Thursday, May 21, 2009

Birding in the Back Yard

Sarah's interest in birds just keeps growing, thanks in part to Dixie, Lisa and Josh. And I think it is great. She is now working on ways to attract more birds to our back yard. She made this feeder out of an old milk jug. She was so excited when the birds found it.

The most exciting bird visitors this week were two pairs of Evening Grosbeaks. Here you can see one of the males and his mate. The picture doesn't do these birds justice. They are awesome to see. The male are bright yellow and both male and female are quite large. We were lucky enough to be sitting at the kitchen table when they visited the feeder in our kitchen window. Unfortunately they haven't been back. We keep hoping.

Sarah has a new humming bird feeder. It is really cool as it attaches directly to the window with a suction cup. This she placed in our living room windows. We have a couple of Ruby Throated Humming Birds that visit the feeder numerous times in the morning and evening.

We spent one evening trying to snap pictures of the little guy. He was a little camera shy at first, but then I think hunger got the best of him. I love the tail feathers in the picture above.

Sarah has been inspired by the Evert boys and the bird garden they built in their back yard. She was so excited when her dad agreed to give her a section of yard to created her very own bird garden. She has been working hard clearing out the overgrown area.

She has been researching how to design the area and what to include. She has come across a few books she would like:

Projects for the Birder's Garden: Over 100 Easy Things You Can Make To Turn Your Yard and Garden Into A Bird-Friendly Haven

1 comment:

  1. I love the idea of a bird garden! Thanks for the link to the birding blog, I look forward to spending some spare time browsing it for inspiration and ideas for our family. Love the hummingbird pictures! That is so amazing that you can see them so close.

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