Blue Grosbeaks

7/12/14

male

Very nice Janet. I've never seen one before.

Funny how the birds we rarely see, are the hardest to photograph. Good job under the difficult circumstances.

Such a pretty bird, I've never seen one before.. hope they come back for you

Nice catch. Never seen one.

Quite the variety you have Janet, real nice shots!

Thank you, each, for your encouragement and the comments.

There does seem to be a good variety of birds that visit my backyard. It's a bit surprising because except for 2 broods of brown thrushes earlier in the summer, none of these birds actually live in my yard. Other than 4 very scraggly, very anemic-looking "trees," I have no trees or large shrubs. Hence, my pics are almost always of birds perched on the fence or on the ground. Hardwoods, pine, and kudzu thickets are very nearby, and I offer meal worms and 2 generic seed mixes. I am recovering from a very painful neck injury, and on good days bird-watching from the back porch passes the time, and on bad days it's sometimes a distraction.

Black Oil Sunflower seeds are the biggest draw in my yard. Also if you are lacking trees, you may be able to substitute something to make them more apt to stay in your yard longer. It was kind of a running gag here because I left my old Christmas Tree in my yard until summer. The birds loved it even though it was orange. When I finally took it down I replaced it with the top of a Birch tree that was broke off during an ice storm. I have plenty of trees growing in my yard, but they love this Birch with the bare branches.

Good job Janet.

Great stuff, Of a bird I have never seen

Nice! I've never seen one except in photos.

Thank you! I continue to hope and watch for the re-appearance of the blue grosbeaks.

Thank you for the great suggestions, Sandy. Visions of your dead, "orange" Christmas tree dynamically ornamented with beautiful, wild birds brings a smile - great idea! I may implement the bare branch birch or similar bare dead tree idea sooner rather than later.

Wow those are beautiful birds. I have never seen the blue ones. You are lucky to be able to capture these beautiful birds!