Greensboro Birds

This morning heralded my old buddy Sam Peabody (aka white-throated sparrow). He scratched around below the feeder while I fed the chickens at sunup. Just now, the brushy area at the edge of the yard yielded—get this:

A golden-crowned kinglet,
Yellow-rumped warblers,
A pine sisken, and
Two yellow-bellied sapsucker!

All that’s left are the dark-eyed juncos, ruby-crowned kinglets, and cedar [...]

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The pine siskins are here at last! Dozens of them at a time overtake the thistle socks and the Ultimate Platform Feeder, crowding in there with just as many American goldfinches. I’d almost given up hope on seeing these guys. Birders across the state have been reporting them on the various bird lists, but it [...]

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We had a reasonably hard frost this morning, and the birds were out in force. The crow trio showed up like clockwork to pick at the corncobs on the hill. I don’t think they’re even that into the corn per se; I think they just really enjoy the process of picking off the kernels.
I nearly [...]

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Sing it with me: One of these things is not like the other …
That streaked bird is a pine siskin, which commonly flocks with American goldfinches. Bird blogs and message boards are abuzz with news of a possible big irruptive year for several species, including the siskin, due to the poor seed crops in both [...]

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UPDATE Jan. 13: I’ve since learned that this is a Yellow-rumped Warbler in its winter plumage!
I’ve seen this bird once before and got an even vaguer picture of it. I’m guessing it’s a Pine Siskin, a type of finch, based on the yellowish mark, pointed bill, and brown streaking. This bird is wet, so its [...]

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