Today I want to share a few bird photos from around our place. Since we moved here in 2007, My wife and I have done our best to create an outdoor habitat that is beneficial to birds as well as for butterflies and pollinators. We have quite a variety of birds that visit our property, so I believe we must be doing something right! Here are pics of a few that visited in 2022.
We have at least five different kinds of woodpeckers that visit our feeders, from the small Downy to the large Pileated. We also have had quite a few Flickers visiting lately, which are easy to spot with their black spotted plumage. The photo of the Pileated Woodpecker doesn’t really show the true size, since they are well over a foot tall and dwarf most of the other birds at the feeders.
Flicker at suet Feeder
Cardinal with Flicker
Pileated woodpecker at suet feeder
Bluebirds are often year round visitors here at Happy Acres. They nest in the nest boxes from spring through summer, and they visit our feeders throughout the winter months. We had three broods of babies this year in the nest box, and at least a dozen of them survived and fledged out into the world. I’ve been hosting bluebirds for almost 40 years now, and I still get excited when I see the eggs and the babies.
bluebird nest with eggs
bluebird babies
Our adult bluebirds seem to be happy feeding on suet or shelled sunflower seeds, and I try and keep both on hand in the colder months when finding their natural food sources like insects or berries proves difficult.
Bluebird in dogwood tree
Bluebird at feeder
Two Bluebirds feeding
We occasionally have hawks visit us here at our place, and in July I saw one perched on one of the garden fenceposts. A friend believes it is a Red-Shouldered Hawk, though I am leaning towards it being a Sharp-Shinned Hawk. Regardless, it is quite impressive when it takes flight, with a wingspan of almost 3 feet.
hawk visiting garden
hawk spreading wings
That’s a look at some of our feathered visitors here in 2022. I hope you have enjoyed the photos, and I’ll be back soon with more happenings at Happy Acres!
