Bossy southern bird....lol...Blue Grosbeak....

[curious kat]

....don't be mad southern folk, I him....out of all these birds at the feeder he's the one who keeps an eagle eye on me, a very pretty and smart bird. Then 2 more showed up & hung around with a white winged Dove. Only got to see a female once so far this year. And another one came along with a slightly different looking back color, maybe young one? Reason I called them "southern" is that they are from the south & new here, so a treat!









...this is the one with different back & maybe a younger one.

 

[austin]

Beautiful, beautiful birds. We have white wing doves and cardinals, but nothing like the rest of your birds. I do have a sort of tame little finch who loves shelled peanuts and a big old male bluejay that flys in and steals the whole nut from the squirrels.

 

[huntress104]

those are the most beautiful color of blue I have ever seen. The wing coloration just stands out against that blue!! Do you have a zoom lense on your camera or can you get that close?

 

[vpnavy]

Nice photographs! Thanks for sharing...

 

[curious kat]

Thanks Austin....your finch sounds very sweet & I know what you mean about the Blue Jays! I had one I named "catcher" because he/she learned to catch peanuts that I threw up in the air and would follow me around actually asking for more...it seemed to love to catch them, smart bird! Here's a picture of "catcher".



huntress....Yes the camera has zoom....most of the pictures I take from inside the house & through dirty windows! lol But I could get real close to the Blue jay & a Towhee because they learned from us feeding the squirrels, that they could beg & get some to! Actually the Towhee learned from watching the Blue Jay......probably the two smartest birds I've seen here so far. I'm sad to say that I've yet to get a picture of the beautiful Spotted Towhee.

 

[TJE]

....don't be mad southern folk, I him....out of all these birds at the feeder he's the one who keeps an eagle eye on me, a very pretty and smart bird. Then 2 more showed up & hung around with a white winged Dove. Only got to see a female once so far this year. And another one came along with a slightly different looking back color, maybe young one? Reason I called them "southern" is that they are from the south & new here, so a treat!...this is the one with different back & maybe a younger one.

Great pics CK. We've a good variety of grosbeaks up here...but nothing like the blue one maybe the other 'more camouflaged' one is a female? (since many are..for nesting protection).

 

[curious kat]

Yes, you're right TJE... that's the female. The "guys" are the pretty ones....guess that's why we have "make-up"...

 

[TJE]

Yes, you're right TJE... that's the female. The "guys" are the pretty ones....guess that's why we have "make-up"...

Nah CK, its just that the females don't have to "showboat"!!! ha ha ha!

 

[Meadow]

Wow, what a blue! Looks like the whole packet of blue dye was used on him. I have blue jays, and rose breasted grosbeaks which aren't too shabby, but I wasn't even aware of the existence of blue grosbeaks!

 

[curious kat]

TJE....that's a nice way of putting it.

Meadow....if you ever get pictures of the rosey ones please post, they're lovely!

 

[tamrock]

I saw this bird with others like it in Pagosa Springs Colorado this last week. I was walking and herd a bird sound like one I'm not familiar with and saw in some Elm trees these yellow & black birds eating the seeds. I'm not sure I've ever seen this species before here in Colorado. I couldn't get a shot with the sun light on them and didn't have much time to wait for a good picture.

 

[curious kat]

tamrock....it's a good enough picture! Looks like an "Evening Grosbeak"....same grouping as mine but different family. Think they live in CO all year but stay more out of sight than a lot of other birds. Great that you got the shot....thanks for posting here!

 

[tamrock]

tamrock....it's a good enough picture! Looks like an "Evening Grosbeak"....same grouping as mine but different family. Think they live in CO all year but stay more out of sight than a lot of other birds. Great that you got the shot....thanks for posting here!

I can't say I've ever seen these birds in Colorado. I thought they looked very similar to the birds you posted from your area. They blended in with the elm trees very well. I could hear them in the tree, but it did take some looking to spot them. They made a sound that did stick out as different to my ears.

 

[curious kat]

I guess you're lucky to have seen one tamrock & got a picture! I found this for you.....

......

 

[tamrock]

Dang! Should have taken a little time to get a better shot. The sun was high over head and had it been a few degrees more I'm sure I would have got a better picture of these interesting birds. They didn't seem all that bothered I was walking around underneath them. How cool I saw some Evening Grosbeak's last week. Looks like they can be found all over the western US. I must say that's the first I took notice of them.

 

[curious kat]

tamrock, now that you know they're there & you'll probably see them again in that area. In my book it says that they should be around here to, but I've never seen them. I think where ever you do see them, that's probably the best place to keep an eye out. It's so great you did get that picture!