Sunday, November 29, 2009

My Mystery Bird


The tree in this picture seems to be a very valuable resource to birds. I have seen so many different birds perched in it and its surrounding neighbors. Awhile ago I moaned about not seeing any kinds of birds other than robins now that the weather has gotten colder, but I'm discovering that it's simply not true.

I've now seen a cardinal in this same tree, and then there are the birds like the one in this picture. I guess the reason I thought there were only robins is because I had trouble seeing all the way to the other birds. The robins are friendly creatures that aren't afraid to get a little closer.


I guess all it took for me to begin to realize how wrong I had been was to use my camera to get a closer look at the birds I see when I'm there. It took some time and practice for me to be able to do that. As you can see, I had to brighten the area up quite a bit so this little bird would show up.

I don't really know what kind of bird it is, partly because the pictures don't show the best angle to help me find out, and partly because I don't care to research yet. I'll do that if I get a few better shots of this little guy. I do know that this bird is maybe 3/4 of the size of an American robin, or maybe even a bit smaller than that. I guess that's a start.


Even if I don't know what kind of bird I have here I still feel good to have the pictures. Just knowing that there's a chance of having so many different birds around here makes me happy. Being an Everyday Adventurer is helping me greatly increase my knowledge of the variety of wildlife around me. When I started out I knew virtually nothing, and now I have some of these creatures following me around.

16 comments:

  1. It is right to say when we started out we knew virtually nothing, and now we know more and more, the world is getting bigger and bigger.

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  2. You are a friend to all these creatures and I think they kind of sense that! I am surprised the birds remain during the winter, though. It must be hard for them to find food.

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  3. Great photos, Ratty! I wonderful what kind of bird that is..

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  4. this little bird is quite plump. i suppose he has to eat as much as he can before the ground is covered with snow. i love learning about your little friends. have a wonderful day...hugz!

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  5. It could be a nuthatch..but I would have to see a few more shots of its back to be sure. ha

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  6. We are all becoming well learned adventurers through you Ratty. It's amazing that even through this colder season the birds have not decreased in numbers at all. I see and hear them more than ever before. It's a real treat for me because I love our feathered friends.

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  7. It happened to me also when I took flowers and wildlife. I wish I knew every single name of them.

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  8. It is kind of a mystery with that all-gray breast like that. That eliminates familiar possibilities like a junco or a nuthatch. Notice the notched tail. That should tell me something, but alas, I'm not a good enough birder to know exactly what! I too, need to see more of its back and/or profile. It might be a young gray jay, strayed south from the UP. Keep trying to "shoot" him for us!

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  9. I don't know what it is but it sure is cute sitting there looking all round. I've seen pictures before of something that looked similar to this one but I don't remember what it was.

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  10. i don't know what kind of bird it is too, but like you, i always take delight in seeing wildlife around.

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  11. I'm going with sparrow but have no idea what kind. Striving for that head shot... I know that goal. :)

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  12. What a healthy looking bird! I'm sorry I don't know its species/name. I only know a few birds... this one is totally new to me.

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  13. I am clueless about that bird. Nice capture, Ratty!

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  14. Looks like it's some sort of Sparrow. The ones with the white on their heads. But really can't tell for sure.

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  15. He is a cutie, like some others I would suspect a sparrow but would need more photos to tell. My yard is filled with Juncos right now and I'm pretty sure your mystery bird isn't one of them.

    Nice shot, most of mine don't hang around long enough for that many photos.

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  16. Thanks everybody for your comments. And thanks to those of you who tried to help identify this bird. I didn't really have any pictures good enough to get a positive ID of it, so I'll have to wait until I get something a little better.

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