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Lesser Goldfinch feasting on sunflower seeds
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These Lesser Goldfinch have been enjoying my backyard sunflower garden. I have been trying to add more natural food sources so I can reduce my birdfeeding--I enjoy watching birds pick sunflower seeds from the flower more than out of a tray. Additionally the food sources, especially native food sources like sunflowers, provide food and habitat for other species as well as the seed-eating birds. I have been pleased to be hosting many bees on these sunflowers plus a hummingbird will stop by from time to time,likely to grab a small spider to provide protein. SeEtta
If you ever wondered why they named these 'Violet-green' these photos will demonstrate that those these birds are violet, blue and green colored. I took these photos with super zoom and then cropped them a little more to get these close-up views. The weather was a little snowy so light was poor but the birds were perching longer due to the cold weather. This was the day of our big late snowstorm that caused 'fall-out' conditions so there were a lot of swallows that were forced down during their migration. SeEtta
Yellow-rumped Warblers are well known for their 'generalist' abilities-feeding at the top to bottom of a tree canopy, sallying out after a flying insect or foraging on the ground, they are everywhere. However I am used to seeing them in fairly close proximity to trees when not in them: "During winter, Yellow-rumped Warblers find open areas with fruiting shrubs or scattered trees, such as parks, streamside woodlands, open pine and pine-oak forest, dunes (where bayberries are common), and residential areas." This one was out in the middle of some fallowed agricultural fields perching on a fence near the Mountain Bluebirds-maybe an example of the old saying 'birds of a feather stick together.' SeEtta
Went out to Red Canyon Park this morning for an hour or so. Though there were still a number of warblers in the hackberry trees, the numbers of warblers and their feeding activity had diminished considerably. However, there was a lively flock of Bushtits feeding furiously in one of the 3 large hackberry trees where the activity was concentrated. Today most of the warblers were Yellow-rumped and all that I saw were Audubon's like these. There still several Townsend's but only one or two Wilson's Warblers. At least 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets continued and the Townsend's Solitairs serenaded nearby. I heard Pinyon Jays but the only jay species I saw today was Western Scrub. SeEtta
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