The birds are enjoying the feeder during these cold days we’ve had. This house finch has been a frequent visitor and is spitting out the sunflower shells.

This female goldfinch is a regular at the feeder. I recognize her because she has a cut on the back of her head. This shot was taken with a flash just as she moved in to get a snack.

This little guy returned today and I was able to shoot a couple of shots before he flew off. I’m not sure if I will be able to follow through but I would like to post a photo each day during this year. There aren’t many days that I don’t take at least one shot but I don’t always post what I shoot. With the trip to New York coming up hopefully I’ll be able to start the year off with some good shots.

JRVZ9524, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

School’s out so I sat on the front porch this morning and watched the various animals in the front yard. Within a thirty minute period I saw thrashers and other birds, a hummingbird, a couple of hawks, and this squirrel. When I stepped down the steps he ran up the tree and sat on a branch watching me from a safe distance.

JRVZ8716, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I posted a photo back in April of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. I’ve seen a couple more since then but only in the last couple of days have I seen then return regularly. This morning I shot one through the window in the living room and then went out and took several from the front porch. This afternoon I watched for quite a while and got shots from the porch and from behind the feeder. One even swooped down at me when I was adjusting the feeder. This shot was taken this morning. More are available on my Flickr site. Click on the image to jump there.

JRVZ4484, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

As I walked into the living room I heard Socks making a noise and knew he was watching a bird. When I went to the window I saw a dove below and Socks was watching him closely. I took several shots of the dove and of socks. I like this one with the reflection in the window.

JRVZ3645, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

For some time now we have seen male and female cardinals flying around the yard and into the holly outside our front window. The last couple of days I have taken several shots of them but this afternoon I was able to get some shots of the female on the pole holding our hummingbird feeder and this shot as she entered the bush to work on the nest that is inside. Our cat was watching through the window and it drove him crazy. More shots are on my Flickr site.

IMGP1187, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I often wonder exactly what Socks is thinking about as he sits staring off into space. This shot was taken mainly to experiment with diffused flash and I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

IMGP0867, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

We had a relaxing day today after the travels of the week. This morning we enjoyed watching the hummingbirds at the feeder in the front yard. We have discovered that hummingbirds are not good a sharing. One bird guards the feeder in the back while another guards the one in the back. Any other birds approaching the feeder are quickly chased off as the bird standing guard swoops down from a perch above the feeder.

This morning we saw as many as five hummingbirds flying around the feeder in the front and the photo above is a rare occasion where three birds shared the feeder. I also uploaded a video to my Flickr site (which you can access by clicking on the photo above) that shows the birds sharing the feeder.

dragonfly6, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.

I have tried for several days to get a photo of a dragonfly but they never seemed to land and moved too quickly to get a decent shot. Today I saw a couple in the front yard. I almost got a shot of one resting on a rail. Finally I saw one land on the japanese maple. I was able to get a few shots with my 70-300 lens. He would fly off but then return.

I went in to switch lenses and he even stayed on the leaf while I set my flash down in different locations. This shot was taken with the on camera flash and an off-camera flash set up below on the ground.

As always, I have several other shots on my Flickr page. Click on the photo above to go there.