It was raining at sun up. It was a bad morning. My little pride and joy of over a dozen years was going to the vet. We didn't know if he was coming home at that time. He had surgery. He is home sleeping off the meds in my lap under his favorite blanket.

Our cable was out. The cable guy could not get over all the different birds, animals, and sounds. Yes I enjoyed showing off our little friends.

The Orioles are stealing from the hummingbird feeders, so we had to change those around.

The Baltimore Orioles are the orange color. The males are bright orange. The females are the duller orange: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Baltimore_Oriole/id

We don't have photos yet of our Cat birds, Hummingbirds, Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Indigo Bunting, and Summer Tanagers.

I promised some Oriole pix the other day. This first photo is an Orchard Oriole. We have at least two pair of them. You will see the complete photo in the full collection from this afternoon below. Orchard Oriole: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Orchard_Oriole/id



They make a lot of noise fighting over the jelly feeders. Here they are.

OS




Luka before age whitened his face up.


This was taken in my recliner just a few days ago. Dug is easy to see because he is mostly white. Luka is farther away and mostly black. That is Luka's ball he will play with for hours. We throw, he brings it back like he is herding sheep.

My left foot sticks out like a sore thumb.

OS

Most raccoons are nocturnal and wait until dusk to come over our fence to forage bird seed on the ground. Bandit comes out between 3 to 4 in the afternoon to raid one of the the squirrel feeders. He has to carefully balance while getting something to eat from the feeder.

Marta took these while sitting on her couch.

OS

Carolina In The Pines lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/michael_martin_murphey/carolina_in_the_pines.html


It was early. Marta was still asleep. We haven't seen mom and the twins since last October. I took a couple quick photos. I wondered if she would remember me. I went over to her slowly. She stepped back a few feet. I held out some bread. She walked right back up and ate right out of my hand. She did remember me.

I put down corn, bread, and critter crunch for the three of them.

The twins still won't get very close. That is a good thing. Because the deer population is out of control here, they allow bow hunting in the area in the fall.

Still no hummingbirds, but they are in the area: http://www.hummingbirds.net/map.html

OS

Marta is still under the weather. PLEASE stop by her post and say hi: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018862371#post54

I'm not near as good with her camera as she is. The battery is low and I didn't catch it. It threw the focus off on these from today.

OS

Our Orioles are returning. Yesterday was the first time we saw them at the jelly feeders. It has been raining for the last few days. This female is very wet.




One of the two males we know are back.




The most famous of woodpeckers... the Red Headed have returned too.




Just under the Blu Jay on the rights tail is what is left of a Squirrels ear of corn.




This true lady Cardinal waits for her turn in line to eat.

A male Pileated Woodpecker eating suet this morning. The Pileateds are the largest species of woodpecker in North America extant. We lost the Ivory Billed to man's stupidity: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ivory-billed_Woodpecker/id

Pileateds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/id




This is a female. There is no red stripe on her face. She is eating a nuts and woodpecker mix. I was just a few feet away in our laundry room..




I took this one also through the laundry room window. That is why there is a dark spot at the bottom of the photo. On the left is a male Downy Woodpecker. They are not shy like the Pileateds. All about Downys: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/id



I'm about 40% Irish. A tip o me hat to Darby, King Brian, and the little people.

OS

We have our first oriole. An orchard oriole. I've seen him twice. But he hasn't landed on the feeder yet when I've been looking. Humming birds will be here any day. I'll have more photos soon.

Remember I mentioned we have a feeder just for the squirrels and they get one ear of corn a day? http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027764737#post20

These photos show one taking it back to the nest. He carried it in his mouth over 70 feet along the top of the fence. Caught this by accident.







I took these through the patio door. I didn't want to scare the poor thing so I didn't get the shot of it jumping over to the tree from the fence. That empty green feeder is a squirrel feeder. Don't worry. I took more out.


Originally I was shooting through the fence. Autofocus keep focusing on the fence. Then it flew up over the fence and landed on the flower on this side. What a ham.


Remember the snow photo and the finches had no color?


Winter lack of color shot.


Three years ago we had two close up photos of a male Black-headed Grosbeak below.


Marta has been so sick we don't have the birdcam up yet. Here is a female Black-headed Grosbeak next to the Cardinal. She is a couple hundred miles east of her range.


A couple finches waiting their turn above the feeder.

Update: Thank you all so much. We finished dinner. Came down to the family room to watch Jeopardy. At the commercial I told her to check trending now. She will keep coming back every so often to see newer replies.


Marta has been very sick. She is really feeling down. Please post a get well message reply.

Thank you!

OS

http://www.omaha.com/living/clowns-birders-creep-us-out-and-a-study-found-out/article_38459789-1228-5f6d-87db-6780f95b3f0a.html

POSTED: SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2016 1:00 AM
The Washington Post

Here’s what most American bird-watchers are, according to a 2013 government study: White, older than 45, fairly well-off and highly educated.

Here’s what many people think bird-watchers are: Creepy.

That’s according to a recent study that says it is the first “empirical study of ‘creepiness.’ ” Led by psychology professor Frank McAndrew at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, the study set out to introduce “a theoretical perspective on the common psychological experience of feeling “creeped out,” and to figure out what makes us think other people are creepy.

The conclusion — based on a survey of 1,341 people, most of whom were female and American — is that feeling creeped out is an evolved response to the ambiguity of a possible threat, which helps us to remain vigilant.

FULL story at link.

I'm glad Marta and I don't spend any time on birds.

We went over to Iowa this morning for breakfast. Marta spotted this hawk sitting in the tree. This is taken with her phone.



Now that we have a microphone aimed at the feeders we can hear the birds calling to be fed before we get out there in the AM. A flicker. A woodpecker yesterday morning. We are adding a web cam this afternoon. So we will see and hear them from the family room.



The new web cam view just went online.