LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Thursday, January 1, 2009

First Bird of 2009

On New Year's Day I always eagerly await my first bird sighting. I get my coffee and camera and sit and watch. This morning I was not disappointed. I slept a bit later than usual and the first bird I saw was a female Pileated Woodpecker.

And here she is:





Now, for the bad news. My second, third, fourth, (you keep counting) were Pine Siskins. Yes, they're baaack! I do hope they will leave us as they have done once already this winter. There are so many of them sparing for space that our favorite winter birds hardly have a chance to get to the feeders.

I know that many of you love the Pine Siskins, and I dearly wish I could send them to you.

And here they are (a few of them at least):



Hope you enjoyed your first bird this morning.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2009!

16 comments:

George said...

What a beautiful way to start the new year! We have plenty of pine siskins here as well -- I don't think we need any more.

Cheryl said...

What a stunning bird.....I love his red hat!

The pine siskins are very pretty......I understand what you say about the feeders, you do get dominant species hogging them. I don't know the answer to that one unfortunately.......

Nice bird shots for the New Year......

Shelley said...

Nice shot of the pileated - and what a great 1st bird to see in 2009! I only have a couple siskins right now so they haven't worn out their welcome....yet!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Ha Carolyn---I 'tried' to take your Siskins away from you--but found out that I have way too many of my own. SO--I gave them to Helen in VA. HA HA HA...

Love your Pileated. I haven't see one in awhile.

Happy 2009.
Hugs,
Betsy

Cedar ... said...

what a fantastic bird she is! And re: pine siskins,... i call them a "herd" of vacuum cleaners,. just sucking up all the bird food. Send them anywhere but here! :)

Kim said...

You lucky gal. I would love to have that be my first bird. Sadly my first birds were those awful house sparrows.

I have my first two pine siskins ever today and yesterday. It is weird though because there are only two of them. I am hoping they will bring more and bully the house sparrows some as they deserve it. Send more my way would you. ;o)

Ruth said...

I saw a Pileated Woodpecker on a walk today, my third ever and my husband's first sighting. It was very vocal too. I thought of you and your frequent visits from these beautiful birds. A great start to a New Year.

KGMom said...

Pileateds are so spectacular. I've only seen them once--in Indiana last spring.
We have loads of titmice and juncos. No pine siskins here in PA. At least not in my yard.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year Carolyn! What an awesome bird to see for the first of the year. I don't get the pine siskins you can send some my way.

Jayne said...

Happy New Year Carolyn! Love your Pileated, and as usual, am green with envy! :c)

nina at Nature Remains. said...

Oh, I would love to have just one--Pine Siskin!

NCmountainwoman said...

George - We are really hoping these guys will move on soon.

Cheryl - Sometimes the siskins move on. On occasion we have taken down all the feeders except for the suet and they finally get the message.

Shelley - I actually saw her on the suet feeder first. By the time I was ready to focus, she had moved to the tree.

Betsy - Do you think Helen would like to have a few dozen more?

Cedar - Good name for these pesky things.

Kallen - I'd rather have siskins than house sparrows. That would be a disappointing first bird.

Ruth - I am continually amazed at the tropical sound of the Pileated calls even though I hear them several times a day.

Donna - Although we see them almost every day, I never cease to marvel at their beauty. I especially love to see them swooping through the trees.

Bird girl - Not only do they eat a lot of food...they scatter a lot of food as well.

Toni - Believe me, I wish I COULD send you these rascals.

Jayne - We are indeed fortunate and are grateful every time we see one of them.

Nina - You crack me up. I'm not sure there is ever ONE Pine Siskin. You will have to take them all.

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! I really miss the Pine Siskins that I had in Colorado. My other birds, Stellars Jay, Mountain Chickadees, Pigme Nuthatches and all got along famously.

Me, living where I do, the first bird was a Herring Gull. Now you want to talk about bad manners at feeding time!

I see you are feeding with "bird seed". Here is an experiment to try. Fill your feeder with Black Oil Sunflower seed. You will still get a great variety of birds. My siskis used to grab and go off to a near by ponderosa tree and work the seeds. The seeds are bigger and as I understand, more nutritious. Let me know if it brings joy, okay?

Sandscript said...

How interesting that my first bird sighting, here in the Mid-Ohio Valley, was also a piliated woodpecker. They are more obvious now that the trees are bare. The one I saw seemed to have a slightly gray plumage, so unlike that seen in summer.
I'm new to blogging. 'So glad I found your post!
Sandra

Mary said...

The first bird I photographed on January 1st was a Coop. Yes!

But I'd trade it for a Pileated Woodpecker any day :o)

Or a flock of Pine Siskins...

Lucky!

Mary

Kerri Farley said...

Happy New Year! Fabulous capture of the Pileated!!