

at the feeders! :hi:

[Kat45]

19. What a pretty bird!

I'd love to see one.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

24. There's a map of their range on this web page:

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Black-throated_Blue_Warbler.html

Maybe you will!

[Kat45]

28. Thanks. But I guess I'll have to wait 'til next year.

They're only up here in the summer.

[oregonjen]

20. On our walk today we saw a pileated woodpecker

What a stunning bird! Down by the river, we usually have a resident blue heron to ooh and ahh at, but today it was the woodpecker. What a gorgeous red head he had!

[Maestro]

22. I love those pileated woodpeckers

but I have to travel about 2 hours east at least to see one.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. It's a funny thing...I've only seen pileateds in pairs.

The first time was when I was a kid, riding my bike throug the neighborhood. I was SO shocked to see them. The bird flashcards I had as a kid didn't include the pileated woodpecker...only the ivory bill; so I thought I'd made a HUGE discovery. :D

[Maestro]

21. I'm jealous.

Unless one of these warblers is wildly off course I will never see one of these in North Central Texas.

Things are rather slow birdwise around my house. The hummingbirds are still around but not in great numbers. I can't wait for more migrants to come through and I especially can't wait until those wintering birds come back to my area. I did see a whole flock of eastern bluebirds today. That is a good sign.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

27. I want to get a hummingbird feeder next spring...

We have a trumpet vine that blooms high in a tree; and I've seen them feeding from the flowers. Still, I'd like to entice them closer to my kitchen window. :D

Maybe you could take a trip to the Smokies and see one of the warblers. That seems to be included in their breeding range.