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Ten On Tuesday

This week’s Ten on Tuesday topic comes from Lucia, who suggested 10 Favorite Birds. I’m always up for some bird watching so I think it’s a great topic. Here we go!

Yellow Crowned Night Heron

  1. Red-winged Blackbird. When my grandparents moved from their apartment in the city to the “country” the first thing my Nana did was buy bird feeders and a bird book. The red-winged blackbird is the first bird I ever identified on my own from that guide book and I can still remember how proud of myself I was for finding it. It’s been a favorite ever since.
  2. Mourning Dove. I love their gentle coo-ing. Also, they were the 2nd bird I identified on my own. Don’t worry, this trip-down-memory-lane part of the list ends now.
  3. Great Blue Heron. I think they look prehistoric and I am so impressed by their ability to remain perfectly still while trying to catch a fish.
  4. Of course I have to mention the Bald Headed Eagle. I have learned so much about them while watching their nest in Iowa via the Raptor Resource Project. So cool. Dale and I saw one on our honeymoon in Maine and it’s a great memory of that trip.
  5. Chickadee. They are cute and hang out at my feeders and I love their chickadee-dee-dee-dee call.
  6. American Goldfinch. Nothing heralds the start of spring than the yellowing of my goldfinches.
  7. Red-bellied Woodpecker. The head is what’s red and not the belly, which can make identifying them a bit confusing. Honestly, I hear them (it’s an unmistakable shrill, rolling kwirr) more than I see them. I should say here that I love all woodpeckers, from the red-headed to the downy, the pileated, the Northern flicker, the red-breasted sapsucker and everything in between.
  8. Cedar Waxwing. They travel about in huge flocks and I love their olive feathers and black mask.
  9. Northern Cardinal. Red is my favorite color so I couldn’t make a list of favorite birds without including these gorgeous red guys. They often nest near my home and one year I had the treat of watching the juveniles learn to fly. It was awesome.
  10. Last but certainly not least, the hummingbird. We only have ruby-throated in my area but I saw violet-crowned ones when I visited Margene. I put out several feeders every year and I love to watch their antics.

I could go on and on with this list. I didn’t even mention any ducks but perhaps they deserve a category all their own. Or perhaps you all aren’t into bird-watching as much as I am. I am truly looking forward to reading everyone’s lists today.



This Post Has 15 Comments

  1. Great list. I’ll love the Carolina wren. Petite and so funny looking with their tail turned up. Man they make a lot of noise if you get near their babies.

  2. What a great list! Every morning I hear Red Wing Black birds, house finches, robins, mourning doves and the occasional chickadee, and woodpecker. I miss the scrub jays that used to wake me up with their squawking.

  3. Great list, but I’d have trouble stopping with just 10 – I’d just have to add wrens, and towhees and, and … ;o)

  4. That is a fantastic photo!!

    Hands down, without a doubt, my favorite birds are Ravens. You can look at them and just see how smart they are. I had a mated pair that would hang out on the corner of campus and I would have “quorking” conversations with them nearly every morning.

    (Why yes, people do look at me oddly when I’m out walking around. Why do you ask?)

  5. Sadly, I forgot the red-winged blackbird. I love to hear their call in the evening — such a calm, peaceful, relaxing sound.

  6. I love hummingbirds, cardinals, and the tufted titmouse. I don’t know enough about birds to be able to put together my own list, but I enjoyed yours 🙂

  7. This was a fun list to create…but so many great birds out there! Hope none get upset that I played favorites, haha!

  8. I have a friend who is married to an ornithologist. He studies cooperatively breeding birds. I loved visiting them and helping band and record acorn woodpeckers in the Carmel Valley, Ca. I learned a ton about birds on my visits. I particularly love quail. Such funny little pudgy beings!

  9. ooohhh you are a bird watcher! love the photo and you mentioned a few that are new to me – cedar waxwing and red-winged blackbird. I wonder if they come around my neck of the woods?

  10. I love your list! Is that a heron in your top photo? I had no trouble at all with this one — I had already blogged pix of seven of my ten.

  11. I love your list. I used to (when I was still in grade school) take the field guides out from the library and try to identify anything. I did it with astronomy and constellations, birds, plants. It was a lot of fun!

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