Hawk versus mourning dove and finding a tiger swallowtail butterfly!
It’s an eclectic mix of pictures today on Dave’s Bird Watching Blog…I don’t usually start with house finches, but I really liked the contrast of pink and green in this picture on the left. We’re seeing a fair amount of finches right now at our plate. Occasionally, we even see one of these guys below. Now, I like squirrels and they can eat our seed up to a point, but they eventually need to be scared away (we’re not buying expensive bird seed to attract squirrels). Still, since we don’t see them too often, they’re fun and entertaining.
Tuesday is when I was taking most of these pictures, and at the time, there were three mourning doves in our yard. I had missed the bluebirds earlier, and so I was reluctantly taking pictures of the doves. Suddenly, they scattered and in swooped a hawk (a Cooper’s hawk maybe) right in front of the kitchen window. Sadly I had just put the camera down literally seconds before, and this dove narrowly avoided becoming hawk-lunch. All the hawk got was feathers, and I was now 0-2 
in good photo opportunities for the day. The hawk landed in a nearby tree, so I grabbed the camera, unlocked the back door, and promptly scared the hawk away…0-3. Rats! Thankfully, one of the female Eastern bluebirds came back several minutes later, and I was able to snap a few pictures of her (see below…one is at the plate with a female house finch, but there was a line of other, less brave finches right behind).
The other pictures below are from last week when my wife and son found a beautiful tiger swallowtail butterfly in our front yard. We adopted it as an indoor pet for the day, long enough to look it up in our guide book and identify it. Then the next day, they took it back outside and set it free at a local park. Fun! Our family loves discovering new creatures like this and then figuring out what they are together…homeschooling will do that to you! It’s really exciting to experience up close God’s beautiful handiwork like this. Creation indeed testifies to the Lord! (Romans 1:20)
That’s all for today! Dave
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I know how you feel, Dave, about missing the great pictures!!!! That has happened to me SEVERAL times. When I say that I saw a bluebird recently in our birdbath but didn’t get a picture, my friends say, “Sure you did!” HA HA!!! Keep trying… That’s what I’ll do!!! (Just wish someone would come and clean my house for me while I watch my birds!!!!)
BG, we have not tried the suet yet. I really do want to start offering something that will attract more of the woodpecker/nuthatches, but I haven’t got around to it yet (or the Oriole/tanager feeder I want to build). We have painted our dining room recently, but for some reason that hasn’t helped bring in any new birds so far. :-) There was a bluebird suet recipe in Birds and Blooms a few issues back, so I was going to try that at some point also. Right now the bluebirds are just eating the sunflower chips and smaller peanut pieces.
Betsy, you and I will just have to keep getting faster with our cameras…maybe practice our quick-draws some… “There’s a painted bunting! DRAW!” or “Look! A white-eared hummingbird! DRAW!” We wouldn’t have made it in the Old West very well, would we? Now, time to go back to your house cleaning! :-)
Hi Dave,
House and purple finch males can have such intense red hues. The pictures of the swallowtail are nice, what a great idea to bring it inside for a night for observation. I wish we would see a little more variety of butterflies during the summertime. Even though I chose several types of plants that were said to attract butterflies we really haven’t noticed any new wings flying by. I did purchase a plant (called cardinal climber) that was very successful at attracting hummingbirds. A creeping vine, with a small red trumpet-type flower. btw, I published by first blog today! Gulp. I am not very computer savy but it was fun. Any hints you can give would be appreciated!
http://tinasbirdyarns.blogspot.com/
Looks great, Tina! Everyone should check it out…I always knew you’d start your own blog someday. Your photos are great, and you’ve got a fun sense of humor. It will be a hit, I’m betting. DBWB wishes you well, but keep visiting, of course!
I love finches! I love watching my birds in the yard and the birdfeeder. I’m so jealous that you get birds at the plate! When I get more disciplined, I’ll have to try it out! I love your pics!
Dave,
Thanks for the kind words. Def will continue to visit your site, love seeing your pics and reading your blog. Keep looking up, never know when that hawk will try again! :)
Mavis, you are welcome to come over any time and bring the boys. We’ll all watch them together! What kind of finches are you getting?
Tina, I’m hoping for a bald eagle, but a hawk will still do nicely. :-)
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I like the pink and green color in that first shot, as well. And yes, bird seed is getting so expensive you just can’t afford to feed much to the squirrels! Have you tried suet? My sister gets those gorgeous redheaded woodpeckers and they even feed beside the bluebirds for mealworms. I think they might be gone now – they only stay for breeding season. Love the butterfly story and it’s so neat that you are homeschooling. That takes a LOT of dedication! By the way…what are your bluebirds eating?