BellaOnline Forums Hobbies and Crafts Birding Your Birds of June

OK, everybody, post in what birds you've seen in your back yard during this last week of June! What you might think is a normal bird, someone else might think of as amazingly interesting!

Here's my current list, off the top of my head:

Grackles
Robins
Chickadees
Titmice
House Finches
Goldfinches
1 hummingbird!
Blue Jays
Downy Woodpeckers
Hairy Woodpeckers
Chipping Sparrow

So those are my "normal backyard birds". In my window feeders by my desk I see the hummingbird for about 5 seconds each day, the chipping sparrow a lot, the house finch sometimes and the titmice occasionally. The other birds all hang out in the back yard.

Angie, are you sure you have purple finches and not house finches? I'm just curious, when I told someone in Mass that I had a purple finch he completely disbelieved me until I showed him the photo <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> He claimed they're pretty rare. I wonder if they're not as rare as some people think?

OK Lisa, here is my list.
House sparrow
Blue Jay
Grackle
Chickadee
Crow
Robin
Flicker
Fox Sparrow
Nuthatch

And mine:

1 hummingbird
chicadees
titmous
red bellied woodpecker
1 gold finch
purple finches
wren
crows
pair cardinals
mourning doves

I think that's it.

Mavis, what do the flickers come in for? I had one around infrequently last year but not the years before that really and I haven't seen one this year. It came in for the regular seed even though they're normally suet birds. What does yours eat?

I've never seen a Fox Sparrow!! Is it just one or two, or a little bunch?

Angie, what kind of hummingbird do you have? I get a little green one <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I assume it must be a Ruby Throated since that's pretty much all that's on the east coast, and it's green. I'll try to look for a ruby throat the next time it comes by.

You really only have one goldfinch? Mine always come in groups of 6-8! I didn't realize they'd hang out by themselves. Do you have thistle out?

Lisa,

The flickers seem to be eating something in the ground - my guess would be ants or grubs of some kind.

The fox sparrow normally passes through here in the spring & fall migration, but it looks like one pair decided to hang around.

I'm not sure where any nests are though.

Oh goody...a place to list my "count" <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Counting is something I do almost unconsciously. During the winter, Project FeederWatch and our local newspaper's birding column on Sundays provides me with an outlet. But neither collect data during the summer.

Everyday....

grackle
starling
crows
mourning dove
house sparrow
blue jay
cardinal
chickadee
goldfinch
house finch
downey woodpecker

3-4 days a week....

tufted titmouse
hairy woodpecker
robin
white-breasted nuthatch
cowbird
chipping sparrow
song sparrow
occasionally a red-breasted nuthatch
and purple finches

I also had the "passing thru" fox sparrow pair and several white-crowned and white-throated sparrows. I think the activity and noise at the feeders from the grackles is what attracts the migrating sparrows. This is the first years I've seen the 3 listed above. I hope they remember me on their way back south. Even though I have alot of birds, its exciting to see something new... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ah, maybe I don't have enough ants around! I look sometimes at those mealworm/grub meal packs for birds and just can't bring myself to buy some to put out. Hmmmmm .... maybe someday!

That's interesting, Bayberry, it looks like we have almost exactly the same birds in our back yards, although you have far more types of sparrows than I do. I only have the little chipping sparrows. I hear that some people get overrun with sparrows so maybe I should be happy <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I do want my towhee and grosbeak that usually come around for the summer, I wonder where they are ...

Lisa, I have seen only a single goldfinch. Next time I go to the store, I'm going to pick up a thistle feeder. The stocking did not work as the squirrel destroyed it.

My identification skills are lacking at time - I believe it is a ruby throated hummer - it looks like it is almost black and has the red throat.