Little treasures

Right outside our front door, one brilliant cardinal, but I really wanted to see spring birds, so I walked past pigeons dining on bread and starlings eating french fries and got into the park. Movement in the grass right across from Wagner Cover. Kinglets! Oh, joy! Twitching around in grass and gravel, getting bugs and bits. Frantic gorging.

Near the upper lobe the treat - two yellow bellied sapsuckers being social.

This was going on even after I left, both together moving from tree to tree, chattering, drilling. The trees are going to look like swiss cheese.

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Spring!

Of course I've got to post the essence of spring.

The first hermit thrush........ it smells like spring, looks like spring, time to be on warbler alert. It was a great Wednesday. The results will take several postings.

Hooray! A palm warbler working the lawn at fenced off Strawberry Field. This little bird scurries around the ground grabbing bugs and seed bits. All the while its tail twitches.

Size comparison,... tiny warbler, larger robin. Robin after worms. Palm warbler getting bug bits.

Tiptoe through the blue things.

Spring Portrait with forsythia.

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On alert

Waiting for warblers, but in the meantime....... I have no idea what had the titmice interested in this hole. I watch everyday and see no activity in this tree. The titmice were hole-fascinated for at least five minutes. 69th street tree.

Back to chow time.

Usually bluejays do the 1/4 second snatch. This time it was eeny meeny minee mo, which nut to take, or maybe both. It ended up taking only one. The larger one.

Finally, a song sparrow posing.

And since it is spring and the robins are doing their thing, more worms.

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The darn fence

The large field at Strawberry Fields is fenced off, has been fenced off since the start of October 2010. This is getting frustrating. If they don't want people walking or relaxing on the grass they should dig up the grass, lay down concrete and paint it green. I was on the nature path, robin on other side of fence. There was no way to get around that fence for this worm capture, the best of the day. After playing with the "spaghetti" the worm was devoured in one second.

Up near the Pines this robin found some toast and knew how to eat it.

And also in this area, not the first time, I met the robin who has the white spots. I think the term is leucism.

Back to worms.

I believe in playing fair. The peanuts count as a modeling fee.

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A little variety

Oh yes, I shot lots of worming robins, but today's blog has some different charmers. It's been a while since I've seen a redpoll,.. way back in 2008. This handsome male seemed to enjoy being watched.

There are sparrows and there are sparrows. This sparrow's behavior helped identify him, a swamp sparrow...... working the muck and rocks at the upper Gill. He's hard to photograph, doesn't stay still.

And finally, behavior I've not seen before, a redbelly woodpecker and a downy woodpecker pecking in the same turf and not happy about it. Delicious trees. That's the lure.

Downy flew off to another branch and after a few seconds redbelly joined him. That also didn't last long.

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At my feet

I was watching robins worming when a cluster of starlings ran in my direction. You would have thought I had food in my shoes or maybe I looked like ground. They could not have cared less that human was in their location. A couple of times I had to back off slowly, because they were too close for a focus.

If there's bug food it doesn't matter if human is watching.

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