Birds of Spring

Mourning Dove

My bird feeders have been busy, but not as busy as they were during the winter months. Some of our winter residents have begun migrating north to their breeding grounds, and those who are still here, including White-throated Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers, are visiting the feeders less frequently, as there are plenty of insects available. (If only more of my backyard visitors ate carpenter bees!)

On Sunday, I spotted the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird of the season. (I always put a hummingbird feeder out in mid-March in anticipation of the first visitors.) And I’m looking forward to seeing more spring migrants as they pass through the Carolinas in the coming months, especially Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, who I usually see at my feeders in April-May.

Breeding season is also underway, which means it’s cardinal fighting season. Northern Cardinals can be very aggressive this time of year as they compete for mates and establish breeding territories. You’ll find plenty of cardinals in this collection of photographs. All male cardinal photos are of the same bird. His nickname is Charles. I love photographing Charles because he is so red. That’s how I tell him apart from other birds; I’m pretty sure he is the reddest cardinal in the neighborhood.

Northern Cardinal (male), a.k.a. Charles

That said, I hope you enjoy these photographs.

Brown-headed Cowbird (male)

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch (male). Note how large his foot looks in this photograph. Nuthatches have large, strong feet for such little birds, which enable them to cling to tree bark and move easily in all directions.

Dogwood flowers

House Finch (male)

Mourning Dove

Eastern Bluebird (female)

Northern Cardinal (female)

Northern Cardinal (male)

American Goldfinch and two House Finches

Brown-headed Cowbird (female)

Blue Jay

A Tufted Titmouse gathering alpaca wool for her nest

Chipping Sparrows

Lenten roses

Eastern Phoebe

A male Brown-headed Cowbird taking a bath. The cowbirds frequently take advantage of the bird bath. Also, you can hear several different birds vocalizing in the background of this video. The loudest and most persistent is a Carolina Wren.

Brown-headed Cowbird (female)

Mourning Dove

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal (male)

Northern Cardinal (female)

White-throated Sparrow

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Mourning Dove

Brown-headed Cowbird (male)

A Tufted Titmouse with a peanut

Yellow-rumped Warbler. This bird is molting into its spring plumage, which is why it looks like it has a bit of a flat top.

Northern Cardinal (male)

Blue Jay

White-throated Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Eastern Bluebirds. I really wish the light in this photograph had been better. That said, I included it because it was a neat moment to capture: the male bluebird (right) is feeding his mate an insect. This behavior is called courtship feeding.