Sunday, December 18, 2011

A Few of My Favorite Things....Part 1




One of my favorite Christmas songs is "My Favorite Things"
Who can forget Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music?
Classic
Although my favorite rendition has always been country singer Lorrie Morgan's.

As we are winding down to the last few days before Christmas , I am reflecting on some of my favorite things.
So I decided I would do posts this week on things that bring a smile to my face .
I hope they make you smile too.

And I want to thanks Pinterest in advance for assisting me with photos.
If you are a regular reader of my blog , you know my skills as a photographer are lacking.
Thank God for the ability to find any and everything on Pinterest!

My first favorite thing....
My Birds
I have always loved birds and bird watching.
I didn't really know one bird from another.
Last year for Christmas , my friend gave me the book,
Birds of Iowa Field Guide.
I love this book !
I mean I could tell if a bird was a Woodpecker , but who would guess that this one
Red-headed woodpeckers - noisy and distinctive calls.  Fun to watch.  Have nested here in a dead pine tree in the neighbors acreage.
is actually a Red BELLIED Woodpecker - NOT a Red HEADED Woodpecker?
Make sense huh?

And how about this funny little guy that runs down the tree instead of up,
Nuthatch
is a Nuthatch.

And then there are the Finches.
I have a plethora of Finches.
It's easy to identify a goldfinch ,
Goldfinch
 Eastern Gold Finch to be exact,
it's Iowa's State bird.
But what about this one?
 female goldfinch
Thanks to my book, I know this is also an Eastern Goldfinch , the female.
In the bird world , the females are generally the less colorful.
Not fair huh?
Not as common at my house , but still a frequent visitor,
is the House Finch.

House Finch

not to be mistaken for the Purple Finch
purple Finch
but they are REALLY hard to tell apart!

I have two different "feeding stations".
One outside the kitchen window.

Which I am happy to say , Hubby enjoys more than I.
(he does the dishes, YAH! )
After much experimenting with different seeds and seed mixes,
I have limited my seed selection to sunflower seed and suet.
Sunflower seeds seems to be a favorite of many varieties of birds.

My second feeding station is outside the Living room window.
In direct view from "my spot" on the couch !

Again , I just feed sunflower seeds and suet.

Do you like my feeder on the old porch post?
Ryan put that together for me on Thanksgiving Day.
Isn't he sweet?


Funny thing, even though I use the same feed at each station, I get different varieties at each station.
The Finches visit both,
 but I have a pair of Blue Jays,
Blue Jay

 Mourning Doves
Mourning Dove

 and Cardinals ( in the winter),
cardinals
 that only visit the "kitchen station".
The Living room station seems to be a favorite for Woodpeckers
Woodpeckers
 and Nuthatches.
Go figure.

Different birds also have different feeding habits .
Some like Woodpeckers and Nuthatches like to hang upside down to eat.
Blue Jays and Doves eat off the ground or tray feeders.
Finches can eat anywhere!
As can Chickadees
Chickadee
 and Sparrows.

Sparrow

Here's  a little "bird inspiration" from Pinterest.

birds
Love this ! Especially the one little red one!

birds!
AWESOME!

for the birds! GREAT idea for pumpkins !
Great idea to use those leftover Halloween pumpkins.

Love these little birds!
Aren't these SWEET?!

hmmm.... I like this
Hmm...we'll see...

for Spencer
This one is for Spencer . She HATES birds!

And in closing ...
My goal in life~
Me too!

Linking this post to:
Debbiedoo's blogging and blabbing



you are talking too much





11 comments:

  1. I like to bird watch too, the the squirrel eat all my seed! Happy bird watching, Laura

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  2. I love birds, I have several bird feeders, and love watching them so. It's like spring in the winter and I know I am helping them. I am a graduate of Debbie's party, and was wondering would you post this lovely post on Sunday's Best going on now.

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  3. Hi Dawn,
    Thank you for visiting my blog today. Glad you enjoyed my pins, I could have added more but ran out of time! Love this post about birds, we have pretty much the same birds here as you do. I too love having them visit over the winter. We keep the birds, squirrels and everyone else fed well here!
    Merry Christmas from Minnesota
    ~ Diane

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  4. great post I am a backyard bird watcher also ! sunflower seeds are my fav treat for my friends. happy Holidays !and blessed Christmas joys

    - KAT -

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  5. I have birdfeeders in my yard too, and I love to watch them, Hummingbirds all year long, chickadees, finches, woodpeckers, no cardinals though. All of your pictures are great...
    Kathi

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  6. Thank you so much for linking this post, cause your pictures of birds are just so beautiful. Thanks for following and I now follow you.

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  7. PS - I'd FB you but not seeing on your site?

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  8. I love all the birds! My daughter's nursery is in a bird theme.

    I'm your newest follower!! I found you through Debbiedoo's Newbie Party. I'd love for you to come visit and follow me back if you get a chance!! :)

    Merry Christmas!

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  9. Birds are so beautiful. Being a summer kinda girl, I love the quote at the end of your post. Thanks for sharing.

    Sharon

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  10. I really love seeing your bird pictures. I love birds and watch them very closely in the winter to make sure they have enough food and water. Your pictures are so pretty. Thanks for sharing at Sunday's Best and wishing you Happy Holiday's.

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