Looking out my backdoor.

[BarbCA]

Watching the birds at the birdbath which is outside a kitchen window. Lots coming and going yesterday, Purple Finches, nuthatch, titmouse, blue jay, kinglet, woodpeckers, and a pair of bluebirds that I would have thought had gone south. Also Rufous and brown towhees. No sparrows yet. I don't think it has been cold enough for some to migrate.
Also a bird that I didn't recognize, small about the size of a titmouse but darker and it fluttered as it hopped, around. Have to get out the binoculars and the bird book.
Two sets of deer came through yesterday. Mama and fawn got in the garden and Lily scared them away.
The other three were all does looking for windfall apples. One is the one with the tattered ear that looks like she may have got it caught on barbed wire.

[JoS]

I love watching the wild life around here. We don't have purple finches, but do have gold finches and house finches, which have a reddish tint. Deer everywhere and they are in the rutting season so those bucks are a major road hazard right now. We have a fox with a den down by the corner, coyote, rabbits and squirrels.

[BarbCA]

Jo, we have Goldfinches, too, but they have already gone for the season.

[boffler]

Exactly why I wanted to build a sunroom on the back of our house, so I can watch the wildlife and enjoy a sunrise and sunset..

[BarbCA]

I've never lived in a house with a sun room. Sure would be nice to have.
Yesterday's birds were a beautiful Flicker, three bluebirds, and a Hermit thrush along with the usual suspects.

[JoS]

I didn't mention all of our wild life....we have some unpleasant ones, too....skunks, etc. Our finches are gone now, too. We have sparrows, cardinals, titmice, doves, nuthatches and some others year round. I too, would love a sun room, for plants and to watch wildlife. I will have things like that in Heaven, I hope. James would like to build a new house, but I balk at that....too old for the mortgage. A modular or double wide in a couple of years will have to do.

[jostoy]

BarbCa, Junkos do the hope flutter thing. We get them here during the winter. They are so cute in their tux. At least it looks like they are wearing tux. LOL

[BarbCA]

JoS, after saying that the goldfinches were gone for the season, I saw one picking at a seedy weed in the garden. They and the bluebirds should be gone by now.
We have a lot of other wildlife besides the birds; deer, skunks, racoons, and foxes. I heard a fox yipping last night shortly before I went to bed.
When I first got Sam he would tangle with skunks so often you would think he liked to stink.
I would really love see a real, live cardinal. They don't live in the west.

Jostoy, we get the Oregon Juncos here, too, but they haven't arrived yet. Dick used to call them "executioner birds" because of their black hoods.

[JoS]

I wish you could see a cardinal. They are truly beautiful and if there happens to come a good snow, they stand out like a ruby! They are among my favorites and they are here year round.

[JoGee]

I would love to travel around and stay with each of you a few days, just to watch your wildlife.

We have wren-like birds that live in the bush near the front walk. One used to hop onto the garbage bin and greet me if I didn't come close....someone must have scared him, because he no longer does that. But I can hear them.
I suspect some other bird is nesting in the roof somewhere...I hear them sometimes, too. But that's about it. So much land taken by contractors, the wildlife have had to move on to where they'd find shelter. I hope to draw some hummingbirds back next year.

Going to see my DD next week, but her wildlife, which I haven't yet seen nor do I wish to. They have had bear on their street. They will be going into hibernation soon, but they do come out for snacks. A moose blocked her from crossing a bridge for 30 minutes, when she picked her daughter up from school. There are also wildcats there, but they stay in the forest..... Her community is at the edge of a National Forest. I hadn't seen birds there, though. Or any small mammalian critters.

[Paula A]

I really miss the birds that were all around us in Maryland and Virginia. The Baltimore oriole and the cardinal were so vibrant and unforgettable. the bluebirds were much bluer than the Western blue bird but when I see one of those it makes my day!

[BarbCA]

We occasionally get the Baltimore Orioles here. I got more of them at my old house.
Some years ago I was living higher in the mountains at Groveland.
The old man who lived next to me had a rather tattered tarp over his wood pile and one day I looked out and saw a female Oriole pulling strands out of it.
That gave me an idea. I got out some Christmas ribbon and shredded it for her. She seemed to like it. I eventually spotted the nest and it was beautiful. Lots of blue with red and silver accents.

[BarbCA]

More and more Juncos everyday. Have seen a couple of Mockingbirds, too.

[JoS]

The ribbon idea was great and so colorful. I usually put out yarn scraps in the spring and fall for the local birds. Orioles are soooo pretty but I don't often see them. They are either very scarce or just passing through, I guess.

[karlinann]

We have quite a few varieties of birds in our yard. I have seen cardinals, eastern bluebirds, sparrows, woodpeckers, finches, and wrens. I love them all. They love our huge cedar trees in the backyard.