Our Most Exciting Bird Viewing Day Ever

I almost had a heart attack this afternoon when I saw this gorgeous Baltimore oriole perched on our hummingbird feeder.  I slowly felt my way to my camera and started shooting pictures.  He was only a couple of feet from the sliding glass door that I was standing near.



I was SO VERY, VERY excited.  I kept taking picture after picture after picture, for fear I might never see him again.

I was tickled and surprised to see him helping himself to the sugar water we'd put out for hummingbirds.  I called Jared right away to tell him.  He told me he had read or heard that Baltimore orioles are known to like sugar water.  In fact, he said that orange colored sugar water feeders are available with larger perches and larger beak openings especially for Baltimore orioles.    

I was pleased that his next stop was at our oriole feeder for some grape jelly and oranges.  With their appetite for sweets, thank God orioles don't have to worry about tooth decay!

I watched when he flew up in our pin oak tree.  Guess what?  I saw there were two more orioles on a branch near where he alit. My adrenalin was really flowing by then.  I called Lon and filled him in on my afternoon.  Normally, I work on Thursday afternoons so I was fortunate to be home.   

 

I'd barely told Lon about the orioles when I had to cut the call short so I could pick up my camera again.  Our first hummingbird sighting was yesterday but I hadn't taken a picture and what do you know; here he was again.

I wonder if he'd seen the oriole drinking from what we'd previously considered to be exclusively a hummingbird feeder.  If he had, he seemed quite unaffected. 

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, another new comer flew  in.  By now, Lon was home from work.  He looked in our bird book and identified this newbie as a rose-breasted grosbeak.  I like birds that are easy to identify and that red bib really stands out.   

 

Sporting the same colors, this woodpecker came to join in the festivities this evening.  He's a familiar sight around here.  I've seen him regularly for quite a while.

Close to a dozen gold finches fluttered between the seed feeders all afternoon.  We've been enjoying them for several weeks.



Even the rain showers didn't chase them away.

I'd love to have a pair of shoes in that "look at me" color.

Sorry, but I'm rather taken by the Baltimore orioles.  I bet I took at least thirty pictures of them today.

As bright as the orange appears in these photos, the color is even more beautiful seen with the naked eye.

The way this grosbeak is eyeing me, I think if he'd had a camera, he'd have taken my picture.

We saw robins, cardinals, sparrows, starlings and house finches coming and going as well today. 

What a grand day this was, right in our own backyard.

(For more birds, go to my previous blog posts).