First birding attempts.

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Good job. You've made some nice captures. Don't stop.

Mike

Hah, pretty decent start here. Your birds are Pileated Woodpecker, Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Blackcapped Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker (2) I believe, and a Cardinal. Welcome to birding-everyone will tell you it can be addictive.

ardeekay wrote in post #17468004
Hah, pretty decent start here. Your birds are Pileated Woodpecker, Robin, Cedar Waxwing, Blackcapped Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker (2) I believe, and a Cardinal. Welcome to birding-everyone will tell you it can be addictive.

Wow. Thanks so much for that. Could I assume that the male hairy has the red marking? Yes, I'm finding the lure of these creatures to be quite strong!

nqjudo wrote in post #17468019
Wow. Thanks so much for that. Could I assume that the male hairy has the red marking? Yes, I'm finding the lure of these creatures to be quite strong!

Yes, the male has the rest cap. The Hairy is about 15-20% larger than a Downey WP and has a longer beak, otherwise they are virtually identical. Based my id on the beak. Others may chime in.

nqjudo, these are very nice for "first" birding attempts. You have done well at finding so many different birds, the Pileated and Waxwing continue to elude me even though I have seen them in my area on rare occasions. Keep shooting and sharing.
I agree with Rog on the ID.

Grizz1 wrote in post #17468121
nqjudo, these are very nice for "first" birding attempts. You have done well at finding so many different birds, the Pileated and Waxwing continue to elude me even though I have seen them in my area on rare occasions. Keep shooting and sharing.
I agree with Rog on the ID.

Thanks very much Steve. I must admit that this area I've stumbled upon seems to have an embarrassment of riches. Besides the Norther Goshawk I've spotted several species of owls and a lot of mammals. Can't believe I've never really paid attention to the birds before. I'm definitely motivated to keep it going. I also snapped this little guy today an one from last week. Any idea on what he/she might be?

Well you certainly have quite a nice variety there! Great first attempt. I look forward to watching your progress. Careful birding can be quite addictive, and it can put a big giant hole in your wallet. LOL

Very nice photos. Your last bird is a White-breasted Nuthatch and great capture. I would guess you live in an area where you can get both species of waxwings. Your great photo shows the classic field mark of a Bohemian Waxwing which is very similar to a Cedar Waxwing except the Bohemian shows russet color under the tail.

cavuken wrote in post #17468150
Very nice photos. Your last bird is a White-breasted Nuthatch and great capture. I would guess you live in an area where you can get both species of waxwings. Your great photo shows the classic field mark of a Bohemian Waxwing which is very similar to a Cedar Waxwing except the Bohemian shows russet color under the tail.

Wow. You guys are great. Thanks so much for the info. Is it a typical behaviour for the Bohemian Waxwing to congregate in large groups? This particular shot came from a group of about 100 birds. I have a few shots of 5 or 6 all bunched together. Interestingly they were eating snow.

I also noticed an amazing behaviour amongst the robins. Despite the cold there are 2 areas of water that do not freeze and they gather around these areas to hunt and eat small fish. I always thought they just ate berries.

Both Cedar and Bohemian warnings will gather in groups. While I've not seen robin's eat small minnows I would not discount it as unusual. I've watched them bathe and search for insects in the water before.

Your off to a great start with some very nice captures.

I've not seen Robins eat minnows or small fish, but they do feed in my yard on insects, worms, slugs. This past weekend I noticed a bluebird that is a real tease and evasive. With my camera in hand he's landed on a branch no more than 20 ft away. However by the time I get my camera to my eye he's gone. He will light on 3 different trees within 1 minute then will leave. I mention that because it is now a goal to capture him. That fuels the addiction.