birds!

[celticdragonfly]

So there's a bunch of what I think are sparrows hopping around the back yard, and there was one bird on the feeder for a while. It looked kinda like a sparrow, but it had a red head and chest. I've never noticed one like that before. Sorta like a rooster sparrow? Sigh. I don't want to get a whole bird book, but I kinda wish I had a poster of birds of the area that I could hang by the back door. Although from what the guy at the wild bird center told Mom when she bought a bird book for my grandparents, who winter down in Harlingen, I doubt I'd find one poster that covered them all, apparently a LOT of birds migrate through here.

Okay, this is probably boring to most people, but I'm enjoying it. We're homeowners now! With a backyard and stuff! Fulfilment of our dreams and all that, don'tcha know.

And I made Aunt Barb's Bars last night, a double recipe - killer cookie bars, yummmmie. I've had two this morning, and they have coffee in them, and I'm actually feeling a coffee buzz! Wheee.

Comments

[marymont.livejournal.com]

Probably a rufus-headed finch.

[quiva.livejournal.com]

Could maybe be a house finch...they're pretty common at bird feeders. They have a nice song too. I had a pair that came back, year after year.

[kk1raven.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a male House Finch, possibly a Purple Finch. The females are rather dull, streaky brown birds.

If you're at a point where you're trying to identify what you see, you probably do need to get yourself a field guide. You're right about a single poster not covering them all. There are some field guides meant for beginners that just have the birds that people are likely to see in them. You might want to take a look at them the next time you're in a bookstore. There are also some fold-out laminated cards that cover various groups of birds that might be ideal for you too. They're a lot more durable than posters for one thing, and they don't take up much space.