We were sitting out on our patio enjoying our lunch today
when Jeanette noticed this male Evening Grosbeak in our neighbor’s tree. Along
with it were several bright yellow American Goldfinches. When they flew off a
dominating male Rufus Hummingbird took the position, and soon he left and a
Chipping Sparrow showed up. I started making
a list and by the time lunch was over we had fifteen different species of birds. The amazing part is that two of these birds
were FOY (First of the Year) for Polk County for me, the Evening Grosbeak and
the Chipping Sparrow. Many days we
travel to the far reaches of the county and walk for hours tallying birds
without a single new species. But to sit
in the comfort of your own backyard and see a good number of interesting
birds---that’s the true luxury!
Jim, if you scatter a sufficient quantity of sunflower seeds on the ground close by and you get a flock of Evening Grosbeaks to come in for the offering, you will hear a symphony of cracking hulls until all the seeds are extracted and enjoyed. I once fed sunflower seeds daily to large flock of these birds for about a week before they left for their nesting grounds.
ReplyDeleteVery striking photo. Sounds like you live in paradise!
ReplyDeleteLucky! I'd love to see an Evening Grosbeak in my backyard. What an amazing mixture of colors on that plumage.
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