I Have Officially Become a Bird Nerd

/ Jodi
purple finch

Curious the Purple Finch, Mars, PA

I have to admit I have officially become a “bird nerd!”

After sharing Happy, My Blue Bird of Happiness yesterday (well officially an Indigo Bunting, but I like to give most everyone a name), and sharing what a stand out he is among the crowd, I thought I’d share some more of my feathered friends with you today from our little backyard sanctuary.

From hummingbirds that are only about an inch and a half long…

hummingbird

Hummer the Hummingbird, Mars, PA

to Woody, the Pileated Woodpecker who is about a foot and a half long…

pileated woodpecker

Woody the Pileated Woodpecker, Mars, PA

our backyard is just chirping with charming chatterboxes.

Here is where we all hang out.  I took a few pictures very early yesterday morning, while the dew was still dancing and the sun was just summoning its presence for the day.

backyard deck

Our back deck is southern facing, so it is warmed up quickly when the sun rises and is shaded by late afternoon when the sun is hottest.

backyard deck 2

I am still patiently waiting for the birds to discover they can bathe in the bird bath.

backyard deck 3 birdbath

And when the sun gets too hot, we can round the bend to the side of the house for shade…

rocking chair and fern

side porch

where it is undercover, and we can sit in cushioned comfort.

backyard deck 3 side

porch rules

Even Charlie likes a break from the sunshine sometimes.

backyard charlie

The birds come out rain…

male cardinal

Male Cardinal, Rainy Day, Mars, PA

or shine.

female cardinal

Female Cardinal, Sunny Morning, Mars, PA

Mr Rose-Breasted Grosbeak always dresses for breakfast and dinner in his finest formal wear…

male grosbeak

Male Grosbeak, Mars, PA

and carefully watches over the little Mrs.

female grosbeak

Female Grosbreak, Mars, PA

There are many more – the sparrows and cowbirds, the bluejays and the goldfinches, the warblers and the nuthatches. There is a wide variety of woodpeckers and a huge extended family of mourning doves.  An occasional blackbird stops by, the robins romp about, and we are always excited to see a Baltimore Oriole hang out for a while.

baltimore oriole

We sure love our winged wanderers and welcome them with wonderment.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse before you fly away to go about your day.

female grosbeak in flight

Cherish the moments!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS – If you too flock to the flight of fledglings, check out my blogging friend, Kathy’s site: Backyard Bird Nerd.  Kathy regularly posts photos of the birds that are lucky enough to call her backyard home.

88 thoughts on “I Have Officially Become a Bird Nerd”

  1. Birds are so much fun to watch, although I have to admit I’m not too happy with those birds who’ve been nesting in the carport and leaving “calling cards” all over my little black car. All in all, though, I enjoyed this visit to your porch. Love the “Porch Rules”. 🙂

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  6. Fantastic shots and such a calming spot! Of course the Baltimore Orioles are the best (but that pretty much goes without saying). Woo, do the pileated woodpeckers get that close, or do you have an amazing lens? In our experience they tend to be shy and stay in the trees. Sometimes close enough to get a glimpse of but not much more than a glimpse! Sweet images, thanks for sharing. Happy Friday! 💜

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    • Gotta admit those Baltimore orioles are beauties! We don’t see a lot of them so they are special. And Woody – isn’t that unreal??!!! He is VERY skiddish and hard to get a shot of. This one is actually a bit blurry as it is through my glass door to the deck. He was about 12 feet away and as you can see from his face very startled to see me. He comes at least twice a day to the deck but any slight movement or sighting of me has him fleeing. He can be a bit of s bully too to the smaller woodpeckers. I think he almost looks prehistoric eh? Like a dinosaur. Happy Friday Laura loo!

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      • He does look prehistoric!! I’m also wondering if being up on your deck is the issue with your birdbath. Not all creatures are as gregarious and outgoing as you and your family lol! But not sure how high up your deck is……if there could be a spot off deck where you could still see it easily, but the birds felt a bit safer? And then maybe once they got used to the birdbath, you could bring it closer? Just a thought, I know you’re dying for them to find it.

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      • I thought that too about the bird bath, but I have seen a cowbird take a drink. And they are certainly all here all the time eating LOL! I think you are right about needing to move it (at least for a while). You are too funny about the gregarious outgoing family comment – is it that obvious?!! 🙂

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      • Haha yes it is. It would take a very long time for me to get used to the activity at your house. You’re in a beautiful setting, I would wanna enjoy the peace and quiet and sketch everything in sight lol. I hope that if you do move it, that it helps. It seems like you have trees all around, and I bet that’ll really help them to be brave and explore it!

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  7. Beautiful bird photos, Jodi! I think my favorite is the yellow bird, Baltimore Orioles. Your hummingbird looks just like my hummingbirds. One year I had a group of orange hummingbirds. They were very pretty but they were mean and greedy little rascals. Your deck is just beautiful! I love the way it wraps around the house.

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  8. If I were a bird at your place, Jodi, I would not dare sit somewhere, or even dare to take a bath on your veranda ( may be I even wont find the bath, would think it is for the owners of the place). It is all so beautiful and excellently arranged and cared for, I would be afraid I let a little birds dropping fall onto a spot where you would then be angry with me.

    Wonderful Fotos, great Environment, and so sweet birds. Thanks for the lasting impressions.

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    • Awh! How sweet of you! I am happy to share the space with the birds – there is always bird “droppings” on the railing and seeds on the porch. I’m not into perfection – so no worries. The thing I love most about my home is who I share it with – people and the wildlife. That is what makes a house a home 🙂

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    • Oh T – very not perfect, but it is our little piece of paradise – mainly because of those we share it with! (PS Hey – do you purposely have comments turned off lately?) 🙂

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      • I’m embarrassed to show you how run down parts of our property is (our woodshed is in dire need of painting!). 😉 You have no idea how lovingly and admiringly I stared at the picture of your deck. LOL!

        Yes, I’ve been so swamped lately, and I am such a compulsively replier to comments on my blog, that I decided to shut comments down to buy myself more time. I’m trying to get another agent (mine quit last summer) and have so much writing and art I need to do that something had to give. I almost decided to close the blog and just stick with Instagram but many of my blog friends are not on IG yet. I’d miss you guys!

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  17. These photos are absolutely crazy! I was going to ask, how do you get that close, but it must be that you have an amazing camera and lens (and obviously, photographic eye.) The photos are SO professional, beautiful, and perfect.

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    • thanks! I don’t have a super duper camera – just a Cannon rebel with a moderate zoom lens – but thank you! The birds are really only 12 – 15 feet away on the edge of the deck, and I usually shot from the kitchen window or on the deck with them.

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  18. Thank for the beauty 🙂
    What a perfect way to start Friday 🙂 even if I may be a little porch-envious now 😉
    Have a good weekend , preferably with lots of “porching” with friends and family and beautiful shy little creatures 🙂
    Turtle Hugs

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  24. What a heavenly place you have to relax and enjoy the birds, Jodi. And your photos are awesome! I didn’t see my favorite birds, chickadees, on your list. I hope they come and visit you, too.

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  25. You have quite the bird resort going on in Mars, PA. I can see why you have so many visitors. All of your pictures are so full of life and expression. I think the birds knew thery were going to be seen around the world. Thanks for sharing your lovely home and flying friends, Jodi.

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  27. Ooh, a spectacular shot of the hummingbird. I’ve been trying without much success, but, oh well, the fun is in the trying. Happy to hear there is another bird nerd in the world.

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  29. You live in such a beautiful place, it´s like a little paradise! And for the birds and Charlie too, he´s such a lucky doggy! Love your bird pictures! I had to smile when I saw Woody, the woodpecker – doesn´t he look a bit like Woody Allen? 🤓 Have a wonderful weekend, Jodi! 🌞💕🌸

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  32. Those are fantastic photos of the birds…worth framing! Does Charlie ever show any interest in the birds? We used to have a bird bath in our back yard, but as soon as a bird ventured near it, our dogs would chase it off! So now I want to put some bird feeders outside our dining room window, which is an area that can’t be accessed by my dog Lucy.

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    • Thanks Ann! Charlie never bothers with the birds at all. I think they have always been here and he is so used to them, he thinks they belong. Now squirrels and chipmunks….. they are too fun to chase! 🙂

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