Backyard Paradise!

Backyard Paradise!

It’s been quite a while since I posted a blog. So I decided with everything that is going on in the world, I would post some of the beauty we get to experience from our backyard. We live on 3 acres and our property has a creek running through it. Along with that, there are about 1000 acres of nothing but woods behind our house. Needless to say we are blessed to be able to enjoy a wide variety of wildlife and birds. Becky and I have worked hard to make our backyard a creature friendly place.

This will be part 1 of the Backyard posts. We also have a palette full of beautiful flowers and butterflies to share as well.

Another reason that I wanted to post about our wonderland is that we will soon have to leave here. I am getting transferred with my job to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. I just wanted  to document the splendor we have been privileged to enjoy on a daily basis at our home in the little town of Vicksburg, Mississippi.

I want to introduce you to a few of our backyard friends. We have some that are here year-round, some that stay for the winter,  and others that migrate through. The ones that migrate through are very exciting to see as those sitings are brief at best. There are so many types of birds that visit the backyard throughout the year. I’m just going to share a few here that posed long enough for a picture. Many we only get a glimpse of, and we are still working to capture a decent picture of them. Some of these images are not high quality, but are simply to show the vast variety of birds that come through the yard.

My number one favorite is this Red Belly Woodpecker. We call him Woody. Woody greats me every morning as I go out and fill the bird feeders. He will come down to the feeders while I’m still very close. He is very photogenic and likes to get his picture taken.

Our next backyard dweller is the Northern Cardinal.  They bring a splash of color to the backyard. They stay with us year-round. In spring and fall migration, we get to see a lot more of them. Sometimes as many as 20 at a time in the yard.

Below is the Carolina Chickadee. They are fun little birds. We have a lot of doves as well. (Below) This is a Eurasian Collared-Dove at one of feeders. We also have morning doves as well.

Yellow-Rumped Warblers grace us during the spring and summer months.   Then there is the bully of the yard the Mocking Bird.

The Carolina Wrens love to make nests on our porch whereever they can find a spot.  We currently have a clutch of wren eggs in a decorative bird house on the porch.

The Blue Jay will screech like a hawk and send all the other birds scattering,  so he can have the feeder to himself.

The White-Throated Sparrow and the Chipping Sparrow are year-rounders. Sometimes we’ll have around fifty of the chipping sparrows foraging through the yard.

Now on to the larger birds. We have a few hawks that know about all the feeders, and stop in quite frequently for a meal. Below are a Red Shouldered Hawk and a Cooper’s Hawk. We also have Red Tailed Hawks visit. There are always some buzzards gliding on the wind above.

We love it when the Mississippi Kites arrive. Sometimes we have seen as many as five in the trees and in the air around the house.

One year we had a pair build a nest up high in one of the trees at the edge of the yard. They love to eat dragon flies!

We have two kinds of Owls, Barred Owls and Great Horned Owls. Becky has the skill of being able to call the Barred Owls.

It’s fun to listen to them answer her in the evening. They tend to hang out further in the trees, so getting good photos of them is a challenge.

On this particular day we spotted one, and it decided to take a closer look at us. He fly right by us and his wing feathers touched my arm as he swooped by. What a thrill that was!

The Downy Woodpeckers love to come to the feeders. They are very small woodpeckers and a pretty site.

We have a few other woodpeckers that visit the yard, but I’ve yet to get their photo. Red Headed Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers are still on my list.

Below is Mrs. Downy Woodpecker.

Another favorite is the Pileated Woodpecker. I’ve seen as many as three at once, but only managed to get two together.

They are the true Woody Woodpecker standing at 18 inches high.

We have White-Breasted Nuthatches and quite a few Tufted Titmouse.

We  love the Blue Birds. Two groups have fledged from bird houses in our yard.

It has taken some work to keep the other critters and birds away from their hatchlings.

The Summer Tanager is a hard one to capture as well, but another beautiful red bird in the yard. The female is greenish yellow giving her great camouflage in all the tree leaves and very hard to spot.

Below are some birds that visit only for a couple of weeks per year and sometimes shorter. The Blue Gross-beak is a blue beauty.

The Indigo Bunting hangs for a little while before it heads out for better areas around the state. They are numerous to see in Mississippi along the brushy tree lined  country roads.

We put out the Oriole feeder for a short time. (Orange feeder below) Other folks that live closer to the river have them staying around much longer.

This little Warbler I believe is a Pine Warbler, but the jury is still out on his identification.

Who doesn’t love Rose-Breasted Gross-beaks. They are such beautiful birds and only visit us in March-April time frame every year.

There seem to be more visiting each year as the word gets out that our yard is a great rest stop before heading up north.

The American Goldfinch are wonderful visitors. Some times we get upwards of 100 in the yard at one time. We love their summer bright yellow coloring.

They turn a lighter shade of yellow for their winter plumage. They tend to hang around all winter which is pure joy.

A little fall birdbath action with the Goldfinches and the Purple Finches.

Here are a couple of rare sitings in the yard. A Black and White Warbler and an American Red Start.

I just fell lucky to have even seen them let alone to get a blurry picture of them. HA

And last but not least for this post are our Hummers. They arrive the same day every year.

For our yard it’s March 23’d and just like clock work the first one showed up at the feeders this year.

I don’t know about you, but I can watch them on the porch for hours on hours.

I hope you’ve enjoyed a little peek into what we get to enjoy sitting on our porch taking in all the beauty that nature provides.

The birds of many colors are truly a large part of our Backyard Paradise.

Until next time… see how many different types of birds you can spot in your own backyard!