Look who showed up, the Hooded Orioles!
It is cause for celebration when these raucous, rackety, bickering-beauties show up each spring to spend the summer.
I so look forward to another season of their antics. They make scrub jays seem shy, quiet and retiring by comparison!
The Black Headed Grosbeaks arrived with the Orioles.
They are much shyer birds but hopefully they will assert themselves a bit more with the orioles this season.
These birds have such powerful beaks they can crack sunflower seeds in one chomp!
They seem to be arriving in greater numbers which is encouraging.
The Bullocks Orioles are new arrivals at The Holler this year. They are less assertive than their hooded cousins and can be identified by the black stripe across their eyes.
The California Thrashers live at The Holler year round, and stay mostly on the ground where they run around in such a hysterical, late-for-a-date-state, they are hard to photograph.
I think this one was stunned into temporary paralysis by the sudden arrival of all the spring competition which enabled me to finally get a few clicks of him!
Cheers to you from the still arriving Holler Birdies~
Some of your might like to listen to these birdies vocalizations:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Oriole/sounds
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-headed_Grosbeak/sounds
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bullocks_Oriole/id
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Thrasher/id
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Splendid birds 🙂
They are loverly and me thinks they know so!
I love birds and if I can figure out how to have a bird feeder that the squirrels are unable to access I’ll start feeding them again 🙂 Your photos are FANTASTIC…thanks for sharing 🙂
We have squirrerls too, but they don’t access the feeders. I think we have more ground squirrels than the tree climbing daredevils~
Actually (when we lived 12 miles south east of Sierra Vista AZ) what we had was ground squirrels…and they’d eat anything that wasn’t tied down 🙂 To feed the birds I used a really long piece of wire hanging in a mesquite tree, attached to a large wooden tray, They were never able to go down it to the food…yay! I like squirrels and don’t mind feeding them but not at the expense of the birds. 🙂
Oh Cindy… your photos are so up close and personal that I feel a family kinship with birds! Truly astoundingly beautiful photography.
Awwww, so kind. The birdies would love you Dor because they would know you love them~
Great photos, Cindy. I love all these signs of spring popping up here and there. Most people associate spring with the budding of flowers and trees, but the return of our birds is a true announcement of spring’s arrival.
Yes, definitely. The spring migration of song birds is just a glorious phenomona isn’t it!
Beyond a doubt.
Such vibrant images Cindy. Beautiful!
Merci beaucoup mon ami!
What gorgeous colours.
Yes, aren’t they just vibrantly amazing little birdies!
Beautiful
They are, and they are curious and very nice neighbors~
Anyone who can make a scrub jay seem quiet and shy has to be really noisy! 🙂 I always find the ‘specialization’ beaks of the various birds fascinating. Great photos, Cindy. –Curt
Yes Mark Twain and I agree with you on the wonderful scrub jays. One actually flew close today. He couldn’t stop himself. They generally do not deign to leave the oak and cotton wood creek and come up here to hang with the hoi polloi, but his curiousity got the best of him. I played female scrub jay calls but couldn’t entice him back.
And yes the beak specialization is so marked and interesting. It tells you what exactly each bird eats, and thus lives.
Our jays, both scrub and Stellar, hang around our house and are constantly scolding us for some infraction or the other. 🙂 I have fun watching how the different birds handle sunflower seeds. Jays will rapidly shove 20 or so into there craws before flying off to process them. Grosbeaks sit there and open their treasures on the spot, Nuthatches grab one and dash off to a tree to shove it into a crevice and chip away at it, sparrows grab one an fly over our porch to chip them open on the cement… always leaving a mess. –Curt
You are like me Curt. I find this all endlessly entertaining and interesting. Birds behavior is just a lot of fun to observe. I wish I could get my scrub jays closer. I want a Mark Twain scolding from them~
Oh wow Cindy! They are just gorgeous and your captures of them are absolutely stunning! Such colourful little birds. I would sit and watch them all day long and of course, if I could take such great shots like you do, I would sit and take photos all day long. 😆
It is super interesting because these are wild and extremely scared of people creatures, smart birds. I can spend serious time with these intelligent and suprising creatures and not even notice that it has passed. I am interested by them and their behavior. Today a grosbeak chose to eat out the feeder by my hand, only the finches do this, and then an oriole joined him. This never happens with any bird except the hummingbirds.
It just somehow feels so right to me to be here with them. Thank you for sensing this.
These wild little creatures are quite clever Cindy and they absolutely know who they can trust. Time sure flies quickly when spend with these awesome beauties of nature. 😀
That is so awesome. They know that you will not hurt them and the only shooting that will happen, will be by your camera. 😀
Have fun with them and hope to see some more of your magical shots of them soon. ♥
Awwww, you are a wonderful person and you understand! How lucky am I to know you! <3 <3
Ahhh Cindy, I always look forward to you posts 💕
Oh that is so nice. Thank you~
Beautiful, Cindy!
They are, aren’t they? Achingly so~
We don’t have our summer visitors or migrants yet so I’m enjoying the beauty of yours, thank you! ❤️
I am just so glad you will soon have yours. To not have them would be intolerable to me, since I have lived at The Holler.
Gorgeous birds! Thank you for sharing, I have never heard of them.
Well apparently there are 22,000 subspecies of birds (seems like an undercount), so this is not a surprise that you don’t know them, but it is an honor to introduce you, since I know how much you love, know, and photograph, our amazing natural world.
Thank you for your lovely posts, Cindy! They are very educational.
Absolutely beautiful!
As are you. I am so lucky to know you.
Good morning Cindy. You really touched my heart. It is a blessing to me hear that, and to know you too! ☺❤Have a wonderful day.
Great pictures Cindy, Beautiful birds. Love them critters.
Yep, thank you, I do too, so much~ <3
So much beauty here, Cindy — wonderful captures!!
We both do the same thing, you and I, we capture beauty. Which is why I am lucky to know you.
What a lovely thing to say — thank YOU, Cindy, and just know I feel the same way about you!!
Your photos are wonderful, Cindy. Lovely and rich in detail and color. A real pleasure to see. Enjoy your summer friends!
Like you Eliza, they are wonderful friends~ <3
🙂 <3
Such beauties <3
They are and funny too!
Beautiful birds, Cindy!
So pleased you enjoyed them Dina~
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Preciosa serie de pájaros que casi nos permite escuchar sus trinos y sus alegres melodías primaverales. Un abrazo amiga.
Si! Tienen hermosas voces! Que esten bien mi querida amiga y abrazos you besos~ <3
gorgeous pictures as always Cindy!
Ahhh, thanks much!
Love the colors Cindy!
They are unbelievably beautiful. Love the details and colors your captured, Cindy! I can see they are so happy to be back to Holler. 🙂 🙂 <3
Well, I do tend to spoil them, just a tad……It is kinda their birdie spa season at The Holler, good food, plenty of drink, sunshine, and lots of r & r! 😉 😉
What a fantastic repertoire of birds at The Holler, Cindy. I can tell they are very pampered, lucky birds — it’s no surprise that they return. Having both orioles is a real treat, the grossbeaks are a treasure, and oh how wonderful to have the thrashers year round. Exquisite photos.
It good that I don’t have to try to describe to you Athena, what it feels like to live amongst all these wild birds. It is just wonderful. Be well my friend~ <3
You have some incredible birds in your locality. Wonderful photos as always.
Thank you. They certainly brighten my world. Be well my friend~
What beauties these are! Would love to have them at my feeder!
They are getting more and more comfortable around me too, allowing me to get closer every few days which is always wonderful. Happy Sunday my friend~
You put out such a feast for your birds, that you deserve these brilliant visitors.
this is amazing
Awwww, so happy you enjoyed them. I love ’em!
They’re beautiful
Thank you. They are like flying sunshine!
Such vibrate colors they have 🙂 Great job 🙂
Thanks, they are little fluffs of flying sunshine!
they are indeed 🙂
🙂
The sound of spring is one of the best symphonies Mother Nature adorns us with…and you’ve captured this well. The third shot of yours seems to fit this spirit ~ crisp and clean and with all the vibrancy and chaos of spring. I’m happy (as I sure you are!) that it has finally arrived.
Yes I love spring because it brings the migrating songbirds to The Holler. I so anticipate the hordes of hummers and orioles and anything else that flutters over! Happy Spring Randall~
I’ve never seen a bird drink from oranges before. Amazing photos
The nectar drinking and fruit eating birds tend to enjoy oranges and grape jelly. Honestly, I don’t get the grape jelly, raspberry yes, grape, not so much! 😉 Cheers to you Charlotte~
Your photos are stunning.
You are very kind and most motivating too. Thank you~
Gorgeous, amazing photos,Cindy!
Awwww, so kind and so appreciated! Cheers & thank you~
Reblogged this on Random Ramblings; Myriad Musings and commented:
Spring migration…I love it!
😀
Ahhhh, you are a wonderful friend! Thank you & be well~ <3
Fabulous oriole photos, Cindy. RH
Thanks much, it is impossible to take a bad photo of these gorgeous birds!
I wonder why they are called hooded orioles, especially when its only the heck and throat which is black. In India, we often see Golden Orioles. And wow, the trasher bird looked cool, nice pic. we have Indian Robin in same colour as thrasher, but thrasher is longer slender and its curved beak is distinctly different from Indian robin (female)
I have been hearing from differenct bloggers from India about the similarities and differences between our birds. It is making me very curious to visit India and see them myself! A new goal for my rapidly depleting bucket list. I can only imagine the beautiful colors and variety of birds in India. They must be glorious~
Thank you Cindy 🙂 I look forward to your visit 🙂
<3
Beautiful pictures of birds
You are very kind!
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Wow! those are glorious little birds. I’m amazed that you can put fresh oranges on a feeder. If I did that, it’d be wasp city in a heartbeat. Do you get wasps in The Holler? They’re very aggressive here and will bite you for no reason.
Yes, we do have them and their nests. I have never had one go after me, and would not like it one bit if one did! We also have tarantula wasps and they are one spooky stinging machine. They kill and eat tarantulas.
Holy Crap and any number of expressive words come to mind. Cindy !! tarantula wasps that kill flippin tarantulas…..I would faint, scream my brains out or just die of fright. I’m sure I’ll nightmare this soon, LOL
Oh, no nightmares please. You are not a tarantula so they don’t want to eat you! I must admit they a spooky bugs, but I have taken to following them when I see them to get a photo. Do you know there is a scientist who tested insect bites on himself to make a hierarchy of insect bite pain. He used anti-venom. Fire ants and the tarantula hawk were the worst. I mean this sounds even worse than the worst co-worker at my last job!!!
Look at those little birds! I wonder if they know they have brought so many smiles to people? 🙂
I wish they could know. It would make them happy to know how much we love them! <3
It’s really hard to top your amazing pictures! So I will not start to try. 😊 Honouring your genius!
You are a wonderfully kind and thoughtful person and I am truly honored by such by such a lovely comment. Thank you & blessings to you <3
You produced my biggest smile and warmed up my heart. 😍 May angels be around you and protect your way. Have a wonderful day! 💖
Sending blessings back 2UX2!
We have the Arizona thrasher. They make a distinctive bird call and can be quite comical. We named one “Brownie” and discovered that he likes to eat meatballs after he got into the dog’s dish. Everyday, he hops up onto the front porch, looking for his meatball. After he gets his bite-size piece, he flies away with it, and it is hilarious to watch the other thrasher chase him around the yard, trying to get it!
This is making me laugh! I can picture him with the meatball. Ours eats seeds from out bird feeder in a most gangly fashion. They are hilarious birds დ
Fantastic range of birds and shots.
So very pleased you enjoyed & wonderful to hear from you! Hope all is well with you დ